Faculty of Islamic Sciences at Mersin University in Turkey.Speciality is Social and Cultural Anthropology.Alevism-Bektashism, Yörüks, Syrian Refugees, Japanese Muslims. Address: Mersin Üniversitesi İslami İlimler Fakültesi Çiftlikköy Kampüsü, Yenişehir 33434, Mersin
International Journal of Social Sciences and Education Research, 2016
Based on the Ocak (Religious oriented household), Alevi people has practiced various form of sain... more Based on the Ocak (Religious oriented household), Alevi people has practiced various form of saint venerations and religious rituals in Varto sub-province in Eastern Anatolia for a long time. These saint veneration and religious rituals have a function which structures the relationship between Alevis themselves and strengthens their awareness of Alevi identity. These religious practices are divided into two categories. First one is rituals practiced by villagers and organized by Seyit (religious authority of Alevis who is descended from the Prophet’s family) and his Rehber (religious guide who is appointed by Seyit) like weddings, funerals, circumcision, Nevruz (spring festival) and Cem rituals (the most important Alevi religious practice). The former is well known in the media broadcasted and published by Alevi cultural associations based on the big cities. Even non-Alevi outsiders can participate in these religious rituals. Concerning these religious practices, we can access to a lot of previous studies. However, the latter is completely kept secret for outsiders. People practice these rituals and religious practices only within their village communities. They are different from the former practices which are practiced as a popular belief. Even villagers cannot participate in these religious practices in some case. In other word, if he or she is not a member of Ocak as a ritual group, he or she cannot participate in these rituals. At the same time, if Seyit who is descended from the Prophet family does not organize the ritual, participants cannot have Keramet (miracles). In this paper, I introduce the case of saint veneration as a popular belief in the village communities in Varto sub-province. Then I analyze the current social situation around Alevism in Kurdish community from the view point of Cultural Anthropology. Keywords : Kurdish Alevis, Alevism, Popular Beliefs, Saint Veneration, Cultural Anthropology
Sociology and Anthropology Vol. 7(8), pp. 327 - 336, 2019
Müsahiplik is the tradition of fictive kinship which has long been practiced within both Turkish ... more Müsahiplik is the tradition of fictive kinship which has long been practiced within both Turkish and Kurdish Alevi communities in Turkey. Müsahip is a special term which means blood brother used in Alevi community. The tradition of Müsahiplik may be defined as a religious fraternity between two men who are not relatives. And at the same time, if these two men marry their wives also have relation of Müsahip. The fraternity is dedicated to a religious authority called Dede. It is an institution of social characteristic that is proper for originated from nomad or semi-nomad societies and of recent urban settlement. This custom is one of the most important religious practices of Alevis in Turkey. In a ceremony in the presence of a Dede, the two couples make a lifelong commitment to care for the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of each other and their children. The ties between couples who have made this commitment are at least as strong as it is for blood relatives. So much so, that Müsahiplik is often called spiritual brotherhood (manevi kardeşlik). In this article, drawing on my own research data, I shall first discuss how the Müsahiplik is practiced in the field in Turkey, and provide a brief outline of their meaning in Alevi theology. I shall then present the current situation of Müsahiplik and popular beliefs and discuss the underlying motives of the religious actors involved. Finally, I shall contextualize these cases within a broader theoretical and comparative perspective on fictive kinship from the point of view of Cultural Anthropology.
Based on the Ocak (Religious oriented household), Alevi people has practiced various form of sain... more Based on the Ocak (Religious oriented household), Alevi people has practiced various form of saint venerations and religious rituals in Varto sub-province in Eastern Anatolia for a long time. These saint veneration and religious rituals have a function which structures the relationship between Alevis themselves and strengthens their awareness of Alevi identity. These religious practices are divided into two categories. First one is rituals practiced by villagers and organized by Seyit (religious authority of Alevis who is descended from the Prophet's family) and his Rehber (religious guide who is appointed by Seyit) like weddings, funerals, circumcision, Nevruz (spring festival) and Cem rituals (the most important Alevi religious practice). The former is well known in the media broadcasted and published by Alevi cultural associations based on the big cities. Even non-Alevi outsiders can participate in these religious rituals. Concerning these religious practices, we can access to a lot of previous studies. However, the latter is completely kept secret for outsiders. People practice these rituals and religious practices only within their village communities. They are different from the former practices which are practiced as a popular belief. Even villagers cannot participate in these religious practices in some case. In other word, if he or she is not a member of Ocak as a ritual group, he or she cannot participate in these rituals. At the same time, if Seyit who is descended from the Prophet family does not organize the ritual, participants cannot have Keramet (miracles). In this paper, I introduce the case of saint veneration as a popular belief in the village communities in Varto sub-province. Then I analyze the current social situation around Alevism in Kurdish community from the view point of Cultural Anthropology.
The saint veneration in the Muslim world is prominent both in terms of intellectual activities fo... more The saint veneration in the Muslim world is prominent both in terms of intellectual activities for the elites and popular beliefs of the public. On the one hand, the most intellectual level of this has been developed in Islamic theology, which has been traditionally handed down in the Muslim world. Of course we must not forget the fact that some Sufis were Ulamas in the Medieval Age. On the other hand, we can also find popular beliefs that are seen as “magical” practices in the Muslim world. For a long time, anthropologists have observed religious practices such as worship for tombs in societies where Muslims have constituted the majority of the population. How do we understand this, if popular beliefs are deemed contrary to the Monotheism? What is a saint, and who should be considered one? In this respect, it ignores any religious elements that pre-existed, and assimilates what it unable to eliminate. Saint worship in the Muslim world is prominent both in terms of intellectual activities for the elites and popular beliefs of the public. This is known as “the complex of SufismTariqah-Saint worship.” I shall first discuss the ziyarets in Çorum, and provide a brief outline of their meaning in Islamic theology. I shall then present the current situation of saint veneration and popular beliefs I shall contextualize these cases within a broader theoretical and comparative perspective on “the sacred/the religious” through an analysis of ziyarets.
Simple screening of acid-triggered reactions of methoxybenzyl alcohols led to the development of ... more Simple screening of acid-triggered reactions of methoxybenzyl alcohols led to the development of a novel colorimetric hydrophobic benzyl alcohol (HBA) tag. HBA tag-3 (14) retained high solubility in less polar solvents and excellent precipitation properties in polar solvents. Our routine procedure for tag-assisted liquid phase peptide synthesis was applied using HBA tag-3 (14), and an effective synthesis of β-sheet breaker peptide iAβ5 (4) was achieved. The tagged peptides showed a vivid blue color under acidic conditions both on TLC plates and in solution, enabling quantitative assay.
Müsahiplik is one of the most important fictive brotherhoods within the Alevi-Bektaşi
community i... more Müsahiplik is one of the most important fictive brotherhoods within the Alevi-Bektaşi community in Turkey. Müsahiplik is based on the relationship between two men who like and understand themselves with each other through a religious ritual organized by Dede. At the same time the two men must not have any relations of kinship. If they are married, their spouses become Müsahip sister. Müsahiplik is actually more important brotherhood rather than physical brotherhood from the point of view of social condition. They help themselves with each other in both material and spiritual meanings. However to be Müsahip they have to overcome so difficult conditions. Traditionally, the relation of Müsahiplik has played an important role within the community for a long time to build the connection out of their own community even if they normally marry with their relatives due to their geographical and economical condition. At the same time, to connect Müsahip means to connect two families who don’t have any kinship relations through the Müsahip. In this paper of the program, I will try to reveal the actual situation from the case of village fieldwork situated in Çorum/Merkez province through an analysis of Social Anthropology. Then, I evaluate the present religious ritual called Müsahip cemi from the Anthropological point of view. I especially try to investigate the development of their society through the relationship with the global social change.
The phenomenon called “Globalization” has been discussed within the all social science. For almos... more The phenomenon called “Globalization” has been discussed within the all social science. For almost of all Anthropologists, the global issues cannot be avoidable to conduct their ethnographic researches in any fields. Globalization is a process of international integration arising from the interchange of products, ideas and other aspect of culture. After 1990’s the interpretation of a complex set of disputes and exigencies settled into a conventional narrative of paradigm shift, in which the intellectual past became essentialized as “traditional Area Studies” and “Classic Anthropology.” A Crucial theme is that the global/local nexus is one of unpredictable interaction and creative adaptation, not of top-down determinism. Theoretically, globalization studies have become the focal point for the convergence of interpretive Anthropology, critical Anthropology, postmodernism, and poststructuralism, which are combined with a tough empiricism. In this paper, I examine the relationship between master and disciple in the Alevi community in Turkey from the framework of Anthropology of Globalization. Traditionally Alevi Dede gives their disciples religious traditions and practices such like how to organize Cem ceremony and other rituals. To transmit their religious knowledge, religious masters called Dede visits villages where Alevis consist of the majority of the population. Then Dede give his disciple called Talip some kind of religious education. In the past Alevi communities in Anatolian villages were generally situated in remote areas where the infrastructure was not sufficiently installed. Even in Alevi villages there were no Dede. However, the situation has changed within the recent two decades. People can access to the remote areas by transportation system and internet access is also available everywhere in the countryside. In this paper, I try to reveal the current situation of master-disciple relation of Alevi community and describe how they transmit some kind of religious education to their disciples in the global era through an Anthropological analysis. At the same time, I investigate the whole of social change in Alevi communities in Turkey.
Hızır inancı, eskiden Doğu Müslüman dünyası yani İran, Orta Asya, Maşrık ülkeleri, Anadolu ve Bal... more Hızır inancı, eskiden Doğu Müslüman dünyası yani İran, Orta Asya, Maşrık ülkeleri, Anadolu ve Balkanlara uzanan geniş bir coğrafyada görülmektedir. Hatta tüm Müslüman dünyasında yaygın olan bu inancın kaynağının Kur’an-ı Kerim olduğunu da belirtmek gerekir. Bu evliya inancı hem dinî elit yani ulema gibi Müslüman aydınları tarafından hem de Müslüman halkları tarafından günümüze kadar uygulanagelmiştir. Ayrıca Orta Çağ İslâm teolojisi içerisinde Hızır inancının ulemalar tarafından geliştirildiği de tarihî kaynaklarda da bulunmaktadır. Öte yandan Hızır inancı kapsamında Müslüman dünyasında sihirsel dinî uygulama olarak görülen halk inançları gözlemlenmektedir. Batılı araştırmacılar bu tür dinî inançları “Sufizm” terimiyle analiz etmişlerdir. Sufizm kelimesi Arapça “tasawwuf” (Tr. tasavvuf) kelimesinin İngilizce meali olup “Şeriat’a karşıt bir inanç” anlamında kullanılmıştır. Bu noktada Sufizm Batılılar tarafından İslâm’ın beş şartı dışındaki bütün dinî uygulamalar için analitik bir terim olarak icat edilmiştir. Hatta eskiden Avrupalı bilim adamları tarafından Sufizm, “İslam’la hiç alakası olmayan inançların bütünü” olarak tanımlamıştır. Bu Sufizm yorumundan yola çıkarak “senkretizm” veya ”Ortodoks/Heterodoks” gibi bir terminoloji de icat edilmiş ve akademik camiada kullanılagelmiştir. Hızır inancı bu Sufizm’in bir parçası olarak nitelendirilmiştir. Fakat bu Sufizm yorumunun, toplumsal gerçekçilik açısından bakıldığında uygun bir yorum olmadığını görüyoruz. Antropologlar uzun zamandır sahada özellikle Müslüman nüfusun çoğunluğu oluşturduğu ülkelerde Batılılarca Sufizm olarak nitelendirilen Hızır inancı gibi dinî uygulamaları gözlemlemişlerdir. Peki, eğer bu tür inançlar tek tanrılı inanca karşı bir inanç sistemi ise o zaman bu tür dinî uygulamaları nasıl anlamalıyız? Hızır kimdir? Kim olmalıdır? Bu makalede hem şahsen saha çalışmalarında topladığım bilgiler hem de arşiv çalışmalarından yararlandığım kaynaklara dayanarak Dersim Bölgesinde uygulanan Hızır inancı başta olmak üzere dinî ritüeller ve inançları Sosyal Antropoloji açısından değerlendireceğim.
International Journal of Social Sciences and Education Research, 2016
Based on the Ocak (Religious oriented household), Alevi people has practiced various form of sain... more Based on the Ocak (Religious oriented household), Alevi people has practiced various form of saint venerations and religious rituals in Varto sub-province in Eastern Anatolia for a long time. These saint veneration and religious rituals have a function which structures the relationship between Alevis themselves and strengthens their awareness of Alevi identity. These religious practices are divided into two categories. First one is rituals practiced by villagers and organized by Seyit (religious authority of Alevis who is descended from the Prophet’s family) and his Rehber (religious guide who is appointed by Seyit) like weddings, funerals, circumcision, Nevruz (spring festival) and Cem rituals (the most important Alevi religious practice). The former is well known in the media broadcasted and published by Alevi cultural associations based on the big cities. Even non-Alevi outsiders can participate in these religious rituals. Concerning these religious practices, we can access to a lot of previous studies. However, the latter is completely kept secret for outsiders. People practice these rituals and religious practices only within their village communities. They are different from the former practices which are practiced as a popular belief. Even villagers cannot participate in these religious practices in some case. In other word, if he or she is not a member of Ocak as a ritual group, he or she cannot participate in these rituals. At the same time, if Seyit who is descended from the Prophet family does not organize the ritual, participants cannot have Keramet (miracles). In this paper, I introduce the case of saint veneration as a popular belief in the village communities in Varto sub-province. Then I analyze the current social situation around Alevism in Kurdish community from the view point of Cultural Anthropology. Keywords : Kurdish Alevis, Alevism, Popular Beliefs, Saint Veneration, Cultural Anthropology
Sociology and Anthropology Vol. 7(8), pp. 327 - 336, 2019
Müsahiplik is the tradition of fictive kinship which has long been practiced within both Turkish ... more Müsahiplik is the tradition of fictive kinship which has long been practiced within both Turkish and Kurdish Alevi communities in Turkey. Müsahip is a special term which means blood brother used in Alevi community. The tradition of Müsahiplik may be defined as a religious fraternity between two men who are not relatives. And at the same time, if these two men marry their wives also have relation of Müsahip. The fraternity is dedicated to a religious authority called Dede. It is an institution of social characteristic that is proper for originated from nomad or semi-nomad societies and of recent urban settlement. This custom is one of the most important religious practices of Alevis in Turkey. In a ceremony in the presence of a Dede, the two couples make a lifelong commitment to care for the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of each other and their children. The ties between couples who have made this commitment are at least as strong as it is for blood relatives. So much so, that Müsahiplik is often called spiritual brotherhood (manevi kardeşlik). In this article, drawing on my own research data, I shall first discuss how the Müsahiplik is practiced in the field in Turkey, and provide a brief outline of their meaning in Alevi theology. I shall then present the current situation of Müsahiplik and popular beliefs and discuss the underlying motives of the religious actors involved. Finally, I shall contextualize these cases within a broader theoretical and comparative perspective on fictive kinship from the point of view of Cultural Anthropology.
Based on the Ocak (Religious oriented household), Alevi people has practiced various form of sain... more Based on the Ocak (Religious oriented household), Alevi people has practiced various form of saint venerations and religious rituals in Varto sub-province in Eastern Anatolia for a long time. These saint veneration and religious rituals have a function which structures the relationship between Alevis themselves and strengthens their awareness of Alevi identity. These religious practices are divided into two categories. First one is rituals practiced by villagers and organized by Seyit (religious authority of Alevis who is descended from the Prophet's family) and his Rehber (religious guide who is appointed by Seyit) like weddings, funerals, circumcision, Nevruz (spring festival) and Cem rituals (the most important Alevi religious practice). The former is well known in the media broadcasted and published by Alevi cultural associations based on the big cities. Even non-Alevi outsiders can participate in these religious rituals. Concerning these religious practices, we can access to a lot of previous studies. However, the latter is completely kept secret for outsiders. People practice these rituals and religious practices only within their village communities. They are different from the former practices which are practiced as a popular belief. Even villagers cannot participate in these religious practices in some case. In other word, if he or she is not a member of Ocak as a ritual group, he or she cannot participate in these rituals. At the same time, if Seyit who is descended from the Prophet family does not organize the ritual, participants cannot have Keramet (miracles). In this paper, I introduce the case of saint veneration as a popular belief in the village communities in Varto sub-province. Then I analyze the current social situation around Alevism in Kurdish community from the view point of Cultural Anthropology.
The saint veneration in the Muslim world is prominent both in terms of intellectual activities fo... more The saint veneration in the Muslim world is prominent both in terms of intellectual activities for the elites and popular beliefs of the public. On the one hand, the most intellectual level of this has been developed in Islamic theology, which has been traditionally handed down in the Muslim world. Of course we must not forget the fact that some Sufis were Ulamas in the Medieval Age. On the other hand, we can also find popular beliefs that are seen as “magical” practices in the Muslim world. For a long time, anthropologists have observed religious practices such as worship for tombs in societies where Muslims have constituted the majority of the population. How do we understand this, if popular beliefs are deemed contrary to the Monotheism? What is a saint, and who should be considered one? In this respect, it ignores any religious elements that pre-existed, and assimilates what it unable to eliminate. Saint worship in the Muslim world is prominent both in terms of intellectual activities for the elites and popular beliefs of the public. This is known as “the complex of SufismTariqah-Saint worship.” I shall first discuss the ziyarets in Çorum, and provide a brief outline of their meaning in Islamic theology. I shall then present the current situation of saint veneration and popular beliefs I shall contextualize these cases within a broader theoretical and comparative perspective on “the sacred/the religious” through an analysis of ziyarets.
Simple screening of acid-triggered reactions of methoxybenzyl alcohols led to the development of ... more Simple screening of acid-triggered reactions of methoxybenzyl alcohols led to the development of a novel colorimetric hydrophobic benzyl alcohol (HBA) tag. HBA tag-3 (14) retained high solubility in less polar solvents and excellent precipitation properties in polar solvents. Our routine procedure for tag-assisted liquid phase peptide synthesis was applied using HBA tag-3 (14), and an effective synthesis of β-sheet breaker peptide iAβ5 (4) was achieved. The tagged peptides showed a vivid blue color under acidic conditions both on TLC plates and in solution, enabling quantitative assay.
Müsahiplik is one of the most important fictive brotherhoods within the Alevi-Bektaşi
community i... more Müsahiplik is one of the most important fictive brotherhoods within the Alevi-Bektaşi community in Turkey. Müsahiplik is based on the relationship between two men who like and understand themselves with each other through a religious ritual organized by Dede. At the same time the two men must not have any relations of kinship. If they are married, their spouses become Müsahip sister. Müsahiplik is actually more important brotherhood rather than physical brotherhood from the point of view of social condition. They help themselves with each other in both material and spiritual meanings. However to be Müsahip they have to overcome so difficult conditions. Traditionally, the relation of Müsahiplik has played an important role within the community for a long time to build the connection out of their own community even if they normally marry with their relatives due to their geographical and economical condition. At the same time, to connect Müsahip means to connect two families who don’t have any kinship relations through the Müsahip. In this paper of the program, I will try to reveal the actual situation from the case of village fieldwork situated in Çorum/Merkez province through an analysis of Social Anthropology. Then, I evaluate the present religious ritual called Müsahip cemi from the Anthropological point of view. I especially try to investigate the development of their society through the relationship with the global social change.
The phenomenon called “Globalization” has been discussed within the all social science. For almos... more The phenomenon called “Globalization” has been discussed within the all social science. For almost of all Anthropologists, the global issues cannot be avoidable to conduct their ethnographic researches in any fields. Globalization is a process of international integration arising from the interchange of products, ideas and other aspect of culture. After 1990’s the interpretation of a complex set of disputes and exigencies settled into a conventional narrative of paradigm shift, in which the intellectual past became essentialized as “traditional Area Studies” and “Classic Anthropology.” A Crucial theme is that the global/local nexus is one of unpredictable interaction and creative adaptation, not of top-down determinism. Theoretically, globalization studies have become the focal point for the convergence of interpretive Anthropology, critical Anthropology, postmodernism, and poststructuralism, which are combined with a tough empiricism. In this paper, I examine the relationship between master and disciple in the Alevi community in Turkey from the framework of Anthropology of Globalization. Traditionally Alevi Dede gives their disciples religious traditions and practices such like how to organize Cem ceremony and other rituals. To transmit their religious knowledge, religious masters called Dede visits villages where Alevis consist of the majority of the population. Then Dede give his disciple called Talip some kind of religious education. In the past Alevi communities in Anatolian villages were generally situated in remote areas where the infrastructure was not sufficiently installed. Even in Alevi villages there were no Dede. However, the situation has changed within the recent two decades. People can access to the remote areas by transportation system and internet access is also available everywhere in the countryside. In this paper, I try to reveal the current situation of master-disciple relation of Alevi community and describe how they transmit some kind of religious education to their disciples in the global era through an Anthropological analysis. At the same time, I investigate the whole of social change in Alevi communities in Turkey.
Hızır inancı, eskiden Doğu Müslüman dünyası yani İran, Orta Asya, Maşrık ülkeleri, Anadolu ve Bal... more Hızır inancı, eskiden Doğu Müslüman dünyası yani İran, Orta Asya, Maşrık ülkeleri, Anadolu ve Balkanlara uzanan geniş bir coğrafyada görülmektedir. Hatta tüm Müslüman dünyasında yaygın olan bu inancın kaynağının Kur’an-ı Kerim olduğunu da belirtmek gerekir. Bu evliya inancı hem dinî elit yani ulema gibi Müslüman aydınları tarafından hem de Müslüman halkları tarafından günümüze kadar uygulanagelmiştir. Ayrıca Orta Çağ İslâm teolojisi içerisinde Hızır inancının ulemalar tarafından geliştirildiği de tarihî kaynaklarda da bulunmaktadır. Öte yandan Hızır inancı kapsamında Müslüman dünyasında sihirsel dinî uygulama olarak görülen halk inançları gözlemlenmektedir. Batılı araştırmacılar bu tür dinî inançları “Sufizm” terimiyle analiz etmişlerdir. Sufizm kelimesi Arapça “tasawwuf” (Tr. tasavvuf) kelimesinin İngilizce meali olup “Şeriat’a karşıt bir inanç” anlamında kullanılmıştır. Bu noktada Sufizm Batılılar tarafından İslâm’ın beş şartı dışındaki bütün dinî uygulamalar için analitik bir terim olarak icat edilmiştir. Hatta eskiden Avrupalı bilim adamları tarafından Sufizm, “İslam’la hiç alakası olmayan inançların bütünü” olarak tanımlamıştır. Bu Sufizm yorumundan yola çıkarak “senkretizm” veya ”Ortodoks/Heterodoks” gibi bir terminoloji de icat edilmiş ve akademik camiada kullanılagelmiştir. Hızır inancı bu Sufizm’in bir parçası olarak nitelendirilmiştir. Fakat bu Sufizm yorumunun, toplumsal gerçekçilik açısından bakıldığında uygun bir yorum olmadığını görüyoruz. Antropologlar uzun zamandır sahada özellikle Müslüman nüfusun çoğunluğu oluşturduğu ülkelerde Batılılarca Sufizm olarak nitelendirilen Hızır inancı gibi dinî uygulamaları gözlemlemişlerdir. Peki, eğer bu tür inançlar tek tanrılı inanca karşı bir inanç sistemi ise o zaman bu tür dinî uygulamaları nasıl anlamalıyız? Hızır kimdir? Kim olmalıdır? Bu makalede hem şahsen saha çalışmalarında topladığım bilgiler hem de arşiv çalışmalarından yararlandığım kaynaklara dayanarak Dersim Bölgesinde uygulanan Hızır inancı başta olmak üzere dinî ritüeller ve inançları Sosyal Antropoloji açısından değerlendireceğim.
Çalışmamızda Lolan aşiretinin tarihsel bir seyrini sunmaktan ziyade aşiret kimliği ve etnisite ka... more Çalışmamızda Lolan aşiretinin tarihsel bir seyrini sunmaktan ziyade aşiret kimliği ve etnisite kavramlarıyla olan ilişkisinin, tarih içerisindeki dinamizminin sosyal ve kültürel antropoloji bağlamında incelenmesi hedeflen mektedir. Daha açık bir ifadeyle Lolan’ın “aidiyet çatışmaları” antropolojik bir yaklaşımla değerlendirilmeye çalışılacaktır. Bunun için de bizzat Doğu Anadolu bölgesi başta olmak üzere Türkiye ve yurt dışında yaptığım etnografik saha çalışmalarından edindiğim bilgilerle konuya dair yerli araştırmacı-yazarların kaleme aldıkları metinler üzerinden ulus-devlet inşasıyla beraber aşiret kavramının nasıl bir toplumsal işleve sahip olduğunu Lolan aşireti bağlamında ele almaya çalışacağım. Akabinde de bu durumun arka planında yer alan tarihsel vakalardan hareketle dinî ve inançsal aidiyetle nasıl bir bağlantı kurulduğunu irdeleyeceğim.
Studia Culturae Islamicae No.112 MEIS Series No.26 Survival Strategies of Minorities in the Middle East: Studies on Religious and Politico-Social Minority Groups in Middle Eastern Societies (Tokyo: Research Institute for Languages and, 2021
T he history of Alevis during Turkey’s republican period is replete with bloody
incidents which h... more T he history of Alevis during Turkey’s republican period is replete with bloody incidents which have deeply impacted Alevis, prompting them to remain vigilant in defending their cultural identity. Alevis were persecuted by the state and lived under the tyranny of the Sunni majority for many years. The majority of Alevis identify as Muslims. However, they generally do not pray f ve times per day at a mosque, nor do they fast during Ramadan or pilgrimage to Mecca. Instead, Alevis hold a ceremony called a cem at a gathering house known as a cemevi.
5 Moreover, they fast for the f rst twelve days of the month of Muharrem every year instead of during Ramadan.6 As such, Sunni Islamic preachers (ulema) have traditionally condemned Alevis as “inf dels” (kaf r) who disobey Islamic law (şeriat). Moreover, some ulemas had a religious opinion which the Alevis are worth than other religious groups such as Christians and Jews in the Ottoman period. Turkish history has been witness to countless bloody incidents. Therefore, how were Alevis able to preserve their identity over the past centuries? What strategies have allowed them to survive in a Sunni majority society?
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Papers by Hiroki WAKAMATSU
and popular beliefs of the public. On the one hand, the most intellectual level of this has been developed in
Islamic theology, which has been traditionally handed down in the Muslim world. Of course we must not forget
the fact that some Sufis were Ulamas in the Medieval Age. On the other hand, we can also find popular beliefs
that are seen as “magical” practices in the Muslim world. For a long time, anthropologists have observed
religious practices such as worship for tombs in societies where Muslims have constituted the majority of the
population. How do we understand this, if popular beliefs are deemed contrary to the Monotheism? What is a
saint, and who should be considered one? In this respect, it ignores any religious elements that pre-existed, and
assimilates what it unable to eliminate. Saint worship in the Muslim world is prominent both in terms of
intellectual activities for the elites and popular beliefs of the public. This is known as “the complex of SufismTariqah-Saint
worship.” I shall first discuss the ziyarets in Çorum, and provide a brief outline of their meaning in
Islamic theology. I shall then present the current situation of saint veneration and popular beliefs I shall
contextualize these cases within a broader theoretical and comparative perspective on “the sacred/the religious”
through an analysis of ziyarets.
community in Turkey. Müsahiplik is based on the relationship between two men who like and
understand themselves with each other through a religious ritual organized by Dede. At the same
time the two men must not have any relations of kinship. If they are married, their spouses become
Müsahip sister. Müsahiplik is actually more important brotherhood rather than physical brotherhood
from the point of view of social condition. They help themselves with each other in both
material and spiritual meanings. However to be Müsahip they have to overcome so difficult conditions.
Traditionally, the relation of Müsahiplik has played an important role within the community
for a long time to build the connection out of their own community even if they normally
marry with their relatives due to their geographical and economical condition. At the same time, to connect Müsahip means to connect two families who don’t have any kinship relations through
the Müsahip.
In this paper of the program, I will try to reveal the actual situation from the case of
village fieldwork situated in Çorum/Merkez province through an analysis of Social Anthropology.
Then, I evaluate the present religious ritual called Müsahip cemi from the Anthropological point
of view. I especially try to investigate the development of their society through the relationship
with the global social change.
of all Anthropologists, the global issues cannot be avoidable to conduct their ethnographic researches
in any fields. Globalization is a process of international integration arising from the interchange
of products, ideas and other aspect of culture. After 1990’s the interpretation of a complex
set of disputes and exigencies settled into a conventional narrative of paradigm shift, in which the
intellectual past became essentialized as “traditional Area Studies” and “Classic Anthropology.” A
Crucial theme is that the global/local nexus is one of unpredictable interaction and creative adaptation,
not of top-down determinism. Theoretically, globalization studies have become the focal point
for the convergence of interpretive Anthropology, critical Anthropology, postmodernism, and poststructuralism,
which are combined with a tough empiricism.
In this paper, I examine the relationship between master and disciple in the Alevi community in
Turkey from the framework of Anthropology of Globalization. Traditionally Alevi Dede gives their
disciples religious traditions and practices such like how to organize Cem ceremony and other
rituals. To transmit their religious knowledge, religious masters called Dede visits villages where
Alevis consist of the majority of the population. Then Dede give his disciple called Talip some kind
of religious education. In the past Alevi communities in Anatolian villages were generally situated
in remote areas where the infrastructure was not sufficiently installed. Even in Alevi villages there
were no Dede.
However, the situation has changed within the recent two decades. People can access to the remote
areas by transportation system and internet access is also available everywhere in the countryside.
In this paper, I try to reveal the current situation of master-disciple relation of Alevi community
and describe how they transmit some kind of religious education to their disciples in the global era
through an Anthropological analysis. At the same time, I investigate the whole of social change in
Alevi communities in Turkey.
dinî elit yani ulema gibi Müslüman aydınları tarafından hem de Müslüman halkları tarafından günümüze kadar uygulanagelmiştir. Ayrıca Orta Çağ İslâm teolojisi içerisinde Hızır inancının ulemalar tarafından geliştirildiği de tarihî kaynaklarda da bulunmaktadır. Öte yandan Hızır inancı kapsamında Müslüman dünyasında sihirsel dinî uygulama olarak görülen halk inançları gözlemlenmektedir.
Batılı araştırmacılar bu tür dinî inançları “Sufizm” terimiyle analiz etmişlerdir. Sufizm kelimesi Arapça “tasawwuf” (Tr. tasavvuf) kelimesinin İngilizce meali olup “Şeriat’a karşıt bir inanç” anlamında kullanılmıştır. Bu noktada Sufizm Batılılar tarafından İslâm’ın beş şartı dışındaki bütün dinî uygulamalar
için analitik bir terim olarak icat edilmiştir. Hatta eskiden Avrupalı bilim adamları tarafından Sufizm, “İslam’la hiç alakası olmayan inançların bütünü” olarak tanımlamıştır. Bu Sufizm yorumundan yola çıkarak “senkretizm” veya ”Ortodoks/Heterodoks” gibi bir terminoloji de icat edilmiş
ve akademik camiada kullanılagelmiştir. Hızır inancı bu Sufizm’in bir parçası olarak nitelendirilmiştir.
Fakat bu Sufizm yorumunun, toplumsal gerçekçilik açısından bakıldığında uygun bir yorum olmadığını görüyoruz. Antropologlar uzun zamandır sahada özellikle Müslüman nüfusun çoğunluğu oluşturduğu ülkelerde Batılılarca Sufizm olarak nitelendirilen Hızır inancı gibi dinî uygulamaları
gözlemlemişlerdir. Peki, eğer bu tür inançlar tek tanrılı inanca karşı bir inanç sistemi ise o zaman bu tür dinî uygulamaları nasıl anlamalıyız? Hızır kimdir? Kim olmalıdır?
Bu makalede hem şahsen saha çalışmalarında topladığım bilgiler hem de arşiv çalışmalarından yararlandığım kaynaklara dayanarak Dersim Bölgesinde uygulanan Hızır inancı başta olmak üzere dinî ritüeller ve inançları Sosyal Antropoloji açısından değerlendireceğim.
and popular beliefs of the public. On the one hand, the most intellectual level of this has been developed in
Islamic theology, which has been traditionally handed down in the Muslim world. Of course we must not forget
the fact that some Sufis were Ulamas in the Medieval Age. On the other hand, we can also find popular beliefs
that are seen as “magical” practices in the Muslim world. For a long time, anthropologists have observed
religious practices such as worship for tombs in societies where Muslims have constituted the majority of the
population. How do we understand this, if popular beliefs are deemed contrary to the Monotheism? What is a
saint, and who should be considered one? In this respect, it ignores any religious elements that pre-existed, and
assimilates what it unable to eliminate. Saint worship in the Muslim world is prominent both in terms of
intellectual activities for the elites and popular beliefs of the public. This is known as “the complex of SufismTariqah-Saint
worship.” I shall first discuss the ziyarets in Çorum, and provide a brief outline of their meaning in
Islamic theology. I shall then present the current situation of saint veneration and popular beliefs I shall
contextualize these cases within a broader theoretical and comparative perspective on “the sacred/the religious”
through an analysis of ziyarets.
community in Turkey. Müsahiplik is based on the relationship between two men who like and
understand themselves with each other through a religious ritual organized by Dede. At the same
time the two men must not have any relations of kinship. If they are married, their spouses become
Müsahip sister. Müsahiplik is actually more important brotherhood rather than physical brotherhood
from the point of view of social condition. They help themselves with each other in both
material and spiritual meanings. However to be Müsahip they have to overcome so difficult conditions.
Traditionally, the relation of Müsahiplik has played an important role within the community
for a long time to build the connection out of their own community even if they normally
marry with their relatives due to their geographical and economical condition. At the same time, to connect Müsahip means to connect two families who don’t have any kinship relations through
the Müsahip.
In this paper of the program, I will try to reveal the actual situation from the case of
village fieldwork situated in Çorum/Merkez province through an analysis of Social Anthropology.
Then, I evaluate the present religious ritual called Müsahip cemi from the Anthropological point
of view. I especially try to investigate the development of their society through the relationship
with the global social change.
of all Anthropologists, the global issues cannot be avoidable to conduct their ethnographic researches
in any fields. Globalization is a process of international integration arising from the interchange
of products, ideas and other aspect of culture. After 1990’s the interpretation of a complex
set of disputes and exigencies settled into a conventional narrative of paradigm shift, in which the
intellectual past became essentialized as “traditional Area Studies” and “Classic Anthropology.” A
Crucial theme is that the global/local nexus is one of unpredictable interaction and creative adaptation,
not of top-down determinism. Theoretically, globalization studies have become the focal point
for the convergence of interpretive Anthropology, critical Anthropology, postmodernism, and poststructuralism,
which are combined with a tough empiricism.
In this paper, I examine the relationship between master and disciple in the Alevi community in
Turkey from the framework of Anthropology of Globalization. Traditionally Alevi Dede gives their
disciples religious traditions and practices such like how to organize Cem ceremony and other
rituals. To transmit their religious knowledge, religious masters called Dede visits villages where
Alevis consist of the majority of the population. Then Dede give his disciple called Talip some kind
of religious education. In the past Alevi communities in Anatolian villages were generally situated
in remote areas where the infrastructure was not sufficiently installed. Even in Alevi villages there
were no Dede.
However, the situation has changed within the recent two decades. People can access to the remote
areas by transportation system and internet access is also available everywhere in the countryside.
In this paper, I try to reveal the current situation of master-disciple relation of Alevi community
and describe how they transmit some kind of religious education to their disciples in the global era
through an Anthropological analysis. At the same time, I investigate the whole of social change in
Alevi communities in Turkey.
dinî elit yani ulema gibi Müslüman aydınları tarafından hem de Müslüman halkları tarafından günümüze kadar uygulanagelmiştir. Ayrıca Orta Çağ İslâm teolojisi içerisinde Hızır inancının ulemalar tarafından geliştirildiği de tarihî kaynaklarda da bulunmaktadır. Öte yandan Hızır inancı kapsamında Müslüman dünyasında sihirsel dinî uygulama olarak görülen halk inançları gözlemlenmektedir.
Batılı araştırmacılar bu tür dinî inançları “Sufizm” terimiyle analiz etmişlerdir. Sufizm kelimesi Arapça “tasawwuf” (Tr. tasavvuf) kelimesinin İngilizce meali olup “Şeriat’a karşıt bir inanç” anlamında kullanılmıştır. Bu noktada Sufizm Batılılar tarafından İslâm’ın beş şartı dışındaki bütün dinî uygulamalar
için analitik bir terim olarak icat edilmiştir. Hatta eskiden Avrupalı bilim adamları tarafından Sufizm, “İslam’la hiç alakası olmayan inançların bütünü” olarak tanımlamıştır. Bu Sufizm yorumundan yola çıkarak “senkretizm” veya ”Ortodoks/Heterodoks” gibi bir terminoloji de icat edilmiş
ve akademik camiada kullanılagelmiştir. Hızır inancı bu Sufizm’in bir parçası olarak nitelendirilmiştir.
Fakat bu Sufizm yorumunun, toplumsal gerçekçilik açısından bakıldığında uygun bir yorum olmadığını görüyoruz. Antropologlar uzun zamandır sahada özellikle Müslüman nüfusun çoğunluğu oluşturduğu ülkelerde Batılılarca Sufizm olarak nitelendirilen Hızır inancı gibi dinî uygulamaları
gözlemlemişlerdir. Peki, eğer bu tür inançlar tek tanrılı inanca karşı bir inanç sistemi ise o zaman bu tür dinî uygulamaları nasıl anlamalıyız? Hızır kimdir? Kim olmalıdır?
Bu makalede hem şahsen saha çalışmalarında topladığım bilgiler hem de arşiv çalışmalarından yararlandığım kaynaklara dayanarak Dersim Bölgesinde uygulanan Hızır inancı başta olmak üzere dinî ritüeller ve inançları Sosyal Antropoloji açısından değerlendireceğim.
bir yaklaşımla değerlendirilmeye çalışılacaktır. Bunun için de bizzat Doğu
Anadolu bölgesi başta olmak üzere Türkiye ve yurt dışında yaptığım etnografik saha çalışmalarından edindiğim bilgilerle konuya dair yerli araştırmacı-yazarların kaleme aldıkları metinler üzerinden ulus-devlet inşasıyla beraber aşiret kavramının nasıl bir toplumsal işleve sahip olduğunu Lolan aşireti
bağlamında ele almaya çalışacağım. Akabinde de bu durumun arka planında
yer alan tarihsel vakalardan hareketle dinî ve inançsal aidiyetle nasıl bir bağlantı kurulduğunu irdeleyeceğim.
incidents which have deeply impacted Alevis, prompting them to remain vigilant in
defending their cultural identity. Alevis were persecuted by the state and lived under
the tyranny of the Sunni majority for many years. The majority of Alevis identify as
Muslims. However, they generally do not pray f ve times per day at a mosque, nor do
they fast during Ramadan or pilgrimage to Mecca. Instead, Alevis hold a ceremony
called a cem at a gathering house known as a cemevi.
5 Moreover, they fast for the f rst
twelve days of the month of Muharrem every year instead of during Ramadan.6
As such, Sunni Islamic preachers (ulema) have traditionally condemned Alevis
as “inf dels” (kaf r) who disobey Islamic law (şeriat). Moreover, some ulemas had
a religious opinion which the Alevis are worth than other religious groups such
as Christians and Jews in the Ottoman period. Turkish history has been witness to
countless bloody incidents. Therefore, how were Alevis able to preserve their identity
over the past centuries? What strategies have allowed them to survive in a Sunni
majority society?