Turkish Journal of International Relations

Turkish Journal of International Relations

Volume 2, Number 1, Spring 2003

 

Riding the Horse, Writing the Cultural Myth
By Metin Bosnak and Cem Ceyhan

 

Abstract

Any comparative study of cultures will prove that virtually every culture has created its own hero according to its historico-cultural needs, characters, and potentials. In Mexico that hero is called “vaquero;” in Columbia and Venezuela, “illenora;” in Argentina, “gaucha;” in Japan and China, “samurai,” and “karate man” respectively; in Ottoman empire, “akıncı.” Similarly, both the European knight and the American cowboy had an important role in the emergence and development of their national heritage. There are many similarities and historical ties between the two in that they are idealized representatives of the cultures in which they emerged, and that they are equestrian.

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