Storytelling as an Act of Embodying Reflexive Selves among Alevi-Bektashi People in Turkey

Abstract

The characteristics of folk religious traditions in Turkey offer an opportunity to study a combination of narrative structures in everyday life. The heretic nature of religious sects such as Alevism, for example, can be clearly observed in the narrative and everyday practices of its followers. The way in which most Alevist rituals are constructed and interpreted deviates from Sunni Islam, the form of faith institutionalised in the Ottoman Empire and by the republican order. The rites and rituals of Alevi-Bektashi people include the religious ceremony known as ‘cem, ' with singing of religious poems and narration of stories during and after the ceremony. One of the interesting characteristics of these storytelling rituals is that both narrator and listener are invited to engage in a process of self-evaluation, resulting in feelings of consolation. The narratives, borrowed from Sufism, the mystical teachings of Islam, are led by a member of a hereditary priestly caste (‘dede’). Uttered in the form of religious stories and hymns, the narratives are constructed as spiritual and ethical guidelines for the participants. During the ceremonies, the leader of the ritual invites listeners to think about the spiritual meaning of the story being told, and to evaluate themselves and others in light of the story in order to gain a more ethical outlook and obtain insight into God’s revelation at that moment of time. Storytelling among the Alevi-Bektashi people therefore functions as a source of collective consensus, as well as a symbolic vehicle for reflecting on personal and collective problems. In this chapter a short introduction of the Alevi-Bektashi order is followed by an example of a story told by dervishes. The chapter focuses on the ways in which different interpretations of the story are related to mysticism and the esoteric nature of the Alevi-Bektashi belief system. © Inter-Disciplinary Press 2013.