مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - PERCEPTION OF ALEVI AND BEKTASHI WOMEN IN TURKISH NOVEL

Abstract :

According to Alevite belief, every individual is considered as a “soul”. It is of equal distance to both genders. Hacı Bektaş Velî has criticized the nomination of the women as incomplete creatures compared to the men and he placed the human-being to the center of the belief system. The women is not different from men in the stove tradition that has a special place in Alevite and Bektashi beliefs. Every individual is evaluated according to his/her services and knowledge. As a result, women may occupy higher positions depending on the services they render to the society. The duty of ensuring the continuation and protecting the stove, which is the symbol of the family is given to women. In ancient Turks society, the women are owner of the otağ where as they are owners of stove in Alevite and Bektashi beliefs. Woman which was valued so much is being reflected in different ways in Turkish novel during Rebublican period. The women characters which has been introduced as Alevi identity were put to the fore with good qualities in some novels while they were introduced as person downtrodden or not wanted in others. In this article, first the importance and the value given to women in Alevite and Bektashi beliefs are highlighted, then the perception of Alevite and Bektashi women and reflections are emphasized within the framework of seven novels which are studied in order to make an assessment about the way Alevite and Bektashi women are perceived in Rebuplican period novels.