ABSTRACT
This chapter accounts for alternative rhetorical models with an emphasis on the conditions for which rhetoric was produced and practiced by Turks in their early ancestral settlements in central Asia. It foregrounds the assumptions and stylistic features of Turkic rhetoric by looking at yuğ ceremony and critically addresses the contexts in which it was practiced. In the context of the newly evolving studies on non-Western and global rhetorics, the chapter seeks to open up the conversations on broader themes regarding rhetorical theory and practice. In this vein, yuğ ceremony is an opportunity to contemplate and rethink rhetoric within a global frame so that we can recognize Turkic rhetorical practices as a new model in conceptualizing rhetorical theory. The chapter looks at yuğ ceremony and the poems that were composed in the syllabic verse during their performance for a historical and contextual consideration of the Turkic context to reflect upon the ways in which rhetoric was practiced. yuğ ceremony was an essential component in expressing grief and in Turkic community formations. By offering the Turkic model, the chapter hopes to inspire rhetoric scholars to further reflect upon alternative theoretical frameworks for new critical perspectives.
