Cem ritual in Gaziantep çepni alevis

One of the first Turkish tribes to settle in Anatolia in the historical process was the Çepnis. The Gaziantep-Rumkale branch of the Çepnis, who contributed to the Turkification of Anatolia, are among the members of the Alevi-Bektashi belief system. after the 1071 Malazgirt victory, we see the Çepnis among the oğuz who increased their activities in Anatolia. The main problem of our study; The performance of the cem ritual, which is at the center of the Alevi-Bektashi belief, in Gaziantep province constitutes the determination of the performance. Today, although it has become difficult for Gaziantep Çepnis to keep their culture and beliefs alive due to a number of reasons, these values have not been forgotten but have become stagnant. Among today's Alevi-Bektashi communities, the Gaziantep branch of the Çepnis, which we see among the first disciples of Hacı Bektaş Veli, constitutes the scope of our study. We aim to determine the general history of the Çepnis, a tribe of the Gök Han class of the Üçok branch of the Oghuz, living around Rumkale, the location of the villages, the way they practice cem rituals and the current situation of the community. In addition, in order to easily determine the current status of the ritual, research methods and techniques of social sciences were utilized. Of course, the fact that our study constitutes the Alevi-Bektashi and Çepni element in Gaziantep province indicates the limitations of the subject. This study contains information about the village histories of the Gaziantep Çepni people and how they view the community