Hamza Baba Türbesi Etrafında Uygulanan Ritüeller ve Bektaşilik Geleneği

Abstract

Respecting adults has always had an important place in Islam, and Turkish customs and traditions. Especially the belief and love for the people who are believed to be capable of showing extraordinary miracles have preceded others. When they passed away, their tombs have become one of the placesfrequented by people. Anatolian people have shown love and respect to such great people for years, and accepted their graves as a supreme authority. In this context, visiting tombs where people pray and offer sacrifices to God, has gained a great importance. When their prayers are accepted, they would pay another visit to the tombs to sacrifice their offerings. Besides, they perform their prayers through different practices in order to be accepted. Such practices and rituals revolving around the tombs have continued for years and survived to the present day.The Hamza Baba Mausoleum, located in Kemalpasa District of Izmir, continues to exist as a mausoleum that has been visited by Anatolian people for years, where they offered sacrifices, and performed various practices and rituals. This study focuses on Hamza Baba Tomb, as it contains both traces of Turkish culture and Alawi-Bektashi traditions. The study consist of three essential parts, namely the Hamza Baba Mausoleum, the Bektashi tradition that is followed by Hamza Baba, the practices and rituals performed around the mausoleum. To this end, interviews were conducted with the villagers who live in where the tomb is located, and written sources were consulted to discuss thedata gained during fieldwork and enrich the study.