Rosary was a and still is a dear accessory for the Turkish man. The history of rosary and features of it is a lot richer than you might guess. So let’s take a look at that important object of Turkish culture.
In Turkish culture, the history of the rosary begins with the Ottoman, since the rosary, which is seen as a meaningful way of chanting the names of Allah, has entered into the Ottoman literature, has expanded to a larger area, and its production and crafts have improved.
Rosary As A Status Emblem
Rosary is not only used for religious purposes but it also shows a wide variety of uses in our country since the Ottoman Empire. Especially for men, it is a tool for distraction, and it is much more common in rural areas. It is the tool of peaceful, relaxing, boring hands that do not like to stay empty.
The use of the rosary was so deeply embedded in it that each occupation group had a unique rosary model. People understood which profession they were from by looking at each other’s glory. So much so that in the lodges and lodges, the prayer beads were large and multi-grained. The madrasah contained different motifs and imams, from the rosaries of the instructors to the ones of the doctors.
Especially among physicians and physicians, the use of Kuka rosary is quite common. The reason is that Kuka has antibacterial properties.
A full rosary consists of grains, construction, engagement (stop), stamp, hilly, tassel or whip. The parts must be in harmony with each other in shape and decoration and must be as a whole.
Rosary materials are generally minerals, precious metals, shell, bone, horn types and teeth obtained from animals; pearl, coral and mother-of-pearl extracted from the sea; some fossils; hard or fragrant trees; some can be considered as the seeds of plants and the recent synthetic substances.
It becoming an art in the Ottomans XVII. It starts in the 19th century. Istanbul was the center of this art in the Islamic world. It had very high values. Kuka grains could be decorated with pencil carvings and inside can be carved with openwork technique; ivory, Jerger, Oltu stone can be made on the grains. Inlaid prayer beads are decorated with gold or silver nails in different motifs. Sometimes, the construction of it can take a year.
