Research Information System
Turk Kulturu ve Haci Bektas Veli - Arastirma Dergisi, vol.52, pp.127-144, 2009 (Scopus, TRDizin)
This article is about Shabaks living in the eastern part of the Musul in Iraq. Within this framework, the works of Shabaks were emphasized in this article. Since there are not enough studies on Shabaks, this study will close a serious gap and make an important contribution to the academic field concerned. Furthermore, while the data was being gathered from the resources, the validity of the provided data was confirmed through the interview(s) conducted with Shabaks. To this end, an excursion was organized to Shabak's region on August 2009. In the process of this study, Shabak's literature was examined. After that process, the villages of Musul were visited. Interviews with congregants and community's spiritual guides (who are called as 'Pir') were conducted. After the observations and interviews, the information gathered was reevaluated. As for their historical background, Shabaks regard themselves as Bektashi because of their spiritual leaders' affiliation to Haci Bektash. They call people as 'Pir' if they are form the same herd book with twelve sect leaders. 'Cem' being in the first place, their Rituals are directed by five Pirs around Musul. Their Rituals called 'Gülbank, Nefes and Cem' are conducted in Turkish. Besides Shabaks language, they also speak Turkish, Arabic and Kurdish. Having lived among Shiites and Sunnis for a long time, Shabaks convert to Shiites and Sunnis. As a result, the number of Bektashi Shabaks is decreasing gradually.