Gağan, Khal u Fatık, Dersim, Raa Haqi, Nature and Alevism, and the Alevi Calendar – Pir Haydar Boğa
In this video, Pir Haydar Boğa offers a detailed account of the Gağan rituals in Dersim Alevism (Raa Haqi) and of the performative play Khal u Fatık, which was practiced in the past as part of these rituals but has largely ceased to exist in its traditional form today. Drawing on personal memories from his childhood and youth, the Pir shows that these rituals and performances were not merely forms of entertainment or folkloric expressions, but key practices that structured collective memory, seasonal cycles, and cosmological time.
Pir Haydar Boğa discusses the cosmological and symbolic meanings of Gağan within the ritual period known in the Dersim Alevi tradition as the “three months,” corresponding roughly to the period between December and March. He emphasizes that this phase constitutes a critical threshold in terms of natural cycles, perceptions of time, and social renewal, and that Gağan rituals played a central role in sustaining religious and communal continuity at this juncture.
Within this ritual calendar, the Pir also refers to important days of the Alevi calendar such as Hewtemal and Kara Çarşamba. He explains how these days symbolically structure seasonal transitions, relationships with nature, and practices of social solidarity in Dersim Alevism. Through his narrative, Pir Haydar Boğa makes visible how these rituals were performed in village life in the past and in what ways they have transformed in contemporary contexts.
In this respect, the video offers a highly instructive perspective on Gağan rituals and their associated practices in Dersim Raa Haqi Alevism. By reading them through oral culture and personal memory, it provides deeper insight into the cosmological and symbolic dimensions of the Alevi ritual calendar.
This recording was made on 6–7 December 2025 at the CAN TV studios in Cologne, Germany, as part of the Alevi Encyclopedia’s oral history and visual archive project, within the “From the Words of the Path’s Guides” series.
Pir Haydar Boğa discusses the cosmological and symbolic meanings of Gağan within the ritual period known in the Dersim Alevi tradition as the “three months,” corresponding roughly to the period between December and March. He emphasizes that this phase constitutes a critical threshold in terms of natural cycles, perceptions of time, and social renewal, and that Gağan rituals played a central role in sustaining religious and communal continuity at this juncture.
Within this ritual calendar, the Pir also refers to important days of the Alevi calendar such as Hewtemal and Kara Çarşamba. He explains how these days symbolically structure seasonal transitions, relationships with nature, and practices of social solidarity in Dersim Alevism. Through his narrative, Pir Haydar Boğa makes visible how these rituals were performed in village life in the past and in what ways they have transformed in contemporary contexts.
In this respect, the video offers a highly instructive perspective on Gağan rituals and their associated practices in Dersim Raa Haqi Alevism. By reading them through oral culture and personal memory, it provides deeper insight into the cosmological and symbolic dimensions of the Alevi ritual calendar.
This recording was made on 6–7 December 2025 at the CAN TV studios in Cologne, Germany, as part of the Alevi Encyclopedia’s oral history and visual archive project, within the “From the Words of the Path’s Guides” series.
Interviewer
- Ahmet Kerim Gültekin
