Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
TERASHIMA Kenji Chiba University, A part-time Lecturer (until 2000), (非)講師
KOMIOKA Koji Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Institute for Languages and Culture of Asia and Africa, Professor (emiritus professor since 2001), AA言語文化研究所, 教授 (80014512)
ITANI Kozo Otemon Gakuin University, Faculty of Literature, Professor, 文学部, 教授 (60144309)
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Keywords | Alevi-Baktasi / Ethnicity, identity / Cem-rites, Mae-rites / Asik, ozan, minstrel / Sunni Islam, cultural changes / Haci Bektas Veli / Semah, misticism / Turkey, Bulgaria |
Research Abstract |
Members of the Alevi ethnic group, that includes the Bektashi, perform various social functions within the framework of mutual benefit associations, waqf, or under a communal village system. There is great diversity in both the type of organizational framework, as well as the activities that they perform. In order to identify the special ethnic and lifestyle characteristics of the Alevi, we observed some of their basic rites, activities and customs. In Turkey, we looked at two selected groups : the Karacaahmet Association in Istanbul and the Aydos Waqf near Ankara. We also looked at the Mae rites in Bulgaria, as well as the Cem rites in Turkey. We found a number of variations in the chants used, the participation of minstrels (both local and itinerant), and the socio-cultural functions of the local court. From this investigation, we identified various Alevi characteristics that make us believe that the Alevi may be considered as distinct from the mainstream Sunni or Shiite Islamic groups. Recent changes in the political and social environment in Turkey have made the status of the Alevi people more fluid. In addition, their wide dispersion around the world warrants further investigation into their culture.
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