This study examines the marriage practices of the Alevis of Hınıs in light of oral culture data collected from the Halilçavuş region of Erzurum’s Hınıs district and the Alevi settlements associated with this region. The primary material of the study is based on source-person narratives compiled from Halilçavuş, Arpaderesi/Şeytan-Seyidhan, Beyyurdu/Begordi, Divanhüseyin, and Toraman. In the article, marriage is addressed within the framework of rites of passage in folklore studies; in addition, it is evaluated in relation to Alevi yol erkânı (the Alevi path protocol), consent, blessing, spiritual kinship, ocak (dervish lodge) affiliation, dede/pir prayer, and communal recognition. Within this framework, marriage among the Alevis of Hınıs emerges not merely as the establishment of a new household, but as a transitional sphere in which interfamily reconciliation, verbal commitment, consent, women’s labour, communal witnessing, and the moral order of the Alevi path operate together.

The study first focuses on the process through which marriage is accepted, as well as religious boundaries, kinship relations, kirvelik, and musahiplik ties. It then examines forms of marriage such as arranged marriage, bride abduction and elopement, kalın/başlık (bride price), endogamous marriage, cradle betrothal, taking a second wife, levirate, taygeldi, sororate, oturakalma, and dezmal kaçırma within the framework of local narratives. In these sections, particular attention is drawn to the distinction between consensual elopement and forced abduction, the perception of taking a second wife as problematic in terms of Alevi moral order, and the role of musahiplik and kirvelik as forms of spiritual kinship that create marriage prohibitions. In the premarital process, practices such as seeing the prospective bride, asking for the bride, giving a promise, engagement, okuntu/mum (wedding invitation), gift exchange, and family consent are evaluated as elements that enable marriage to be gradually accepted within the communal sphere.

The article also discusses wedding preparations and local ceremonial roles such as berbu/yenge, sağdıç/azapçeri, and rovi/tilki. Dowry, henna night, bride taking, tying the sash, door gratuity, threshold-related beliefs, saçı (wedding libation/scattering), wedding games, the gift-giving ceremony, nikâh (marriage contract), dede/pir prayer, and post-wedding visits are examined as practices that regulate the bride’s departure from her father’s house and her incorporation into the new household. Within these practices, women’s labour, family support, beliefs concerning fertility and prosperity, blessing, the prayers of the elders, and communal witnessing occupy a significant place. The section on müşkil, sitem, and düşkünlük explains how conflicts that may arise during the marriage process are understood within the moral framework of the Alevi path. The findings reveal that although marriage practices among the Alevis of Hınıs have been transformed by migration, urbanisation, education, and economic change, they continue to preserve their connection with consent, blessing, family approval, dede/pir prayer, and oral cultural memory. In this respect, the marriage material from the Halilçavuş region provides significant folkloric data that brings together local terminology, ritual roles, and social norms shaped by Alevi yol erkânı within the broader context of Eastern Anatolian Alevism.

Keywords: Hınıs Alevis, marriage, rites of passage, yol erkânı (path protocol), oral culture