The Names And Markings Gıven To The Horses According Their Coat Colors In Turkish Culture

One of the richnesses of the Turkish language is the coat colors and markings of the horses. However, it’s not possible to talk about a similarity while giving names to these coat colors and markings in written sources and this makes it difficult to classify them and also the Works of the researchers. In this study it’s aimed to anayze the coat colors and markings in written sources from the beginning to nowadays by categorizing the coat colors first and then determining the main markings. Not only historical Turkish dialects but also contemporary Turkish dialects have been made use of for a perfect determination of the coat colors and markings to show their historical developments. In the study, it is noticed that horse coat colors and markings have been taken place more in the written works of the Middle Age Turkish rather than the age of Ancient Turkish. Especially Divanü Lûgati’t-Türk is a rich literary work on this subject. The two other dictionaries named Derleme and Tarama in contemporary Turkish are also richer than the ones used in Karahanli period. Turkish used in Turkey today differentiates from both its historical dialects and up-to-date dialects with this aspect.

Keywords

Horse coat colors, horse markings, Derleme Sözlüğü, Tarama Sözlüğü, color.