Fidan UĞUR ÇERİKAN

A large number of communal rituals are of archaic structure that can be traced back to mythical times. In this sense, one of the elements with such an archaic structure due to human physiology is fragrance and rituals related to fragrance. Based on the data that can be detected, the fragrance used in an extensive geography ranging from Ancient Egypt to Assyria, India, China, Central Asia and Ancient Greece is found out to have been included in many rituals. Fragrance, which has been used with similar functions in different societies from primitive up to modern times, is presented in a new form for use by modern people today. Fragrance, which is part of consumption culture in a way, is gaining a new dimension in line with the conditions that will lead to disappearance of social memory. This study deals with the development of fragrance in its historical course in the social sense and its reconstruction in the contemporary period within the framework of historical development, functional and anthropological perspectives. Apart from the classifications as an arrangement applied in various motifs on the issue, basic individual needs and societies formed by the combination of individuals in particular and what is offered to them are the main elements to determine new social codes. Fragrance, which has existed in different stages of life from primitive to modern periods, is both a product of commercial activity and an element that keeps alive the rituals brought from the past in new forms through adaptation and transformation. As long as the expectations and needs of human beings continue to be similar, fragrance will manage to maintain its existence.

Keywords: Fragrance, Fragrance Cult, Consumption Culture, Turkish Culture, Cultural Memory