Exploring Women’s Labor Through Culinary Symbols in the Turkmen Girl Folk Dance

Cemile Büyükyıldırım

doi:https://doi.org/10.54497/neugastro.2026.23

Cemile Büyükyıldırım, Kemal Aksu

Year : 2026
Vol : 5
Issue : 1
Page : 14-29

DOI : https://doi.org/10.54497/neugastro.2026.23

This study analyzes gastronomy-themed movements in the folk dance “Türkmen Kızı” from the Silifke region through a semiotic perspective. The research aims to reveal the cultural, economic, and social layers of meaning conveyed by bodily representations of food-related production practices. Within this scope, three prominent symbolic gestures, namely cow milking, butter churning, and dough kneading, are examined in relation to women’s labor, rural production, and cultural continuity. The study employs one of the qualitative research methods, namely document analysis, based on digitally accessible performance video recordings, staging-related visual materials, and the related folk song lyrics. Using semiotic analysis grounded in the signifier-signified relationship, the symbolic and cultural meanings embedded in these movements are interpreted. The findings indicate that the gestures function not as bodily imitation of daily production activities but as culturally loaded symbols reflecting Türkmen-Yörük social organization, economic production models, and gender roles. The dance thus operates as a symbolic narrative space in which women’s labor becomes visible and cultural memory is reenacted through embodied performance. The study aims to contribute to the literature on intangible cultural heritage and to the understanding of the relationship between gastronomy and culture.

Cite this Article As : Aksu, K., & Büyükyıldırım, C. (2026). Türkmen Kızı Halk Oyununda Kadın Emeğinin Gastronomi Figürleri Üzerinden Analizi. NEUGastro, 5(1), 14-29.https://doi.org/10.54497/neugastro.2026.23

Description : Yazarların hiçbiri, bu makalede bahsedilen herhangi bir ürün, aygıt veya ilaç ile ilgili maddi çıkar ilişkisine sahip değildir. Araştırma, herhangi bir dış organizasyon tarafından desteklenmedi.Yazarlar çalışmanın birincil verilerine tam erişim izni vermek ve derginin talep ettiği takdirde verileri incelemesine izin vermeyi kabul etmektedirler. None of the authors, any product mentioned in this article, does not have a material interest in the device or drug. Research, not supported by any external organization. grant full access to the primary data and, if requested by the magazine they agree to allow the examination of data.

Exploring Women’s Labor Through Culinary Symbols in the Turkmen Girl Folk Dance, Research Article,
2026, Vol. 5 (1)

Received : 10.02.2026, Accepted : 09.06.2026 , Published Online : 26.06.2026