YESAM hosted Aylin Öney Tan for a seminar on rituals that evolve around Wheatberry

YESAM hosted Aylin Öney Tan on October 10th for the seminar on the importance of wheat in Anatolian traditions.  The participants thoroughly enjoyed the seminar.

Mrs. Tan started her speech by indicating that Anatolian and Mesopotamian soil is the native land of wheatberry. Wheatberry represents wealth and abundance therefore became the focus of many celebratory occasions. “Wheatberry was the main staple in early Anatolian civilizations. As the production of wheat increased, more cities and governments developed around it.  To bless the abundance of wheatberry, the communities developed various rituals.”

Mrs. Tan continued, explaining the various rituals. The most significant one, keşkek, is an indispensable wedding meal in Anatolia. It is the most significant of ritual meals that combines wheat, representing abundance, and meat, that is sacrificed for the Gods.

Wheat is also used in desserts that are made for various rituals. In Anatolia, regardless of the ethnicity and the religious background, a form of aşure (a dessert made with wheat, dried fruits, white beans and chickpeas) is made for various celebratory occasions by different ethnic and religious groups. Mrs. Tan continued to talk about these traditions as well as different ways to make aşure.

At the end of the seminar the guests enjoyed a wide selection of wheat based desserts and keşkek.

10 October 2013

Lecture video is in Turkish.