Children's folklore is a specific area of ​oral artistic creativity, which, unlike adult folklore, has its own poetics, its own forms of existence and its bearers. The common practice of children's folklore is the relationship of the artistic text with the game. It is a kind of tool for the socialization of a child, an area of traditional folk culture, including verbal genres and forms of children's creativity, as well as adult folklore addressed to children. It has its own genre system and aesthetic specificity. Children's folklore is one of the directions of oral folk art.

Tea culture is an essential part of social and cultural life and is an important social practice aiming to show hospitality, celebrate important moments in lives of communities and helping them to build and maintain social relationships and enjoy moments by drinking tea for social exchange and interaction. It also represents knowledge, traditions and skills linked to cultivating, preparing and drinking tea by communities in Turkey and Azerbaijan. Tea is an agricultural plant the leaves and buds of which are used to make beverage. Tea plant transforms into dried leaves after steps such as plucking, withering, disruption, oxidation and drying. Although there are different types and brewing techniques in both countries, communities harvest and consume mostly the black tea. Traditional techniques used in preparing and harvesting tea led to development of special tools and vessels such as teapots, samovars, silver tray, woven tea baskets and tea plucking shear. Communities brew tea by using a great variety of kettles, produced in traditional craftsmanship, called “çaydan” or “çaynik” in Azerbaijan, a double container called "çaydanlık" (tea pot) in Turkey and samovar in both countries. Water is boiled in the larger pot and tea leaves are added to the smallest pot. Samovar is a traditional copper, clay, metal or brass container used to heat and boil water for brewing tea in smaller teapot, which is put on samovar. This method allows people to drink tea as they desire: strong or light. In rural areas especially, communities use metal samovars or “çaydanlık” heated with wood. Tea is traditionally served in special pear-shaped cups called “armudu” (literally, “pear-like”), made from glass, porcelain, faience, and silver in Azerbaijan and similarly small tulip-shaped glass, which is called “ince belli bardak” (thin waist glass) in Turkey. Communities traditionally serve tea freshly, brewed and hot, accompanied with various sweets, pastry, sugar, slices of lemon, jams and dried fruits. In different regions of Azerbaijan, communities also add local spices and herbs to tea, such as cinnamon, ginger and thyme. There is a special style of drinking tea with sugar called “kıtlama” or “dishleme” in both countries. In this style, tea is drunk by placing a piece of sugar between tongue and chin instead of pouring sugar directly into glass.

Azerbaijan,Turkey 2022

Traditional Ahlat Stonework is the knowledge, methods, skills and aesthetic understanding, transmitted from generation to generation for centuries and based on the extraction of volcanic Ahlat stone from the quarries around Ahlat by the stone miners, shaping and ornamenting of the Ahlat stone by stone carvers, and constructing structure and creating artefacts by the practitioners of the element. Ahlat Stone is a volcanic stone extracted by traditional methods from the foothills of the Mountain Nemrut located near to Ahlat, district of Bitlis province. Stones are extracted from quarries through the "nailing technique" which has been used for centuries. In this technique, the iron wedges are hammered into the rock mass in a straight line and the rock mass is extracted in the desired size and removed as a block. Folk calendar and traditional knowledge of nature have important roles in the extraction of the stone by the stone miners. The extracted stone is cut and shaped then ornamented by stone carvers with hand-tools. The ornamentation on Ahlat stone is formed by scraping, relief and carving techniques. They are generally used vegetal, geometric and calligraphic shapes that reveal a certain aesthetic understanding transmitted from generation to generation. Building a structure by using Ahlat stone requires special technique and knowledge. The construction of the buildings starts and ends in periods determined according to the traditional folk calendar. Besides the architectural works such as houses, mosques, mausoleums and bridges; the stones are also used in tombstones, inscriptions, fountains and today in various artefacts.

Turkey 2022

Traditional oral game similar to riddles. A participant will ask other questions.

Bài Chòi is a form of entertaining card playing in the form of answering questions. In Bình Định, there are three forms of Bài Chòi: "story" Bài Chòi with a backdrop and theater; Bài Chòi "class"/ "mat" takes place on the mat and the Bài Chòi playing festival. Among them, the Bài Chòi festival has the largest scale, taking place during Tet holidays in the village communal house yard or a large, flat areas of land, near residential areas and markets. Nine or eleven houses with thatched roofs, made of bamboo and cork, are erected in a U shape during a Bài Chòi celebration. Cái hut is the name of the hut at the bottom of the U. Leading the game are the "Hiệu", people who are knowledgeable and good at male singing, guest singing, Lý singing, etc, know many poems, and folk songs, know how to make jokes, and at the same time, respond quickly, sitting in the Cái hut. They draw a card from the tube, hold it up, and sing a riddle about the name of the card, called Hô Thai. Players buy 3 cards and sit on huts to wait. If all 3 cards match the cards named by "Hiệu", then you win, receive a reward, and end the game. Bình Định Bài Chòi Art has musical accompaniment from erhu, duet, trumpet, and war drum. The "Hiệu" when shouting or singing must follow the rhythm of the musical instruments, especially the war drums. Players can also compete in singing and responding with "Hiệu", creating cheerful laughter and optimism for participants.

Viet Nam 2017

Traditionally, the beginning day of the dum singing festival is also the day when the girls of Tong Phuc take off the crow-beak scarves that cover their faces throughout the year. Therefore, the spring dum singing festival is also known as the "Opening Face" festival. During these days, the boys and girls of Tong Phuc (formerly, the three communes of Phuc Le, Pha Le and Lap Le of Tong Phuc) often gather to sing dum at Phuc Le communal house, one of the big communal houses. “Đúm” is “Đám”- a type of folk song of love, metaphors and response sing during the early spring festivals. Each dum singing festival consists of 9 singing steps. First, when meeting each other, there are greeting and appointment songs, congratulatory songs, followed by love songs, riddle songs, poems, invitation songs, love songs, soldier songs, open letter songs, wedding songs... and finally the singing to go home. The performance space is associated with the village festival (January 4-10). Đúm Singing in Thuy Nguyen meets the needs of entertainment and wishes for a prosperous and happy life; is associated with village temple festivals and communal houses in Phuc Le, Pha Le and Lap Le communes, and communes where Dum singing is popular such as: Phuc Le pagoda, Thanh Hoang temple, Ben Do temple/Bach Dang temple (Phuc Le commune); Pha Le temple; Do Le temple (Tam Hung commune). Dum singing can also take place on the road, in the fields... Đúm Singing in Thuy Nguyen meets the needs of entertainment and wishes for a prosperous and happy life; singing has a tight content and the following forms: Single singing, row singing, festival singing. The pitch is a 3-tone scale: low, middle and high (La Re-Mi). The melody consists of two basic lines: Opening/Ending and main, narrow range, correct 5th interval. The tone is correct 4th interval. The lyrics are six-eight and six-eight-song-that-six-eight poetry, "singing" in regular and irregular rhythms. Each singing festival consists of 9 steps, without any strict order. When singing, the losing side will have to leave behind a "token". They have strict rules and regulations on selecting people and performing methods. Đúm Singing in Thuy Nguyen meets the needs of entertainment and wishes for a prosperous and happy life; contributes to shaping the cultural identity of the community, enriching the love for the homeland and country. Dum Singing helps listeners understand the glorious history of the nation, the cultural beauty, customs and practices of the land. With many typical values, Đúm Singing in Thuy Nguyen was included in the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2018 by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Puzzles are similar to riddles, but for developing a child’s intellectual capacity and testing the speculative thinking, only intended for youngsters. Puzzles are not expressed in poetic manners as riddles do. Puzzles are intended more likely for mathematical and informative problem solving. Puzzles are divided into three categories as numeric, logical and grammatical. Compared to the riddle, it is expressed by less poem and wise words. Its features are more connected to mathematics that trigger to do variable intellectual actions and recognition of things.

Aytiz is one unique form of oral expressions of Kazakh people to sing in pairs. According to its contents, aytiz is classified into basic aytiz, jar jar aytiz, aytiz of animals and humans, aytiz for this life and the life after death, riddle aytiz and aytiz for rituals and practices. Among these forms, the aytiz for rituals and practices is well developed and widely spread. Dombor (Kazakh traditional stringed instrument) players with good voices compete with each other in poetic manners. When pairs are singing Aytiz, they reflect good and bad personality of each other, and compliments the good things and criticize the failures in their community (bagh, soum, city and country) in a way of debating to compromise the opposite person.

A riddle is one of the small forms of oral folk art, in which the most striking, characteristic signs of objects or phenomena are given in an extremely compressed, figurative form. It represents a statement, question or phrase with double or veiled meaning, and aimed mainly to children.

Riddle, puzzle, folk story-question.

Riddle, a folklore genre, which consists of poetical question.

Âşıklık tradition is a multi faceted art form which includes the oral tradition, music and narrative telling. Performers of this art go through a years-long apprenticeship under the guidance of master âşıks. Âşıks have formed a distinguished style in Turkish Literature through the numerous literary works both in verse and prose; which has come to be acknowledged as the tradition “Âşık Style”. This tradition encompasses saz playing, âşık tunes, improvisations, repartee, and narrative telling with love as its main theme. Although there are various views about the origin and the formation of Âşıklık Tradition, it is widely accepted that the roots of the tradition lie in pre-Islamic and early Islamic Turkish epic narrators which are called “Ozan” or “Baksı”. Âşıklık Tradition emerged as a result of the changing political, social, cultural and economic conditions in the 16th century. Most renowned representatives of the tradition are Karacaoğlan, Köroğlu, Kazak Abdal, Pir Sultan Abdal, Ercişli Emrah, Gevheri, Âşık Ömer, Levni, Kul Himmet, Dadaloğlu, Dertli, Ruhsati, Bayburtlu Zihni, Âşık Şenlik, Âşık Sümmani, Âşık Mahsunî Şerif, Âşık Veysel, Davut Sulari, Âşık Murat Çobanoğlu ve Âşık Yaşar Reyhanî. Âşıklık tradition is transmitted from masters to apprentices through training and education similar to other oral, auditory, visual and material-based fields of Turkish culture. This transmission is completely actualized through oral channels. Âşıklık Tradition has a social side to it, in the sense some of the motifs of the poems and tales told by Âşıks are the problems of the society and âşıks themselves are perceived as enlightening and guiding figures. Poems of this tradition are written in syllabic meter, blending into a unified meaning in quatrains and gaining rhythm with rhymes. Works of Âşıks are combinations of music and poetry. Saz is an integral part of the tradition. Saz instruments played by âşıks are made of chestnut and mulberry trees. They generally have six, eight or twelve strings. Saz is usually played with a kind of plectrum called “tezene”. Âşıks of our times perform their arts in festivals, festivities, weddings, âşık coffee houses and Cem rituals. In traditional weddings, as important performing venues for âşıks, they not only entertain the public but also fulfill their teaching and guiding roles through anecdotes and tales. Âşıklık tradition is still very much alive in cities like Kars, Erzurum and Kayseri, where âşıks also perform in âşık coffee houses. Alevi-Bektaşi rituals are other gatherings where âşıks, known as “zakirs”, recite poems reflecting the beliefs and world-views of Alevi-Bektaşi philosophy. In addition to their usual performing venues, various activities and festivals organized by NGOs and local governments are emerging as new occasions for âşıks to perform their arts. Some of the most essential concepts in Âşıklık Tradition are mentioned below. Master/Apprentice Discipline: Âşıklık tradition is not only based on singing, reciting or playing an instrument but it is also a training-based tradition. The âşıks are, in general, trained by a master grasping the know-how of his master’s art, utterances and poems. Once they become masters in their arts, they start training apprentices on their own and thus the tradition is preserved. Drinking Bade: A youth destined to be an âşık would have a dream in which he is offered with a goblet of bade by a wise spiritual leader (Pir) or by his beloved. From that moment on, the young man wakes up divinely inspired to make verses, sing songs and recite poems. Choosing The Mâhlas (Pseudonym): Mâhlas is the pseudonym which the poet uses instead of his real name. The âşıks utter their pseudonyms in the final quatrain, which the âşıks call “introducing oneself” or “recognition”. Riddle: Riddle is a poetry genre in which the name of a person, being or thing is concealed. The tradition of singing the favorite riddles and unraveling those has been preserved up to date among the âşıks as a masterly skill. If there is no response for the riddle, the âşık himself unravels it. Repartee/Improvisation: Repartee is acknowledged as a cultural value, a figure of speech and pun as regards to oral tradition. This art has a function of teach and delight. During the challenging performance between the âşıks, beginning with a verbal dueling part, they compete with each other on the aptness, humor and beauty of the poetry and improvisation using alternating lines and improvising witty jibes in front of an audience. Leb-değmez: Verses with a needle between the lips: This is a style of reciting poems avoiding the consonants like “B, P, M, V, F”, pronounced by teeth and lips, to perform the masterly skills of the âşıks. The âşıks put a needle between their lips in that style of reciting poems. Folk Tales: Developed and preserved thanks to the master/apprentice discipline of the âşıks, also known as “narrators”, “Folk Tale” is a genre encompassing narrative style, poetry and music.

Turkey 2009