Women cooking over the hearth, the sacred symbol of the strength of the family.

Many of a housewife’s home furnishings and utensils also have special ritual importance.  One of the most important of these is the broom, whose use always involves ritual.  Along with being a useful cleaning implement, it is an opponent of evil.  People believe that dirt and filth, which the broom helps eliminate from the home, are the habitats of evil spirits.  Consequently, as a woman sweeps her home, she simultaneously clears it of evil.

The broom can also help protect new mothers from the devil and other evil spirits.  For instance, during the first forty days after childbirth, a mother should be guarded constantly by a relative or friend to prevent the devil from adversely affecting her.  When the guardian finds it necessary to leave the new mother alone, she should place a Qur’an near the mother’s head and either a broom or a piece of iron by the door to continue the watch.

Although the home represents the residence of people, and is therefore in the realm of culture, it also contains symbolic elements of nature with which the family must live in harmony.  For instance, many people believe that a “foundation” snake inhabits every traditional rural home. 

Harmonious families that get on well with their neighbors rarely see the snake, and it causes them no harm.  Contrary families see the snake frequently, and unless they adjust their ways, they eventually get frightened out of the house.

The exact origins of these and hundreds of other home beliefs and rituals are hidden in the past.  However, their persistence evinces their psychological and social value.  We may assume that the mundane chores of maintaining a home were so important to family and lineage survival that Turkish society, especially its women, assigned special spiritual and symbolic meanings to their work, thereby elevating it to a higher, more mystical and sacred plane.

In this respect, the traditional work worlds of Turkish men and women were similar.  Just as male members of the traditional crafts had their own patron saints, sacred work procedures, and ceremonies, so too did women.  Just as craftsmen marked special occasions in their work life, like graduation from apprentice to journeyman, so too women marked special occasions, like marriage and birth.