Müsâhiplik: An Anthropological Analysis on Fictive Kinship of Alevis in Turkey

Abstract

Musahiplik is the tradition of fictive kinship which has long been practiced within both Turkish and Kurdish Alevi communities in Turkey. Musahip is a special term which means blood brother used in Alevi community. The tradition of Musahiplik 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 Musahip. 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 life-long 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 Musahiplik is often called spiritual brotherhood (manevi kardeslik). In this article, drawing on my own research data, I shall first discuss how the Musahiplik 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 Musahiplik 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.