CHAPTER 12

SOCIAL VALUES

Traditional values in Turkey are derived from the heritage of a society based on family ties, a historical development in close proximity to other Mediterranean cultures, and unique historical experiences, all of which have been powerfully shaped by Islam. Concepts of fatalism, hospitality, propriety, honor and shame, and Moslem religious notions motivate and give meaning to behavior. Social values, however, like the social system in general, have been undergoing significant changes at an ever-quickening pace. The old social order and the values associated with it, which had remained fairly static for centuries, began to change in the 19th century and have continued to do so in the 1960's. Western, secular influences have been particularly significant in the emerging systems of social values.

At first only the educated and urban Turk was affected by the changes initiated by Atatürk and the influences from the West. By the 1960's the relatively static society of the villagers, who made up the vast majority of the population, had been penetrated, albeit superficially, by the modern influences emanating from urban areas. As consecutive generations born under the Republic and steeped in its nationalist and progressive values reach maturity in the villages, their greater literacy, increased urban contact, changing economic condition, and obligatory service in the army tend to reduce the influence of traditional values in shaping and directing behavior.

Notwithstanding this narrowing of the gap between urban and rural values, significant differences still exist. Traditional Turkish values, more universal peasant outlooks, and folk religious interpretations make life in the villages very different from urban life.

The same process of change which has narrowed the gap between urban and rural values has also created a differentiation of values along the lines of social-economic levels. Primarily in urban areas the increased economic specialization which accompanies industrialization has resulted in the formation of neophyte levels of social stratification with somewhat different value orientations.

The wide gap in many values between urban and rural residents and lesser gaps between different social-economic groups aside, many important values are shared. Such value concepts as family, hospitality, propriety, and honor are significant in rural and urban areas alike. The behavioral consequences of these values, however, are sometimes quite different. Thus both urban and rural Turks value honor, but the definition of what constitutes honor differs according to rural and urban experience.

TRADITIONAL VALUES

The Moslem Background of Social Values

Traditional values are by nature more prevalent in rural areas and among conservative urbanites than among average urban residents, especially those who have found themselves most comfortable with the changes which have followed the establishment of the Turkish Republic. Traditional Moslem values, as seen through the prism of Turkish history, form the basis of the value system for a large portion of the population. Islam is more of a total way of life than most Western religions, even since the changes instigated by Atatürk.

From early times on, the Turk's place in Islam has been heavily influenced by his role as a ghazi, a warrior of the Faith. As a soldier, pioneer, and missionary the ideal image of the ghazi made him disciplined, generous, hospitable, chivalrous, and heroic; he was the righteous fighting the infidels. The ghazi who exhibited such characteristics has remained the ideal Turk to those who cherish traditional values.

Perhaps the most significant value contained in Islam in the context of its effects is that which Westerners often label fatalism. God is seen as so great that all men are ultimately equal before Him; they are all his slaves. Man should submit to the will of God, for to do otherwise would be not only blasphemous but also futile. He must seek to become a part of God's plan for mankind and the world by making himself an instrument of that plan.

This belief in an overall supernatural design is, in rural areas, constantly referred to by the word insallah, which follows the statement of any proposed project or future action. Although usually translated as "I hope so," or "if God wills it," a more accurate translation as used by devout Moslems is "if this fits in with God's plans." In any case, the implication is clear: control of the universe or any part of it is beyond the capabilities of mankind.

Moslem fatalism typically involves a placid resignation toward life, rather than the heroic defiance which characterizes other

fatalistic value systems such as the Spanish. Something of a defiant approach, however, has emerged in Turkey, particularly in the cities. The typical Moslem fatalism persists in most rural areas, where peasants, who often barely manage to subsist, are quite dependent on things which are actually beyond their control. These people are ultimately dependent upon the weather and upon those abstract officials who run the national government. There is an acceptance of misfortune brought by the vicissitudes of peasant life as part of the divine dispensation.

In Moslem morality proper conduct is the golden mean. Extremes of any kind should generally be avoided. For example, a person should not have more or less than a year's supply of food in his house. Any more would be conspicuous extravagance; and less is akin to poverty.

Other Traditional Values

Certain traditional values, though shaped by the Moslem world from which they emerged, reveal a lack of direct dependence upon religious tradition. One of the most important of these involves the family.

The family is an important focus of social values. A person's closest and most consistent relations are with his family. His position in the community is defined according to his family's wealth, power, and prestige. He must defend his family under all circumstances and he must unquestionably obey his elders. It is the individual's foremost duty to remain loyal to his family and kin.

Islam demands loyalty to family, but in practice this value is exhibited in a broader social context, involving concepts of honor and shame, as well as a broad spectrum of kinsmen. Moreover, loyalty to family often takes precedence over other moral, legal, and religious duties. Both in theory and practice, a disloyal, disobedient child is the incorrigible offender.

An individual's honor is closely associated with that of his family. If he acts dishonorably, he blackens his family name; if his family has been dishonored either by the actions of a member or of an outsider, the individual's honor is damaged until retribution is made. An individual's obligations extend only to his kinsmen and to close friends who become imputed kinsmen. A man sees to it that his daughters and other female relatives do not act wantonly toward men, and to a lesser extent that his sons do not misbehave toward the daughters of other men. He joins together with the men of his kin group to punish offenders within the group and to seek redress against members of other kin groups who offend his own kinsmen.

Loyalty to family implies rights and obligations. An individual owes certain things to his family and kinsmen. He must uphold family honor through his own actions and through control of the actions of others, and he must provide support-financial, moral, political, or whatever-which could ultimately lead to partaking of physical violence in a feud between families. Moreover, an individual receives, at some time in his life, all of the same things which he has been required to provide for his family. Family loyalty establishes a reciprocity of social action.

Hospitality is a traditional value which is generally shared by rich and poor, urbanites and rural residents. The host says to the guest, "My house is your house," and proceeds to try to show the guest that it is indeed true. A guest is offered, and expected to accept, the best food, the first cup of tea, and the best seat in the house. A host must protect his guest from insult and injury as he would a member of his own family. In return, a good guest is expected to be moderate in his demands and respectful toward his host.

Family honor and an emphasis on proper behavior give the Turk a strong sense of decorum and propriety. Rich and poor alike pride themselves on behaving properly in all circumstances. Social relations are well-defined and maintained. Proper interpersonal behavior is rigidly adhered to, whether it be with close kin or complete strangers.

Outwardly stolid, yet many Turks are sensitive both to personal criticism and to criticism by outsiders of the particular social unit which is relevant to the situation, be it family, lineage, village, or nation. He is highly defensive of the social units to which he belongs, feeling his family, his village, and his people to be superior to others.

Traditional values maintain that in order to survive in the struggle against nature men must band together for protection and mutual assistance. The most desirable actions strengthen the solidarity of the group; consultation and cooperative effort rather than individual initiative are the accepted norms of behavior. The group is variously defined according to the circumstances as the household, the lineage, the village or urban quarter, or perhaps the religious community. Primary emphasis is placed upon the family and kin; the need for cooperation and assistance is an everyday occurrence among household and lineage members (see ch. 7, Family).

Generally, trust and cooperation tend to be restricted to traditional groups with which an individual has immediate contact. In rural areas this rarely extends beyond the limits of the village,

except perhaps to certain dyadic relationships established in market situations. It is only with some difficulty that the tradition-oriented villager trusts and cooperates with individuals and groups outside of the village context, including the national government.

In relationships involving nonkinsmen, a person acts much the same as he does toward different kinds of kinsmen: he respects his elders, advises and reprimands his juniors, and has friendly and equal relations with his age mates of the same sex. Superiorsubordinate relations are similar to those between father and son, with absolute authority belonging to the superior member of the relationship. Authority should not be arbitrary, but based on a mutual loyalty which ties together the person in authority and his subordinates. Friendly relations between age mates often parallel those between brothers, without the underlying competition that often occurs between actual brothers. Friendship is highly valued, as long as it is not spread out too much, because it is free of some of the tensions generated by family life and obligations. Men and women seldom mingle socially, but spend most of their time with members of their own sex.

The Concept of Honor

The traditional concept of honor persists to this day among most of the people of Turkey. Urban intellectuals as well as uneducated peasants place a high premium on the maintenance of their personal honor as well as that of their family.

Honor is the one value which underlies the notions of family, hospitality, propriety, and pride. An honorable man is one who exhibits all of these qualities, and more. Almost all of the previously discussed values do not each separately shape and direct behavior; they do so only as units of the integrating value of honor, and its opposite, shame. Concern with honor permeates thought and action. The words namuslu (honorable) and namussuz (without honor) are constantly used, and they are not taken lightly, either by those who use the words or those who hear them.

Honor is at the apex of the pyramid of social values, cutting across all other social evaluations and dividing the population into two fundamental categories, those endowed with honor and those deprived of it. Other factors are taken into account when evaluating a person's social conduct, but no person, whether he is rich or poor, educated or not, urban or rural, Moslem or not, is acceptable if he lacks the quality of honor.

The concept of honor is an entire nexus of evaluations made by the individual himself and by his society. It is his estimation