Invented Traditions of the Turkish Alevis – the Gathering House (Cem Evi), Prayer Ceremony (Cem), and Religious Marriage Ceremony

The Alevis form a heterogeneous community in Turkey, which was historically associated with the Turkish tribes called Kızılbaş. Their descendants created a syncretic socioreligious system that consisted of various elements, mainly of the pre-Islamic Turkish beliefs, as well as Sunni and Shia Islam (including diverse Sufi movements). The 20th century brought political, economic, and ideological changes, which necessitated the modification of the social and religious worldview of the Alevis. These changes may sometimes be perceived as an invented tradition or as changes that are indispensable to preserve the integrity of the group and its worldview. In both cases, they may cause important modifications in the traditional institutions and the symbolic culture. The phenomenon may be observed in many aspects of the Alevis’ culture. The aim of this paper is to analyse the problem of cultural change and the re-construction of the tradition of the Alevis’ culture on the basis of three examples: the creation of the gathering house (Tur. cem evi), rituals of the prayer ceremony (Tur. cem) related to the ceremony of Raising the Light (Tur. çerağ uyandırması) and the contemporary religios marriage ceremony which takes place in front of the Alevi leader (Tur. dede) in the gathering house.