The Concept of Door and Threshold in Alevi-Bektashi Belief and Culture

Türk Kültüründe ve Alevi-Bektaşi İnancında Kapı-Eşik Kavramı

Abstract

In Turkish culture, places and some parts of places have been given literal and esoteric meanings. When we look at the Alevi-Bektashi belief and culture, this situation is encountered in the concepts of door and threshold. In this article, the meanings of the concepts of door and threshold in Turkish culture and Alevi-Bektashi belief, the place of these concepts in Turkish mythology, how and how they take place in Islamic literature, their historical and religious origins and the way they are applied in worship are emphasized. At the beginning of the article, it is explained what kind of meanings the concepts of door and threshold contain as words and concepts. Then, the concept of door and threshold in the tradition of "Kamlık (Shaman)" in ancient Turks was discussed. In the article, the Islamic origins of the door and threshold concepts in Alevi-Bektashi belief and culture are also mentioned. The concept of door and threshold in Alevi-Bektashi belief and culture. The Prophet said, “I am the city of knowledge. Ali is his door”. It has also been tried to explain how the concepts of door and threshold, which take place in worship and practices in Alevism-Bektashism, take place in events and contents in Turkish mythology. In the Alevi-Bektashi belief and culture, the door appears as a symbol describing the point at the beginning or end of the road and the gradual transition to another maqam. After discussing all these issues in the article, in the last part, it has been tried to examine how the concepts of door and threshold are included in the ritual of Alevism-Bektashism within the framework of written sources and oral tradition.

Keywords: Turkish Culture, Shamanism, Alevism-Bektashism, Gate, Threshold.