A Religious Professional form in The Organisation of Dead Body: Gassal
Adem Sağır, Zeynep AktaşThis study attempts to apply to the concept of “organizing of dead body” in order to define the change and transformation which is claimed to be experienced by the relationship between death and the society. The Gassal, which can be interpreted through the emotional effort in deadreligion relationships, are placed at the focus of the study. One of the worries of choosing the Gassal is to bring the impact of religion on death and dead bodies in the modern age, where death specialties are seen as professional work up to agenda again. Qualitative research design has been preferred in the study, and the design has been composed of observation and interview techniques. The study aims to present the first data obtained with the interviews conducted with Gassals of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. The focus of the study has been on the Gassal, who could be considered as explainig the relationship between death and religion through emotional labor. Moreover, the Gassal in the death industry, where death consumption is seen as professional work, also brings the powerful aspect of religion in organizing dead bodies up to the agenda again. It is enough reason for the study to prefer the Gassal as it is subject for the fact religion is one of the fundamental criteria that forms the funeral services offered by local governments.
Ölü Beden Yönetiminde Dini Mesleki Bir Form: Gassal
Adem Sağır, Zeynep AktaşBu çalışmada ölüm ile toplum arasındaki ilişkinin geçirmekte olduğu iddia edilen değişim ve dönüşümünü açıklamak için “ölü beden yönetimi” kavramına başvurulmuştur. Ölü bedenlerin yönetimi kavramının tercih edilmesinde, cenaze uğraşısını salt ekonomik bir tüketim alanı olarak değil; din, kültür ve kimliklerin de görülebildiği, gelenekselden moderne geçişte toplumsal dönüşümlerin izlerinin sürülebildiği sosyolojik bir bağlamı da kapsaması motivasyonu ile hareket edilmiştir. Çalışmanın odağına ölüm-din ilişkisinin duygusal emek üzerinden yorumlanması olarak düşünülebilecek gassallar yerleştirilmiştir. Gassalların tercih edilmesindeki kaygılardan birisi ölüm uzmanlıkların profesyonel bir iş olarak görüldüğü modern çağda dinin ölüm ve ölü bedenler üzerindeki güçlü yönünü yeniden gündeme taşımaktır. Çalışmada nitel araştırma tasarımı tercih edilmiş, tasarım gözlem ve mülakat tekniklerinden oluşturulmuştur. Bu çalışmada İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi’nde görevli gassallarla yapılmaya başlanan mülakatlardan elde edilen ilk verilerin sunulması hedeflenmiştir. Gassal, Türkiye örneğinde ölüm-din ilişkisinin duygusal emek üzerinden okunuşu da temsil etmektedir. Ayrıca Gassal, ölüm tüketiminin profesyonel bir iş olarak görüldüğü ölüm endüstrisinde dinin ölü bedenleri organize etmedeki güçlü yönünü yeniden gündeme taşımayı temsil etmektedir. Türkiye’de yerel yönetimlerin cenaze hizmetleri kapsamında sunduğu hizmetlerini şekillendiren temel ölçütlerden birisinin din olması, Gassal’ın çalışmaya konu edilmesi için yeterli gerekçe kabul edilmiştir.
In this study, the concept of “organizing of dead body” has been used in order to explain the change and transformation of the relationship between death and society. Funeral rites are not merely an area of economic consumption; they contain a sociological context in which religion, culture and identities can also be seen, and the traces of social transformation in the transition from traditional to modern can be traced. That is why the concept of “organizing of dead body” has been chosen. The focus of the study has been on the Gassal, who could be considered to interpret the relationship between death and religion through emotional labor. Qualitative research design has been preferred in the study, and the design has been composed of observation and interview techniques. In this study, we aimed to present the first data obtained from interviews started with the Gassals in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Istanbul has been preferred because of the greater number of Gassals, which has been associated with Istanbul’s being a significant reflection of the average of Turkey in death rates. The aim of establishing the funeral not only as an area of economic consumption but also as an area where religion, culture and identities could be seen has been pursued based on the Gassal. The Gassal represents the relaunch of religion’s strength in organizing dead bodies in the death industry, where death consumption is seen as a professional work. As one of the main criteria is the religion that shapes the services offered by local governments within the scope of funeral services in Turkey, the Gassal has been considered as having adequate justification for the study.
Throughout the study, “organizing of dead body” has become a frequently used conceptual unitary. “Organizing of dead body” has been preferred by the researchers with the concern of creating a general profile of death-related professions. The concept has been mainly designed to differentiate the professions of death in “the East” from what “the West” calls the “death industry” defined in terms of money. It has been used not only for bearing traces from the working life of modernity, but also showing the areas in which traditionalism is maintained. Thus, the “organizing of dead body” also reflects the mentality extensions that can be established in a wide area that expresses the double bind. It both contains the professions that focus directly on death (Gassal, grave digger, coffinist…) and forms of work (marbles, timber, builders, etc.) added to the actual profession. This study consists of a pilot study of the field study carried out in the sample of the Gassals working in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. The study consists of in-depth interviews and focus group interviews within the framework of a grounded theory approach. In the research process, the concepts of “work”, “occupation”, “expertise” and “labor” have been used to combine different contents in a common ground.
As a result, the process of Gassal’s experiencing the profession improves the development of individual identity along with religious, cultural and social codes. The Gassal conceives the death as “Arrival to God” through religious codes, and brings the sacred aspect of his profession into the forefront.
The sanctity attributed to death also becomes integrated into the profession. Therefore, the Gassal comprehends the meaning of his work as “Gaining God’s approval”. The Gassal perceives death in the reality that “Everyone will die one day” in ordinary life with cultural knowledge. This aspect of death transforms into a cultural ceremony in the process of organizing the dead body. The Gassal exists in this process with religious regulations and plays an active role in not performing all kinds of practices that are not compatible with religion, and becomes the guardian of the dead body. Here, the Gassal makes suggestions to the relatives of the dead using religious references. At this point, the organizing of the dead body turns into a ceremony. From the washing of the dead to the shroud, every good memory of the dead is remembered. As a result, Gassal as a profession is a powerful phenomenon in the post-mortem process and is directly related to death. It develops strategies and establishes bilateral relations for the field in which it is the subject.
