HIGHLIGHTS
Tevhids and Münacats: A General Overview
Religious–Mystical Turkish Literature is a deeply rooted tradition that took shape with the acceptance of Islam and, over the centuries, has functioned both as a...
Kadıncık Ana
Kadıncık Ana is an important female figure in the Alevi-Bektashi-Kızılbaş belief, particularly associated with Hacı Bektaş Veli, whose memory has been transmitted through hagiographic narratives-most...
Ağuiçen/Ağuçan
The Ağuiçen (or Ağuçan) Ocak is one of the most well-known Alevi ocaks (spiritual lineages) in Anatolia. It stands out due to its wide geographical...
Roman (Gypsy) Alevis
Groups with diverse ethno-cultural characteristics such as "Rom", "Dom", "Lom", and "Blacksmith" communities largely use the term "Roman" in order to reduce the effects of...
Seyyid Seyfeddin (Piri Sevdin) Ocak (Alevi sacred lineage)
The Seyyid Seyfeddin Ocak (locally known as the Piri Sevdin Ocak) is one of the Alevi Ocaks that has been active for centuries in the...
Kirvelik (1)
Kirvelik, in the context of Dersim Alevism (Raa Haqi), does not merely denote a symbolic form of kinship shaped around the circumcision ritual. Rather, it...
Kızılbaş (Kizilbash)
The Kizilbash movement emerged in fifteenth-century Anatolia through the transformation of the Safavid order and the convergence of various Sufi, dervish, and messianic currents. Recent...
Women in Alevism
In Alevism, women are not only foundational to social life but also to the spiritual cosmos. In Alevi theology, female womb is revered as the...
A Brief Sketch of the Development of Alevi Studies
This is an annotated bibliography of the most significant contributions to Alevi studies, in chronological order from the mid-nineteenth century onwards. It identifies American Protestant...
Hızır / Xızır
In Alevism, Hızır (Xızır) is a meaningful and central figure around which revolve many myths, rituals, hymns, sacred places and lived experiences. It combines many...
Güruh-u Naci The Creation Myth in Raa Haqi (Dersim Alevism)
In Raa Haqi (also referred to as Dersim Alevism or Kurdish Alevism), the Creation Myth constitutes a fundamental narrative and symbolic universe through which the...
Food in Alevism
Social activities pertaining to food such as cooking, sharing, eating and fasting are central to the expression of the lived religiosities of Alevis in Turkey,...
ALEVISM THROUGH THE VOICES OF RELIGIOUS LEADERS
- Pir Cemal Cenan
Ağuçan Ocak
In this video, Pir Cemal Cenan, an Ocak member of the Ağuçan Ocak and an active pir, presents an insider perspective on how Ocak memory...
- Ana Didar Cenan
The Service of Ocak Households to Talips and the Role of Women in Dersim Alevism
In this video, Ana Didar Cenan presents an internal and detailed account of the services provided by Ocak households to talips in Dersim Alevism. The...
- Pir Haydar Buğa
The Dersim Alevi Calendar, Gağan, the Xızır/Hızır Fast, Hewtemal – Black Wednesday, and the Month of Mourning
In this video, Pir Haydar Buğa provides a comprehensive discussion of the religious understanding of time known as the “Alevi calendar” in the tradition of...
- Pir Hasan Hayri Şanlı
Pirship, Cem, and the Four Gates and Forty Stations
In this video, Pir Hasan Hayri Şanlı explains the importance of cems in Alevi society, their role in the education of the community, and their...
- Pir Erkan Çanakçı
Deyiş & Nefes
In this section, Pir Erkan Çanakçı focuses on the fundamental forms of oral literature and music in the Alevi world of belief. He provides comprehensive...
- Ana Cevahir Altunok
The Institution of Analık – The Ocak System – Social Change
In this video, Ana Cevahir Altınok provides an in-depth account of the sacredness of the concept of ana in the Alevi belief world and its...
- Pir Ali Doğan
Hakk & the Gate of Hakk
In this video, Pir Ali Doğan, a member of the Seyyid Seyfeddin (Pîrî Sevdîn) Ocak, presents a comprehensive narrative on the concept of Hak, which...
- Pir Ecevit Emre
Görgü Cemi, Dara Çıkma, Dardan İndirme, Aklanma–Paklanma, İkrar, Rızalık
In this video, Pir Ecevit Emre discusses Görgü Cemi (entering görgü), which holds a central place in Alevi ritual life, in a multilayered and comprehensive...
- Ana Didar Cenan
Kurmanci Prayers and Gülbenks, Prayers to the Sun and the Moon in Dersim
In this video, Ana Didar Cenan examines the tradition of prayers and gülbenks in Dersim Alevism (Raa Haqi), with a particular focus on prayers addressed...
- Pir Haydar Buğa
Derviş Cemal Ocak
In this video, Pir Haydar Buğa provides a detailed account of the Derviş Cemal Ocak, one of the significant Ocaks in the tradition of Dersim...
- Pir Cemal Cenan
Marriage and the Marriage Ceremony in Alevism, Musahiplik, and the Deyiş & Gülbenk Recited during the Ceremony
In this video, Pir Cemal Cenan explains the institution of marriage and religious marriage (nikâh) in Alevism from an insider perspective, together with the rituals...
- Ana Narin Gülçiçeği
Gağan – Haftamal (Howtemal) – the Month of Xızır – Black Wednesday – Kirmancki Prayer
In this video, Ana Narin Gülçiçeği addresses rituals related to sacred times that hold a central place in Dersim Alevism (Raa Haqi), including the Month...
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Alevi Encyclopedia at the LSE Kurdish Studies Conference: Intersecting Fields, Shared Questions, and New Academic Dialogues
The Alevi Encyclopedia participated in the LSE Kurdish Studies Conference, bringing the intersections between Alevi Studies and Kurdish Studies into an international academic forum. Through...
Call for Authors: Group V Entries for the Alevi Encyclopedia (Final Submission Deadline: 15 June 2026)
We warmly invite you to contribute to the Alevi Encyclopedia, a multilingual, open-access digital platform dedicated to documenting the diversity and depth of the Alevi...
Alevi Encyclopedia Officially Registered with an International ISIL Code
Launched in July 2025 after preparatory work that began in April 2024, the Alevi Encyclopedia has reached another major milestone in its institutional development within...
The Alevi Encyclopedia Is Now Available in German
Following its publication in Turkish and English, the Alevi Encyclopedia has now also launched its German edition. With this step, the contents available in the...
Entering 2026 through Academic Solidarity and Collective Scholarship: A New Year Message from the Alevi Encyclopedia
The year 2025 has marked not merely a publication milestone for the Alevi Encyclopedia but a decisive historical threshold in the institutionalisation of a long-term,...
Alevi Encyclopedia – Austrian Academy of Sciences Partnership
The Alevi Encyclopedia and the Commission “Vanishing Languages and Cultural Heritage” (VLACH) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) have established a partnership based on...
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