Kurdish Alevism
Kurdish Alevism
The Kurdish Alevi population has experienced religious and ethnic discrimination, oppression and forced assimilation which have significantly impacted their identity.[8] Two Kurdish Alevi rebellions were crushed by Turkish forces in the 20th century; the Koçgiri rebellion in 1921 and the Dersim rebellion in 1937–1938.[5] Kurdish Alevis were also the main victims of the Maraş massacre in 1978.[9]
The heartland and sacred land of Kurdish Alevis is the Dersim region.[10]
Population
In Turkey, different estimations exist on the Kurdish Alevi population. While Dressler and several other academics stated that about one third[5] or fifth[11] of the Alevi population is Kurdish, respectively, Hamza Aksüt argued in 2015 that a majority of the Alevi population is Kurdish.[12]
According to a study published in 2015, in the Eastern Anatolia and Southeastern Anatolia regions of Turkey, 69.7% of Alevis speak Zaza, 20.2% of them speak Kurdish, 9.0% of them speak Turkish and 1.1% of them per cent Arabic as their mother tongue.[13] In contrast to their mother tongue, 70.8% of Alevis mostly speak Turkish within their family, while 18.0% speak Zaza, 9.0% Kurdish, 1.1% Arabic and 1.1% "others".[14] Also, 73% of Alevis have tribal affiliation, which is different from the general profile of the region.[14]
Geography
Tunceli Province is the only Kurdish Alevi-majority province in Turkey.[10] Moreover, there are Kurdish Alevi settlements in the provinces of Adıyaman,[15] Ardahan,[16] Bingöl,[17] Çorum,[16] Elazığ,[18] Erzincan,[19] Erzurum,[20] Gaziantep,[21] Gümüşhane,[22] Kahramanmaraş,[20] Kayseri,[23] Malatya,[24] Muş,[25] Sivas[26] and Yozgat.[27] Outside of Turkey, there are Kurdish Alevis in Afrin, Syria.[28]
History
Ocaks associated with Kurdish Alevism were not included in the 13th century Vilayetname by Haji Bektash Veli.[29][clarification needed] In the 16th century, Kurdish Alevis of Dersim lived under the Emirate of Çemişgezek and the autonomy of this emirate made the community flourish and expand.[30]
After surviving the attempted elimination of Bektashism by Ottoman Emperor
In 1921, the Koçgiri rebellion took place with the goal of receiving political autonomy for Kurds and withdrawal of Turkish forces in Kurdistan. The rebellion was put down, but Kurdish Alevis rebelled again in the Dersim rebellion in the 1937, due to the centralist policies of the newly established Turkish republic. This rebellion was also suppressed. Thousands of Alevi Kurds were massacred and the town of Dersim was almost fully destroyed. In the subsequent period from the Dersim rebellion till the 1960s, the Kurds 'went into deep silence'.[34]
In the
Structure
Traditionally, the socio-religious structure of Kurdish Alevis consists of two hereditary social positions; members of the sacred lineage or ocax and those subordinated to the sacred lineage or taliw. By the end of the 20th century, this system had been gravely impacted by cultural destruction and the taliw has gained influence in regard to religion and identity politics.[4] Since the anti-Alevi violence in the 1990s, Taliws have strengthened the cultural identity of Kurdish Alevis.[5]
Ocax
Ocax refers to various sacred lineages in Kurdish Alevism. The ocaxes are: Axûçan, Babamansûr, Sînemîllî, Celal Abbas, Kurêsû, Cemal Avdel, Dewrêş Gewr, Dewrêş Cemal, Seyit Sabun, Sari Saltik, Ûryan Xizir, Şeyh Çoban and Şix Delîlê Berxêcan.[40] Since sacred lineage and religious rank is determined by tribal affiliation, it is fairly easy to identify which individual has which religious position in which ocax.[41]
Taliw and sayyid
Taliw is a term used to encompass every Kurdish Alevi person who receives religious services. In Kurdish Alevism, most people only receive services, while a small segment both receive and give. This latter small segment is called sayyid. For the taliw population to receive a religious service, the sayyid must travel to their place of residence. Traditionally, the sayyid therefore had to travel from village to village to offer their service.[42]
Raywer
Raywer or rêber is a term used to describe the sayyid who prepares and serves the religious functions and therefore leads the others down the right path. The raywer also has the role of explaining the religion to its members. The raywer is chosen from a sayyid ocax at birth and the title is lifelong. Nonetheless, the person can always choose not to practice his raywership.[43]
Pîr
It is believed that some members of the sayyid have spiritual power through bloodline. While the raywer guides the members of Alevism practically, the pîr thus guides spiritually.[44][45]
Murşîd
Murşîd is the highest rank in the ocax systems. The murşîd presides over the jurisprudent element of the system and has the role of appeal. For example, if a taliw feels injustice regarding the decision of a pîr, they can appeal to the murşîd.[46]
Jiare
Jiare are the sacred places which Alevi Kurds worship.[1] This includes trees, mountains, rocks, caves, rivers, lakes, fountains, the sun and the moon that are each related to a semi-deific figure.[44] These places and objects are thus sacred and some objects are moreover considered dangerous and therefore kept by the rawyer, pîr or murşîd. Jiare can be utilized to treat people who suffer from paralysis or mental issues.[47] Two important jiare are Munzur River and Duzgin Bawo, both located in Tunceli Province.[48]
Munzur River
Munzur River is located near
Xizir
Xizir (ie. Khidr) is an important religious figure who is considered to have spiritual power and an emanation of God and a batin of Ali. It is believed that Xizir travels between earth and heaven and during travels has generated numerous jiare - including oases and springs from where his feet touched the ground.[49]
Xizir Fountain is one of these jiare located in Varto and is also visited by Sunni Kurds.[49]
Another jiare related to Xizir is Gola Çeto in Pülümür which is the location where it is believed Xizir meets Elijah once a year from 13 February and the subsequent three days. During this period, Kurdish Alevis fast and it is believed that the meeting ends winter.[50]
Notes
- ^ a b c Gültekin (2019), p. 12.
- ^ a b Gültekin (2019), p. 10.
- Rûdaw(in Kurdish). 18 January 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
- ^ a b Gültekin (2019), p. 3.
- ^ a b c d Dressler (2008).
- ^ Wakamatsu (2013), p. 72.
- ^ van Bruinessen (2015), p. 577.
- ^ Gültekin (2019), p. 5.
- ^ Sinclair-Webb (2003), p. 222–223.
- ^ a b Gültekin (2019), p. 4.
- ^ "Westminster Sociologists edit first Special Issue of Kurdish Studies on Alevi-Kurds". www.westminster.ac.uk. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
- ^ Gezik (2021), p. 562.
- ^ Yeğen (2015), p. 37.
- ^ a b Yeğen (2015), p. 39.
- ^ Aksüt (2012), pp. 213 & 264.
- ^ a b Aksüt (2012), p. 277.
- ^ Aksüt (2012), p. 228.
- ^ Aksüt (2012), pp. 239 & 261.
- ^ Aksüt (2012), p. 223.
- ^ a b Aksüt (2012), p. 236.
- ^ Aksüt (2012), p. 225.
- ^ Aksüt (2012), p. 229.
- ^ Aksüt (2012), p. 234.
- ^ Aksüt (2012), pp. 235 & 239.
- ^ Aksüt (2012), p. 224.
- ^ Aksüt (2012), p. 233.
- ^ Aksüt (2012), p. 275.
- ^ Aksüt (2012), p. 222.
- ^ Aydin (2020), p. 30.
- ^ Gezik (2021), pp. 565–566.
- ^ a b c d Aydin (2020), p. 31.
- ^ a b Aydin (2020), p. 32.
- ^ Aydin (2020), p. 34.
- ^ Çiftçi (2019), p. 64–65.
- ^ Günes (2020), pp. 78–79.
- ^ Günes (2020), p. 83.
- ^ Günes (2020), p. 84.
- ^ Günes (2020), p. 86.
- ^ Günes (2020), p. 85.
- ^ Dalkılıç (2015).
- ^ Deniz (2019), p. 55.
- ^ Deniz (2019), pp. 54–55.
- ^ Deniz (2019), pp. 56–57.
- ^ a b Gültekin (2019), p. 13.
- ^ Deniz (2019), p. 57.
- ^ Deniz (2019), p. 60.
- ^ Gültekin (2019), p. 15.
- ^ Sweetnam (1994), p. 213.
- ^ a b c Wakamatsu (2013), p. 77.
- ^ Wakamatsu (2013), p. 80.
Bibliography
- Aksüt, Hamza (2012), Aleviler: Türkiye, İran, İrak, Suriye, Bulgaristan: Araştırma-İnceleme (in Turkish) (5 ed.), ISBN 978-975-9025-61-8)
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - Aydin, Suavi (2020), "A Survey of the Roots and History of Kurdish Alevism: What are the Divergences and Convergences between Kurdish Alevi Groups in Turkey?", Kurdish Studies, 8 (1), CEEOL: 17–42, S2CID 219734521
- Deniz, Dilşa (2019), Kurdish Alevi Belief System, Rêya Heqî/Raa Haqi: Structure, Networking, Ritual, and Function, Lexington Books
- Dressler, Markus (2008). "Alevīs". In Fleet, Kate; ISSN 1873-9830.
- Gültekin, Ahmet Kerim (2019), Kurdish Alevism: Creating New Ways of Practicing the Religion (PDF), University of Leipzig
- Günes, Cengiz (2020), Political Representation of Alevi Kurds in Turkey: Historical Trends and Main Transformations
- van Bruinessen, Martin (2015), "Dersim and Dalahu: Some Reflections on Kurdish Alevism and the Ahl-i Haqq religion", Islamic Alternatives: Non-Mainstream Religion in Persianate Societies, ISBN 9783447107792
- Wakamatsu, Hiroki (2013), "Veneration of the Sacred or Regeneration of the Religious: An Analysis of Saints and the Popular Beliefs of Kurdish Alevis", 上智アジア学, vol. 31, Sophia University
- Sinclair-Webb, Emma (2003). White, Paul Joseph; Jongerden, Joost (eds.). Turkey's Alevi Enigma: A Comprehensive Overview. ISBN 9789004125384.
- Çiftçi, Deniz (2019). The Kurds and the Politics of Turkey: Agency, Territory and Religion. ISBN 9781788316385.
- Sweetnam, Denise L. (1994). Kurdish Culture: A Cross-cultural Guide. Verlag für Kultur und Wissenschaft. ISBN 3926105194.
- Dalkılıç, Halil (2015). Asimilasyon Kıskacında Alevi Kürtler (in Turkish). Siyam Kitap. ISBN 9786058448018.
- Yeğen, Mesut (2015). "Kürt Seçmenlerin Oy Verme Dinamikleri: Kuzeydoğu-Ortadoğu ve Güneydoğu Anadolu Alt Bölgelerinde Seçmenin Siyasal Tercihlerinin Sosyolojik Analizi" (PDF) (in Turkish).
Further reading
- Kizilhan, Jan Ilhan (2022), "Transgenerational Transmission of Trauma across Three Generations of Alevi Kurds", International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19 (1): 81, PMID 35010342
- Tee, Caroline (2010), "Holy Lineages, Migration and Reformulation of Alevi Tradition: A Study of the Derviş Cemal Ocak from Erzincan", British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 37 (3): 335–392, S2CID 142830312