n festive atmosphere. If a family has more than one boy, they wait for an appropriate time to perform it altogether. Charity organizations make collective ceremonies for poor boys and orphans. For this occasion boys wear a special dress, which models the page boy costume of the sultan s army. The circumcision is an initiation, marking the time, when the boy can apprehend the religion. It is mostly performed between the age of 7 and 12. Prior sunnet, boys are raised together with girls, after sunnet, they join the men.a family determines a date for their feast, they invite relatives, friends and neighbours by sending invitation cards in advance. They prepare a highly decorated room for the boy with a nice bed and many colourful decorative things. Boys should also wear special costumes for this feast; a suit, a cape, a sceptre and a special hat with "Masallah", meaning "God preserve him", written on it.the morning of the feast, the children of guests are all taken for a tour around in a big convoy with the boy either on horseback, horse carts, or automobiles. This convoy is also followed by musicians playing the drums and the clarinet.they come back, the boy wears a loose long white dress and, is circumcised by the surgeon while somebody holds him. This person who holds is called kirve, and has to be somebody close to the boy. In the Eastern parts of Anatolia, this is the first contact of a relationship, which will continue for lifetime. He will play an active role in the boy's life and have nearly equal rights with the father in decisions. This is similar to a godfather in Christianity. Although there is no blood relation to his kirve, the boy will not even be allowed to marry his kirve's daughter in order not to have incest because he is considered to have become somebody from the family.the circumcision, the boy is in pain and has to be kept busy with music, lots of jokes or some other animation. Presents also are given at this time to help him forget his pains. In the meantime words from the Koran are recited and guests are taken to tables for the feast meal which is a special one laid with different food changing from region to region. After a few days the boy recovers and festivities end., There is a small group of people who prefer their children to be circumcised in hospitals while they are in hospital after birth, whereby ignoring the traditional side.
. Burial
the ages in Anatolia, many different rituals regarding death and burial have been applied. Types of graves have differed.somebody dies, the corpse is laid on a bed in a separate room; the head facing the direction of Mecca, eyelids closed, the big toes are tied to each other and the two arms rest on both sides next to the body. Burial has to take place as soon as possible during the daytime. If somebody dies in the late afternoon, he is buried the next day. The corp...
