Sözlü edebiyat ürünlerinde, halkın yaratıcılığının, girişkenliğinin, üretkenliğinin, hayata bakış açısının yansıması kendi yaratısı olarak ortaya çıkar. Bu ürünlerde halkın gündelik yaşamı ile ilişkili gelenek, görenekleri; idealleri ile ilişkili arzu ve istekleri; özgürlük uğruna çeşitli devirlerde giriştiği kahramanca mücadeleler anlatılır (Efendiyev 1992: 7). Soyut ve somut kültürel mirasın taşıyıcısı ve yansıtıcısı olan sözlü edebiyat ürünlerinde toplumun tarihe ve coğrafyaya bağlı köklerinin yanı sıra toplumu var eden maneviyat ile beslenen bir arada bulunma bilincinin temellendiği ortak şuuru da buluruz. Sözlü edebiyat ürünleri ortak kimlik unsurlarının sürdürülmesinin önemli bir parçasıdır. Bu nedenle Türk dünyası sözlü edebiyatı içerisinde büyük bir kol teşkil eden Oğuz Türkçesi sahasında gelişen sözlü edebiyat ürünleri, zengin çeşitliliği ve halen geniş bir sahada canlı bir biçimde yaşamaya devam etmesi ile büyük bir öneme sahiptir. türlerinin, Oğuz sözlü edebiyatı içerisindeki yeri değerlendirilerek bu sahaya katkısı ve önemi ortaya konulacaktır

In oral literature creation shows up as a reflection of people’s creativity, reproductivity, initiative and thie point of view in life. In this literature one can find information about the traditions in daily life, desires about ideals and people’s heroic fights for freedom (Efendiyev 1992: 7). As an indicator of abstract and concrete cultural heritage, the oral literature not only shows the historical and geographical roots of people but also shows the common motivation of being a society which is based on spirituality. Oral literature is significant for the continuity of these common motivaiton factors. Therefore Oghuz Turkish oral literature which constitutes a large branch Turkic world, is very important for having such a rich variety and for still being alive in a very broad area. Being a part of the Oghuz oral literature area, scientific studies, compilations and publications have been made in Turkey, Azerbeijan and Turkmenistan. However studies and publications about studies on oral literature of Turks in Turkmensahra are limited. Publications about this subject can be divided into two as before and after the independence of Turkmenistan. During the period before the independence of Turkmenistan, the connection between Turkmen living in Iran and Turkmenistan were lost. Therefore the number of the studies published during that period is very limited but stil they are very precious compilation studies and are still used as sources. In thıs study, as a part of the Oghuz Turkish, the positionof the oral literature types among Turkmen living in Turkmen Sahara in Iran is evaluated. Based on this evaluation the contributions and importanceof Turkmen oral literature for this area are highlighted The territories where Oghuz Turks could move freely were brought under control by other countries with the formation of new political boundaries in XIX. century causing Oghuz Turks to scatter into different religional and cultural interaction areas. During this period in Azerbeijan and Turkmenistan, where Soviet was in charge, many oral and written literary works were made under the influence of the Soviet ideology. Also the studies and publications showed a similar approach under this influence. Oghuz Turks who remained in the Iran boundaries were under the influence of Persian language and gained a bilinguistic structure due to the state’s educational and language policy. Most of the Turkmen Turkish speakers in Turkmensahra are bilinguals. Since Persian is the formal and dominant language there isn’t any other standard written language used in publications. Oral literature works are told by elder people but unfortunately there are being forgotten in time since they are not recorded. Being a part of the Oghuz oral literature area, scientific studies, compilations and publications have been made in Turkey, Azerbeijan and Turkmenistan. However studies and publications about studies on oral literature of Turks in Turkmensahra are limited. Publications about this subject can be divided into two as before and after the independence of Turkmenistan. During the period before the independence of Turkmenistan, the connection between Turkmen living in Iran and Turkmenistan were lost. Therefore the number of the studies published during that period is very limited but stil they are very precious compilation studies and are still used as sources. The book named Atalar Sözi written by Murat Durdı Kadı and published in 1980 has a very significant place among these studies. The proverbs in the book were all compiled from the people by the writter himself and were written by keeping their original dialect characteristics. Also various folk literature example were given at the end of the book. After the independence of Turkmenistan, Turkmen in Iran heard about the publications in Turkmenistan and had a chance to bring them to Iran, to read them and to publish them by rewritting using Arabic alphabet. The common characteristic of the publications in this period is their interchangeable or mixed context. There were seven boks published about folk literature. Primary ones were written by Gurban Said Bedehşan, Aman Gılıç Şadmehr and Ayşe Sabiti. In addition to that many other researcher prepared many notebooks by compiling folk literature works. None of these notebooks were published. Most of them have been kept in family libraries and some of them have been known to be in the library of Murat Durdı Kadı, an Iranian researcher. Altın Miras where proverbs belonging to Amanmuhammet (Ferehmend) Akatabay were compiled and Bir Düzüm Gövher where various oral literature examples were compiled can be counted as examples to the notebooks that have been kept in family libraries Beginning from 1997 the newspapers read among the Turkmen Yaprak, Sahra, Firakî; Gülşen and Gülistân published in Gurgan have had articles and columns about the oral literature studies and works compiled from Iran Turkmen. Turkmen oral literature types can be classified as follows: 1.Aydımlar (Folk Songs), 2.Läleler (Poems), 3.Moncugattılar (Boncukattılar), 4.Hüvdüler (Lullabies), 5.Ağılar (Laments), 6.Nakıllar (Proverbs), 7.Matallar (Riddles), 8.Sanavaçlar (Rhymes), 9.Yaŋıltmaçlar (Sophistries), 10.Şorta Sözler (Jokes), 11.Ya Ramazanlar, 12.Ertekiler (Tales), 13. Dessanlar (Sagas). Leaving moncukattı and ya ramazan in Turkmen oral literature aside, Oghuz oral literature types have exactly the same but with different names. Even though Moncukattı is known in Teke Turkmen it is not known among West Turkmen; therefore, there isn’t any example to this type in Iran Turkmen. In thıs study, as a part of the Oghuz Turkish, the position of the oral literature types among Turkmen living in Turkmen Sahara in Iran is evaluated. Based on this evaluation the contributions and importanceof Turkmen oral literature for this area are highlighted. Examples for the folk literature of Turkmensahra Turkmen are given and examined accordingly. Folk literature types in Turkmensahra show differences in the themes and also they are called in different names. For example, in Turkmensahra laments are called yas goşgısı, ağı or tovış. For erteki which is used for tales in Standard Turkmen Turkish, a rich terminology can be found in Turkmensahra. For tales in Iran Yomut’s Caferbay subbranch uses bay, Akatabay uses hekat, Kanyokmaz uses matal; Göklen’s Kayı Sub-branch uses sürçek, Teke uses erteki words. Even though they are called in different names, the types that carry the cultural, historical and ethnical heritages are common inside the Oghuz area. It is normal to observe different variations in language and literature as the Oghuz separates through a larger area gaining more interractions with other people. Due to the fact that there is no standard written language, in Turkmensahra oral literature works are passed down by travelling through the people and their lives. Different branches and sub-branches living in Turkmensahra such as Yomut, Göklen and Nohur still have their own naming of oral literature types according to thier own oral characteristics; therefore, this area where the oral literature still lives on has an important place in Oghuz oral literature. Therefore it is important to make comparative studies that cover all the collected Oghuz oral literature works in order to obtain various data to light up our history