Recent from talks
Kurdish Alevism
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Kurdish Alevism
Kurdish Alevism (Kurdish: Rêya Heqî, lit. 'The Path of God/Truth' or Elewîtî) refers to the unique rituals, sacred place practices, mythological discourses and socio-religious organizations among Kurds who adhere to Alevism. Kurdish Alevis consider their hereditary sacred lineages as semi-deific figures, often have beliefs more rooted in nature veneration, and put more emphasis on Pir Sultan Abdal as their religious symbol, unlike Turkish Alevis who emphasize the role of Haji Bektash Veli. Some Kurdish Alevis argue that their beliefs are related to Yarsanism and Yazidism.
The Kurdish Alevi population has experienced religious and ethnic discrimination, oppression and forced assimilation which have significantly impacted their identity. 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. Kurdish Alevis were also the main victims of the Maraş massacre in 1978.
The heartland and sacred land of Kurdish Alevis is the Dersim region.
In Turkey, different estimations exist on the Kurdish Alevi population. While Dressler and several other academics stated that about one third or fifth of the Alevi population is Kurdish, respectively, Hamza Aksüt argued in 2015 that a majority of the Alevi population is Kurdish.
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 Kurmanji Kurdish, 9.0% of them speak Turkish and 1.1% of them per cent Arabic as their mother tongue. 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". Also, 73% of Alevis have tribal affiliation, which is different from the general profile of the region.
Tunceli Province is the only Kurdish Alevi-majority province in Turkey. Moreover, there are Kurdish Alevi settlements in the provinces of Adıyaman, Ardahan, Bingöl, Çorum, Elazığ, Erzincan, Erzurum, Gaziantep, Gümüşhane, Kahramanmaraş, Kayseri, Malatya, Muş, Sivas and Yozgat. Outside of Turkey, there are Kurdish Alevis in Afrin, Syria.
Ocaks associated with Kurdish Alevism were not included in the 13th century Vilayetname by Haji Bektash Veli.[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.
After surviving the attempted elimination of Bektashism by Ottoman Emperor Mahmud II in the early 1800s, the Haji Bektash Veli order sought to surpass the Alevi order in influence. Bektashis would center their beliefs around the dargah which emerged as an Ottoman institution, but Kurdish Alevis continued to hold on to their pre-Ottoman beliefs and thus bypass the institutionalism. In the late 19th century, Emperor Abdul Hamid II did not shy away from using the institutionalized Bektashi beliefs to Bektashify the Kurdish Alevis. The Axûçan ocax was the first to be approached and did subject itself to the beliefs of Haji Bektash Veli by introducing the Bektashi beliefs to their religious ceremonies (see Jem). During World War I, Bektashi missionary Mehmet Cemaleddin Efendi stated that the Kurdish Alevis had 'fallen away from the path' and tried to influence their beliefs through the Axûçan ocax on behalf of the Committee of Union and Progress. This period also saw Sunnification of Kurdish Alevis and tribes such as the Reşwan and Şavak have both Alevi and Sunni members today.
Hub AI
Kurdish Alevism AI simulator
(@Kurdish Alevism_simulator)
Kurdish Alevism
Kurdish Alevism (Kurdish: Rêya Heqî, lit. 'The Path of God/Truth' or Elewîtî) refers to the unique rituals, sacred place practices, mythological discourses and socio-religious organizations among Kurds who adhere to Alevism. Kurdish Alevis consider their hereditary sacred lineages as semi-deific figures, often have beliefs more rooted in nature veneration, and put more emphasis on Pir Sultan Abdal as their religious symbol, unlike Turkish Alevis who emphasize the role of Haji Bektash Veli. Some Kurdish Alevis argue that their beliefs are related to Yarsanism and Yazidism.
The Kurdish Alevi population has experienced religious and ethnic discrimination, oppression and forced assimilation which have significantly impacted their identity. 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. Kurdish Alevis were also the main victims of the Maraş massacre in 1978.
The heartland and sacred land of Kurdish Alevis is the Dersim region.
In Turkey, different estimations exist on the Kurdish Alevi population. While Dressler and several other academics stated that about one third or fifth of the Alevi population is Kurdish, respectively, Hamza Aksüt argued in 2015 that a majority of the Alevi population is Kurdish.
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 Kurmanji Kurdish, 9.0% of them speak Turkish and 1.1% of them per cent Arabic as their mother tongue. 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". Also, 73% of Alevis have tribal affiliation, which is different from the general profile of the region.
Tunceli Province is the only Kurdish Alevi-majority province in Turkey. Moreover, there are Kurdish Alevi settlements in the provinces of Adıyaman, Ardahan, Bingöl, Çorum, Elazığ, Erzincan, Erzurum, Gaziantep, Gümüşhane, Kahramanmaraş, Kayseri, Malatya, Muş, Sivas and Yozgat. Outside of Turkey, there are Kurdish Alevis in Afrin, Syria.
Ocaks associated with Kurdish Alevism were not included in the 13th century Vilayetname by Haji Bektash Veli.[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.
After surviving the attempted elimination of Bektashism by Ottoman Emperor Mahmud II in the early 1800s, the Haji Bektash Veli order sought to surpass the Alevi order in influence. Bektashis would center their beliefs around the dargah which emerged as an Ottoman institution, but Kurdish Alevis continued to hold on to their pre-Ottoman beliefs and thus bypass the institutionalism. In the late 19th century, Emperor Abdul Hamid II did not shy away from using the institutionalized Bektashi beliefs to Bektashify the Kurdish Alevis. The Axûçan ocax was the first to be approached and did subject itself to the beliefs of Haji Bektash Veli by introducing the Bektashi beliefs to their religious ceremonies (see Jem). During World War I, Bektashi missionary Mehmet Cemaleddin Efendi stated that the Kurdish Alevis had 'fallen away from the path' and tried to influence their beliefs through the Axûçan ocax on behalf of the Committee of Union and Progress. This period also saw Sunnification of Kurdish Alevis and tribes such as the Reşwan and Şavak have both Alevi and Sunni members today.
Recent media