Kurban in Bektashi-Alevi villages of Thrace: Sacrifice, Devotion and Communal Belonging

NORTHWESTERN EVROS, Greece — 31 July. Animals are brought as offerings for the communal kurban ritual at a Bektashi–Alevi tekke in the mountainous villages of northwestern Evros in Thrace. More than an act of sacrifice, the kurban constitutes an embodied expression of faith, reciprocity and collective memory, bringing the community together through prayer, ritual preparation and the shared distribution of food. Ioannis Mylonelis