Bathing the Dead, the Dirty Work: Stigmatization of Gassals in Modern Türkiye
Küçük Resim Yok
Tarih
2024
Yazarlar
Dergi Başlığı
Dergi ISSN
Cilt Başlığı
Yayıncı
Sage Publications Inc
Erişim Hakkı
info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
Özet
The present study examines the transformation of the profession of Gassals, dead body bathers in Islamic culture, from a prestigious role to a stigmatized job in modern Turkiye. Through a qualitative research design, this study employs a combination of participant observation and in-depth interviews with Gassals in Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. In the study conducted with the purposeful convenience sampling technique, in-depth interviews were conducted with 19 participants (3 male,16 female). Ultimately, the study raises three major modernity-related claims: Modernity marginalizes death and excludes it from daily life, primarily functions to secularize the public sphere and excludes religious issues, and presents the dead body as dirty, as it sees the body as a biological mechanism, as a product of standardization and institutionalization. Their job involves physical contamination due to direct contact with deceased bodies, and this solid physical taint overshadows the overall dignity of the profession. The three main findings of the study are important. First, community members perceive it as a reminder of death. The second is the modern human tendency to avoid death in the domains of everyday life, primarily through institutions such as hospitals. Lastly, the stigma toward gassals may be explained by them losing their status in the modern era under the influence of institutionalization despite enjoying a prestigious status in the past.
Açıklama
Anahtar Kelimeler
death ethnography, dying, stigma, dirty work, gassal, Turkiye
Kaynak
Sociological Perspectives
WoS Q Değeri
N/A
Scopus Q Değeri
Q1
Cilt
67
Sayı
1-3
