The Status and Roles of Women in Terms of Gender in Ancient Turkish History and Culture Based on the Dīwān Lughāt Al-Turk – The First Turkish Dictionary

Abstract

In this paper, based on the Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk – the first Turkish dictionary – the female gender is analysed through the categories of ‘women and their social status’, ‘perception of women from the perspective of gender’, ‘woman-man relationships and family structure’, ‘responsibilities of women’, and ‘clothes and belongings of women’. These categories are determined in the context of the data provided by the definitions of the words related to women in the dictionary. It can be seen from the dictionary that women are classified in terms of social status and that they are part of a hierarchical structure. On the other hand, a woman is perceived as the representative of beauty and aesthetics by being described in terms of physical and inner beauty. In addition, a woman is also described as being coquettish, flirtatious, and crafty. In the dictionary, where it seems that a woman is respected as a wife and mother, it was discovered that marriage and family were highly esteemed, that many cultural rituals were practised in the processes of becoming a bride, that having and raising children was considered important, and that there were relations between spouses based on mutual rights and responsibilities. When the dictionary is analysed in terms of women’s clothing and belongings, it can be seen that a great number of things and ways of adornment are mentioned and that being beautiful is highly esteemed.