Family-Mark of Identity and Spirituality of the Turkish Community in Romania

Abstract

The family is one of the important institutions that has survived from the past to the present. In this paper I will try to present the structure and features of the Turkish family starting from the pre-Islamic, Islamic-Ottoman period until the modern period. The solid family structure and the order played an extremely important role in the mobility of the Turkish nation in a very wide geography that shaped history. To this end, I will provide brief information about the Turkish family, its importance to society, marriage ceremonies, communication between family members and other relatives, as well as some traditions specific to the Turkish family. The social structure of the family, the basic dynamics and the main driving force of society differ from society to society, from culture to culture as we will see also in the Turkish family. The ancient Turks, whose life and culture was nomadic, therefore, the structure and life of the family were modelled according to the conditions of nomadic life. Family members had to fight together against difficult living conditions. In this situation, children, girls and boys, have been involved in adult roles since an early age. In the old Turkish family, the man is a person with important functions and duties and the woman is the foundation of human society. The Turkish family in Romania can be presented from two perspectives: the Ottoman Turkish family and the modern Turkish family. By presenting the two components we will notice that the impact of modernism or rather of post-modernism is making its mark more and more, leading to the loss of traditional values that are intertwined with the spiritual crisis.