IN TURKISH SOCIETY: AN ANALYSIS ON THE SOCIAL
PHENOMENON OF “AKTARS”
Türk Toplumunda Bitki Kültürünün Yeniden Canlanması:
Aktar Fenomeni Üzerine Bir İnceleme
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Göknur BOSTANCI EGE*
Pelin ÖNDER EROL**
ABST RACT
The use of herbs has very long history in a variety of cultures, including Turkish culture, for vari-ous purposes such as the practices in herbal medicine, cosmetics, witchery or religivari-ous rituals. However the practices involving the use of herbs necessitate profound knowledge about herbs. This need has been traditionally fulfilled by the herbalists who are called as aktars in Turkish culture. It is recently observed that there is an increase in consultation to aktars and the use of herbs in Turkey. This can be considered as a reflection of current worldwide resurgence of herbal culture which is mostly related to use of herbs for health and cosmetics. Along with this worldwide trend, economic reasons, preference for the natural over the processed, seeking remedies for ailments give rise to an extensive growth in use of aktar products.
In this paper Giddens’ “Modernity Theory” will form the theoretical framework so as to analyze the motives of popularization of aktars and herbal culture through a field research conducted in Izmir. This paper is an outcome of a motivation to develop an understanding the social and cultural reasons of resurgence of herbal culture in Turkish society through analyzing the information gathered from
aktars and their potential customers. Key Words
Aktar, Ethnobotany, Herbal Culture, Sociology of Health, Folk Medicine ÖZ
Bitkilerin, Türk kültürünün de içerisinde yer aldığı çok çeşitli kültürlerde bitkisel tıp, kozme-tik, büyücülük ya da dinsel ritüeller gibi çeşitli amaçlarla kullanılması uzun bir geçmişe sahiptir. Bununla birlikte bitkilerin kullanıldığı her türden uygulama, bitkilerle ilgili derin bir bilgi birikimi gerektirmektedir. Böylesi bir gereksinim geleneksel olarak Türk kültüründe aktar olarak adlandırılan bitki uzmanlarınca karşılanmaktadır. Son zamanlarda Türkiye’de aktarlara başvuruda ve bitki kul-lanımında bir artış olduğu gözlenmektedir. Bu durum, özellikle bitkilerin sağlık ve kozmetik amaçlı kullanılmasıyla ilişkili olarak bitki kültürünün dünya çapındaki mevcut yeniden canlanmasının bir yansıması olarak değerlendirilebilir. Dünya çapındaki bu eğilimin yanı sıra, ekonomik nedenler, doğal olanın işlenmiş olana tercih edilmesi, rahatsızlıklara çare arama gibi nedenler aktar ürünlerinin yay-gın kullanımını daha da arttırmaktadır.
Bu makalede, aktarların ve bitki kültürünün popülerleşmesinin nedenleri İzmir’de yürütülmüş olan bir alan araştırması üzerinden ele alınırken Giddens’ın “Modernlik Kuramı” teorik çerçeveyi oluş-turacaktır. Bu makale, aktarlar ve onların potansiyel müşterilerinden elde edilmiş olan bilgiler yoluyla Türk toplumunda bitki kültürünün yeniden canlanmasının sosyal ve kültürel nedenlerine ilişkin bir kavrayış geliştirme isteğinin bir sonucudur.
Anah tar Kelimeler
Aktar, Etnobotanik, Bitki Kültürü, Sağlık Sosyolojisi, Halk Tıbbı
* Ege University, Department of Sociology. goknur.ege@ege.edu.tr (The author contributed whole process of writing the paper)
** Ege University, Department of Sociology. pelin.erol@ege.edu.tr (The author contributed whole process of writing the paper)
Introduction
Plants have always held vital im-portance in human life. The roots, stems, leafs, fruits, seeds and oils of plants have been used for human nutrition and tex-tile. The uses of herbs in herbal medicine, cosmetics, witchery and religious rituals have a very long history, culminating as herbal culture. Turkey has very rich plant diversity since it is situated in a geographical area which enjoys three different climates: Mediterranean, Con-tinental and Oceanic (Başer, 2009: 443). In addition, various human communi-ties have settled here and brought their unique cultures and customs. Therefore the diversity of culture and flora found in Turkey has lead to the vast richness of herbal culture in this region.
The practices involving the uses of plants necessitate profound knowledge about herbs. The herbalists, who are called as aktars in Turkish culture, have traditionally fulfilled this need. Our mo-tivation in this research on aktars is to make a contribution to such a field which is of great importance in terms of health, culture and society.
Aktars
In current use of the word, aktar is a person who sells various forms of natural products primarily obtained from herbs, and occasionally from other sources such as animals and minerals. In widely ac-cepted etymology of the term, aktar originates from the word attar which is derived from the word “ıtır” referring redolence and aromatic plants.
In Arabic, attar refers to a person who sells fragrant essential oils; howev-er in Turkish, the word attar has turned into “aktar” as a result of the dissimila-tion in the language (Eren, 1999; Tietze, 2002). According to another etymological explanation which connects the term to
the health care, aktar is originated from “akkar” meaning “the source of reme-dies”. Ünver (1966) claims that the term comes from the word “akakir” which means “drog”.
Photograph by the authors with permission of the aktar
Photograph by the authors with permission of the aktar
Aktars have operated under the roof
of a guild in the Ottoman period. As it is the case today, apprentices are recruited by their masters and only are allowed to open aktar shops at given locations (Ün-ver, 1966). During that period tradition-al hetradition-alth practitioners and aktars met the medicinal needs of the people. The existence of 492 aktars in comparison with 52 pharmacies in Istanbul in 1844 (Ünver, 1946 as cited in Baytop, 1984) is an evidence to how important aktars were in Turkish folk medicine. However, historically aktars have been subject to objection by medical practitioners.
cen-tury, Christian pharmacists demanded that the government prohibit aktar shops in “Mısır Çarşısı”, the main spice bazaar in Istanbul, accusing them for stagnation in their business. However, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Health obstructed attempts to ban aktar shops. During the same period a small number of aktars were prohibited en-tirely from conducting their business in Turkey on the grounds of misleading pa-tients. (Ünver, 1966).
Photograph by the authors with permission of the aktar More recently, in 1985 the Ministry of Health published a regulation requir-ing all aktars, spice-sellers and similar shopkeepers to register with the Minis-try of Health and obtain special permis-sion to open new shops. Moreover, the regulation included a list of materials banned from sale in these shops. Prior to this, there were no regulations on the sale of aktar products in Turkey. Cur-rently a declaration from the Ministry of Health is spreading throughout the me-dia, indicating that the existing regula-tion is being revised. Due to some possi-ble harmful effects of certain products on human health, it has recently appeared in the news that the list of the banned aktar products will be extended. The ob-jections against aktars past and present come from similar grounds. Neverthe-less, Turkish people have continued to
use herbal cures for complaints ranging from those regarding cosmetics to chron-ic and serious illnesses.
Ethnobotany
The relationship between nature and humanity is inherently cultural. In fact the definition of culture comes from cultivating the land. However, “The very
need for culture suggests that there is something lacking in nature” (Eagleton,
2000:6). What lacks in the nature is it does not offer a guide for the uses of its resources. Ethnobotany is “a study of how
people of particular cultures and regions make use of the plants in their local en-vironments. These uses can include as food, medicine, fuel, shelter, and in many cultures, in religious ceremonies.” (Young,
2007: 4). The ethnobotanical knowledge of the land is gained through trial and error and bequeathed as a legacy to the younger generations. Therefore, inves-tigations regarding the practices of both indigenous and modern societies are in-cluded in the field of ethnobotany.
The history of widespread use of herbs and other materials for medicinal practices traces back to ancient times in Turkey. Anatolia is known as the region where the basis of pharmacology is es-tablished. The basis for the long history of herbal culture in Turkey comes from the Anatolians having benefited from plants for 50.000 years (Baytop, 1984). Dioskurides, who is widely accepted as the founder of pharmacology and botany, was born in the 1st century A.C. in Anaz-arbus, a town within the boundaries of modern Turkey (Büyüknisan, 2011). He authored Peri Hyles İatrikes in five vol-umes, originally written in Greek and later translated into Latin and renamed De Materia Medica (Baytop, 1984). His employment in the Roman army allowed him to travel to many regions and learn
a wide variety of natural medicinal ma-terials and practices (Borzelleca, 2001). His writings reached a large audience in a very early period as a result of De Ma-teria Medica being translated into sev-eral different languages (Büyüknisan, 2011). Even today it is “still a very well known European document on the use of herbs in medicine” (Spainhour, 2005: 13). The plants he referred to in his book were mostly the ones grown in Anatolia (Faydaoğlu et al., 2011). Another impor-tant figure in the history of pharmacy is Galen (A.D. 130-200) of Pergamon. He is well known for his several formulations containing numerous ingredients (Spain-hour, 2005: 13). Both historical figures of pharmacy have lived in Anatolia.
Not surprisingly, a famous Turkish mythos of Lokman Hekim from Anatolia, plays an important role in Turkish folk medicine. According to the mythos, Lok-man Hekim was able to understand the language of the plants, and learned reci-pes to cure all ailments by listening to the plants while they were speaking to each other. He even learned a formula for im-mortality, but the formula was thrown into a river by the wind and lost forever.
Modernity Theory in Analyzing the Resurgence of Herbal Culture
Today, modern societies are aban-doning conventionality and traditional patterns of social organisations. Howev-er, since the modernity has some inher-ent quandaries, the traditional pursuits still remain important. “Modernity is a
post-traditional order, but not one in which the sureties of tradition and habit have been replaced by the certitude of ra-tional knowledge” (Giddens, 1991: 2-3).
Actually, the traditional and the modern are interpenetrated in most Turkish so-cial institutions. In these terms, a closer look at the institution of healthcare and
health-seeking behaviours are vital to the scope of this study.
In the 19th century, positivism was presumed to be an essential problem solver and modernity regarded as the peak where humankind ever reach. However, in a short period of time the public realized that modernity was pro-ducing more problems than it claimed to solve. For instance, in developed coun-tries life expectancy increased due to improvements in health care facilities. Paradoxically, this resulted in a higher prevalence of chronic illnesses such as cancer and heart diseases, which gener-ally occur later in life.
According to Giddens (1991: 19-20) although people living in modern times, especially in industrialized countries, be-come safe to the risks of the pre-modern era, modern people encounter new risks and dangers. Giddens states “modernity
is inherently prone to crises, on many lev-els” (Giddens, 1991: 184). As a result of
this crises-prone nature of modernity, in-dividuals in modern society develop con-ventional solutions to modern problems. According to WHO (2008), in the under-developed and developing world 80% of people rely on traditional medicine, and in the developed world people who apply to the traditional medicine at least once in their lifetime constitute 70% to 80% of its total population. Traditional medi-cine plays an important role in Turkish culture which involves both conventional and modern elements.
Traditional/herbal medicine, which is devalued in modernity, regained its reputation for set of reasons. First, the dynamics of modern life has brought stress to human lives that modern medi-cine is unable to remedy. According to Schwartz (2004:355), chronic conditions related to work, family and care giving responsibilities, living in a high-crime
neighbourhood and poverty are all as-sociated with increased reports of stress; all of which can be traced to perils of modern life. Second, the side effects of modern synthetic drugs are increasingly raised in public debate through the me-dia, which cause strong reverberations in the public eye. Because of the poten-tially harmful side effects, many Turkish people consult aktars to purchase prod-ucts that they think are natural and po-tentially less destructive to their health. Third, distrust in the healthcare system can lead to an increase in the consulta-tion of aktars. People are more likely to apply traditional medicine in societies where social security is not guaranteed, which is closely associated with econom-ic side of health seeking behaviours. Last but not least, people’s suspicions about the diagnosis and treatments of the mod-ern practitioners lead them to partly ac-credit the non-medical knowledge gained by the hearsays.
Giddens (1991: 121) argues that people who are vacillated between the orthodox and alternative medicine may withdraw trust from all medical prac-tices. Thus, it is not surprising that they tend to consult traditional medicine only when there is no other way out. On a larger scale, all of these are related to some kind of insecurity in the health-care system. In fact, “the nature of
mod-ern institutions is deeply bound up with the mechanisms of trust in abstract sys-tems, especially trust in expert systems”
(Giddens, 1990: 83). In societies where the modern healthcare system does not inspire trust to the public, the consulta-tion of alternative providers of medicine such as aktars is more widespread. All of these factors have lead to a worldwide “back to nature” movement that can be explained through Giddensian theory of modernity. He defines security through
the notion of risk which closely associ-ated with the modern period. Therefore his theory puts a good deal of emphasis on risk and security in modernity which contributes to our analysis of the social phenomenon of aktars
The correlation of “rural” and “na-ture” is attributed to the opposition be-tween the natural world and the urban life. As a result of this opposition, urban life is generally associated with the un-natural. Moreover, rural life and tra-ditionalistic practices are intertwined; people can easily acquire pure forms of plants, animal products and minerals re-quired in traditional medicine. Alterna-tively, modern urban life has a structure that is not only isolated from nature, but also challenges tradition on a funda-mental level. However, this disconnec-tion limits access to natural materials and the wealth of knowledge about the benefits of those natural materials. So aktars fill the role of providing both the natural products and traditional knowl-edge, and thus aktars make traditional medicine readily available to urban ar-eas. Although the materials being sold in the stores are commercialized, aktars are seen as the representatives of tradi-tional healers of the past.
Field Research
This study is drawn upon field re-search in which the qualitative data was gathered through in-depth interviews with 7 experienced aktars who run aktar shops in Izmir, and the quantitative data was gathered through structured inter-views conducted with a sample of 384 people living in Izmir who are potential consumers of herbal products.
At first aktars were reluctant to speak about some topics, but as the in-terviews progressed, they became more open to sharing their opinions. All the interviewees affirmed to have learned
the job through apprenticeship and they have no formal education in the profes-sion. However, when asked whether they would participate in training courses for aktars if they were available, all but one responded positively. All the aktars in-terviewed have started to work at very young ages and have long experience in the job. The profession is largely passed down from family members. One of the interviewees1 stated that this has been his family profession for almost 150 years and this family tradition is main-tained through three generations.
“This is my grandfather’s job. It passed to me from my father and grand-father. I’m 53 years old and have been working in this job since I’ was 12 years old. My son also worked with me for a while, but now he’s working for a com-pany. Later I’m planning to pass the job to him, because I’ve very special recipes that my family has developed.”
All the aktars interviewed observed that their customers not only come to purchase products, but also for consult-ing them about what materials to use and how to use them to remedy their ailments. Again, all the interviewees claimed that over the last 5 years there is a considerable increase in the number of people consulting them. They believe that this is largely the result of an increase in the prevalence of the benefits of herbal and natural materials in mass media.
Although the resurgence of herbal culture is mostly related to cosmetics and healthcare, the interviews with ak-tars revealed that consulting an aktar for witchery is still prevalent. There are several examples of uses for witchery, but the most common uses are “sorcery of separation” and “amulet of nazar”. Lard and pork are considered as taboo foods in Islamic cultures such as Turkey. Nevertheless, some people resort to
ak-tars in order to buy lard for the separa-tion of a couple, or a husband and wife by bewitching one of them. Harmal seeds are used as an amulet for protection from nazar, or evil eye, as it is believed evil looks can harm someone vulnerable.
On the other hand the quantitative part of the research is drawn upon struc-tured interviews which provide general-ized and representative data on the side of potential consumers of aktar products. The respondents were interviewed be-tween 10/15/2011 and 12/18/2011. The sample size was calculated by using a small sampling technique. The sample was chosen by the method of quota sam-pling. The population is segmented into subsets based on demographic variables of age and sex.
Demographics
The youngest respondent was 18 and the oldest was 89 years old. Because the age was one of the variables the quota sampling stratification is based on, the distribution of each age group is reflected to the sample as it is. The age distribution is shown in Table 1; 23.7% of the population is aged 55 or older. The mean age of the sample is nearly 42.
Table 1: Age Age Count % 18-24 59 15,4 25-34 90 23,4 35-44 76 19,8 45-54 68 17,7 55-64 49 12,8 65+ 42 10,9 TOTAL 384 100,0 Minimum 18 Mean 42,23 Maximum 89 Std. Deviation 16,12 8
Because the research universe only covers the adults, interviews are con-ducted among a sample of people 18 and
older. Turkey has very young population compared to most of European countries. People aged less than 18 years old, which represent a large segment of the popu-lation, are not covered in the research universe or in the sample. Thus, the ba-sic measures of the sample do not reflect exactly those of the population. Since the sex which is another variable the sub-sets of quota sampling are based on, that distributes between sexes half and half, reflected to the sample as it is.
Education levels in Turkey were be-low EU standards but have changed over the last decades. As seen in the Table 2, 74.7% of the sample is at least graduated from high school. Educational attain-ment for all segattain-ments of population had been increasingly brought under control since the early periods of the Republic. Therefore, the incline of the distribution towards higher levels of education is a clear representation of this trend.
.Table 2: Education Education level Count % None 5 1,3 Elemantary 56 14,6 Secondary 36 9,4 High School 120 31,2 Undergraduate 149 38,8 Graduate 18 4,7 TOTAL 384 100,0 Minimum 1 Mean 5,0 4 Maximum 6 Std. Deviation 1,2 09
Consuming and Purchasing Behaviours
It’s possible to determine from the Figure 1 how Turkish people tend to consume aktar products and how im-portant role aktars are playing for their lives. 88.4% of the respondents are con-suming aktar products.
Almost every Turkish person has had at least one traditional healing expe-rience in his/her lifetime. Before consult-ing a doctor, traditional healconsult-ing methods are still employed for minor health com-plaints such as cold, backaches, head-aches, stomachaches etc.
Figure 1: Consuming Aktar Products (%) 25,8% 39,6% 9,6% 25,0% Never Rarely Sometimes Often
Figure 2: Purchasing from Aktars (%)
20,8% 79,2%
Yes No
The potential consumers were asked if they purchased products from an aktar, the majority (79.2%) responded positively (see Figure 2). Turkish people still trust aktars in spite of all packaged, well controlled, herbal products with la-bels including expiration dates, and sold in supermarkets or pharmacies. We com-pared consuming and purchasing behav-iours of respondents and discovered that 11.2% consume aktar products, but they do not purchase directly from aktars, but from markets or rely on a family member purchasing on their behalf.
We compared the consuming and purchasing behaviours of males and females; found that women are more likely to consume and to purchase
Figure 3: Sex/ Consuming Aktar Products(%) 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Fem ale 6,2 23,4 40,6 29,7 Male 13,0 28,1 38,5 20,3
Never Rarely Som etim es Often
Figure 4: Sex/Purchasing from Aktars (%)
88,0 70,3
Male Female
The distribution of purchasing products from aktars is statistically different for different sexes. X2=18,253 (df=1, N=384), p<.05. 0 cells (0.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 40.00.
Figure 5: Age/Purchasing from Aktars (%)
73,3 75,5 92,9 81,6 61 94,1 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+ 60 70 80 90 100 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
There are four possible reasons: First, women use herbs and oils for cosmetic purposes while men are less interested in cosmetics. Second, TV programs specifically targeted to wom-en wom-encourage the currwom-ent resurgwom-ence of herb use. Third, in Turkish society women commonly fill the caregiver role, and responsible for looking after children, elderly and sick in the fam-ily. Fourth, generally women cook for the family and as would be expected, women generally decide about what to eat and drink, as well as where to buy the ingredients.
Table 3: Age/Consuming Aktar Products
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Total
18-24 16,9 40,7 28,8 13,6 100 25-34 11,1 28,9 38,9 21,1 100 35-44 9,2 21,1 46,1 23,7 100 45-54 5,9 13,2 47,1 33,8 100 55-64 10,2 32,7 34,7 22,4 100 65+ 2,4 19,0 38,1 40,5 100
It would be expected that the el-derly are more likely to consume ak-tar products than younger individuals. However, no significant differences in the consuming and purchasing behav-iours of the various age groups were observed.
Figure 6: Education/Purchasing Aktar Products (%) 92,9 77,2 83,3 74,2 60 83,3 None Elem entary Secondar y High S chool Under - graduat e Grad uate 60 70 80 90 100
None Elementary Secondary High School
Under-graduate
Furthermore, all age groups were observed to have high consuming and purchasing rates, with the exception of the youngest age group, which have slightly lower rates of purchasing from aktars
Table 4: Education/Consuming Aktar Products Never Rarely Sometimes Often Total
None 0,0 20,0 20,0 60,0 100 Elementary 5,4 12,5 50,0 32,1 100 Secondary 8,3 27,8 38,9 25,0 100 High School 15,0 23,3 36,7 25,0 100 Undergraduate 8,1 32,2 37,6 22,1 100 Graduate 5,6 27,8 50,0 16,7 100 It is generally thought that well educated people are less likely to use traditional medicine because they are educated in scientific knowledge and modern medicine. And it is expected that as an individual’s education level increases, the rate of consumption of aktar products decrease.
Surprisingly, there was no corre-lation between education and consum-ing/purchasing behaviours related to the aktar products, which was an un-expected consequence.
Consumption Patterns
According to the data, the ma-jority of the participants (89.9%) con-sume at least 3 and 2 out of 3 concon-sume more than 9 separate aktar products (64.1%). These findings explain the re-cent increase in the demand for herbal materials.
Table 5: Number of products
Number Count % 1-2 35 9,1 3-4 45 11,7 5-6 39 10,2 7-8 19 4,9 9+ 246 64,1 Total 384 100,0 *Starting from here, for the variables given in following figures and tables,.respondents told to feel free to give multiple answers. Thus the total counts are not equal to n=384
Photograph by the authors with permission of the aktar There was a wide range of aktar products consumed by the interview-ees. The variety of aktar products is reflected in the responses for which specific aktar products the partici-pants use on a regular basis.
There are approximately 500 dif-ferent products sold in a typical aktar shop, and after grouping some prod-ucts as one item (for instance, group-ing vinegars together), the list of aktar products used by the participants to-talled 167. and choices of 384 respon-dents totalled 1975.
Oils/Essential oils Latin
Count Turkish English Herb Drog
38 Badem yağı Almond oil Amygdalus communis Amygdalae Oleum 17 Kayısı (çekirdeği)yağı Apricot (seed) oil Armeniaca vulgaris Armeniacae Oleum 13 Zeytinyağı Olive oil Olea europaea Olivarum Oleum 12 Susam yağı Sesame oil Sesamum indicum Sesami Indici Oleum 9 Elma yağı Apple seed oil Malus communis Malui Communi Oleum 8 Lavanta yağı Lavender oil Lavandula angustifolia Lavandulae Aetheroleum 7 Kekikyağı Oregano oil Origanum vulgare, Origanum onite,
Origanum heracleoticum
Origane Aetheroleum 7 Sarımsak yağı Garlic oil Allium sativum Allii Aetheroleum 6 Kantaron yağı St. Jon's worth oil Hypericum perforatum (Proccessed With Olive Oil) Hypericum Folium 6 Nane yağı Mint oil Mentha piperita Menthae Aetheroleum 5 Çörekotu yağı Nigella seed oil Nigella sativa Nigellae Sativae Oleum 4 Ayçiçeği yağı Sunflower oil Helianthus annuus Helianthi Annui Oleum 4 Biberiye yağı Rosemary oil Rosmarinus officinalis Rosmarini Aetheroleum 4 Fındık yağı Hazelnut oi Corylus avellana Corylli Avellani Oleum 4 Havuç yağı Carrot (seed) oil Daucus carota ssp. Sativus Dauci Caroti Aetheroleum 4 Karanfil yağı Clove oil Syzygium aromaticum Syzygii Aetheroleum 4 Portakal yağı Orange oil Citrus sinensis Citri Sinensisi Aetheroleum 3 Gül yağı Rose oil Rosa damascena Rose Aetheroleum 3 Yasemin yağı Jasmine oil Jasminum officinale Jasmini Aetheroleum 2 Ceviz yağı Walnut oil Juglans regia Juglandis Oregiae Nucus Oleum 2 Gliserin Glycerin Glycerine Obtained By Saponification Of Fats And Oils 2 Isırgan otu yağı Nettle oil Urtica pilulifera Urticae Oleum 2 Menekşe yağı Violet oil Viola odorata Violae Odoratae Aetheroleum 1 Adaçayı yağı Sage oil Salvia triloba, Salvia officinalis Salviae Aetheroleum 1 Ahududu yağı Raspberry (seed) oil Rubus idaeus Rubii Idaei Oleum 1 (Argan tree is endemic Argan yağı
to Morocco)
Argan oil Argania spinosa Arganiae Oleum 1 Avokado yağı Avocado oil Persea americana Perseae Americanae Oleum 1 Buğday yağı Wheat oil Triticum astivum Tritici Oleum 1 Çilek yağı Strawberry oil Fragaria vesca Fragariae Vescae Aetheroleum 1 Fesleğen yağı Basil oil Ocimum basilicum Acimi Basilici Aetheroleum 1 Funda yağı Heather essential oil Calluna vulgaris Callunae Aetheroleum 1 Greyfurt yağı Grapefruit oil Citrus paradisi Citri Paradisii Aetheroleum 1 Hintyağı Castor oil Ricinus communis Ricini Oleum 1 Jojoba yağı Jojoba oil Simmondsia chinensis Simmondsiae Oleum 1 Kakao yağı Cacao oil Theobroma cacao Cacao Oleum 1 Kanola yağı Canola oil/ Brassica napus ssp. Oleifera Napi Oleum 1 Melisa yağı Balm oil Melissa officinalis Meliisae Aetheroleum 1 Papatya yağı Chamomile oil Matricaria chamomilla Chamomille Aetheroleum 1 Soya yağı Soybean oil Glycine max Glycinii Oleum 1 Zencefil yağı Ginger oil Zingiber officinale Zingiberis Aetheroleum
Many essential oils are main resources for obtaining fragrances, cosmetic preparations and for aromatherapy. However some of the essential oils sold in
ak-tars are not derived from herbs. Those contain synthetically produced aromas. For
obtained from apple; Salviae trilobae oleum is an essential oil which is obtained from Salvia triloba L. through water vapor distillation method. The reason why it is called as “apple oil” is that there are apple-like galls on the branches of some species of Salvia triloba), orange oil or violet oil are the aktar products that could also be viewed with suspicion regarding their naturalness. Because those particu-lar natural resources contain little to none of the essential oils (Baytop1984), it is difficult and expensive to produce essential oils from them, even in small amounts.
Herbal Waters Latin
Count Turkish English Herb Drog
33 Kekik suyu Oregano water Origanum onites, Origanum vulgare, Origanum heracleoticum
Origani Aqua 9 Gülsuyu Rose water Rosa damascena Rose Aqua 3 Ceviz suyu Walnut water Juglans regia Juglandis Oregiae Nucus Aqua 2 Papatya suyu Chamomile water Matricaria chamomilla Chaomillae Aqua 1 Bodur Mahmut suyu Wall germander Teucrium Chamaedrys Teucrii Chamaedrysii Aqua 1 Kapari suyu Caper water Capparis spinosa Capparii Aqua 1 Kuşdili suyu(biberiye
suyu) Rosemary water Rosmarinus officinalis Rosmarini Aqua 1 Maydanoz suyu Parsley water Petroselinum crispum Petrocelini Aqua 1 Nane suyu Mint water Metha piperita Menthae Piperitae Aqua 1 Zencefil suyu Ginger water Zingiber officinale Zingiberis Aqua 1 Karabaş suyu
(Karabaş otu endemic to Turkey)
“Karabaş otu” water Lavandula stoechas ssp stoechas, lavandula stoechas ssp cariensis
Lavadulae Stoechas Aqua
Along with the various oils/essential oils, different kinds of herbal waters are used in aromatherapy. Those waters sold in bottles for oral or topical uses. Al-though it has long been used traditionally for the treatment of gastrointestinal dis-eases, recently oregano water became vastly popular herb water in order to relieve diabetes, obtain antioxidant effects and strengthen the immune system. Rose and chamomile waters are also considered as antioxidant and consumed by the people who are anxious about the effects of several chemicals used in food and medicines and believe antioxidants would cleanse their bodies from all harmful substances.
Herb seeds Latin
Count Turkish English Herb Drog
49 Keten tohumu Linseed Linum usitatissimum Lini Semen 30 Çörekotu Nigella seeds Nigella sativa Nigellae Semen 14 Susam Sesame Sesamum indicum Sesami Semen 3 Mahlep Mahalep Prunus mahaleb Pruni Mahalep Semen 3 Muskat Nutmeg Myristica fragrans Myristicae Semen 2 Çam fıstığı Pine nut Pinus pinea Pinearum Semen 2 Haşhaş Poppy seeds Papaver somniferum Papaveris Semen 2 Kahve Coffee Coffea arabica Coffeae Semen 2 Kantaron tohumu St. Jon's worth seeds Hypericum perforatum Hyperici Perforati Semen 2 Üzerlik tohumu Harmal seeds Peganum harmala Pagani Harmalae Semen 1 Hardal tohumu Mustard seeds Sinapis alba Sinapis Albae Semen 1 Lavanta tohumu Lavender seeds Lavandula angustifolia Lavandulae Semen 1 Üzüm çekirdeği Grape seeds Vitis vinifera Vitis Minuta Semen
There are plenty of herb seeds that have long been used by people for medical or cosmet-ic purposes or flavouring foods. Sesame, nige-lla seeds, poppy seeds, mahalep are important ingredients in traditional Turkish pastry. The wide use of linseeds for weight losing remedies can be assessed as a new trend fostered by the mass media. Aktars we interviewed remarked that the expanding use of grape seeds as anti-oxidant and for prevention from cancer is an-other popular trend, though it did not get high rating from participants.
Leafs/herbs Latin
Count Turkish English Herb Drog
184 Ihlamur Linden Tilia cordata, Tilia argentea, Tilia platyphllos,
Tilia rubra
Tillia Flos Cum Folium
140 Adaçayı Sage Salvia triloba,
Salvia officinalis Salvia Folium
97 Nane Mint Mentha piperita Menthae Folium 88 Kekik Oregano Origanum onites,
Origanum vulgare, Origanum heracleoticum
Origani Folium 24 Yeşil çay Green tea Camellia sinensis Camelliae Folium 15 Melisa Balm Melissa officinalis Meliisae Folium 15 Sinameki Senna Cassia angustifolia,
Cassia acutifolia Sennae Folium
12 Kantaron St. Jon's worth Hypericum perforatum Hyperici Herba 12 Mercanköşk Marjoram Origanum majorana Ariganum Majorana Folium 11 Fesleğen Basil Ocimum basilicum Ocimi Folium 9 Defneyaprağı Laurel leaf Laurus nobilis Lauri Folium 8 Biberiye Rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis Rosmarini Folium 7 Ekinezya Purple Coneflower Echinacea purpurea Echinaceae Purpureae Herba 7 Karabaş otu
(Endemic to Turkey) Karabaş otu Lavandula stoechas ssp stoechas, lavandula stoechas ssp cariensis
Lavadulae Stoechas Herba 6 Kına Henna Lawsonia inermis Lawsoniae Folium 4 Isırgan otu Nettle Urtica dioica, urtica urens Urticae Folium 4 Mate Yerba mate leaf Ilex paraguariensis Ilex Paraguariensis Folium 3 Civanperçemi Yarrow Achillea millefolium Millefolii Herba 2 Avokado yaprağı Avocado leafs Persea americana Perseiae Americanae Folium 2 Okaliptüs yaprağı Eucalyptus Eucalyptus globulus Eucalipti Folium 1 Altın otu Miltwaste Ceterach officirum Ceterachi Herba 1 At kuyruğu Horsetail Equisetum arvense Equiseti Herba 1 Deve dikeni Milk thistle Slybum marianum Cardui Mariae Herba 1 Ebegümeci Mallow Malva silvestris Malvae Folium 1 Funda Heather Calluna vulgaris Callunae Folium
1 Itır otu Itır
(Known as in Turkish) odoratisimum Pelargonium Pelargonii Odoratisimi Folium Photograph by the authors with permission of the aktar
The use of dried plant leafs and herbs as herbal teas can be traced back very early periods in human history. Herbal teas brewed from linden and sage leafs are most popular traditional Turkish health drinks. Many cures involve dried herbs are prepared in the same way as herbal teas. Some of herbal leafs, such as mint and oregano, are fragmented into little pieces and used as spices. Various herbs and leafs are harvested, dried and then stored for several uses and to be sold in aktar shops.
Inflorescence Latin
Count Turkish English Herb Drog
43 Papatya Chamomile Matricaria chamomilla Chamomille Flos
32 Karanfil Clove Syzygium aromaticum Syzygii Flos
8 Lavanta Lavender Lavandula angustifolia Lavandule Flos
6 Hatmi Marshmallow Althaea officinalis Altheae Flos
4 Safran Saffron Crocus sativus Croci Stigmata
3 Hibiskus Roselle Hibiscus subdarifa Hibisci Flos
2 Narçiçeği Pomegranate flower Punica granatum Granati Flores
1 Aynısefa otu Calendula Calendula officinalis Calendulae Flos
Fruits Latin
Count Turkish English Herb Drog
108 Karabiber Black pepper Piper nigrum Piperis Nigri Fructus 100 Kimyon Cumin Cuminum cyminum,
Carrum carvi Cumini Fructus, Carvi Fructus 72 Kırmızıbiber Red pepper Capsicum annuum Capsici Annii Fructus 29 Kuşburnu Rosehip Rosa canina Cynosbati Fructus 20 Rezene Fennel Foeniculum vulgare Foeniculi Fructus 17 Sumak Sumach Rhus coriaria Rhois Coriariae Fructus 9 Yenibahar Allspice Pimenta officinalis Pimentae Fructus 7 Mısır püskülü Corn tassel Zea mays Maydis Stilus 6 Keçiboynuzu Carob Ceratonia siliqua Ceratoniae Fructus 5 Hindistan cevizi Coconut Cocos nucifera Cocos Niciferae Fructus 4 Anason Anise Pimpinella anisum Anisi Fructus 4 Isırgan otu tohumu Nettle Urtica pilulifera Urticae Piluliferae Fructus 4 Kişniş Coriander Coriandrum sativum Coriadri Fructus 4 Kudret narı Bitter melon Momordica charantia Mamordice Charantiae Fructus 2 Altın çilek Inca berry Physalis Peruviana Physalis Peruviani Fructus 2 Hünnap Jujube Ziziphus jujuba Jujubae Fructus 2 Kakule Cardamom Eletteria cardamomum Cardamomi Fructus 2 Karahalile Myrabolon Terminalia chebula Terminaliae Chebulae Fructus 2 Yaban mersini Blueberry Vaccinium myrtillus Vaccinii Myrtilli Fructus 1 Ahududu Raspberry Rubus idaeus Rubii Idaei Fructus 1 Beyaz biber White pepper Piper album Piperis Albi Fructus 1 Gilâburu Water elder fruit Viburnum opulus Viburni Opuli Fructus 1 Hayıt meyvesi Chaste Tree fruit Vitex agnus castus Agni Casti Fructus
Roots Latin
Count Turkish English Herb Drog
82 Zencefil Ginger Zingiber officinale Zingiberis Rizona 20 Zerdeçal Turmeric Curcuma longa Curcumae Longae Rizoma 5 Meyankökü Licorice Glycyrrhiza glabra Liquiritiae Radix 4 Havlıcan Galangal Alpinia officinarum Galange Rizoma 3 Salep Salep root Orchis anatolica, orchis
italica, orchis mascula, orchis purpurea
Tuber Salep 2 Karahindiba Dandelion Taraxacum officinale Taraxaci Radix 1 Karacaotu Christmas rose-root Helleborus orientalis Hellebori Arientalis Radix
Several parts of herbs including inflorescence, fruits and roots have had nu-merous uses in traditional medicine as well. For example, chamomile flowers are used as an herbal tea and to lighten hair, and clove flowers are widely used for re-moving halitosis. Although it did not get high rating from respondents, it is worth mentioning that according to the aktars we interviewed, bitter melon, which is considered as a miraculous fruit, has recently become vastly popular for curing ulcer. Additionally, the roots of ginger and turmeric have become increasingly prevalent among people who want to avoid cancer.
Other herbal materials Latin
Count Turkish English Herb Drog
71 Tarçın Cinnamon Cinnamomum zeylanicum Cinnamomi Cortex 10 Çam terebentin Pine turpentine Pinus brutcea, Pinus nigra Terebenthina Communis 6 Kiraz sapı Cherry stem Cerasus avium Cerasorum Stipites 5 Nar ekşisi Pomegranate juice Punica granatum Granati Succus 3 Damlasakızı Mastic gum Pistacia lentiscus var. Chia Pistaciae Gummi 3 Günlük ağacı balsamı
(Günlük tree is endemic to Turkey))
Styrax oleo resin Liquindanbar orientalis Liquidus Styrax 2 Enginar suyu (özüt) Artichoke extract Cynara scolymus Cynarae Succus Animal Products Other product groups/Processed products
Count Turkish English Count Turkish English
23 Bal Honey 43 Çeşitli bitki çayı Various herbal teas
13 Polen Pollen 28 Çeşitli baharat Various spice
9 Yılan yağı Snake oil
Quack medicine(!)! 17 Köri Curry (spice mix)
4 Karınca yumurtası
yağı Ant egg oil 13 Bitkisel hap/ilaç/toz/krem Various herbal tablet/drug/powder/cream
3 Balık yağı Cod liver oil 8 Çeşitli bitkisel macun Various herbal pastes
2 Arısütü Gelee royale 8 Çeşitli bitkisel
sabun/şampuan Various herbal shampoo/soap
2 Domuz yağı Lard 6 Karışık bitki yağı Herbal oil mix
2 Propolis Propolis 5 İsot Isot (darkened red pepper))
1 Süt tozu Milk powder 3 Çeşitli esans Various essences
Minerals 3 Çeşitli pekmez Various molasses
Count Turkish English 2 Çeşitli meyve sirkesi Various vinegar
4 Limon tuzu Citric acid 1 Kırmızı biber yağı Red pepper oil (red pepper processed with olive oil
3 Kil Clay 1 Pestil Dried fruit pulp
2 Tuz Salt 1 Zencefilli kırmızı şeker Ginger red candy
As can be seen from the data obtained, not only crude forms of herbal prod-ucts but processed herbal prodprod-ucts such as various herbal shampoos, soaps, pastes, tablets, drugs, creams, vinegars and molasses are also sold in aktar shops. Furthermore beside the herbal products, some animal products and minerals are also available in aktar shops.
Intended Uses of Aktar Products
People prefer health related products, the aim of which can range from pre-ventative medicine to curing chronic illnesses. In addition, a great many aktar products, primarily herb oils and waters, are seen as solutions to skin and hair related problems.
When asked what their intended uses of aktar products were, participants responded with wide variety of answers. The majority of the participants are us-ing aktar products for cold treatment and nourishment. Conventional motives account for the largest uses in these two categories. Traditional use of linden and sage teas for cold treatment is very common in almost every Turkish family. It is customary to make linden or sage tea for a family member in order to reduce the effects of coughs and colds. Hence the dried linden and sage leafs and flowers are consumed much, most specially during the winter in Turkey.
Table 6: Intended Uses of Aktar Products Table 2: Number of consumed products
Count % Count %
Cold treatment 15
5 40,4 Urinary system diseases treatments 23 6,0
Nourishment 14
9 38,8 Cardiovascular diseases treatments 20 5,2 Psychological wellbeing 82 21,4 Pain treatment 20 5,2 Seeking preventive healthcare 73 19,0 Various types of cancer treatments 18 4,7 Respiratory diseases treatments 65 16,9 Seeking weight gain remedies 15 3,9 Gastro intestinal diseases treatments 57 14,8 Diabetes treatment 15 3,9
Cosmetics 52 13,5 Rheumatism treatment 9 2,3
Other* 48 12,5 Sexual Disorders treatments 6 1,6
Seeking weight lose remedies 43 11,2 Witchery 5 1,3 Dermatological diseases treatments 25 6,5
* The intended uses which have frequency less than 5 are included in the category of “other”. Hence, this category involves attempts to treat diseases such as hemorrhoid, infertility, menopause-osteoporosis, hernia, calcification, prostate, anemia, callosity and the uses for removing of halitosis, quitting smoking, enhancing immune system and increasing breast milk. They are also used as expectorant and anti-oxidant
Furthermore, although Turkish cuisine is not excessively spicy, it still highly depends on the use of various spices and herbs. Black pepper, mint, oregano, cum-in and red pepper are essential cum-ingredients you can fcum-ind cum-in almost every Turkish kitchen. Third largest use is obtaining psychological wellbeing which includes the uses for relaxation, seduction, supporting easy sleeping etc. Modern
individ-ual have to cope with work related stresses, traffic jam, economic pressures, and many other emerging risks and problems of modern life.
Factors of Preference for Aktar Products
When participants are asked why they prefer aktar products, the most common reason came out as the belief that aktar products are more natural (see Figure 7). Secondly aktar products are believed to be healthier. And the third row is occupied by reaction/suspicion/mistrust against synthetic drugs. Although only 9 respondents mention directly about media effects, the top three factors cannot be considered independent from influences of media. Not only health programs but cooking programs, women’s programs, even the pri-metime news also involve broadcasts about the benefits of various herbs by urging the superiority of the natural over the processed. All those boost the use of herbs and aktar products.
Figure 7: Factors for Preference of Aktar Products (Counts)
9 22 36 45 57 96 178 18 5 15 0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 Doctor advice Media effect Conventionality The last remedy Acquaintance advice Convenience Economic reasons Reaction/ suspicion/ mistrust against synthetic drugs Belief that Aktar products are healthier Belief that Aktar products are more natural
Economic reasons, such as the high cost of medical services, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, contribute to an increase in the use of aktars products because aktars provide affordable alternatives. In addition, by contrast with regulated pharmaceuticals, medical examinations or written prescriptions are not required to obtain natural remedies available through aktars. Bypassing medical exami-nations significantly reduces household healthcare costs.
Conclusion:
In general, the findings indicated that aktars are increasingly regaining their importance in Turkish society. There is a little room for doubt that this trend will continue in near future. As herbal use increases, as some herbal goods are only available in aktars and as aktar products stay low on the prices, resorting aktars will continue to increase. Pertaining to the risk and feeling of insecurity, a large
number of respondents prefer aktar products since they view those products as natural and healthier. Moreover a considerable number of interviewees declared that they purchase aktar products just because they are more affordable than their counterparts that are sold in pharmacies and cosmetic shops. In addition, despite of all favourable possibilities of modern life and developments in cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries which offer great opportunities for the satisfac-tion of the needs regarding the beauty and healthcare, people still feel insecure related to many aspects of modernity.
In terms of consumption and purchasing of aktar products the difference between males and females can be explained by the higher interest of women in cosmetics and also by the effects of women’s programs on TV. Without any cor-relation to their education level and age, respondents displayed high consumption rates of aktar products. In opposition to the general acceptance that people who are older and less educated are more likely to accredit aktar products it was found that those products are broadly used by people at almost every age and education level.
As we have already hypothesized Aktars we interviewed agreed that over the last five years there is an increase in the number of people who consult them. Whilst Aktars sell various natural products, they also serve people by relying on the traditional knowledge which includes information about how to harvest, dry, store and use herbs and also which herbs are used for which ailments. Certainly just because an aktar product is natural does not necessarily mean it is harmless. Undesired consequences may occur due to the lack of a proper labelling with expi-ration dates and instructions for use and also the hygienic conditions of prepara-tion and storage of the products. Modernity’s noprepara-tion of standardizaprepara-tion required these kinds of measures.
In parallel with this requirement of standardization, some of the shop owners choose to decorate their work places in a quite modern outlook. For instance an aktar shop with lab coated employees, marble benches and modernized shelves representing a modern outlook akin to a pharmacy can be considered as an at-tempt to adapt the conditions of modernity. Besides, aktars stated that they would be willing to partake in scientific training to enhance their profession. This eager-ness can be seen as an effort to meet requirements of modern society. However despite of the conditions imposed by modernity; aktars still mostly preserve their traditional structure. The accumulation of knowledge related to the profession is still conveyed from generation to generation through apprenticeship which helps to maintain its former guild based structure. In their traditional forms dried herbs in baskets or earthenware pots and dried fruits on strings hanging from the ceiling are complementary elements of the image of an aktar shop. With this overall outlook coupled with the scents of various spices and herbs, an aktar shop charms those who step in.
The major finding of the investigation was that it is quite fair to associate the resurgence of herbal culture to the sociological conditions in modern society
In the light of these conclusions; it is of great importance that aktar culture, as a folkloric value, should be preserved while eliminating the possible defects in the implementation of the job.
The authors thank B. Öztürk (PhD) pharmaceutical botanist who helped to define the English and Latin names of herbal materials for the list of aktar prod-ucts.
Notes
1 The names of aktars are kept confidential according to the anonymity principle of scientific research in social sciences.
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