The Role of Women in Music Transmission of The Belief of Alevi and Bektashi: The Example of Bursa-Şehitler Village

Abstract

In the Alevi-Bektashi belief, the most striking point when compared to other sects within the Islamic religion is that worship is held together with men and women. The fact that this is the first feature highlighted by individuals who are or do not have faith, has made the "women's Nefes" expressed by the community more visible in the ritual of the Alevi-Bektashi community of Bursa - Şehitlervillage, which is the research area of the study. Thus, the main purpose of the study is to examine gender equality through religious rituals in the Alevi-Bektashi community of Şehitler Village, located in İnegöl district of Bursa province, and try to determine the role of women, especially in the transmission of religious identity, together with how they define themselves. Because, when the studies conducted in the dimension of belief are examined, mostly, with the influence of the patriarchal structure, the emergence of the identities of "grandfather" and "zakir" as men leads to the questioning of gender equality during worship, as we mentioned at the beginning. Some of the field studies data during the process of questioning are included in the article, and the theoretical framework is formed by transference, identity and related gender theories.