Detailed studies were carried out on all of the verbal products in the 20th century. In this respect, as in many parts of the world, in Turkey too, many legend compilation and editing works were done from different perspectives. Mostly religion based, chopped head legends have been commonly told in the Middle East, Anatolia and the Balkans. As in the natural flow of life, some changes may also occur in cultural elements. Narratives whose telling and transferring are in progress may go under a change. While the change may sometimes be limited to time, character and setting, it can also occur within the whole narrative outside the basic event. In this study, narratives of chopped head legend around “Kesikbaş” Shrine in Şırnak Cizre region and the changes in these narrations will be examined. These legends in which Islamic characters are dominant, will be examined in terms of subject, style, content and function as well as the change that they underwent.

Keywords:. Chopped head, shrine, change, narrative, Cizre.