Problems and Methods of the Field Anthropology: The Circassian Diaspora

The Circassian diaspora, which was formed as a result both of the Russian-Caucasian War in the mid 1860s and of the two world wars of the 20th century, reside in more than fifty countries around the world and comprise almost 90% of the world's Circassian population. This article is based on the materials the author collected and the observations she made during field trips in 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2015 to one of the Circassian cultural enclaves in Turkey, the Uzunyayla region of the Central Anatolian city of Kayseri. In this field study, the ethnic aspect of interpersonal and intra-group communication is investigated. The article also deals with the decrease, over the years, in the numbers of informants who continue to carry the traditional culture and linguistic heritage, as well as the social aspects ( i.e. etiquette, ethic, gender) of the communication between the researcher and the informant, which are the problems of the academic disciplines of folklore and anthropology.