EXTENSION OF THE BAYAT TRIBE IN NEVŞEHIR: AYHAN VILLAGE GRAVESTONES BAYAT BOYUNUN NEVŞEHİR’DEKİ UZANTILARI: AYHAN KÖYÜ MEZAR TAŞLARI

The Ayhan village of Avanos district of Nevşehir and the decorated tombstones in the village is the subject of this study. The village was founded by the Shambayadi tribe of the Bayat tribe of the Oghuzs. Because of there are no written documents about the foundation of the village, it is not known exactly when the settlement started. According to the narratives, the village was founded by Ayhan Baba in the 13th century. However, there are no artifacts from this period in the village or its surroundings. With this study, it is aimed to transfer the data obtained about the history of the village based on the tombstones of the village and the inscriptions on them. One of the aims of the study is to examine and introduce of ornaments on the tombstones and show the similarities between them and the motifs that used by other Turkmen tribes. In this context, 31 decorated and inscribed tombstones in Ayhan village were examined, the measurements of the tombs were taken, the decorations were also photographed and drawings were made. While a bird figure is found among the decorations, it is seen that mostly herbal and geometric motifs are preferred. Another factor taken into consideration is the headdresses. Of the 18 headdresses on the tombstones, 13 are cylindrical and 5 are overflow turbans. Because of the information that conveyed in the inscriptions was limited to the name, surname and year of death of the person, it could not be determined whether the titles changed according to social status. In the conclusion part, based on the fact that the earliest inscription belongs to 1810, it is suggested that the village was founded towards the end of the 17th century and reasons of this are emphasized.
Keywords: Tomb Stone, Ayhan Village, Avanos, Shambayadi, Alevi.