Oğuz Sözlü Edebiyatı İçerisinde Türkmensahra Türkmenlerinin Yeri

In oral literature creation shows up as a reflection of people’s creativity, reproductivity, initiative and thie point of view in life. In this literature one can find information about the traditions in daily life, desires about ideals and people’s heroic fights for freedom (Efendiyev 1992: 7). As an indicator of abstract and concrete cultural heritage, the oral literature not only shows the historical and geographical roots of people but also shows the common motivation of being a society which is based on spirituality. Oral literature is significant for the continuity of these common motivaiton factors. Therefore Oghuz Turkish oral literature which constitutes a large branch Turkic world, is very important for having such a rich variety and for still being alive in a very broad area. Being a part of the Oghuz oral literature area, scientific studies, compilations and publications have been made in Turkey, Azerbeijan and Turkmenistan. However studies and publications about studies on oral literature of Turks in Turkmensahra are limited. Publications about this subject can be divided into two as before and after the independence of Turkmenistan. During the period before the independence of Turkmenistan, the connection between Turkmen living in Iran and Turkmenistan were lost. Therefore the number of the studies published during that period is very limited but stil they are very precious compilation studies and are still used as sources. In thıs study, as a part of the Oghuz Turkish, the positionof the oral literature types among Turkmen living in Turkmen Sahara in Iran is evaluated. Based on this evaluation the contributions and importanceof Turkmen oral literature for this area are highlighted.