Deyiş -Alevi folk poems- are a type of oral literature that hold an important place in the culture of Anatolia. They touch upon various elements of Alevi-Bektashi community such as mythology, belief system, rituals, massacres suffered, and lifestyle. As one of the important guardians of the cultural memory of the Alevi-Bektashi community, these products prevent the forgetting of events and rituals of the past, while also serving as a means of forming the Alevi-Bektashi identity The purpose of this study is to determine how the culture, belief, and identity of the Alevi-Bektashi community is conveyed through the deyiş of Banazlı Pir Sultan. To this end, 161 deyiş belonging to Banazlı Pir Sultan, which are included in Ibrahim Aslanoğlu’s work "Pir Sultan Abdallar," were analyzed to identify words that bear traces of the cultural memory of the Alevi-Bektashi community. The identified words were then categorized through content analysis, under the headings of religious concepts and figures, motifs related to Sufism, and the concept of "Shah". The analysis revealed that the concepts of "Allah, Muhammed, and Ali," frequently found in the category of religious concepts and figures, were shaping the belief system, teachings, and values of the Alevi-Bektashi community. The category of motifs related to Sufism included terms such as "Twelve Imams," "Hacı Bektaş Veli”, “aspirant, dervish, lover, abdal, zâkir”, “er, eren, erenler, veli, saint”, “zülfikar”, “cem, ayin-i cem”, “sema, semah”, “musahip, road brother, afterlife”, “Karbala massacre”, “Kırklar, Kırklar Council”, “apple” and “threshold” which are frequently used in rituals and help transfer the culture and identity of the Alevi-Bektashi community from generation to generation. The final category, "Shah" was found to be a philosophical concept that helps individuals understand themselves and the world better. Moreover, it was determined that these "deyişler," which contribute to the solidarity of the Alevi-Bektashi community, have a rich cultural memory space.

Pir Sultan, deyiş, Alevi-Bektashi culture, cultural memory, cultural identity.