Bakacak Village brings together a distinctive Alevi Cem tradition and a rich musical heritage. Four forms are associated with Bakacak: Demeler, Dûvaz-ı İmamlar, Semahlar and Mersiyeler. To understand the cultural character of the place, it helps to distinguish between ceremonies, musical forms and individual song examples: the names refer to different aspects of the local tradition.
Cem Music and Its Names
In 2012, seven Deme examples were included in the repertoire of Bakacak’s Zeynel-Abidin Ocağı: “Ali Gibi Er Gelmedi Cihana,” “Ey Erenler Kimse Şaha Gidemez,” “Ezel Meclisinde Kırklar Ceminde,” “Girdab-ı Gamdayım Şah Ali Merdan,” “Gel Gönül Yiyip İçelim,” “Dün Gece Bir Şehre Vardım” and “Ezel Bahar Gelmeyince.” The same field study documented three Dûvaz-ı İmam examples there: “Muhammed Mustafa Ya Şah-ı Merdan,” “Hata Ettim Hüda Suçum Bağışla” and “Şükür Ettim Niyaz Kıldım.” The Semah “Seyithasan Semahı” was also documented at the İmam-Zeynel-Abidin-Ocağı.
The names of the Mersiyeler also offer a specific clue to how they are classified: in Bakacak, these laments are called Matem-i Hüseyin or, more briefly, Matem. The Mersiyeler sung at Muharrem Cems are known there especially as Aşürleme. This preserves the distinction between the name of the songs and their connection to the Muharrem Cem, without treating the terms as interchangeable.
The Nefes melodies documented in Bakacak are mostly anonymous and locally distinctive. The Nefes collected in the region are generally described as having characteristics of the Uşşak, Hüseyni and Gerdaniye Makam scale sequences. This highlights both the local character of the melodies and their musical classification.
Ocaks and Cem Ceremonies
Among the Ocaks named in Seyithasan (Bakacak) are the İmam-Zeynelâbidîn-Ocağı, the Sarı-Saltık-Ocağı and the Zelil-Kalender-Ocağı. The Zelil Kalender Ocağı and the İbrahim Halilullah-Çoban Alo Ocağı are considered significant Alevi Ocaks in Bakacak. Their names show that the place’s cultural connections are not limited to a single Ocağı.
At Bakacak’s Zeynel-Abidin-Ocağı, two types of Cem ceremony are distinguished: Sorgu-Cemleri, also known as Hak-Cemleri, and Muhabbet-Cemleri. Other named Cem ceremonies include Bayram Cemleri, Mihman Cemleri and Muharrem Cemleri. These are in addition to the two types mentioned above.
Historical and Biographical Connections
Bakacak was formerly also known as Seyithasan. After the district’s administrative centre was moved to Bismil in 1932, Bakacak lost administrative significance. The former place name explains why some cultural and biographical references use the name Seyithasan (Bakacak).
Aziz Güçlü was born in 1951 in the village of Seyithasan (Bakacak), in Bismil district of Diyarbakır province. He attended primary school in Bakacak and spent his childhood and youth there. His childhood was spent in a community where Âşıklık and Zâkirlik traditions were actively practised as part of the Alevi faith and Cem rituals.
According to tradition, a family belonging to the İmam-Zeynel-Abidin-Ocağı moved from the village of Kısas in Şanlıurfa to Bakacak in the early 20th century. In 2022, members of the İmam-Zeynel-Abidin-Ocağı and the Zelil-Kalender-Ocağı in Seyithasan (Bakacak) still maintained contact with relatives in Mosul. These are distinct connections: a migration reported as tradition, and family ties that were still maintained in 2022.
Discover more destinations: Adalar, Karasungur/Diyarbakır, Demirli, Diyarbakır, Kartaltepe Village, Karaağaç, Ergani, Güllük.
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