Craftsmen in the Transfer of Cultural Memory: The Case of Safranbolu Demirciler Çarşısı

Abstract

Culture, which encompasses all of the norms, traditions, beliefs and lifestyles in a society, includes a coexistence of common values. The cultural memory, which is formed by the transfer of the meanings of the culture to the next generations, is built with the elements of oral culture and written culture. Cultural memory, which is shaped by repetition, animation and remembrance elements and maintained with proverbs and idioms, connects the past to the present with epics and memories, and becomes evident with rituals. Cities contain images of the life style, social and economic order in that society by carrying spatial elements as memories. The memory of the city gains quality with spatial elements and is kept alive by evolving with various repetitions in different time periods in terms of the meanings they carry. Iron, which is the subject of various legends, myths, beliefs and narratives in the historical process in Turkish culture, takes place as an important phenomenon in cultural memory and as the transmitters of cultural memory, blacksmiths have a presence in terms of realizing the transfer of cultural memory within the master-apprentice relationship. Safranbolu, which is home to many crafts, especially blacksmithing, and which was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994, is a city area where research will be conducted on the representation of cultural memory. In this study, the importance of iron and blacksmiths in Turkish culture was examined in the context of cultural memory by interviewing the craftsmen in the Demirciler Çarşısı, which was established in Safranbolu in 1796. By applying the due diligence method, the elements that the blacksmiths expressed were examined, and it was understood that the blacksmiths, as the transmitters of cultural memory, maintained their professional traditions in the bazaar, where they continued their craft.