The Impact of the Myths in the Saltukname on the Contemporary Oral Culture

Sari Saltik is a legendary hero who had showed great successes in the conquest and islamization of Anatolia and Rumelia. There have been many legends/religious anecdotes in making regarding the life and battles of this hero. There is a work consisting of three volumes subject of which is the life and religious anecdotes of Sari Saltik. The work was prepared by Abu l-Khayr-1 Rumi, upon the request of Cem Sultan. The information -the life, epic, and legend of Sari Saltik- included in the work has been obtained through collections compiled in seven years out of the Turkish lands of the era. The collections reflect the lively character of the religious anecdotes narrated in relation to the life of Sari Saltik in the oral culture environment of the era.Similar anecdotes of the religious stories related to Sari Saltik can also be encountered in the contemporary oral culture. This fact reflects the significance of the myths/religious stories in the oral culture of the Anatolian people throughout five centuries. This feature must be also evaluated with regard to the persistence of the culture. There have been three important works on Saltukname, one of which is related to the history, folk literature and the other is on the language. However, the content has barely been a subject of any assessment.In this article, the religious anecdotes found out in Saltukname have been reviewed with regard to the persistence of the culture. These religious anecdotes have been evaluated in comparison to the similar contemporary anecdotes in various aspects and the alterations in the texts have been determined. This article of ours is a text-centered examination prepared as to determine the similarities and differences between the texts. For this reason, the context of the texts and the narrators thereof have not been taken into consideration.