Zazaki in the context of Alevism

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The Physical, Social and Historical Geography of Zazaki
Zazaki is a language spoken by an estimated 4 to 6 million people in the upper Euphrates and Tigris basin of Eastern Anatolia, although the exact number of speakers remains uncertain. Among the languages of Anatolia, it may be regarded as the only one not spoken as a native tongue outside the borders of Turkey. Statistically, it constitutes the third most widely spoken language in the country, following Turkish and Kurdish. In the past fifty years, a considerable number of Zazaki speakers or individuals of Zaza origin have migrated to metropolitan centers of Turkey and, in the past forty years, to various European countries – primarily Germany, but also the Netherlands, Austria, France, Switzerland, and Sweden – due to economic and political factors.

Zazaki is geographically concentrated in a relatively continuous zone, with the densest distribution found in the regions of Inner Dersim (Tunceli), Bingöl, Elazığ, eastern Erzincan, and northern Diyarbakır. It is also spoken in districts such as Koçgiri and Karabel in eastern Sivas (Kangal, Zara, Ulaş, İmranlı, Divriği, Hafik), as well as in Tokat’s Almus, Gümüşhane’s Kelkit and Şiran, Muş’s Varto, Erzurum’s Hınıs, Tekman, Çat, Aşkale, Adıyaman’s Gerger, Urfa’s Siverek, Malatya’s Pötürge and Arapkir, Siirt’s Baykan, Bitlis’s Mutki, Batman’s Kozluk, Kayseri’s Sarız, Aksaray, Konya’s Ereğli, Mardin’s Derik, Kars’s Selim, and Ardahan’s Göle. The neighboring languages in these settlement areas are predominantly Kurdish^[3] (Kurmancî) and Turkish. Historically, Armenian and, to a lesser extent, Syriac (Neo- Aramaic) were also widely spoken across nearly all of these regions.

Belief Systems
In terms of religious affiliation, the Zaza population residing in regions such as Karabel (Sivas), Dersim, Erzincan, Northern Bingöl, Varto, Hınıs, Tekman, Çat, Sarız, Göle, and Selim predominantly adhere to the Alevi faith. By contrast, the remaining regions are largely inhabited by Sunni Muslim Zazas. Among the Sunni population, those residing in urban centers such as Elazığ, central Bingöl, Genç, Solhan, Hani, Kulp, Lice, Ergani, Dicle, Eğil, Silvan, Hazro, Mutki, and Baykan predominantly follow the Shafi’i school, while in parts of Maden, Çermik, Çüngüş, Siverek, Gerger, and Aksaray, adherence to the Hanafi school prevails.

Among the Alevi Zazas, numerous elements of pre-Islamic belief systems – such as customs, traditions, sacred shrines, saints, and cult of angels – have been preserved and interwoven with the later Alevi faith. The influence of Shia is likewise discernible. Although the tribal system has somewhat diminished in significance today, it nonetheless continues to exist among the Zazas.

Additionally, there are villages in Gerger inhabited by Zazaki-speaking Syriacs and Armenians, as well as Armenian families still residing in certain parts of the Alevi Zaza region. In recent years, some Alevi and Sunni Zazas have converted to Shia.^[4]

Ethnicity and Endonyms
Although significant progress has been made in linguistic research on the Zaza language, the same cannot be said of ethnological studies. In his influential work Ethnic Groups in the Republic of Turkey (1989), ethnologist Peter Alford Andrews distinguishes between Alevi and Sunni Zazas, considering them as an ethnic group separate from the Kurds.

While many sources^[5] categorize the Zazas as Kurds, others assert that they are of Turkish origin. However, in addition to several doctoral dissertations that define the Zazas as an independent ethnic group, numerous master’s theses and peer-reviewed scholarly articles support this position. These include studies by:^[6] Hüseyin Çağlayan (1995, 2020), Kahraman Gündüzkanat (1997), Krisztina Kehl-Bodrogi (1998), Kazım Aktaş (1999), Victoria Arakelova (1999), Selahattin Tahta (2002), Hülya Taşçı (2006), Gülsün Fırat (2010:139), Yaşar Aratemür (2011, 2014), Eberhard Werner (2012, 2015, 2017, 2021), Esther Schulz-Goldstein (2013), Garry Trompf (2013), Zeynep Arslan (2016), Gohar Hakobyan (2017), Maria Philipp (2017), Rasim Bozbuğa (2019), Annika Törne (2020) and Mesut Keskin (2025).

Self-identification among Zazas and their terminology for their language vary regionally. These designations are primarily ethnic or religious in nature, rather than national. For instance, in the Karabel region, inhabitants generally refer to themselves as Zaza and to their language as Zazaki. Among the older generation, expressions such as /Ma/ (“we”) and Zonē Ma (“our language”) are also found. In today’s terms, the Alevi Zazas of Dersim (Mamekiye/Tunceli), Erzincan, Çat (Erzurum), and the Yayladere and Yedisu districts of Bingöl refer to themselves as Kɨrmanj and their language as Kɨrmancki. In older generations, the term Dɨmɨlki was also in use. Sunni Zazas from neighboring regions are referred to simply as Zaza, while Sunni Kurds are called Ḳur̄, and Alevi Kurds Kɨrdas.^[7] Kurdish is referred to as Kɨrdaski or Hér̄e-wér̄e (Northern Krd.: “go-come”). Alevi Kurds in Dersim often refer to Alevi Zazas as Lacek (“boy”) or Dêsman (“people of Dersim”), and to their language as Dêsimkî, Şo-bê (Zazaki: “go-come”), or Dimilî. Alevi Zazas from regions such as Kiğı, Adaklı, and Karlıova (in Bingöl), as well as Varto, Hınıs, and Tekman, use expressions such as Šarē Ma (“our people”) or Elewi for themselves and Zonē Ma (“our language”) for their speech. They call their Sunni Kurdish neighbors Ḳurmanǰ, and Sunni Zazas Zaza or Dɨlmɨǰ. Sunni Zazas in Bingöl refer to Alevi Zazas as Doman (“child” in Northern Zazaki). In Varto and Hınıs, Kurdish neighbors call Zazaki Lolî or Çarekî, naming it after Zaza tribes. The terms used by Alevi Zazas can be rendered in Turkish as “Alevi Zaza” or, more generally, simply “Alevi.” Among the elderly in Alevi Zaza communities, “Alevi” is also used as a national designation in Turkish. Among the younger generation, particularly those influenced by political developments, definitions such as Zaza, Kurd, Turk, Alevi, and Dersimli form different poles of identity. In the regions of Dersim and Erzincan, the word Tırk refers primarily to Sunni Turks and, in some cases, to Sunnis in general.

Among Zazas belonging to the Šāfiˁī school, nearly all refer to themselves as Zaza and their language as Zazaki. In places like Palu, Bingöl, or Dicle (Piran), the term Kɨrd appears occasionally alongside Zaza. In Mutki and Baykan, Dımılí is the common self-designation. These groups refer to Kurdish neighbors as Kurmanǰ, Kuırmonǰ, or Kırdasí. Zazas of the Ḥanafī school tend to identify themselves predominantly as Dımlí, and occasionally as Zaza, referring to their Kurdish neighbors as Kırdaś. Hanafi Zazas in Aksaray call themselves and their language Kurdasí or Zaza, and call Kurds Qılorí. Conversely, Kurds refer to them as <Caˁnî> /J̌aˁnī/. Among Sunni groups, especially those under the age of 60-70, terms such as Zaza or Dımıli are used with a national or ethnic connotation to refer to all Zazas.

The Position of Zazaki among the Iranian Languages
Linguistically, Zazaki is classified as a Northwestern Iranian language within the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subgroup of the Indo-European language family. According to classifications proposed by LeCoq and Gippert, the structure is as follows:^[8]

Northwestern Iranian Languages:
• Hyrcanian (Gurgan/Gorgan) Group: Balōčī, Sangesarī, Gōrānī, Zazaki
• Kermani Group: Kurdish, Sivandī
• Medean-Caspian Group: Gīlakī, Māzandarānī, Sorxeī, Semnānī, Tališī, Āẕarī^[9]

Southwestern Iranian Languages:
• Persian (Fārsī), Tāǰīkī, Tātī, dialects of the Fārs region

Research conducted particularly in Germany has made it possible to determine Zazaki’s position among the approximately forty modern Iranian languages and to formulate certain conclusions regarding its historical development. In addition to Old Indic, which has been preserved in written form, the availability of a rich corpus of ancient Iranian languages such as Avestan and Old Persian (belonging to the Old Iranian period), as well as Middle Iranian languages such as Parthian, Pahlavi (Middle Persian), and Sogdian, has contributed to this process.

It has been established that Zazaki possesses several archaisms and shows particular historical proximity to Parthian (3rd century BCE – 3rd century CE).^[10] However, despite certain conservative features, it would be incorrect to posit a direct connection between Zazaki and Avestan. In brief, today’s Iranian languages were, approximately four thousand years ago, likely mutually intelligible dialects. The grammatical structure of Old Indic languages such as Vedic and Sanskrit and that of Avestan demonstrates over 80% similarity.

From a genetic linguistic perspective, the modern Iranian languages most closely related to Zazaki include Balōčī, Gōrānī, and Sangesarī from the same subgroup, as well as Caspian languages such as Māzandarānī, Āẕarī (Harzanī), Semnānī, Tālišī, and Gīlakī. Phonological and morphological correspondences to these languages also lend support the so-called Dailam hypothesis, which posits a northern Iranian origin for Zazaki.^[11]

Languages in Contact with Zazaki
Among the closely related languages that have influenced Zazaki in terms of vocabulary and lexical exchange, Kurdish and Persian are most prominent. Due to their common origin, Zazaki has absorbed – albeit to a limited extent – by these languages both grammatically and lexically. After the advent of Islam, Arabic had an impact, and due to geographic proximity and social interaction, Armenian^[12] and, to a lesser extent, Syriac – which themselves have been influenced by Iranian languages – also show signs of lexical transfer with Zazaki. Additionally, Zazaki contains a limited number of loanwords from Turkish, Greek, Latin, Georgian, and Laz.^[13]

Linguistic Research on the Zaza Language
Although the use of Zazaki as a written language does not go back far in history, research shows that the language has made significant progress over the past century. The first written record of Zazaki dates back to 1857-1858. The Iranologist Peter I. Lerch published records of his linguistic interaction with a Zaza individual from Bingöl, who had been taken prisoner during the Russo-Ottoman Crimean War. Lerch published these materials in Russian and German in 1858, even before conducting a grammatical analysis.

This research was followed by Friedrich Müller’s comparative study in 1864, based on Lerch’s 18-page texts. The archaeologist and linguist Albert von LeCoq also published five pages of linguistic material in Zazaki in 1901, although without grammatical analysis. ^[14]

In 1906, Oskar Mann was commissioned to document and analyze Western Iranian languages and, during his travels in the Middle East, compiled what was then the most extensive collection of Zazaki linguistic data, especially from the Siverek and Kor (Bingöl) regions. This material – amounting to 91 pages, covering five dialects and translated into German – was published posthumously in 1932 by the Iranologist Karl Hadank, who also contributed a grammatical analysis of the dialects.

Mann and Hadank were the first to argue – based on comparative linguistic evidence – that Zazaki and Gorani were not dialects of Kurdish, as previously mistakenly assumed, but rather independent Iranian languages.

After a hiatus of more than fifty years, the American linguist Terry Lynn Todd published a modern linguistic grammar of the Çermik dialect of Zazaki in 1985, using contemporary methods.

From the 1990s onward, linguistic studies on Zazaki deepened. Scholarly articles have covered various topics, such as:^[15] Phonology (Cabolov 1985, Maurais 1978, Aratemür 2016), Negation (Sandonato 1994), Ezafe constructions (MacKenzie 1995), General linguistic perspectives (Asatrian 1996, Asatrian/Gevorgian 1988, Asatrian/Vahman 1990, Blau 1989, Pirejko 1999, Kausen 2006 and 2012), The position of Zazaki among Western Iranian languages (Paul 1998b), Literary and historical development (Selcan 1998b; Gippert 1996 and 2008), Etymology (Bläsing 1995, 1997; Schwartz 2008; Aratemür 2012, 2013), Minorities (Aratemür 2014), Orthography (Jacobson 1993), literacy manuals (Jacobson 1997), Bilingualism (Temizbaş 1999; B. Werner 2006), Adaptation of foreign words (Malottke 2007), Prepositions (Arslan 2007), Dialectology (Keskin 2008), Text analysis (E. Werner 2013), Language loss (Azbak 2013), Verb functionality (Arslan 2016), Gender (Schirru 2017), Syntax and semantics (2022), Ezafe constructions (B. Werner 2018; Çelik Dincer 2021), The classification problem (Gholami 2022).

Additionally, two doctoral dissertations published as books are of importance: Paul (1998a), which focuses on grammar and dialectology, and Selcan (1998a), which presents a grammatical overview. Arslan’s more recent dissertation (2016) offers a detailed analysis of verb structures, their functional aspects, and ergativity in Zazaki. The first two volumes of Aratemür’s dissertation (2025) constitute the most comprehensive study to date on Zazaki dialects and varieties.

Although the linguistic classification of Zazaki is well established, in Turkish-language sources, media, and political discourse, there continues to be – albeit less than in the past – a persistent status quo regarding the Zaza language. Due to prejudice, lack of information or resources, or political motivations, Zazaki has been portrayed as a dialect or language of Kurdish. However, there is no scientific study or source that proves that Zazaki belongs to Kurdish or has Kurdish features. The proximity between Zazaki, Persian, and Kurdish is not due to one being a dialect or sub-language of another, but rather because they are all related languages. The same applies to the view that Kurdish is a dialect of Persian. These languages share numerous linguistic features and stem from a common root because they belong to the same language group.

As Karl Hadank (1938: 5) aptly remarked, “Persian is just one of many existing Iranian languages; it is not the mother of them all.” It is also worth noting that prominent scholars of Zazaki – O. Mann, K. Hadank, D.N. MacKenzie, and L. Paul – have each produced significant works on Kurdish as well.
The Position and Significance of the Zaza Language in Alevism
Zazaki, particularly within the context of Dersim-centered Alevism, emerges not only as a language of ethnic affiliation but also as a linguistic vessel of a belief system. Rituals, cem ceremonies, sacred hymns (nefes), prayers and imprecations, narratives associated with sacred places, pilgrimage culture, and conceptions of nature have largely been transmitted and acquired meaning through this language.

On the one hand, Zazaki has striven to maintain its identity as a language historically subjected to pressure and often excluded from written culture. On the other hand, it has served as the bearer of ritual practices and collective memory as a living language of faith. Self-definitions such as “R̄áa ma” (our path) and “İtɨqatē ma” (our belief) illustrate that Zaza is not merely a means of communication but also constitutes the linguistic embodiment of a faith-based identity.

Alevism holds particular significance in the Dersim region due to its inclusion of numerous spiritual lineages (ocak) such as Babamansur (Zz. Bamasur), Kureyş (Ḳurēš), Dervişcemal (Dewrēš J̌emal), Derviş Beyaz (Dewrēš Gewr), Ağuçan (Aγučan), and Sarısaltık (Sarɨsaltɨγ). While Alevis constitute a minority among various ethnic groups – Turkmens, Kurds, Arabs, Romas, (Alevized) Armenians, and Bektashi Albanians – they do not constitute a minority within the Zaza population. This is because half of the Zaza-speaking community identifies as Alevi, while the other half is Sunni Muslim. It is assumed that a significant portion of Sunni Zazas, particularly after the Battle of Çaldıran, were compelled to convert from Alevism to Sunnism. The fact that Zazas predominantly live in mountainous regions has led to religious distinctions becoming defining criteria in dialectological classifications. Indeed, the Northern Zazaki dialect spoken by Alevis differs from other main dialects while maintaining internal consistency.

Zazaki plays a central role in gülbenks recited during cem ceremonies, in hagiographic narratives about sacred figures, in legends related to pilgrimage sites, and in belief systems surrounding nature and angelic beings. As evidenced in M. Comerd’s compilations, a significant portion of the narratives and religious expressions related to sacred places are conveyed in Zazaki. In regions such as Erzincan, Hınıs, Tekman, and Varto, the terms “Alevice” (‘Alevish’, Alevi-Language) in Turkish and “Xızır’s (< Ar. Ḫiḍr) Language (Trk. Hızır Dili)” (and similarly, as transmitted from Sey Qaži in Zazaki, “Zonē Ma Zonê Xɨzɨ́rɨo” – ‘our language is the language of Ḫidr’) and “Qizilbaşkî” in Kurdish from the Muş region have all been used to define Zazaki. This indicates that the language has been internalized within Alevism and holds an esteemed position for Alevis who speak it.

Zazaki is employed in invocations directed to the Divine (véng-a Héqi daéne), in gülbenks, prayers to the sun (roǰ, tíǰi), the moon (ášme ~ ásme), and pilgrimage sites (zíyari ~ žíyari; ziyar u diyári). These prayers differ in content from those commonly known in Turkish, including in the concepts of ecstasy during cem (tewt), benevolent and malevolent angels (m̭ilaketē xḗri, m̭ilaketē xɨrabɨ́ni), and the guardians and soldiers of pilgrimage sites. The core motifs of Zaza prayers frequently revolve around local saints and shrines, above all Duzg̭in, the miraculous deeds of the spiritually gifted, and the figure of Xızır. In the oldest Zazaki prayers, Shia influences and Turkish Alevi motifs such as the Twelve Imams and Prophet Muhammad are scarcely found.^[16] Due to the esoteric nature of Sufism, concepts such as Heq ~ Haq (Truth, God), Elí ~ Alí ~ Olí (God, Ali), Mehemed (sun), and R̄óštia Aná Fatmá (light of Mother Fatma) have been deeply integrated into the spiritual imagination. However, the external, historical aspects of these figures – their lifestyles, beliefs, and worldviews – often remain unknown or disconnected.

In recent decades, due to the increasing influence of Turkish on Alevi religious practices and greater interaction between Zaza Alevis and the wider society, it has been observed that Turkish-language prayers – such as those for sweeping, setting the ritual table (sofra), and sleeping, as well as those used in the musahiplik (spiritual brotherhood) ceremonies (ǰa vaténe) – have been added to traditional Zazaki prayers, and that the original Zazaki prayers are gradually being forgotten.

The Alevi faith in Dersim is deeply tied to the Zaza language, both symbolically and ritually; the language functions as the carrier and interpreter of belief. Figures such as Duzg̭ɨn, Xɨzɨr, and the snake, sacred place narratives, and folk stories all solidify the role of Zazaki within the Alevi belief and cultural system. Each of these figures demonstrates that Zazaki is not merely a communicative tool but a cornerstone of faith preservation, identity formation, and ritual continuity.

Following 80 years of assimilation policies, and especially after the 1990s when Alevi associations began operating almost entirely in Turkish, later generations – primarily those who use Turkish dominantly – have increasingly distanced themselves from Zazaki as the language of belief.

Conclusion

Zazaki is not only the language of an ethnic identity but also a bearer of the Alevi spiritual world. Despite historical oppression and assimilation processes, it has survived, especially within Dersim-centered Alevi communities, as the language of religious rituals. From gülbenks to pilgrimage culture, many practices gain meaning through Zazaki, thereby rendering it a sacred vehicle of collective memory. However, recent decades of language loss have threatened Zazaki’s function within Alevism. This situation necessitates new efforts of preservation and revitalization for both religious and cultural continuity. According to a 2008 UNESCO report, Zazaki has been classified as a vulnerable language. The Northern Zazaki dialect spoken by Alevis is even more endangered than the dialects spoken by Sunni communities. Except for regions such as Varto, Hınıs, and Tekman, observations indicate that Zazaki is no longer being transmitted to children in regions like Dersim, Erzincan, and Karabel.