Migration and socio-cultural change in the Alevis of Kayabelen village of Şuhut district

The migration from rural to the urban areas, which started in 1950's in Turkey resulted in some considerable changes. The Alevi community was significantly affected by this movement. The Alevi "ocaks" in rural areas, having transmitted their religious and cultural elements orally over centuries, are now faced with the threat of being not able to transfer them to future generations and getting of extinct because of migration. Kayabelen Village, located in Suhut district of Afyonkarahisar, is one of the settlement areas that experiences such a threat. The present study focuses on Alevism practiced in Kayabelen and transformations that the sociocultural structure has undergone with the migration from rural to urban areas. The study first makes introduction to the research area and provides theoretical information about migration, urbanisation, social change and Alevism. Then, drawing on the data collected from Kayabelen Alevis living both in the village and urban areas through interview and participant observation, which are among qualitative research technics, the study presents a discussion of findings. The findings of this study suggest that that there are migration-based problems in the transmissions of religious and cultural heritage of Kayabelen Alevis.