Šerbet dokmek
Šerbet Dokmek "to pour a sweet fruit drink". When an individual is troubled by a ruh "soul", akil "mental", or sinir "nervous" disorder which is associated with or follows a fall, his family believes evil spirits are the underlying cause and must be propitiated before health can be restored. Either the ill person, himself, or a member of his family prepares a sweet fruit drink (Turk, "serbet") in the ordinary fashion. Then a person who can either read or recite the Quran comes to the home and says the Sure-i Ihlas — 112t sura of the Quran — three times and the Fatiha once. Next, he blows over the serbet. At about midnight, the ill person secretly takes the sweet drink either to the spot where he presumably collided with evil spirits and fell, or to a crossroad where he pours it on the ground, saying, "Take my troubles, give me my health. We give flavor to your mouth, give flavor to ours in return" (ie, we please you, please us in return). The ill person must then return home quickly without looking back.
