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Cem Evleri: An Examination of the Historical Roots and Contemporary Meanings of Alevi Architecture and Iconography

Andersen, Angela Lyn

Abstract Details

2015, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, History of Art.
Cem ceremonies are the primary communal assemblies of the spiritual lineages of the Alevi Muslim minority living in Anatolia, the Balkans, and the surrounding regions. Alevis designate settings for the cem known as cemevis or cem evis (literally “houses of the cem”). Cemevis may be purpose built structures or buildings temporarily converted for ritual observance. The essential requirement of the cemevi is that it be suitable for the cem, both spatially and in terms of the intentionality and appropriate moral background of the host and participants. The setting must permit all in attendance, men and women, to have equal visual and aural access to each other and to their Dede, the elder spiritual guide who descends from the family of the Prophet Muhammad. This leaves the cemevi open to a wide variety of design schemes, materials, furniture and decor, all of which make the ceremony possible, yet do not determine or confine its liturgy. The emphasis on community and comportment allows symbolic imagery and reenactments to activate and envelop the space in a meaningful, albeit often temporary, manner. Both the increasing visibility of purpose-built Alevi centres since the late twentieth century and the hidden nature of cem sites during periods of persecution dating back to the sixteenth century are related to Alevi resistance to elements in mainstream Islamic culture in the region. Alevis sometimes refer to the practices and ideologies of their Sunni neighbours as “cami kūltūrū” (“mosque culture”), differentiating this from themselves and their own cem-centred worship. This project explores the development, use, meaning, and changing role of the Alevi cemevi and its iconography from the thirteenth century to the present within the geographical region framed by the Turkish Republic. Through a combination of architectural site visits, the collection of oral histories, and an analysis of the historical setting, this study examines the relationship between ceremony and space, village architecture and religious settings, definitions of places of worship determined by Turkish law, and the place of an Alevi architecture within the history of Islamic religious architecture.
Howard Crane (Advisor)
Lisa Florman (Committee Member)
Byron Hamann (Committee Member)
433 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Andersen, A. L. (2015). Cem Evleri: An Examination of the Historical Roots and Contemporary Meanings of Alevi Architecture and Iconography [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1436301378

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Andersen, Angela. Cem Evleri: An Examination of the Historical Roots and Contemporary Meanings of Alevi Architecture and Iconography. 2015. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1436301378.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Andersen, Angela. "Cem Evleri: An Examination of the Historical Roots and Contemporary Meanings of Alevi Architecture and Iconography." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1436301378

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)