Ashura in Anatolia

Ashura is a sweet dish cooked on various occasions and known in many parts of the world, especially in Anatolia, Mesopotamia, the Caucasus, and the Balkans. Turkish society has internalized this special food, whose origins go back to Noah’s Flood, and turned it into a cultural heritage that includes dozens of perceptions and practices around it. Ashura is an important cultural heritage in Anatolia. By examining dimensions of Ashura, an important perspective on this cultural heritage is provided. This study was carried out to examine the traditional production stages of Anatolian Ashura and to reveal its importance in Turkish culinary culture. In this context, Ottoman archives, old cookbooks, and current literature were investigated in detail and the information obtained was recorded using the profiling method. Following this process, face-to-face interviews were held on a voluntary basis with seven cultural heritage transmitters over the age of sixty who are well versed in Ashura and its tradition. The information obtained through the interviews was subjected to content analysis; findings similar in terms of form and content were classified and evaluated. As a result of the evaluations, it was seen that Ashura was included in various social organizations with high social participation. Ashura has a metaphorical structure with religious and national dimensions, one of the components of social practices related to important stages of life such as wedding ceremony, birth, and circumcision.