Seyyid Seyfeddin (Piri Sevdin) Ocak (Alevi sacred lineage)

Historical Origins: From Khorasan to Anatolia

The history of the Seyyid Seyfeddin Ocak begins with a migration narrative that extends from Khorasan to Anatolia. The founding ancestor of the Ocak, Seyyid Seyfeddin Baharzi, was one of the prominent scholars of his time. According to Eflaki, his full name was Seyfeddin Said Ibn al-Mutahhar Baharzi, and he was born in Baharz in 586 AH / 1190 CE (Eflaki 2006). He left his birthplace at a young age and studied with renowned scholars of the period. He later became a disciple of Necmeddin Kübra, the founder of the Kubrawiyya order, in Khwarezm.

Seyyid Seyfeddin Baharzi settled in Fethabad, a suburb of Bukhara, where he carried out activities of religious guidance (irşat). It is reported that until his death on 21 October 1261, he converted many Mongol commanders and administrators to Islam. It is also narrated that Batu, the founder of the Golden Horde, held him in high esteem, and that Batu’s brother Berke embraced Islam through his influence (Eflaki 2006). Baharzi authored works in Arabic and Persian, and his tomb has been preserved to this day in the Fethabad quarter of Bukhara.

The migration of Seyyid Seyfeddin Baharzi’s descendants to Anatolia constitutes the foundation of the Ocak‘s presence in Tunceli. According to ziyaretnames obtained from the Hacı Bektaş Veli Dergâh, Baharzi’s son Seyyid Sadreddin migrated from Turkestan to Diyarbakır in 704 AH / 1304 CE, where he later died. Seyyid Sadreddin’s son, known as the Second Seyyid Seyfeddin, arrived at the Hünkâr Hacı Bektaş Veli Dergâh in 751 AH / 1350 CE, registered with the Ocak, and received icazet (Kala, Altı & Demir 2023, 81-82). This historical sequence illustrates the stages through which the Ocak became institutionalized in Anatolia.

The settlement of the Second Seyyid Seyfeddin in the village of Pilvenk in Dersim (today’s Dedeağaç) marked the beginning of the Ocak‘s organization at the local level. According to menakıbname narratives, when the Second Seyyid Seyfeddin arrived in the village then known as Vank, the area was inhabited by Christian Armenians. Through the keramets he displayed, he is said to have brought the local population to Islam through the Alevi path and to have made them his disciples (Kala, Altı & Demir 2023, 25-27).

One of the keramets recounted in the menakıbnames is particularly striking. When the eldest son of a priest appeared before Seyyid Seyfeddin and said, “O dervish, our horses eat nothing but green grass,” Seyyid Seyfeddin scraped the snow from the ground, plucked a small clover shoot, and threw it before the horses. The tiny shoot turned into a large heap of clover, and the horses fed abundantly on the fresh grass. In another keramet, when the priest said, “O friend of God, there is neither bread left in our trough nor flour in our bin,” Seyyid Seyfeddin went to the flour bin in the kitchen and declared, “We have done what is required; by God’s permission, flour will never run out from this bin” (Kala, Altı & Demir 2023, 26).

Assessments of the etymology of the name Pilvenk shed light on the historical background of the region. The term Pilvank is formed by combining the Zazaki (Kırmancki) word pil, meaning “large,” and the Armenian word vank, meaning “church” or “monastery,” and thus signifies “large monastery” (Çevik 2020, 87). This etymological information supports the presence of a Christian settlement in the area and the subsequent process of Islamization.

The Pilvenk Aşiret and Social Organization

The Pilvenk aşiret is one of the Alevi tribal groups in Tunceli and is composed of four ezbets: Piranlılar, Halifanlar, Keşkekhuranlar, and Süleymanlar. The term ezbet is used in the sense of a clan or lineage group and defines the basic framework of social solidarity. Within the Pilvenk aşiret, the Piranlılar and Halifanlar hold Ocak status, while the Keşkekhuranlar and Süleymanlar occupy the position of talip (Yaman 2006, 130). This structure demonstrates the institutionalization of the Ocak-talip relationship at the level of the aşiret.

The Piranlılar are affiliated with the Seyyid Seyfeddin (Piri Sevdin) Ocak, whereas the Halifanlar are affiliated with the Şıh Delil-i Berhican Ocak. From the formative period until the early twentieth century, these Ocaks and their talips often acted together in social, political, and religious matters and became institutionalized as the Pilvenk aşiret. In the traditional period, during the Cem ritual-the central form of Alevi worship-each ezbet assumed a specific duty within the cem and fulfilled its ritual responsibilities accordingly (Tosun & Koç 2022, 42). The allocation of distinct services to each ezbet both ensured social integration and reinforced the community’s collective identity.

The geographical distribution of the Pilvenk aşiret indicates the scope of the Ocak‘s social influence. They inhabit an area situated between the regions settled by the tribal groups of Eastern and Western Dersim. Most of their villages and hamlets are located in the Pertek district, with a smaller number attached to the city center of Tunceli. Outside Tunceli, Pilvenk groups are also found in the Kelkit region (Çevik 2020, 89-91). The significant presence of Pilvenk aşiret members in Elazığ is a result of migration from Tunceli.

The relationship between the Seyyid Seyfeddin Ocak and the Şıh Delil-i Berhican Ocak is crucial for understanding the internal dynamics of the Pilvenk aşiret. As noted by Ali Yaman, disputes and competition have emerged between these two Ocaks over issues such as claims to being the principal Ocak, the performance of keramet, and symbolic superiority (Yaman 2006, 130-131). Similarities and differences between their foundation myths and narratives bear traces of this rivalry.

In the foundation myth of the Şıh Delil-i Berhican Ocak, the keramet of reviving a lamb occupies a central place. By contrast, in the foundation myth of the Seyyid Seyfeddin Ocak, the multiplication of clover in winter and the sanctification of the flour bin are foregrounded (Yar & Yalgın 2014, 7-8). These differing keramet narratives form part of each Ocak‘s effort to assert its distinctiveness and symbolic superiority. The motifs of “revival” and “multiplication” appear in both Ocaks, but they are expressed on different symbolic planes.

Some groups use the expression “Keşiş Piro” in a derogatory manner to belittle Piri Sevdin. Members of the Ocak respond to this as follows: “Given the status of our ancestor, some enemies of God target us by using the expression Piro Keşişi. We consign them to God. The term pir is an Islamic concept. Moreover, even the most ignorant people know that in Dersim talips address their pirs as piro” (Kala, Altı & Demir 2023, 45). This discursive struggle forms part of a broader debate that questions the seyyid status of Piri Sevdin and, by extension, his legitimacy.

The Sır Mahmut Incident and Settlement in Pertek

The Sır Mahmut incident occupies a central place in the social memory of the Piri Sevdin Ocak and is narrated as the reason for the Ocak‘s migration from Upper Pilvenk (Dedeağaç) to Lower Pilvenk (the Pertek area). Although different interlocutors recount the event from varying perspectives, there is broad agreement that it involved a killing resulting from internal conflicts within the Ocak.

According to one narrative, Seyyid Mahmut was a holy figure endowed with keramet. One of the most widely recounted keramets is as follows: Seyyid Mahmut was conversing on a rooftop with his brother Seyyid Pirali and several others. At noon, when women had gone to milk the animals returning from pasture, someone teasingly said to Seyyid Mahmut, “Show us a keramet so that we may see it.” Seyyid Mahmut then began to write something on his fingernail. While returning in spring to the village of Pilvenk after visiting talips in the autumn, Seyyid Mahmut was killed near the village, at a spot on the Munzur River today referred to as Sır Mahmut Gölü. A number of residents of Pilvenk are said to have martyred him there and to have weighed down his horse with stones in order to drown it as well (Kala, Altı & Demir 2023, 29-30).

Another narrative emphasizes the political dimension underlying the event: “In the meantime, both the Helifanlılar and the Piranlılar were told to gather all their documents and come to the village of Tozkoparan. There, your cemaat will be organized. The Ottoman plan to eliminate our Ocak was successfully carried out. In the Pilvank or Pirvank settlement, the pir family and various talip families used to live together. All of them were merged into a single unit and registered as an aşiret. This is how it was presented. In this way, the pir family was effectively erased” (Kala, Altı & Demir 2023, 31). The contrast between these two narratives is striking. While the first frames the event within a traditional and mythological register centered on keramet and local dynamics, the second interprets it as a political strategy.

The migration that followed the Sır Mahmut incident led to lasting changes in the social structure of the Ocak. It was decided that the perpetrators would be identified and punished: each killer was required to give a plot of land as blood compensation to Zeyi Ana, the wife of Sır Mahmut, and to leave Pilvank. After the incident, a sense of spiritual fear spread among those living in Pilvank, and migrations began toward distant provinces such as Erzincan, Gümüşhane, Giresun, and Maraş. Because Zeyi Ana’s children were young and vulnerable, they eventually left their holdings in Dedeağaç and purchased land in the Upper Çay hamlet of the Dere subdistrict and in the village of Erindek (including Şüşenk), where they settled (Kala, Altı & Demir 2023, 30-31).

Another significant consequence of the migration was the relocation of the şecere (genealogical document) of the Ocak: “Thus, when a large part of the Seyyid Seyfeddin lineage migrated to this new area, they requested that their şecere be transferred there as well. Those remaining in Pilvank brought the şecere and left it in the house of their relatives in Kevırkan. In this way, our şecere was moved from Pilvank (Dedeağaç) to Kevırkan (Halilpınar)” (Kala, Altı & Demir 2023, 32). The şecere functions not merely as a document but as a material marker of the Ocak‘s legitimacy.

The geographical distribution of members of the Piri Sevdin Ocak within the Pertek district provides a key framework for understanding its social structure. According to documented records, settlement sites are systematically dispersed across different subdistricts of Pertek. The Dere subdistrict, along with the villages of Erindek (Yamaçoba), Şuşenk (Bakırlı), Ağzünik (Kayabağ), Carhek (Yalınkaya), Sürgüç, Ulupınar, Margik (Günboğazı), and Balişer (Beydamı), are the primary locations where Ocak members are concentrated (Kala, Altı & Demir 2023, 59-61).

The Social Functions of the Ocak System

The Alevi Ocak system functions as a highly effective force in maintaining social order. Ocaks are seyyid families who perform religious services and are believed to descend from Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, and Ali. This lineage-based form of organization grants dedes a distinct position within the social hierarchy. The social roles of dedes are not limited to spiritual leadership; they also play active roles in mechanisms of justice, education, governance, and decision-making processes (Yaman 2011, 85-87).

The legitimacy of the Ocak system is grounded first and foremost in seyyid lineage. In addition to descent, belonging to the lineage of a charismatic dervish constitutes an important source of Ocak legitimacy (Yıldırım 2018, 231). The collective identification with figures regarded as the true founders of the Ocak, and the naming of Ocaks after these charismatic individuals, demonstrate the institutionalization of charismatic authority.

The internal hierarchy of the Ocak is structured as a three-tiered system-Mürşit-Pir-Rehber-expressed through the principle “el ele el Hakk’a.” A source from the Baba Mansur Dedeler explains this structure as follows: “To follow the path of those who have reached Truth on the path of Hak Hakikat, that is, those who have become one with Hak; to recognize as mürşit the more knowledgeable, more diligent figures who serve the path-saints and pirs-and to follow their way. Each mürşit Ocak has its own talips. The talips of every mürşit Ocak know their rehbers, pirs, and mürşits, and they walk together from below upward” (Kala, Altı & Demir 2023, 17-18).

According to Çakmak, the Ocaks of Tunceli were hierarchically connected through the principle “el ele el Hakk’a.” At the same time, this discourse also points to a horizontal form of communal organization (Çakmak 2013, 378). In Alevism, respect flows from below upward, while love flows from above downward, as the essence of the belief is love. This dual structure strengthens social solidarity and ensures the unity and cohesion of the community.

On specific days of the year, dedes visit the talips affiliated with them, conduct cem rituals, inform the community, and resolve disputes. These visits do not merely involve the performance of religious rites but also activate mechanisms of social regulation and solidarity. While guiding communal worship, dedes transmit religious knowledge and experience and respond to the social and spiritual needs of the community.

Among the social functions of the Ocak, its role as a mechanism of justice occupies a central place. During cem rituals, talips confess their faults, disputes are resolved, and issues of rights and obligations are addressed. This indicates that the Ocak operates as a form of communal court. In resolving conflicts within the community, dedes draw upon both their religious authority and their social prestige.

Relations with the Hacı Bektaş Veli Dergâh

The relationship established between the Piri Sevdin Ocak and the Hacı Bektaş Veli Dergâh offers a concrete example of center-periphery dynamics. Visits made by ocakzades to the Dergâh in 1924, 1959, 1960, and 1969, as well as the icazetnames they received on these occasions, demonstrate the institutionalized character of this relationship (Kala, Altı & Demir 2023, 81-99).

The ziyaretname dated 17 April 1924 includes the following statement: “It is duly recorded that the aforementioned Seyyid Seyfeddin Baharzi was born in the town of Baharzi, affiliated with Haf in Khorasan, later affiliated himself with Shaykh Necmeddin Kübra in Bukhara and received spiritual effusions; that he died in Bukhara in the year 658; that his son Seyyid Sadreddin died in Diyarbakır in 704 during his migration from Turkestan to Anatolia; and that his grandson, the Second Seyyid Seyfeddin, came to the Dergâh of His Holiness Hünkâr Hacı Bektaş Veli in the year 751, where he complied, underwent purification, and received authorization and icazet” (Kala, Altı & Demir 2023, 82).

This document presents a narrative of legitimacy that traces the genealogy of the Ocak back to Khorasan and positions the Hacı Bektaş Veli Dergâh as the central authority that confirms this legitimacy. While the Dergâh functions as the source of central symbolic values, the Ocak in Pertek occupies the position of the periphery that represents and enacts these values within a local context.

However, this relationship cannot be understood simply as one of subordination. The documents show that, in addition to the icazets received by the ocakzades, their rights over their talips were also formally recognized by the Dergâh. Another document dated 17 April 1924 notes that, in order to prevent interference by other Ocaks in relation to the talips of the Seyyid Seyfeddin Ocak, the Çelebi of the Dergâh sent an official notification to the Ağuiçen and Sarı Saltık Ocaks (Kala, Altı & Demir 2023, 83-84). This document points to the existence of rivalry and conflict between Ocaks.

During their visits to the Dergâh, ocakzades sent a portion of the contributions collected from their talips, known as çıralık, to the Dergâh. This economic flow constituted the material basis of the Ocak system and reinforced the bond with the Dergâh. The icazetnames and ziyaretnames obtained from the Dergâh thus functioned as documents that affirmed the legitimacy of the Ocak.

Ritual Practices and the Erkanname

At the center of the ritual life of the Piri Sevdin Ocak stands the Cem ceremony. The erkanname associated with the ritual practice of Kasım Özer Dede provides a detailed account of the ceremony. Erkannames are texts that regulate the rituals and forms of worship within Alevi belief and describe in detail how cem ceremonies are to be performed (Erdem 2011, 247).

The erkanname kept in the chest of Kasım Özer Dede was used as a guide for doctrinal and ritual activities conducted specifically within the Seyyid Seyfeddin Ocak. The surviving pages contain detailed descriptions of the stages of the cem ceremony, including the awakening of the çırağ, the duties of the meydancı, the taking of ikrar, and the distribution of saka suyu.

The cem ceremony begins with the awakening of the çırağ:”Çün çırağı fahr uyandırdık hüdanın aşkına /Seyid’ül kevneyn Muhammed Mustafanın aşkına /Saki-i kevser Aliyü’l Murtezanın aşkına /Hem Hadice Fatıma Hayrünnisanın aşkına /Şah Hasan Hulk-i Rıza Şah Hüseyin-i Kerbela ol imam-ı etkiya Zeynelabidinin aşkına…” (Kala, Altı & Demir 2023, 103).

This opening prayer invokes the lineage of the Twelve Imams and establishes a cosmological order centred on the Ahl al-Bayt.

Subsequently, the cem includes stages such as bringing the talips into the meydan, darı durma, confession of sins (ikrar), and the request for forgiveness. The erkanname describes this process as follows: “Dede olan zat bunları söyler Allah Allah özünüz darda yüzünüz yerde Muhammed Ali divanındasınız ne gördünüz ne mertebeye geçtiniz destur söyleyiniz taliban yahut meydancı bulunan zat dahi hakkı gördük Erenler meydanına geçtik meded mürvet babına geldik Allah eyvallah dirler” (Kala, Altı & Demir 2023, 104).

The stage of confession functions as a mechanism of social control: “Tarikimize muhalif bir işleri ve kendülerinden ağrınmış incinmiş ve alacaklı bir can kardaşları var ise dile gelsün söylesün hakkını taleb eylesün der. Hazırda bulunmayan tarikat kardaşlarınızdan bir davacınız ve alacaklarınız olur ise anların dahi sonra icabına bakmak ve haklarını virmek üzere erenler meydanına bir kelle kesiniz dir” (Kala, Altı & Demir 2023, 105).

Within the cem ceremony, there are specific duties known as the Twelve Services (On İki Hizmet). In the appendix of the erkanname, these services are listed as follows: “İmam Hasan Tarikci / İmam Hüseyin Farraş / Muhammed Hanifi Rehber / Abdüssamet Zakir / Abdal Ahmed Sofracı / Süleyman İbrikdar / Tayyib Saki / Abdülmümin Hadim-i meydan / Abdülkerim Gözcü / Abdullah Pervane / Had-i Kebir Çerakcı / Abdülcelil Bevvab” (Kala, Altı & Demir 2023, 110). Each of these services is symbolically associated with one of the Twelve Imams.

According to Hüseyin Erdoğan Dede, among the Pilvenk aşiret, the descendants of the Şıh Delil-i Berhican and Piri Sevdin lineages would conclude their acts of worship with three duazdes, one gülbank, and three secdes (Tosun & Koç 2022, 45). This amounted to nine duazdes and three gülbanks, making twelve in total. This numerical symbolism is directly linked to belief in the Twelve Imams. Rather than being performed through instrumental music and poetic couplets, the literary and ritual dimension of the cem was primarily articulated through duazdes that invoke the Twelve Imams.

Processes of Modernisation and the Contemporary Situation

From the second half of the twentieth century onward, the traditional functioning of Alevi Ocaks, including the Piri Sevdin Ocak, has undergone profound transformation. According to Yıldırım, “traditional Alevism is transforming into modern Alevism; however, since this process has not yet been completed, the main contours of modern Alevism have not fully crystallized” (Yıldırım 2020, 23).

The causes of this transformation are multidimensional. Urbanization and migration have geographically distanced talips from their Ocaks. Education and secularization have eroded the legitimacy of traditional religious authorities. The life history of Kasım Özer Dede concretely illustrates this transformation. Born in 1924, he became unable to play the saz after a work accident in 1963 and paid his final visit to the Dergâh in 1969. After these dates, the practice of conducting cem ceremonies in the traditional sense came to an end. When he passed away in 2001, the traditional period of the Ocak effectively came to a close.

Observations and interviews indicate that both knowledge of Alevism in general and of the Seyyid Seyfeddin (Piri Sevdin) Ocak in particular is articulated only to a limited extent, and that younger generations show insufficient interest in these matters (Kala, Altı & Demir 2023, 118). This situation points to a critical rupture in intergenerational transmission of memory.

Migration from Tunceli to urban centers has also deeply affected members of the Piri Sevdin Ocak. The places of residence of Kasım Özer Dede‘s ten children illustrate this dispersion: three in Turkey (Ankara, Elazığ, Pertek), four in Germany (Bielefeld, Villingen-Schwenningen, Horb am Neckar), and three in France (Paris/Dreux, Bourges). Urbanization has fundamentally altered the Ocak-talip relationship. In the traditional period, a dede would visit talips several times a year, conduct cem rituals, and resolve disputes. In urban settings, such regular visits have become impracticable.

In recent years, efforts aimed at preserving and revitalizing the memory of the Piri Sevdin Ocak have become visible. The Kasım Özer archive is being preserved and digitized, and made accessible via www.seyidseyfedin.com. In addition, the book Seyyid Seyfeddin (Piri Sevdin) Ocak, published in 2023 by Kala, Altı, and Demir, represents an important step toward filling a gap in the academic literature.

Conclusion

An examination of the Piri Sevdin Ocak centered on Pertek enables a nuanced understanding of the complexity, internal dynamics, and transformation processes of Alevi social organization at the local level. The Ocak system constitutes not merely a religious structure but also an institutional framework for social order, justice, education, and solidarity. Relations among Ocaks within the Pilvenk aşiret encompass both cooperation and rivalry. The relationship between the Piri Sevdin and Şıh Delil-i Berhican Ocaks demonstrates how social memory is constructed and how menakıbname narratives function as instruments in contemporary struggles over identity. Relations with the Hacı Bektaş Veli Dergâh reflect center-periphery dynamics, while the icazetnames issued by the Dergâh reveal how central authority legitimizes local Ocaks. Modernization, urbanization, and migration have fundamentally transformed the traditional Ocak system. Yet this transformation remains incomplete, as traditional and modern elements continue to coexist. While the distancing of younger generations from Ocak traditions poses a risk of weakening collective memory, new sites of memory-such as digital archiving and academic research-are being created. The case of the Piri Sevdin Ocak underscores the critical importance of localized ethnographic and sociological research for understanding Alevi social structures.