Ölü Bedenin Sınırlanan Mekânı: Kayseri’deki Çerkes Kimlikli Mezarlar

Tracing to the roots of a community identity can be possible only by uncovering the places of the living and the dead. Therefore, the manners of defining the identity of their own community emerge in its dependence within the place. In the context of place and identity dependence, it can be assumed that the death and its rituals can give traces in terms of expressions of identity. In this point of view, cemeteries as ritual spaces for death, one of the rites de passage, have a function in the construction process of the cultural identity. Since there are many Circassian villages in Uzunyayla extended along in Kayseri and Sivas, it is considered as one of the regions in Turkey where Circassians are densely populated. Moreover, although the geographical features of the region are not similar to Caucasia, Uzunyayla is named as “Little Caucasia” by its people because of preserving and sustaining the Circassian traditions. Thus, this article includes the identity constructions of the people who identify themselves as Circassian and live in Kayseri through the dead bodies and graves as the ritual spaces for death. The aim of this article is to reveal the role of dead body and its place (grave) in keeping the community identity alive in the context of place and identity relations.