Customs, Beliefs and Practices about Birth and Children in Afghanistan Turkmen [Afganistan Türkmenlerinde Doğum ve Çocukla İlgili Örf, Âdet, İnanç ve Uygulamalar*]

Culture, which is the body of material and spiritual values revealed by a people throughout history, is not only a heritage, but also a living memory. Language, religion and ideal unity lie on the basis of being a nation. Nations preserve the cultural values they have acquired from the past to the present and pass them on to future generations. Thus, they maintain their nationhood characteristics. Significant cultural erosions occur in different ethnic groups in the Afghanistan region, which has been grappling with civil wars and conflicts for the last 40 years. All these changes are caused by the troubles and confusion that started with the Russian occupation in 1979 and continue until today. Cultural heritages are not preserved or are misdirected. While some religious values are considered cultural, cultural values replace religion. In the Afghanistan region, which has been struggling with civil wars and conflicts for the last 40 years, significant cultural erosions occur in different ethnic groups. With the overthrow of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan since 2001, rapidly advancing technology and media have greatly influenced the Afghan society. While firstly Indian TV series and later Turkish TV series are broadcasted on television, the protection of the traditional and cultural values of Afghanistan society becomes difficult to preserve and begins to undergo significant changes. If we add the unconscious mobile phone to this, we can see what kind of cultural erosion is experienced. Although the Turkmens living in Afghanistan were exposed to the same troubles and went through a turbulent process, they did not leave the regions they lived in, and they were able to preserve their traditions and customs coming from the history. In this article, after briefly mentioning the history of the Turkmen living in Afghanistan, we will try to give the customs, traditions, beliefs and practices of the Turkmen community living in the Faryab region about birth and children that we can identify