Structure and rituals of Dersims Alevism ftom the seyits' perspektive

Many works have been published on Alevism in recent years. There are differences between Alevis, who lived in closed communities for a long time, and other communities in Turkey which have unified structures. Along with modernization, multidimensional changes took place in the Alevi society in Dersim because of factors such as migration and urbanization. In this context, the interest of the researcher for the changes that took place in the Alevi social structure in Dersim, which she belongs to, has been a source of motivation for her. When we conducted this qualitative study, we focused on the analyses and point of view by Alevi Seyites from Dersim and we aimed to contribute to some extent to this field with a study on Alevism. In addition, our goal was to understand different aspects of Alevism in Tunceli. In our research, we compared the social structure and rituals of Dersim Alevism in the past and nowadays on the basis of information obtained from Ocak representatives, which are considered as religious dignitaries by Alevis in Dersim. We used one of the qualitative research methods, in-depth interview. We prepared the questions according to semi-structured interview technique and we used a purposeful sampling to select our interviewees. The reason behind this is that it provides the possibility to study intensively with Ocakzades, which are considered as people who know Dersim culture and belief system. As a part of this research, the reasons behind the troubles and problems in the region were examined and analysed. A study in which the main focus is change and transformation cannot be understood without taking into account divers factors. Therefore, it is important to consider them. When it is necessary to analyse together and at the same time many factors, the developments related to change are also widely covered. Key words: Alevism, Dersim, rituals