This study, which covers the laments of Elbistan as an example of the lamentations of people, especially women, reflecting their sorrow due to death, separation, and natural disasters, which date back to ancient times, aims to introduce the lamenting women of Elbistan. Laments are people's past, experiences, and feelings they cannot get rid of. In this study, literary meanings, and the existence of an oral tradition, which has maintained its importance until our recent past, are presented especially through the example of Elbistan. Although the lament has been discussed by many people, its relationship with women who are used to and perhaps forced to live their pain within themselves has not been sufficiently analyzed. Feeling the responsibility of giving women the attention they deserve, we wanted to close this gap. Since Elbistan, which has an important place in the world of literature with its poets and poems, has sufficient resources on this subject, we believe that the lament culture of Elbistan will bring a new perspective to the literature. In this study, examples of the laments of the female poets of Elbistan who sang poems in the genre of lament are given and the subjects of their laments are emphasized.
Culture, lament, Elbistan, poet, poem.