What is a Cem? The Alevi Worship Ceremony and its 12 Services

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What is a Cem?

The cemevi is a meydan (sacred square) of equality where there is no distinction between servant, slave, master and lord. It is the door at which one asks for help (medet), generosity (mürvet) and forgiveness. It is the place where consent (rızalık) and intercession (şefaat) are obtained. It is the place where the ikrar (vow) and faith are given. It is the square of judgement and adjudication. It is the sublime divan at which one turns reverently to God (Hakk) and where God manifests Himself. It is the path that leads to the Ascension (Miraç). It is our sacred place where worship is performed together.

One day the Companions (sahabe) ask the Prophet Muhammad: “O Muhammad! Who, after you and besides you, can go on the Ascension (Miraç)?” Muhammad gives this answer: “Vesselatu Miraç-ül Müminin” (“Prayer is the Ascension of the believers”). Its meaning in Turkish is: “Every believer goes on the Ascension through the worship he performs with devotion and ecstasy (vecd).” They put the same question to Ali. Ali says: “From worship in which no connection with God is made, I seek refuge in God.” This means: may God protect us from worship that is not performed with heartfelt faith and devotion. In other words, from worship performed for show you earn not merit (sevap) but sin.

The Difference between the Mosque and the Cemevi

The mosque is the house of the Sharia. The cemevi is the place of worship of the Alevis and Bektashis.

The mosque is entered by day; it is subject to the Sharia. The cemevi is entered by day and by night; it is the meydan of unity of the mystical (tasavvufi) faith.

The mosque is open by day and closed by night. The cemevi is open by day and by night.

For in the Holy Qur’an, the shared meaning (meal) of Surah al-Insan, verse 26, Surah al-Isra, verses 78 and 79, Surah al-Muzzammil, verses 1 to 9 and verse 20, Surah an-Naba, verses 9, 10 and 11, and Surah al-Muddaththir, verses 1 to 5, commands one to prostrate before one’s Lord by night.

“O Muhammad! Arise and raise [yourself]. Rise for two-thirds of the night, or earlier or later, and recite the Qur’an slowly. We shall reveal to you a word that is heavy to bear. Surely rising by night will not be easy, but for worship with devotion it will be more suitable and more effective. For the rest and repose of your bodies We have made the night a covering for you and given a part of it to sleep. In another part you are to turn [to God] according to your inclination for seclusion (halvet) and worship. And by day go about for your livelihood; you have work that will occupy you for a long time.” This is why the acts of worship of the Alevis and Bektashis are performed at night.

In the mosque Arabic is recited. In the cemevi the language you can understand is spoken.

In the mosque one is made to fear God. In the cemevi one is taught to love God.
The mosque is a square of worldly occupation and politics. The cemevi is a meydan of wisdom (irfan) where reason and faith unite.

In the mosque one turns in the direction of the Sacred Mosque (Mescid-i Haram). In the cemevi one follows the ruling of verse 115 of Surah al-Baqara: “To God belongs the East, to God belongs the West; whichever direction you turn, you have turned to God.”

In the mosque there is an I and a you. In the cemevi there is the unity (the We) that has shed the self.

The mosque has a mihrab (prayer niche) of stone. In the cemevi there is the pir makamı (the seat of the pir), established with the love of God – “Muhammad’s farewell pulpit at Ghadir Khumm”.

In the mosque there is the call to prayer of Muhammad (Ezan-ı Muhammedi). In the cemevi there is the call to prayer of Muhammad and the gülbank of the Hünkâr [Hacı Bektaş Veli].

In the mosque one turns towards the qibla. In the cemevi people are qibla to one another.

In the mosque the Fatiha is recited and the hands are passed over the face. In the cemevi one descends into the secret of the Fatiha and offers reverence (niyaz) to God (Hakk).

In the mosque they say “Amen, amen”. In the cemevi they say “Allah, Allah”.

In the mosque there are women and men. In the cemevi, following the ruling of the verse (Elhamdü lillâhi rabbil alemin – Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds), there are sisters (bacı) and brothers.

In the mosque there is fear of the Fire and pleading for Paradise. In the cemevi one renounces both and, with love, in the belief of “Enel Hak, Eğnim Hak” (I am the Truth, my garment is the Truth), sees God in the essence of the perfect human being (insan-ı kâmil).

It means shedding the duality of Creator and created and becoming the “Unity of Being” (Vahdet-i Vücut).

In the cemevi there is the divine meydan of wisdom where reason and faith unite.

Friends, dear souls (canlar)! The cemevis are the places where we worship together. People who are estranged or offended with one another may not enter them. This meydan is our meydan of ikrar (vow). On these meydans judgements take place; the right of the oppressed is taken back from the wrongdoer. Friendships are formed. Vows are given. Bonds of brotherhood are established. These meydans are the meydans of wisdom of the erenler (saints). These meydans bring the human being to maturity and lead him to the rank of the perfect human being. They create a pure society.

The Rules of the Cem

The Alevi faith is the mystical thought and the path of tasavvuf (Islamic mysticism) of the Muslim religion. Although the Alevis attach no importance to the conditioned, formalised order of worship of the Sharia, there are – as in every faith – rules of worship according to their own faith in Alevi acts of worship and cems as well. According to the Qur’an, worship has no [fixed] form. The Qur’an, which says that it has no form, describes how the state of the soul at the moment of worship is reflected in the behaviour of the physical body in the following order: “Kıble, Kıyam, Kıraat, Rükû, Secde” (orientation, standing, recitation, bowing, prostration). These were explained sufficiently in the chapter “What is Worship?”. I recommend that you read it carefully.

Look: in the Qur’an there are verses saying that men and women should not uncover those parts of their bodies that would arouse the desire (nefs) of the other, and that they should dress modestly. The same commands are given not only to women but also to men.

Surah an-Nur, verse 30: “O Muhammad! Tell the believing men to turn their eyes away from what is forbidden to look at and to guard their private parts (not to uncover them). That is better for their purification. God is surely aware of what they do.”

Surah an-Nur, verse 31: “And tell the believing women to turn their eyes away from what is forbidden to look at. Let them guard their chastity. Let them not display their adornment, except what is apparent of itself. Let them draw their headscarves down over their collars.”

Surah al-Ahzab, verse 34: “Keep in mind the verses of God and the wisdom of worship that are recited in your houses, and be reverent. Surely God is All-Aware, Subtle.”

Surah al-Ahzab, verse 35: “Truly, the Muslim men and women, the believing men and women, the men and women who submit to God’s command, the truthful men and women, the patient men and women, the men and women devoted from the heart, the men and women who give alms, the men and women who fast, the men and women who guard their chastity, the men and women who remember God much – for all of them God has prepared forgiveness and a great reward.”

We could cite many more verses about the equality of women and men. Having told women to cover themselves, to veil themselves and to guard their chastity, did God tell men something different? Did He permit men indecency and shamelessness? No! He told men too not to go about immodestly and to guard their chastity. He said that they should not dress in a way that would arouse the desire of another woman. That is why our cems are a place of worship, and in the cems only worship is performed. One does not go there scantily dressed as if going to an entertainment, nor in formal attire such as one wears to an official international meeting. Not everyone can enter the Cem casually in whatever clothing he likes. Everything has its rules according to its place. For those who come to the Cem, observing the rules of the Cem is both a duty of faith and a duty of humanity.

In some regions this Cem of worship and teaching is called the Abdal Musa Cem or the Lokma Cem. Because this Cem is solely a Cem of teaching and worship, those who have killed a person and those who have abducted a married woman may not enter it. Apart from them, others who have committed minor offences may come to this Cem to worship. If both parties to an offence other than the two grave offences I have mentioned have come to the Cem, they are obliged, when the dede calls for the reconciliation of those who are estranged and offended, to come to the meydan of wisdom (irfan meydanı) and state their grievances. The dede questions and hears both parties in such a way that those present at the Cem can hear. Consulting those present at the Cem, he imposes on the party he finds guilty a deterrent penalty that the congregation, in turn, finds appropriate. To the party in the right he puts the question: “O talip (seeker)! You are now here on the meydan of Truth (Hak meydanı). The soul against whom you have a claim has admitted his fault. The congregation too has imposed the appropriate penalty. But you are the holder of the right. At this divan of Hak-Muhammad-Ali, for the love of Hak-Muhammad-Ali and for the honour of this meydan of wisdom founded by the Forty, will you forgive this soul or this sister against whom you have a claim, and make peace together?” On that meydan of Truth he reconciles them. If a party refuses to make peace, he has them removed from the cemevi and does not admit those persons to the Cem again until they come and apologise.

The rehber (guide), who is the assisting dede in the Cem, calls to his side, before the Cem is convened, the sisters (bacılar) and souls (canlar) who will take part in the 12 services. He takes care that those who take on a service can read and write. He asks who is performing which service and gives a written copy to anyone who does not know the prayer of his service. He tells them what material they will use in which service and prepares them for the service they will perform. In all our cems, on entering through the door, the sisters sit on the left and the men on the right. In the middle a space (meydan) large enough for turning the semah is left free. The other services are also performed on this meydan. Around the meydan, in the first row, men sit in one half and sisters in the other. The first seated circle sits in the shape of a half-moon, with faces towards the pir makamı. A path is left from the door to the meydan so that those performing services can come and go. This path runs between the sisters and the men. In such large cems women and men cannot sit mixed. If, however, it is a family Cem – such were held in the villages in the past – then they sat together with the children. Today too, in the Cem we hold at home, we all sit together. There is nothing wrong with that at all.

But to these large general cems of ours many families come who do not know one another, even if they are from the same region. If we were to sit mixed like that – let us think: directly behind a sister sits a soul she does not know at all. During worship we go down into prostration 3 or 5 times. Imagine the sister in front sitting on her knees and then also prostrating! Even if the soul sitting behind the sister is very honest and pure-hearted, can this sister prostrate with peace of mind? Women and men alike all come there to worship. While everyone ought to perform their worship with peace of mind, in “devotion” (huşu) and ecstasy, can this sister of ours worship with peace of mind if she notices that a man she does not know at all is sitting behind her?

If you ask: “In our village we always sat mixed. Why do you seat the women on one side and the men on the other here?” – the village people, 40 or 50 families, have been living together for years. Many of them are related to one another and have long since become like one family. In such cems the gözcü (warden) did not intervene saying “You sit here, and you sit there.” But now people we do not know at all come to the cems we hold here. That is why we are obliged to give order to this seating system. In some places sisters come forward who want to intervene with the dede, asking why we do not sit mixed. Such an intervention is the greatest mistake. Everyone is satisfied with this order, but – as in every society – some unbalanced people, however few, appear among us too. They thoughtlessly intervene with the dedes in some places. We all know that a conscientious dede who pursues no personal interest persuades them and does not listen to them. What is normal is that there should be no such intervention. If you too come across such ill-mannered people, try to persuade them. In the large general cems, never break the seating order of placing the sisters on one side and the men on the other.

The families who come to the cemevi enter with their eldest in front. On entering, the eldest, the head of the family, says “Hü erenler, the love and reverence (aşk-ı niyaz) of you all”; accompanied by the gözcü they come forward and receive the prayer for their lokma. After the prayer has been given, they offer their reverence (niyaz) and hand their lokma to the lokmacı (the one in charge of the food). They sit where the gözcü shows them. If the Cem is large and crowded, a collective prayer is given for the lokmas later, since giving each person a prayer individually would take a long time. In that case one hands one’s lokma to the lokmacı and sits where the gözcü shows.

In the Cem one does not speak without permission and does not get up from one’s place without permission. One may not eat lokma without permission. One does not leave the “cemevi” without permission. Those who arrive after the Cem has begun wait standing in the kıyam posture behind the door, if a service is being performed or a prayer is being given, until the service and the prayer are finished. Then they say “the niyaz of you all”, offer a niyaz with their own hand and sit where the gözcü shows them. Once the Cem has been “unified” (birlenmiş), the door is closed; then no one can go in or out any more.

While the Cem is being held, no one except the gözcüs may stand or walk around in the middle. Children who cannot take part in worship sitting beside their mother and father, and who, not listening, wander around while the Cem is being held, should on no account be brought to the Cem. For at the very moment of worship, when people are praying with devotion and ecstasy, the shouting or wandering about of such children distracts the others who are immersed in worship and breaks their concentration. Such a situation cannot be permitted. For families with such small children, it is more blessed and meritorious for one person, taking turns, to stay at home and look after the child than to come to the Cem.

In cems held collectively, when the dede recites the salavat, recites the tekbir, at the repentance (tövbe) and the pleas for forgiveness (bağışlama), and at the prayers asking for pardon, those present at the Cem should pray together. They should say “Allah, Allah” with fervour and join in the prayer audibly, so that their worship is fulfilled and those prayers are said for them too. Otherwise – if you have gone there and, while everyone is praying, you only listen in silence – you have not worshipped. For since you do not join in the prayers, you are no different from a spectator. It is the duty of those present at the Cem to pray together with the dede, in a suitable voice and with faith. When the dede prays, at refrains such as “forgive, pardon” and the like, they should join in the prayer together, saying “Allah, Allah” in a somewhat raised voice.

In the cemevi everyone is sister and brother. There is no gossip. One does not look here and there, to the right and to the left. At the moment of worship one prays looking only at the place of prostration (secdegâh). For we human beings may do both good and evil in the course of our lives. We have secrets that we tell neither our mother nor our father, neither our spouse nor our children, nor even our closest friends. Whether what we have done is good or evil, at that moment of worship we can tell it to God Most High, in whom we believe, placing Him in the form we love most upon our place of prostration. If we have done good, we ask for its reward; if we have done evil, we ask for His forgiveness. Worship that we perform in this understanding, far from worldly thoughts and in devotion, benefits us. Those who worship for show, in the collective acts of worship they attend without inwardly embracing them, cause themselves harm instead of benefit and commit sin instead of earning merit. Pay great attention to this when you sit down to worship.

When the lokmas are distributed at the end of the Cem, no one may eat lokma before the dede has given the prayer for the meal and let the Shah’s lokma (Şah lokması) go round. After the lokmas have been eaten, the dede gives the table prayer (sofra duası). After that he recites the gülbank granting permission to leave. But people do not get up and leave all together. Each family that rises to leave turns to face the pir makamı, says “the niyaz of you all” and offers a niyaz with its own hand. It says: “Good night, may God grant you rest.” They leave the cemevi calmly. Since it will always be late at night, it is a requirement of Alevi custom that they disperse on leaving and in front of the door without making noise and without disturbing the surroundings.

The Order of Services in the Cem

1. Determining those who will perform services and assigning their duties.
2. The rehber gives the prayer over the lokmas.
3. The rehber gives the prayer for the post dede (the dede who leads the Cem from the post).
4. The post dede gives the first gülbank standing.
5. Those who are offended with one another are reconciled.
6. The süpürgeci (sweeper) performs the sweeping and lays out the prayer rug (seccade).
7. Those performing services are called by the dede or with the saz, and their prayers are given.
8. The tevella–teberra prayer (affirming love for the friends of the Ehl-i Beyt and dissociation from their enemies) is said. After this they go to their posts.
9. The delil service (service of light) comes and the delil (light) is lit.
10. The tezsekâr service (service of ablution/cleansing) comes.
11. The lokma and sacrifice service comes.
12. The süpürgeci comes again and performs the sweeping. What has been done up to this point are preliminary services so that the erkân (rites) of the Cem can be carried out.
13. The Cem is “unified” (birlenir). The Nat-ı Ali is recited. The actual worship begins here. If it is a Cem of teaching and worship, the worship continues with the recitation of the münacat (supplication), tövbe (repentance), bağışlama (plea for forgiveness), tevhit (affirmation of God’s oneness), miraçlama (hymn of the Ascension), semah and the Karbala mersiyes (laments).
14. If the Cem is a musahiplik erkânnamesi, a görgü erkânnamesi, a düşkünlük erkânnamesi or an erkânname of bringing down from the dar (dâr’dan indirme), at this point the musahips are brought in who are giving their vow, who are being examined (görülen), who are excommunicated (düşkün), or who are being brought down from the dar. Their erkân is carried out first. After that the worship continues with the münacat and the first gülbank is given.
15. The tövbe is recited and the second gülbank is given.
16. The bağışlama is recited and the third gülbank is given.
17. The tevhit and the miraçlama are recited, the Semah of the Forty (Kırklar Semahı) is performed, and the fourth gülbank is given.
18. The saka service (water service) comes. The dede gives the prayer over the water, mersiyes are recited and the water is distributed. The dede gives the Cem the last, fifth gülbank.
19. The delilci comes and “veils” (extinguishes) the delil (sır eder).
20. The süpürgeci comes, performs the sweeping and takes up the prayer rug. With the prayer the dede gives the süpürgeci, he opens the seal of the Cem. The actual worship ends here. The rest is the muhabbet (spiritual fellowship) part.
21. The dede gives permission to sit at ease.
22. The lokmas come and the lokmacı recites his prayer. The dede gives the prayer over the lokmas. After the lokmas have been distributed, the dede recites the tercüman (formula) “Şah yürüsün” and gives permission to eat.
23. After the lokmas have been eaten, the dede gives the table prayer.
24. Those who performed services are called to the dar, and the dede gives them a prayer for their services.
25. The dede recites the tercüman for leaving the Cem. He gives those present at the Cem permission to leave. Thus the Cem comes to an end.

The Meaning of the 12 Services

In our cems, before collective worship begins, there are the services we call the 12 services, and those who perform them.

During the Cem worship there is a sweeping service, a tezsekâr service and a delil service (we light a candle). In addition, we lay out a post (sheepskin/rug) on which judgement and görgü (accountability) take place. There is a saka (water) service, a gözcü (warden) service, a kapıcı (doorkeeper) service, a peyikçi (messenger), an iznikçi (keeper of shoes) and a lokma service. All these service rites have always been explained to the community in their outward (zahiri) aspect. In the science of tasavvuf they have far more sacred inner (batini) meanings and interpretations. As far as is known, this aspect has not been explained very much. That is why here I shall try, as far as I am able, to explain their inner, sacred interpretations as well.

1 – The pir makamı and the meaning of the office of pir! The seat (makam) of the pir is the makam of Hüseyin. The Holy Qur’an has determined the meaning and responsibility of the office of pir through its verses.

Surah an-Nisa, verse 135: “O people! When you serve for God’s sake, uphold justice and observe it. Even if it concerns your mothers, fathers and relatives, whether they are poor or rich, do not follow your ego and your desires. God is closer to them than you are. If you deviate and do wrong, it will be to your own detriment. God sees and knows everything.”

Surah al-Ma’ida, verse 8: “O people! Be witnesses who uphold justice for God’s sake. When you serve a community, let not your anger drive you to injustice. Truly, God is aware of what you do.”

In Alevi cems, the seyyids who are to sit on the pir makamı are given a prayer of responsibility in accordance with the command of these verses: this prayer is given to the pir by the seyyid who serves as rehber.

“Bismi Şah, Allah, Allah! Blessed be your service! May your helper be Hak, Muhammad and Ali! On this pir makamı, may Hak, Muhammad and Ali not lead you away from righteousness and the right path! May your justice be the justice of Ali! May you not favour the wrongdoer, and may you stand on the side of the right! May you make no distinction between rich and poor! May God Most High, who brought this universe into being, not let you go astray and fall! May you sit rightly and judge rightly! May the beneficent grace of the Three, the Five, the Seven, the Twelve Imams, the Fourteen Pure Innocents, the Seventeen Kemerbest and the Forty be upon you! May your service not be in vain; through your service may you attain the intercession of Muhammad! The tongue be from us, the breath from the pir, the help from Hakk! Gerçeğe Hü – to the believer, ya Ali,” he says.

2 – The rehber makamı; it is the makam of Ali. Its responsibility is to teach the path and the erkân (yol ve erkân) to those souls who wish to become followers of the path of the Ehl-i Beyt. It hands over to the pir the talip who has reached a certain stage. In order to introduce people to the path and erkân of the Ehl-i Beyt, he must serve and strive as Ali did.

3 – The mürşid makamı; it is the makam of Muhammad. Its responsibility, within the path and erkân of the Ehl-i Beyt, is to resolve the problems and questions that the rehber and the pir could not resolve; it is the office that gives the final decision. It is the sacred symbol of the continuation in hearts of this light of Truth founded by the Ehl-i Beyt.

4 – The zakir plays the saz and sings beyits (verses), duvazdeh, tevhit and mersiyes. During the worship he is the pir’s greatest helper.

5 – The süpürgeci (ferraş, ferraşçı, cârcı – sweeper): He is responsible for sweeping the cemevi and for all cleaning work. The pir of this service is Salman the Persian (Selman-ı Farisi).

6 – The tezsekâr service: In our cems of teaching and worship it is performed only symbolically, so that it is not forgotten. In the erkân of musahiplik and görgü, however, a prayer is said when the rehber gives the tarikat ablution (abdest) to the talips who have given their vow and been examined (görülmüş). For example! While the hands are washed, the following prayer is said: “My sublime God! Do not let me hurt another with these hands! Give these hands of mine no opportunity to reach for what is forbidden (haram)! Grant me to do with these hands what is beneficial to humanity! Grant me to come before You with sinless, pure hands! O my Lord.”

These services have always been given meaning from an outward perspective. Just as people, in order to live comfortably and cleanly, sweep the inside of their house, their door, their street and their surroundings every day, and everything becomes spotlessly clean; just as a person who washes hands and face with water every day, bathes, washes laundry and clothes and takes care of cleanliness leads a clean and peaceful life – so, when we take the full ablution (boy abdesti – a shower) at home, put on our clean clothes and go to the cem spotlessly clean, we have cleansed our physical body. For to stand before God with one’s dirt, rust and sweat is disrespectful and a sin.

In the cemevi or wherever it may be, standing for worship means standing before God. Worshipping wholeheartedly and believing without doubt means spiritually purifying and cleansing our minds and hearts of the world’s impurities. Asking forgiveness for our mistakes, our sins and our shortcomings, begging pardon, and presenting our wishes and desires form the essence of worship. Worshipping in this faith is the most natural right that our path and our erkân expect of us. With worship performed with such a heart, we fulfil the sacred values of our faith as they deserve.

What God Most High asks of us is that we be pure human beings. Just as we cleanse our bodies by washing and our surroundings by sweeping, so in the Cem we should strive to cleanse our hearts by praying. Every outward act is the mirror of an inner act.

7 – The delil service (çıracı service): In our cems we light the delil (we light a candle) in accordance with verses 35–36 of Surah an-Nur of the Holy Qur’an. Verse 36: “This light is lit in houses known to be exalted and sacred to God, in which it is permitted to mention God’s name, and in which the name of God is mentioned from evening until morning.”

Just as this lighting of the delil is done by the command of the Qur’an, we also give it a sacred value as the light (nur) of the religion of Islam brought by Muhammad. In Alevi faith and the thought of tasavvuf, we should worship in order to kindle in the house of our hearts the light of God (Hakk) that burns in the cemevi and that divine radiance. In devotion, far from the troubles of the world, entering into trance, we should strive to grasp unity, to become one with God (Hakk’la hak olmak), and to kindle in our hearts that eternal, never-extinguished divine light. If the light of faith, the light (nur) of Muhammad, which we light in the cemevi, burns in the heart of a believer, that soul becomes a servant (bende) of the Ehl-i Beyt and one of the erenler of the path.

8 – The “post” (prayer-rug service): When the seyyid who will hold the Cem comes to the pir makamı, the rehber addresses the congregation as follows: “Hü erenler, to marifet (gnosis)! The ‘post dede’ who will lead our Cem is coming,” he says. He himself and the congregation rise and wait standing in the kıyam posture. The pir comes, giving the tarikat greeting. The rehber gives him the prayer of responsibility. The pir takes his place and gives the congregation the first gülbank. After him the süpürgeci comes and performs his service. Immediately after that comes the post that is to be spread at the pir makamı. It is spread with certain prayers. The one performing the service offers reverence at three of its corners, saying “Allah, Muhammad, ya Ali”, and, remembering Mother Fatma, offers reverence at its centre; thus he has spread the post.

In the past, in the time of our forefathers (dedes), the pir’s post was spread so that one part lay under the place where the pir sat and the other part lay in front, where the services are performed. On this sacred post, spread with prayer at the makam of Hüseyin, only the pir sits; the delil is lit, and the services of görgü, questioning (sorgu) and judgement (yargı) take place. That is why it was called the “pir postu”. According to our faith, those who are judged and questioned on this post, believing and having faith without doubt, have their sins forgiven if they do no wrong afterwards – this is our belief. When it is spread there is a duvazdeh, which the one performing the service recites. Then the pir gives this prayer.

“Allah, Allah! May those who serve upon this post, spread on the path of Hak-Muhammad-Ali, on the meydan of the erenler, at the divan of the pir, find intercession through their service! May God Most High not judge and question again those who are judged and questioned on this meydan! May He forgive their sins! May He grant the wishes of their tongues and the desires of their hearts! May Hak, Muhammad and Ali be their helpers! The tongue be from us, the grace (himmet) from Hakk, the help from the pir. Gerçeğe Hü – to the believer, ya Ali.” This prayer clearly reveals the meaning of the post spread at the sacred makam.

9 – The gözcü (warden) service! It is the duty of “Karaca Ahmet Sultan”, one of the erenler of Rum (Anatolia). In the inner sense, [he is the one] who was in contact with the pirs of Khorasan. Because he had the duty of watching where and which eren came to the land of Rum, the pir of the office of gözcü is Karaca Ahmet Sultan. During the worship he maintains communication between the congregation and the pir. He is responsible for the Cem proceeding in an orderly and calm manner. However sacred and valuable this interpretation may be among Alevis, it is an outward (zahiri) interpretation.

As for the inner (batini) interpretation of the Alevi mystical faith, it is quite different. The gözcü is the symbol of the bond between the path and erkân of the Ehl-i Beyt practised and believed at the pir makamı, on the one hand, and those who believe with conviction in the faith and worship that this path and erkân bring, on the other – the symbol of the orderly continuation of that bond. The “staff” (asa) in his hand is the symbol of the sacred staff of Moses (Musa aleyhisselam), which showed before Pharaoh’s sorcerers that the power of God Most High is above every power. That is why, when the gözcü stands in the dar with those performing services, at the moment of prostration he offers his reverence not to the ground but to the staff in his hand.

10 – The kapıcı (doorkeeper) service! He waits at the door of the place where the Cem worship is held. He checks those who enter and leave the cemevi. He does not admit unsuitable persons into the cemevi among the people who are worshipping. In fact, the doorkeeper service was established when the Qarmatians (Kârmatiler) set up their esoteric system, in order to protect their place of worship from the oppression and pressure of the Umayyads and Abbasids. In the faith of the Ehl-i Beyt there is still today the expression tevella and teberra. Its meaning! “To regard the friend of the Ehl-i Beyt as a friend and their enemy as an enemy.” Not to reveal the secret of the faith of the Ehl-i Beyt to strangers. The kapıcı is the guardian and the lock of this secret.

11 – The lokma service! Prayers are said over all the lokmas brought to the cemevi, and they are handed to the souls who have taken on the lokma service. Those performing the service mix the lokmas that have been brought and distribute them equally among the souls who have come. One of our souls has offered a sacrificial animal as lokma. Another of our souls has brought an apple, or has come empty-handed. Here no one looks at who brought what; no distinction is made between rich and poor, young and old – it is shared equally among all souls.

Whatever food it may be, if a prayer is said over it with the name of God, it acquires sanctity as a hak lokması (God’s portion). In the Alevi faith as lived to this day, an apple or a piece of sugar over which a prayer has been said with faith and conviction has brought healing to many sick people. A prayer said wholeheartedly and believing without doubt, and the lokma received, have often become a remedy for ailments and a medicine for the sick.

12 – The saka water and its service! The Alevi community has to this day not forgotten the martyrs who died thirsty with Hüseyin at Karbala. In every act of worship, in every cem, it remembers their names. It has written mersiyes (laments) about them and distributes water while singing these mersiyes, remembering the oppression and pain they suffered. The one performing the service brings the water before the pir, and the pir gives the following prayer over this water.

“O my sublime God! Illuminate with Your divine light, in Your presence, the pure souls of the 72 martyrs who fell at Karbala together with Hüseyin – the descendant of Muhammad Mustafa and Ali al-Murtaza, the darling of our mother Fatima – and reward them with Your intercession, O my Lord! For their honour, grant healing for his pain and recovery for his sick to whoever drinks a sip of this water, O my Lord! For the honour of all the erenler and saints who have come and gone, deliver from all their troubles those on whom a drop of this water falls. Grant peace to their hearts, health to their souls and happiness to their homes, O my Lord!”

When this water is given to the people, it is drunk in remembrance of the martyrs of Karbala.

Biz geçmişiz canı baştan Hak erenler aşkına
Can gözü dembe dem Hakk’ı görenler aşkına
Deşti Kerbela’da susuz can verenler aşkına
Gözüm yaşı sebil ettim, şahi şehidanın aşkına
Saka hüm ya Hüseyin
Lütfuna muhtacız ya Hüseyin
Derdine derman hastasına şifa ver
Bu sudan bir yudum içene ya Hüseyin
Saka hüm ya Hüseyin
Aşk olsun içene, rahmet olsun Hakk’a göçene
Lânet olsun ol Yezid’in ervahına soyuna
Rahmet olsun Ehli Beyte. Saka hüm ya Hüseyin. Saka hüm ya
Hüseyin. Saka hüm ya Hüseyin.

We have given up life and head for the love of the erenler of Truth,
for the love of those whose soul’s eye sees God at every moment,
for the love of those who gave their lives thirsty in the desert of Karbala;
I have made my tears a fountain (sebil) for the love of the Shah of martyrs.
Saka hüm ya Hüseyin
We are in need of your grace, ya Hüseyin
Grant a cure for his pain and healing to his sick,
to whoever drinks a sip of this water, ya Hüseyin
Saka hüm ya Hüseyin
Love (aşk) to the one who drinks; mercy to the one who has passed on to God;
a curse upon the spirits and the lineage of that Yazid;
mercy upon the Ehl-i Beyt. Saka hüm ya Hüseyin. Saka hüm ya
Hüseyin. Saka hüm ya Hüseyin.

This water, then, over which the name of God and of the Ehl-i Beyt has been spoken in prayer, becomes a hak lokması for the people who believe and have faith. For souls who have purified their hearts and surrendered their innermost selves to God, it becomes a cure and a medicine for every ailment. What matters is that the soul who stands for worship draws near to God in ecstasy and is granted His good pleasure (rıza). By the “Be!” (ol) of God Most High, everything comes to be. We believe and have faith in this.

13 – The peyikçi (messenger) service; it is the service of informing the community of the place and date of the Cem. In the past the soul who took on this service would go from house to house to give notice.

Since the Alevis who came from the village to the city lived in neighbourhoods far from one another, they gave notice by sending letters by post. For the last ten years we have been giving notice by mobile phone, through the SMS system.

14 – The iznikçi service; he keeps the shoes of the souls who come to worship in the cemevi in good order in a particular place and, after worship has ended, returns the shoes to their owners. By performing this service, he contributes, together with those who are worshipping, to the worship being performed in peace.

15 – The semah and the semah service; When the miraçlama is recited in the Cem worship, near its end, in the 23rd stanza: “Biri şerbetten nuş eyledi. Cümlesi oldu eyan. Mümin, Müslüm üryan ayak. Hep girdiler semaha” (“One drank of the sherbet, and it became manifest to all. Believers and Muslims, barefoot, all entered the semah”).

When this stanza is recited, the semah turners begin to turn the Semah of the Forty (Kırklar Semahı), saying “Hü, Allah, Allah”. I have explained the meaning of the semah within the order of the Cem, after the miraçlama. But I have found it appropriate to give a short summary here as well.

Semah: through the turning in the atoms of which the human being is made, through the circulation of the blood in the human body, through the human being’s coming from the earth and returning to the earth, and through turning together with the earth, the human being continues to turn involuntarily, naturally and unconsciously. What distinguishes the human being from other beings and raises it above them, however, is reason and intelligence. In turning the semah, it is a matter of making reason take part consciously in the movement shared with other beings. In summary:

The semah is the servant’s turning towards the Truth, rising with love under the command of reason, abandoning the ego and passing away in God (Hakk). It is his return to servanthood as a matured, perfect human being. This return! It is a return to the essence, to serve all of existence and all of creation with a new spirit and a new heart, with loving devotion. (Detailed information: What is the semah?)

I have tried, to the best of my knowledge, to explain the brief and essential outward and inner meanings of all the services, together with the semah. The service is mine; the judgement belongs to my readers.

In 1988, at the time when we were trying to found our first associations (our cemevis), they said to us: “You have been organised by the state. The Turkish Republic is having these associations founded against the leftist movement and the Kurdish movement.” A feeble-minded group even printed and distributed 3,000 copies of a 36-page magazine claiming that I, “Derviş Tur”, was a salaried official of the Diyanet (the Presidency of Religious Affairs). In those difficult days I too, moved, tried to express my purpose with this poem.

We Have Come to Spread the Alevi Faith

Ketlimize fetvalar neden ne için
Ön yargı iftira hep bizler için
Haksızı meydandan kovmamız için
Alevi inancını yaymaya geldik

Why, what for, the fatwas for our killing?
Prejudice and slander – all of it against us.
So that we may drive the unjust from the meydan,
we have come to spread the Alevi faith.

Doğudan batıdan gelen Erenler
Hor gören gözleri açmaya geldik
Gönülden yürekten birleşen canlar
Ehli Beyt ışığın yakmaya geldik

You erenler who have come from east and west –
we have come to open the eyes that look down on us;
you souls united from the heart and soul –
we have come to kindle the light of the Ehl-i Beyt.

Allah, Muhammed’e aşk sevgi ile
İmanım, inancım dost Ali ile
Genç Abdal Nesimi Pir sultan ile
Alevi yolunu açmaya geldik

With love and affection for God and Muhammad,
my faith, my belief is with Ali the friend;
with Genç Abdal, Nesimi and Pir Sultan
we have come to open the Alevi path.

Pirim Hünkâr Hacı Bektaş-i Veli
Sorarsan Mansur’u, O nesli Ali
Dünyada yaşayan bütün Alevi
Birlik beraberlik kurmaya geldik

My pir is Hünkâr Hacı Bektaş-i Veli;
if you ask about Mansur – he is of the lineage of Ali;
all the Alevis living in the world –
we have come to build unity and solidarity.

Kemter Derviş ben bu yolda yürürüm
İstenirse başım hemen veririm
Kısmetse bir güzel düzen görürüm
Yol erkân cemleri sürmeye geldik

I, Kemter Derviş, walk upon this path;
if it is asked of me, I give my head at once;
if it is my fate, I shall see a fine order;
we have come to carry on the path, the erkân and the cems.

Qualities Required of the Mürşid, Pir and Rehber Who Lead the Cem

He must be a seyyid-i saadet, a descendant of the Prophet (evlad-ı Resul).

It is obligatory that he has been examined and questioned (görülüp sorulmuş) by his pir or mürşid, and judged and cleared within the community in which he lives. Even if this condition is not required for the first worship erkânname, it must without fail be met for the erkân of musahiplik, görgü, düşkünlük and bringing down from the dar.

He must possess the knowledge and experience to give every kind of religious knowledge to the talips who can lead cems in his surroundings, and to resolve all problems of faith. I have dealt at length, in the chapter “The Education System in the Alevi Faith”, with the stages that people of seyyid descent must pass through and the education they must receive in order to be able to serve the Alevi faith. I recommend that you read that chapter carefully.

Where there is no descendant of the Prophet, a zakir or talip who has been examined and cleared, who has taken the hand (el almış) from the dergâh of Hünkâr Hacı Bektaş or from his pir or mürşid, who has knowledge and experience and can conduct this first erkânname, may hold this Cem. These are called the Babai branch or dikme dede (appointed dede). In these families who have been given a duty, descent does not continue from father to son.

The makam on which the pirs or mürşids sit who hold the Cem and take on the responsibility of that heavy duty is the makam of Muhammad, Ali and Hüseyin. When we examine history, those who sat on this makam in the past wore a headdress of 12 segments made of green and red, expressing that makam alone and worn during the service. Over their clothes they put on a “hırka” (cloak) resembling a judge’s robe, entirely green with only the collar and cuffs red, and then sat on that makam. For fear of the massacres carried out by the Ottomans, they did not wear the pir’s hırka, so that it would not be known who the pir was. Today we still keep that same fear alive. Who is the holder of that makam and who is not cannot be told from appearance. Every duty has clothing corresponding to its own responsibility. Why! do we not wear it, or have it worn? I leave the answer to my readers. I believe that after these arrangements, this too must be put into practice.

Source: Seyit Derviş Tur, Erkânname – Aleviliğin İslam Yorumu ve Alevi Erkânları (The Islamic Interpretation of Alevism and the Alevi Rites), expanded 3rd edition (ISBN 975-6791-52-7).

Translated from the Turkish original by Seyit Derviş Tur.