Wrestling Camels and Camel–Human Bond Among Sedentary Yörüks of Anatolia (Türkiye)
Anthrozoos, cilt.39, sa.4, ss.601-621, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, SSCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 39 Sayı: 4
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1080/08927936.2026.2676403
- Dergi Adı: Anthrozoos
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, CAB Abstracts, CINAHL, EMBASE, Environment Index, Geobase, Psycinfo, Social Sciences Abstracts, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection (EBSCO), Sociology Source Ultimate (EBSCO)
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.601-621
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Anatolia, camel wrestling, camel–human bond, human–animal interaction, post-anthropocentrism, the Yörüks
- Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2013 and 2025, this study examined contemporary camel–human relationships among sedentary Yörük communities in western and southern Anatolia (Türkiye). While camels once served essential economic roles in transport and transhumance during nomadic life, Yörüks today raise and maintain camels primarily to preserve family heritage and enhance social prestige. Camel wrestling shows have become a central arena through which cultural identity is expressed, transmitted, and celebrated. Practices such as caring for camels with deep respect and affection, naming them, decorating them for wrestling events, and performing rituals against the evil eye highlight the symbolic, spiritual, and emotional dimensions of camel culture. Camels, in turn, display forms of agency through decision-making, communication, and social responsiveness. Their behavior in wrestling arenas is shaped not by coercive training but by instinct, affective bonds, and intersubjective attunement with their caretakers (savrans). These interactions exemplify intersubjectivity and multispecies cooperation, in which humans and camels co-produce shared meanings, actions, and environments. By situating camel husbandry and camel–human interactions within the broader shift from utilitarian caravan labor to post-utilitarian heritage practice, this study argues that contemporary camel–human relationships are enabled and reshaped by socioeconomic change. Rather than passive remnants of nomadic life, camels emerge as cultural icons and active co-participants in sustaining Yörük identity in contemporary Anatolia.