VIII. Alevis and Folk Beliefs

Elements of folk religion or superstition are evident in the beliefs and practices of a significant number of Alevis today. These beliefs include faith in the undocumented miraculous feats (kerametler) of Alevi-Bektashi saints and dedes. For example, Ali is said to have appeared as a talking lion to Muhammed. Haji Bektash is said to have been miraculously transported to Mecca (hence the name Haji). Abdal Musa (14th century disciple of Haji Bektash's lodge) is said to have caused water to emerge from one side of a mountain during the summer and from the opposite side during winter. Balim Sultan (Bektashi leader of the 1500s) is said to have been bom miraculously.

Haji Bektash is also said to have performed other miracles whose evidence remains in the area around the town of Haji Bektash in Kirsehir. When I visited there, one example explained to me by local residents concerns the legend of the "rock with the hole" (delikli lay). According to the story told to me while I was standing in front of the delikli taf, soldiers attacked Haji Bektash's lodge and he fled to the surrounding hills on his horse. There he found refuge under this outcropping of rocks. The enemy soldiers surrounded Haji Bektash for forty days and forty nights. Then, with one blow of his fist, Haji Bektash knocked a hole in the rocks large enough for both him and his horse to escape. The hole then closed back down to the size of a normal person's shoulders.

The hole in the rock remains today, and many Alevis believe that if a righteous person tries to fit through the hole, it will open wide enough for him or her to pass through. But if an unrighteous person tries to squeeze through, the hole will shrink even further, making it impossible for him or her to pass. Each year, hundreds of individuals try to go through the hole.

Many Alevis today observe other folk religious practices. The sources of these practices are debated:

1. lighting candles at the tombs of saints;

2. kissing door frames of holy rooms;

3. not stepping on the threshold of holy buildings;

4. seeking prayers from reputed healers;

5. writing wishes on strips of cloth and tying them to trees that are considered to be spiritually powerful.