Turkish Religious Music in the Funeral Ceremonies of Sufi Orders

In the history of Turkish-Islamic culture, every stage of human life—from birth to death—has been ritualized with profound symbolic and spiritual meanings. Turkish religious music has functioned as a fundamental element in these transitional phases, possessing both aesthetic and devotional dimensions. In individual rites of passage such as naming, circumcision, beginning school, and marriage, as well as in collective rituals such as bidding farewell to and welcoming Hajj pilgrims or observing religious days and nights, Turkish religious music has held a significant place. Confronting death—an inevitable and sorrowful reality of life—Turkish society has employed religious music as a consolatory and spiritually guiding medium, transforming it into a ritual mode of expression intended to soften the disruptive impact of death and to give meaning to the mourning process. Sufi order funerals represent one of the manifestations of this aesthetic depth. In this context, (Janāza) funeral ceremonies are not merely occasions of farewell but also rites of metaphysical acceptance and surrender. Since death is considered not an end but “wuṣlat,” that is, reunion with the Absolute Truth (al-Ḥaqq), within Sufi thought, the funeral rites of Sufi orders have been shaped accordingly. In Mawlawī, Bektāshī, Jarrahī, and Rifāʿī orders, not only the canonical funeral prayer (ṣalāt al-janāza) but also various forms of religious music are performed, imparting both aesthetic and spiritual depth to the ceremony. This study aims to examine the religious musical practices present in the funeral ceremonies of these four major Sufi orders, all of which have historically maintained a close relationship with music. A qualitative ritual-musicological approach has been adopted; semi-structured interviews were conducted with the Shaykh of the Rifāʿī order, the Zakirbaşı of the Jarrahī branch of the Khalwatī order, and a Dede of the Bektāshī order. The data sources of the study consist of interview materials, archival-based works, literature on the history of Sufism, sources on Turkish religious music, and digital recordings of Sufi orders’ funeral rituals. The limited number of interviews were analyzed through thematic analysis, while textual analysis and contextual interpretation were employed to examine in detail “the musical forms, thematic structures, performance contexts, and symbolic functions” present in these rituals. Preliminary findings indicate that the music unique to Sufi order funerals fulfills multiple functions, including “spiritual consolation, strengthening social solidarity, doctrinal expression of belief in the afterlife, and transforming mourning into a sacred experience.” The funeral traditions of the four orders examined possess distinctive musical structures, and these structures constitute an identifiable aesthetic form within the Ottoman and Turkish religious-musical tradition. It has also been determined that the repertory performed in Sufi orders’ funeral ceremonies is largely rooted in the tekke (Sufi lodge) musical tradition and that various forms of Turkish religious music are prominently represented in these rituals. This study has brought to light the religious musical repertory performed within the funeral rituals of Sufi orders—an area that has remained insufficiently explored to date—and has demonstrated that this repertory exerts positive psychosocial effects on both Sufi adherents and other participants in their approach to death. In this respect, the study sheds light on the repertory of Turkish religious music and offers an original contribution to the scholarly literature.