The Ethnography of the Oblivion of the Traditional Alevi‐Tahtacı Belief in Narlıdere

Based on fieldwork conducted in 2021 and 2022 in the Narlıdere district of Izmir, this article explores how and why the Yanyatır sacred lineage in Narlıdere, one of the two Alevi‐Tahtacı ocak s (hereditary religious lineages), came to an end and the resulting loss of knowledge about their beliefs among the Tahtacıs of Narlıdere. The transition from nomadism to settled life, the dissolution of the closed social life and contact with other communities, access to education and professional diversification during the Turkish Republican period and the urbanization process that led Narlıdere to become a central district that received migration and joined the city also ended the traditional belief structure and the ocak system. The decline and end of the dede‐talip (sacred leader–follower) relationship within the ocak system has meant that the sacred knowledge possessed by the dede has not been passed on to descendants. The secrecy of the belief and the exclusion from rituals and social organization of those who do not fulfill the requirements of the belief have increased discontent as the number of those excluded increases. Today, all rituals and social organizations that require the dede‐talip relationship have come to an end, and some other rituals have been transformed. The knowledge of the traditional religious belief that cannot survive has also faded into oblivion with indifference and misinformation.