Folklor/Edebiyat (Nov 2016)
From Individual Memory to Collective Memory: When the Dergâh was Flooded… / BİREYSEL BELLEKTEN KOLEKTİF BELLEĞE: DERGÂH’I SU BASINCA…
Abstract
This article seeks an answer to the question that how do inhabitants of the Hacıbektaş district memorize the dergâh (dervish lodge) of Hacı Bektaş Veli for the period from 1925 to 1964, namely from the closure of the dervish lodge to the reopening of it as a museum. To this end, it is carried out oral history interviews and focused on a unique recollection of this period, i.e. the flood in Kırklar Meydanı in dergâh. The social aspect of individual memory indicates how the past has taken place in the collective memory as well. Thus, from the interviews it can be inferred that despite the fact that the closure of the dergâh brought about the loss of religious and economic functions of it and, despite the fact that as a sacred place the dergâh did not take part in the inhabitants daily life (because visit to the dergâh was not allowed), the inhabitants had still respect of and faith in the sanctity of the dergâh. For the inhabitants, the flood in Kırklar Meydanı was the opportunity to relate them to the sacred dergâh. This is one of the reasons why the flood in meydan is the unique recollection of that period in the collective memory of the inhabitants. The other reason is the reopening of the dergâh as a museum which allows keeping this memory alive.
