Kurdish Alevism[1] (Kurdish:Rêya Heqî,lit. 'The Path of God/Truth'[2] orElewîtî)[3] refers to the unique rituals, sacred place practices, mythological discourses and socio-religious organizations amongKurds who adhere toAlevism.[4] Kurdish Alevis consider their hereditary sacred lineages as semi-deific figures,[2] often have beliefs more rooted innature veneration,[5][1] and put more emphasis onPir Sultan Abdal as their religious symbol, unlike Turkish Alevis who emphasize the role ofHaji Bektash Veli.[6] Some Kurdish Alevis argue that their beliefs are related toYarsanism andYazidism.[7]
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; theKoçgiri rebellion in 1921 and theDersim rebellion in 1937–1938.[5] Kurdish Alevis were also the main victims of theMaraş massacre in 1978.[9]
The heartland and sacred land of Kurdish Alevis is theDersim region.[10]
InTurkey, 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 theEastern Anatolia andSoutheastern Anatolia regions of Turkey, 69.7% of Alevis speakZaza, 20.2% of them speakKurmanji Kurdish, 9.0% of them speakTurkish and 1.1% of them per centArabic 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]
Tunceli Province is the only Kurdish Alevi-majority province in Turkey.[10] Moreover, there are Kurdish Alevi settlements in the provinces ofAdıyaman,[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] andYozgat.[27] Outside of Turkey, there are Kurdish Alevis inAfrin, Syria.[28]
Ocaks associated with Kurdish Alevism were not included in the 13th centuryVilayetname byHaji Bektash Veli.[29][clarification needed] In the 16th century, Kurdish Alevis of Dersim lived under theEmirate of Çemişgezek and the autonomy of this emirate made the community flourish and expand.[30]
After surviving the attempted elimination of Bektashism by Ottoman EmperorMahmud II in the early 1800s, the Haji Bektash Veli order sought to surpass the Alevi order in influence.[31] Bektashis would center their beliefs around thedargah which emerged as anOttoman institution, but Kurdish Alevis continued to hold on to their pre-Ottoman beliefs and thus bypass the institutionalism.[31] In the late 19th century, EmperorAbdul Hamid II did not shy away from using the institutionalized Bektashi beliefs toBektashify the Kurdish Alevis.[31] The Axûçan ocax was the first to be approached and did subject itself to the beliefs ofHaji Bektash Veli by introducing the Bektashi beliefs to their religious ceremonies (seeJem).[31] DuringWorld War I, Bektashi missionaryMehmet Cemaleddin Efendi stated that the Kurdish Alevis had 'fallen away from the path'[32] and tried to influence their beliefs through the Axûçan ocax on behalf of theCommittee of Union and Progress.[32] This period also sawSunnification of Kurdish Alevis and tribes such as theReşwan andŞavak have both Alevi and Sunni members today.[33]
In 1921, theKoçgiri rebellion took place with the goal of receiving political autonomy for Kurds and withdrawal of Turkish forces inKurdistan. The rebellion was put down, but Kurdish Alevis rebelled again in theDersim 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 ofDersim was almost fully destroyed. In the subsequent period from the Dersim rebellion till the 1960s, the Kurds 'went into deep silence'.[34]
In the1950 and1954 general elections, a majority of Alevi Kurds voted for theDemocrat Party, while the Alevi Kurdish vote would split between theRepublican People's Party (CHP),New Turkey Party,Justice Party andWorkers' Party of Turkey in the subsequent elections through the 1960s. The Workers' Party of Turkey (TIP) would target the Alevi vote and openly mentioned the rights of Alevis in their 1964 program which culminated with them winning a seat inMalatya Province in the1965 elections. While the national support for TIP decreased in the1969 elections, they increased their share of vote among Alevi Kurds. However, due to both the strong association between right-wing parties and Sunni Muslims and the incapability of CHP to challenge the conservative parties, Alevis formed the minority rights-led leftistUnity Party in 1966. Yet, because of its focus onKemalism andTurkish nationalism, the party did not receive much support from Alevi Kurds. In the 1970s, the politicization of Islam pushed Alevi Kurds towards CHP, however the party was closed down after the1980 Turkish coup d'état. Alevi Kurds afterwards gave their support to theSocial Democratic Populist Party, until CHP was reestablished in 1992.[35] Alevi Kurds not only took part in the formation of theKurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) but many of them also became leading figures, includingMazlum Doğan,Sakine Cansız,Ali Haydar Kaytan,Mustafa Karasu, Rıza Altun andBese Hozat.[36] PKK sought to present itself as defenders of Alevi Kurds and targeted the Turkish nationalists who took part in theÇorum massacre. Alevi Kurdish support for PKK would increase throughout the 1980s due to the devastating impact on the Turkish left as a result of the1980 Turkish coup d'état.[37] In the 2010s, thePeoples' Democratic Party received support from a large majority of Alevi Kurds, becoming their main political representative.[38] Another significant event was the election of Alevi KurdishGültan Kışanak as co-mayor of the largest Kurdish municipalityDiyarbakır in 2014.[39]
Traditionally, the socio-religious structure of Kurdish Alevis consists of twohereditary social positions; members of the sacred lineage orocax and those subordinated to the sacred lineage ortaliw. By the end of the 20th century, this system had been gravely impacted by cultural destruction and thetaliw has gained influence in regard to religion andidentity politics.[4] Since the anti-Alevi violence in the 1990s,Taliws have strengthened the cultural identity of Kurdish Alevis.[5]
Ocax refers to various sacred lineages in Kurdish Alevism. Theocaxes 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 bytribal affiliation, it is fairly easy to identify which individual has which religious position in which ocax.[41]
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 calledsayyid. For thetaliw population to receive a religious service, thesayyid must travel to their place of residence. Traditionally, thesayyid therefore had to travel from village to village to offer their service.[42]
Raywer orrêber is a term used to describe thesayyid who prepares and serves the religious functions and therefore leads the others down the right path. Theraywer also has the role of explaining the religion to its members. Theraywer is chosen from asayyid ocax at birth and the title is lifelong. Nonetheless, the person can always choose not to practice hisraywership.[43]
It is believed that some members of thesayyid have spiritual power through bloodline. While theraywer guides the members of Alevism practically, thepîr thus guides spiritually.[44][45]
Murşîd is the highest rank in the ocax systems. Themurşîd presides over thejurisprudent element of the system and has the role ofappeal. For example, if ataliw feels injustice regarding the decision of apîr, they can appeal to themurşîd.[46]
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 therawyer, pîr ormurşîd. Jiare can be utilized to treat people who suffer fromparalysis ormental issues.[47] Two important jiare areMunzur River and the sacred mountain associated with (or embodying)Duzgin Bawo, both located in Tunceli Province.[48]
Munzur River is located nearOvacık and a place ofpilgrimage andritual slaughter and people pray to God through the variousjiare in the region.Munzur Bawa was the name of a shepherd who was believed to be able to practice miracles.[49]
Xizir (ie.Khidr) is an important religious figure who is considered to have spiritual power and anemanation of God and abatin ofAli. It is believed that Xizir travels between earth and heaven and during travels has generated numerousjiare - including oases and springs from where his feet touched the ground.[49]
Xizir Fountain is one of thesejiare located inVarto and is also visited by Sunni Kurds.[49]
Anotherjiare related toXizir isGola Çeto inPülümür which is the location where it is believedXizir meetsElijah 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]
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