THE DRESSING, SPIRITUAL VISITS, FORTUNE-TELLING OF WOMEN

The main housework that women who follow the old way of life do is weaving cloth and multicolored thread at the loom. The cloth they weave is similar to the American hood cloth, which they call "Mavrum". They make underwear from mavrum and shirt from the thread for the men. Mavrum is very thick, but very thin, hard, and its color is yellowish and dirty. They whiten it by repeatedly washing it. They call this process “Mayıslama”. The procedure is as follows: They mix cow dung (mayıs) with water and put it in large copper basins called “Teç”, then they dip mavrum in this dung. Mavrum stays in it for one day, the second day they throw it into clean water, wash it and swag it. Tokaç is made of flat and thick wood in the form of a spade.   They swingle mavrum with it and leave mavrum in the water. Then, two people hold it face to face, they fold it up and down, take and lay it on the meadow. When it is shrinked a little, they spread it on the meadow again after the same process. This process continues until the mavrum's color becomes white like gum. As they wash like this, mavrum will turn white.  They weave the mavrum in winter and apply “mayıslama” in spring. Those who wash these cloths are the same, they call the method of washing 'bleaching', and those who only engage in this job are called “bleachers”. After washing and cleaning the mavrum like this, they cut it into a ball of twenty-three cubits, sell it to those who need it, or exchange it for something else.

The threads (alaca) woven by the women of Maraş with black, red and yellow stripes are also not bad. The children's and men's shirts are made entirely of this fabric.  All kinds of fabrics that are needed for a home are domestic goods.  The women also wear a three-skirted long shirt or a four-pieced robe made of alaca. The underpants they wear are a very wide and long salwar, made of eight or nine cubits of chintz, the legs of these salwars are collared or shirred.. They tie a belt around the waist of the robe they wear over the salwar and tuck the end of their skirts into it. Usually, salwars and dresses are sewn from the same fabric and the same color.

The women of Maraş tie a şeş (cheesecloth-kerchief) on their heads in various colors, the edges of which are decorated with large lace. They bring the corners of these cheesecloths, which they fold as three corners, under them, wrap them from the back, and make knots on their foreheads again. The women’s method of wrapping a cheesecloth over their heads is completely different. The cheesecloths wrapped in this style look like a bundle with one corner at the top. If women do not tie laced cheesecloth, they tie a sash on their foreheads in the form of turbans.

The shoes that women wear on the street especially attract attention. This is a kind of boot-like shoe, which they call "etik", with a very wide neck, two inches in length, in a light yellow color. Women love pretty things very much, they have various gold bracelets with the thickness of twine on their arms, rings on their fingers, and gold they call mahmudiye, beşlik, gazi urup lira, kiremuş, sewn on a cloth around their necks. However, they do not use fake things.

Women cannot walk in the streets with their faces uncovered, they definitely wear veils. Their chadors are made of a fabric they call “santıraşlı”. By tying a belt around their waist, they put the front ends of this chador, which is flat like a quilt sheet, into their waist, and the back remains straight. (In the form of the chador worn by the women of Trabzon and Rize) In Maraş, they call the chador "car".

As to the spiritual visit places, the first one is the mausoleum of the Ukkaşe Sheik, which is one day from Maraş. While fighting the infidels, he ordered the camels to "become stones", and the camels immediately became stones, and he himself changed his world. These stones has still stood in the form of camels. Awliyas are not said to have died here, they are said to have changed their world. Whatever votive is made to Ukkaşe Sheik for a wish, that wish comes true: (Elif Bacı)

Milican Dede, Mülkeciler Devletlû and Alaettin Devletlû are also spiritual visiting places of Maraş. They were not martyred in the war, they changed their world. Alaettin Devletlû said, “May those in trouble come to me in the evening, may those who desires urgently come at dawn.” In fact, those who go to visit this person go very early in the morning and make votive.

Apart from these, Derdiment Alaybey and Şeyh Adil spiritual visit places are famous.     They make many vows to them; those who reached their wishes they realize their vows. Main vows are as follows: Qur’an and mawlid. The candle is vowed to the mosque; they do not vow candles to the awliyas and light them. For malaria, they take soil from these awliyas’ grave and crush it with water and drink it. They pluck a rag from them and hang it by the head of the tomb. If mawlid was vowed to these awliyas, if the place of visit is also in a secluded place, the women go to the visiting site, take their meals and other necessary things, and read their mawlid there. For example, they do not make their vows by saying, "If I have a job, I will do this”, they definitely go to the grave of the awliya, pray, and then make a vow." The vows made at home are not made to the awliyas. The vow made at home is to give candle to the mosque, bread to the poor, food for the widows, and clothes to the orphans.    In any case, those whose wishes came true immediately perform their vows. They believe that if the vow is not fulfilled, a great disaster will befall them.  (Nadire H.)

 The main entertainment of women in Maraş is fortune telling. Although almost everyone tells fortunes in Maraş, they hesitate to give information on this subject. The most common form of fortune telling in Maraş is the discovery of the future with coffee grounds. First, they dedicate Fatiha to the pir of the coffee, then they close the cup, after a while, they open the cup and interpret the shape of the coffee grounds. They don't know the pir of the coffee, but they say, "We understand that he was a very honorable man, it is possible that it was Veyselkarani, because coffee comes from Yemen, and Veyselkarani is from Yemen." While dedicating Fatiha to the pir of the coffee, since they do not know who the pir is, they say that, “We gave to the pir of the coffee as a gift through our mother Fatima.

For a patient, for a journey, and for any other intention, the procedure is as follows: They put the pan on the fire on the stove, put some olive oil and lead in the pan, melt it together, hold a big tray on the head of the person for whom the fortune-telling is for, read the Fatiha and pour the lead. The fortun is told according to the shape the lead takes. If the one for whom the fortune-telling will be performed is not present, the tray is laid out, and lead is poured by saying her name. This process is repeated two times and the fortune-telling continues for consecutive three days. The fortune-telling begins on Wednesday, ends at morning adhan on Friday, the lead is poured is at noon, it is not performed if it is late in the afternoon. The fortune-telling by lead is very useful; it is perfect for all kinds of diseases, especially the evil eye. The poured lead of men with merciful hearts is also soft.

Fortune-telling by chickpea: Forty-one chickpeas-sized stones are placed on a sieve, the intention is said, Fatiha is read to the soul of Hazrat Fatima, and then the stones are divided into four, and the remaining parts are divided, and respectively, they tell the fortune according to the number of stones. This fortune-telling method is well-known among the local women as “the fortune-telling of Hazrat Fatima". During the fortune-telling, if they are friends with each other, they say:

You have become a son with your son

You have become neighbours with your daugter

You have given birth to the children like garden

You have put the roots like couch.

(Şerif H.)

The cartomancy. Clubs: 1. You will have a fight with someone. 2. You will gain money. 3. You will go on a visit. 4. You will be successful at your job. 5. You will lose something unimportant. 6. You have too much sorrow. 7. Your wishes will come true. 8. Everyting you want will come true. 9. You don’t know that you are happy. 10. A woman thinks bad things about you. 11. Your future looks fine. 12. It is better if you change your path. 13. You will find him as you left.

Spade: 1. Sad news. 2. A minor inconvenience. 3. Your enemy is in action. 4. You will encounter with a loveless man. 5. The news or the letter you wait for will not arrive. 6. You will heal late. 7. You will have pain and sorrow. 8. Your lover is sad. 9. Your hope will be in vain. 10. You will lose something. 11. The work you try is beneficial. 12. Never ever get hopeful. 13. You will wait for a while.

Hearts: 1. Good news. 2. Good journey. 3. Wealth. 4. Serial news. 5. Beautiful dreams. 6. Your hope will come true, you will achieve your wish. 7. You will receive a gift. 8. You will win a game. 9. Someone is working for your good. 10. Some thinks bad things about you. 11. Your salvation is close. 12. You will be successful. 13. You will have as much work as your power.

Diamonds: 1. Your future is good. 2. Don't give up hope. 3. You will instantly rejoice. 4. You will encounter with what you want. 5. You will stumble upon something strange. 6. The person you wait will come. 7. Your guest will come. 8. Don't worry about your work, your happiness is near. 10. You need persistence, don't give up hope. 11. Don't get angry for nothing. 12. The people you have in mind are comfortable and healthy. 13. You will get what you want.

The cards are counted from one, each number represents the meaning written above - 11 jacks, 12 queens, 13 kings. Even if the cards are mixed, there is no harm, only the numbers should not be confused. The playing cards that come are, respectively, opened three times, each time they are lined up in the middle, fortune is told over the number as if reading a book.

Source: Müşfika Abdulkadir