مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - THE VISIT OF CIRALIK CEPNI ALEWIS IN SARILAR VILLAGE AND SOME BELIEFS AND PRACTICES CONNECTED TURKISH TREE CULT

Abstract :

In Turkish folk culture, there are various spring festivals and celebrations according to the changes in the seasons. In addition to commonly celebrated festivals such as Nevruz and Hıdırellez, there are festivals like mating of sheep (koç katımı), saya, plow feast (saban toyu) stemming from the lack of economic resources, and the visits related to belief systems are also some of the mid-season celebrations. Especially, the visits within Alewi-Bektaşi belief systems are among the most important religious and cultural activities since they are the settings in which the religious practices are performed. Alewi visits can be made to both tombs and some certain places attributed to holiness apart from those tombs. In the present article, the visiting rituals in Gaziantep Çepnis and the practices and activities in these rituals were evaluated with reference to the patterns in the visit of Çıralık in Sarılar village. The origin of the name, Çıralık, and the stories composed around Çıralık were examined. As conclusions of the study, it is possible to mention that Turkish tree cult and the practices of this cult are still exists among Gaziantep Çepnis and in relation to the practices of visits. It was also revealed that sagas and stories play important roles for those places to gain value and meaning.