Carl Gustav Jung, in his observations on human psychology, proposed the concept of the collective unconscious, suggesting that despite cultural diversity, there exist universal thought patterns, concepts, and behavior models that are inherited from a shared memory. Throughout history, people have exhibited similar reactions to analogous events, unconsciously assuming these responses to be original and self-generated. According to Jung, this phenomenon is guided by the instinctual blueprint of the collective unconscious, which is both developed within and inherited by the brain. Archetypes, meaning “original models,” are the tangible manifestations of this collective memory. The forms of these archetypes vary across cultures and societies, shaping myths, symbolic thought, and various aspects of human creative expression, thereby constituting the essence of creativity. These similarities are evident in the cultures, religions, folklore, and literature of societies. Based on this premise, the phenomenon of “becoming a Zeybek” (zeybekleşme) refers to the journey of villagers who rebelled against the established order and took to the mountains, often in response to oppression, slander, or conflicts with the Ottoman Empire’s devshirme (recruited) administrators and military forces. The tradition of banditry, originating from Central Asia and continuing in Anatolia, finds its representation in the Zeybeks. This study aims to examine the history of the Zeybeks through Jung’s concepts of the collective unconscious and archetypes in order to enable a deeper understanding of Zeybeks’ behavior patterns and cultural significance. Therefore, in this study, in order to gain a new perspective on the field, firstly I made inferences on the concepts of analytical psychology, collective unconscious and archetype, then I examined the reasons for the existence of the zeybeks and the history of the zeybek tradition through the life stories of the leading efe of the tradition and in the last part, I examined the behaviors and actions of the zeybek culture and its representative efe archetypically in the context of the seven archetypes I selected; Explorer, Rebirth, Shadow, Rebel, Hero, Warrior and Mountain Archetypes.
Pelin Elcik Yorgancioğlu (Thu,) studied this question.