CLASSIFICATION AND ANALYSIS OF SOME TEXTUAL REFLECTING ALEVI- BEKTASHI ORAL TRADITION IN POLITICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL CONTEXT

Abstract First, it should be noted that the Alevi culture was created, transmitted and maintained mainly as an oral discourse. Alevi poetry played the biggest role in this process. In this study on Alevi poetic discourse, cem, poetry, dance, semah, prayer and recitation of hymns, which are an Alevi ritual, will be discussed. The Alevi poetry, which is the creation of Bektaşi, urbanite Alevi poets who used the poetical forms of the classical Ottoman literature, or court literature will be excluded from my discussion. These forms include gazel, kaside, kıt’a, terciibend, terkib-i bend, mersiye etc which follow the form, style and the metric system used mainly by the Medresse educated court poets. Up until now the Alevi-Bektashi people have maintained their beliefs, thoughts, policy, philosophy, traditions and practices through some cultural instruments (muhabbet) which they perform in or out of cem rituals (worship gatherings), such as folk poems, folk songs (nefes, deyiş, duvazimam and so on) and folk dances (semah). Cem rituals have social, educational, cultural and political dimensions as well as their inherent religious dimension. Cem rituals, folk poems and dances change from one region to another. Despite the differences between them, it is believed that their "essence" is same. We can say that the saying "there is one path but a thousand ways" is the major notion in their cosmology. In our research, the belief structure of the Alevi culture and the way of worship are discussed based on the mâni and the koşma. In addition, the syllable structure and meanings of mâni, koşma and deyiş are presented with Turkish and English examples. Alevi ashıks, such as Kaygusuz Abdal, Hatayi and Muhiddin Abdal inserted their pen name in that short poetical form and transformed it into an individual creation. The koşma, may be known by several names, such as deyiş, deme, düvaz imam, mersiye, depending on musical tune it is associated with in the local tradition, social context, the geographic area, other performance components. These word structures and formulas reveal the Alevi cultural structure in religious rituals, music and art. Brief history of the Alevi-Bektashi society, which forms the basis of this belief structure, is also evaluated in our study. The Alevi poetry, which is the creation of the Alevi aşıks, minstrel, played a major role in transmitting the Alevi moral principles, the social and individual behaviors, the history of the Alevi community, the legendary life stories of the Alevi Babas and Dede’s and most importantly, the Alevi religious beliefs and ritual.