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<P>CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT</P>
<P>"Reception Processes of Alevi Ritual Practice Between Innovation and
Reconstruction" University of Heidelberg, Germany - October 30-31, 2007</P>
<P>---</P>
<P>Dear Colleagues,</P>
<P>the research project on "Ritual transfer among marginalized religious groups
in Islamic societies of the Near East and in the Diaspora", that is working
within the collaborative research centre SFB 619 "Dynamics of Ritual" at the
University of Heidelberg, Germany, is holding an international conference on
"Reception Processes of Alevi Ritual Practice Between Innovation and
Reconstruction" on October 30-31, 2007, to discuss the different kinds of
transmission in the Alevi religion, especially focused on transmission of ritual
practice. The contributions will cover topics such as oral tradition vs. written
tradition, transmission by the means of music or dance, the influence of modern
media or case studies on certain Alevi groups/families.</P>
<P>Please find below the conference program and further information. The
attendance is open for the academic community. Pre-registration is requied -
please write a short message to the following adresses:
janina.karolewski@ori.uni-heidelberg.de or
robert.langer@ori.uni-heidelberg.de.</P>
<P>Best regards,</P>
<P>Michael Ursinus, Janina Karolewski, Robert Langer</P>
<P>Seminar für Sprachen und Kulturen des Vorderen Orients Universitaet
Heidelberg Sandgasse 7 D - 69117 Heidelberg</P>
<P><A href="http://islamwissenschaft.uni-hd.de/english/c7.html"><U><FONT
color=#0000ff>http://islamwissenschaft.uni-hd.de/english/c7.html</U></FONT></A></P>
<P><A href="outbind://138/www.ritualdynamik.uni-hd.de"><U><FONT
color=#0000ff>www.ritualdynamik.uni-hd.de</U></FONT></A></P>
<P>---</P>
<P>TITLE:</P>
<P>"Reception Processes of Alevi Ritual Practice Between Innovation and
Reconstruction"</P>
<P>LOCATION:</P>
<P>The Internationales Wissenschaftsforum Heidelberg (IWH) Hauptstrasse 242
D-69117 Heidelberg <A href="outbind://138/www.iwh.uni-hd.de"><U><FONT
color=#0000ff>www.iwh.uni-hd.de</U></FONT></A></P>
<P>DATE:</P>
<P>Tuesday, October 30, 2007 - Wednesday, October 31, 2007</P>
<P>PROGRAM:</P>
<P>Tuesday, October 30, 2007</P>
<P>9:30 am - 9:45 am</P>
<P>Welcome Adress</P>
<P>(Michael Ursinus, Heidelberg)</P>
<P>9:45 am - 10:15 am</P>
<P>Dynamics of Ritual: Reflections on a Collaborative Undertaking (Frank
Neubert, Heidelberg)</P>
<P>10:15 am - 10:45 am</P>
<P>Locations(s) of Commemoration in Alevi Culture</P>
<P>(Beatrice Hendrich, Giessen)</P>
<P>11:00 am - 11:45 am</P>
<P>Orality, Literacy and Textual Authority Amongst the Yezidis (Christine
Allison, Exeter)</P>
<P>11:45 am - 12:30 am</P>
<P>Ritual Criticism and the Alevi Cem</P>
<P>(Hege Irene Markussen, Lund)</P>
<P>2:00 pm - 2:45 pm</P>
<P>Ayin-i Cem in the Traditional Alevi Society: The Ritual as a Microcosm of the
Community and Its Dialogue With the Text (Riza Yilidim, Ankara)</P>
<P>2:45 pm - 3:30 pm</P>
<P>Buyruk-Schriften und alevitische Identitaet: Die Besonderheiten der Tahtaci
(Fuat Bozkurt, Antalya)</P>
<P>3:45 pm - 4:30 pm</P>
<P>Documents in the Private Archives of Dede Families and Their Potential to
Shed Light on Important Aspects of Alevi History (Ayfer Stump, Harvard)</P>
<P>4:30 pm - 5:30 pm</P>
<P>Ritual Practice in the Anatolian Village of Bicir: Written and Oral
Tradition</P>
<P>On the Written Tradition of Ritual in Bicir Koyu: Manuscripts from the 1950s
(Janina Karolewski, Heidelberg)</P>
<P>The Oral History of Bicir Koyu as a Source of Alevi Ritual Practice (Robert
Langer, Heidelberg & Hasan Ogutcu, Meersdorf)</P>
<P> </P>
<P>Wednesday, October 31, 2007</P>
<P>9:30 am - 10:15 am</P>
<P>The Role of Female Minstrels in the Transmission of Alevi Ritual</P>
<P>Knowledge: Two Ashiks from Kisas</P>
<P>(Hande Birkalan-Gedik, Istanbul)</P>
<P>10:15 am - 11:00 am</P>
<P>Rekonstruktion des Alevitentums zwischen ethnischen und sprachlicnen</P>
<P>Grenzen: Das Beispiel Varto</P>
<P>(Erdogan Gedik, Frankfurt a.M.)</P>
<P>11:15 am - 12:00 pm</P>
<P>Speaking About Rituals: (Re)invention of the Ayin-i Cem in Alevi Online
Discussion Forums (Johannes Zimmermann, Heidelberg)</P>
<P>12:00 pm - 12:45 pm</P>
<P>The Relations Between the Principles of Sufism and Alevi-Bektashi Rituals
According to the Early Sufi Manuscripts (Mufit Yuksel, Istanbul)</P>
<P> </P>
<P>about 3:00 pm</P>
<P>Meeting of the international work group "Alevi Manuscripts"</P>
<P>CONCEPTION OF THE CONFERENCE:</P>
<P>At the planned conference, the reception processes of Alevi ritual practice
shall be examined under those aspects central to the studies of the SFB 619
"Dynamics of Ritual" subproject that is located at the Institute of Islamic
Studies, subunit Ottoman Studies. These aspects include those of ritual theory
that serve to analyze evident changes of ritual practice in a systematic way.
Amongst the precise results of ritual-dynamical processes we mainly
differentiate between 'innovation' and 'reconstruction', e.g. the modification
of the ritual structure (see ogreti cemi compared to gorgu cemi) or the decrease
in importance of the religious specialists (see dedes working as mere employees
in cultural associations). In this context one also has to mention 'ritual
reflexivity' and 'recursivity'. The ritual can be the stimulus for the
participants to self-reflect and it can itself become the subject of a
reflective examination. Referring to formerly existing ritual traditions (e. g.
the gorgu cemi within the pre-modern rural context) or to a handed-own myth of
the original ritual (see the myth of the kirklar</P>
<P>cemi) is one of the most applied forms of ritual reconstruction. Of course
those aspects can also be proved historically, although this fact is often
forgotten within the group's ritual reflexion. Thus, the borrowing of ritual
practice from other religious and/or social traditions and cultures (e. g. the
ritual-relevant hymns of Shah Ismail) once constituted 'innovations' or
'inventions' which in our days are not necessarily recognized/reflected anymore
as former foreign influences. Apart from this the aspect of the transmission of
ritual practice shall be brought up which in Alevism is above all dominated by
the combination of orality and mimesis, and less by literality. In modern times,
this way of handing down has been influenced tremendously by various factors
(the formation of the Republic of Turkey, the script reform, urbanization,
migration, etc.), so that it has changed fundamentally. The mimetic practice to
learn ritual performances by visual perception, imitation and repeated exercise
during the active and passive involvement in the ritual event has become less
important because of the low degree of participation in the already less
frequently performed rituals. Furthermore it has to be assumed that personal
oral transmission of ritual texts and courses (e. g. briefings by the dede or
collectively conducted muhabbet) has already been replaced by a depersonalized
written way of impartation (e. g. handbooks on ritual). In this context the
written fixation of matters relevant to rituals before the modern developments
(e. g. in so-called buyruk texts) seems as interesting to us as today's
publication of text books on ritual practice (e. g. Dervis Tur's "Erkanname" or
Mehmet Yaman's "Alevilikte Cem"). So it should be asked in how far one can speak
of a continuation of written tradition in this case and to what extent
literality within the religious context was subject to change (from sacral
writings to factual prescriptive texts). Further questions might be: Which role
plays orality and mimesis in the current transmission of ritual practice? By
which sorts of texts and by which writings has written tradition been influenced
(e. g. divan poetry, Sufi literature, Quran)? Here, another aspect ties in,
namely that of the influence from other religious and/or social movements,
cultures or traditions and their ritual practice. Those influences shall be
examined in detail from a historical point of view. For the development of Alevi
ritual practice since the 16th century the connection to rituals of the
following religious/social communities and movements comes up as a question:
Safawiyya, Isma'iliyya, Ithna-'ashariyya and Bektashiyye, but also Tasawwuf,
Christianity, Shamanism and the Zaza or the Kurdish culture and traditions. At
the present time, the transfer of ritual traditions into other social contexts
(e. g. the individualized society of large</P>
<P>cities) or into other religious contexts (e. g. surroundings dominated by
Sunni Islam or Christianity) plays an important role. The migration within
Turkey that happens most frequently from the former rural settlement areas of
the Alevis to the larger cities has to be taken into consideration as well as
the migration to western countries. As to a broad analysis of the reception
processes of Alevi ritual practice both the division into 'innovation' and
'reconstruction' and the discussion about transmission or external influences
seem necessary to us. Thus, we hope the conference provide the opportunity to
combine those different aspects in order to examine the ritual practice in
Alevism from a broader point of view.</P>
<P> </P></FONT></DIV>
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