Myth, Religion, and Narrative: The Tree Cult in Post-1980 Turkish Literature

From past to present, the tree has functioned as a powerful symbol associated with birth, life, death and belief systems across cultures. In relation to cosmic order and divine connection, it has often been conceptualized as a cosmic entity. The tree cult, while sharing universal features rooted in religion and mythology, also carries distinctive meanings within Turkish cultural tradition. Drawing on this framework, this article examines the use of mythological elements in post-1980 Turkish literature through the lens of the tree cult. It first discusses the religious and mythological foundations of the motif and its specific manifestations in Turkish culture. The analysis then focuses on selected works by nine prominent authors—Murathan Mungan, Pınar Kür, Sevinç Çokum, İhsan Oktay Anar, Hasan Ali Toptaş, Orhan Pamuk, Latife Tekin, Murat Gülsoy, and Nazan Bekiroğlu—whose writings display strong representational capacity. Through thematic and textual analysis, the study explores how the tree cult is integrated into these literary works and offers a panoramic perspective on the relationship between mythology and literature in contemporary Turkish narratives.