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Abstract
Kirva, a social kinship practice, has been preserved in the post-Ottoman space, where it continues to play an important role in community life. Kirva has long been crucial for organising social and religious interactions, economic cooperation, political allegiances, the transmission of knowledge, and conflict resolution in Anatolia, the Caucasus, and Mesopotamia. Oral history provides vivid accounts of this practice, which is well known among religious communities such as the Alevis and Yezidis, as well as Orthodox Christians (Armenian, Greek and Syrian), and Shia and Sunni Muslims (Arab, Azeri, Georgian, Kurdish and Turkish). It serves to forge a close, kin-like covenant between two families, sometimes from different ethno-religious communities, who commit to supporting each other in good times and in bad. This article examines the extent to which this commitment to mutual aid is upheld during times of conflict. Through an analysis of this institution within the memories of Armenian and Yezidi communities, I explore the decline of kirva within the historical context of the transformation from empires to modern nation-states. I argue that the power alliances of these two socio-religious communities were significantly altered during the Tanzimat era, a period characterised by collective violence—the inevitable companion of nation-state building. The modern endeavour to eliminate all ambiguity continues to put this social kinship practice to a severe test until today.
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Search for other papers by Annika Törne in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
Kirva, a social kinship practice, has been preserved in the post-Ottoman space, where it continues to play an important role in community life. Kirva has long been crucial for organising social and religious interactions, economic cooperation, political allegiances, the transmission of knowledge, and conflict resolution in Anatolia, the Caucasus, and Mesopotamia. Oral history provides vivid accounts of this practice, which is well known among religious communities such as the Alevis and Yezidis, as well as Orthodox Christians (Armenian, Greek and Syrian), and Shia and Sunni Muslims (Arab, Azeri, Georgian, Kurdish and Turkish). It serves to forge a close, kin-like covenant between two families, sometimes from different ethno-religious communities, who commit to supporting each other in good times and in bad. This article examines the extent to which this commitment to mutual aid is upheld during times of conflict. Through an analysis of this institution within the memories of Armenian and Yezidi communities, I explore the decline of kirva within the historical context of the transformation from empires to modern nation-states. I argue that the power alliances of these two socio-religious communities were significantly altered during the Tanzimat era, a period characterised by collective violence—the inevitable companion of nation-state building. The modern endeavour to eliminate all ambiguity continues to put this social kinship practice to a severe test until today.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 257 | 257 | 9 |
| Full Text Views | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 16 | 16 | 2 |
