Honça is a significant communication tool used in the performance of tradition in Tunceli and its surroundings, possessing profound symbolic meanings. This symbolic object takes its place in the societal structure during transitional periods like weddings and circumcisions, according to the performance of tradition. Honça also embodies specific meanings, facilitating the transmission of tradition and culture across generations. The honça lowering ritual, performed in relation to this object, not only aims to preserve unity and harmony from a spiritual perspective but also finds its expression in societal terms through symbols. One purpose of this ritual is to transform the cultural understanding rooted deep in history into values of sincerity. The cultural and traditional understanding, a result of the locals' long-lived experiences, achieves its "reminder" mission through the symbolic language of honça. Thus, honça, reflecting communal life experiences, becomes an integrative image around which people gather. The mentioned object also bears the characteristic of a mystical gateway to the spiritual and cultural memory of the locals. This study will examine the honça lowering ritual, especially concerning its symbolic objects and practices, used by the locals to transmit tradition and culture to newer generations. The symbolic significance and societal function that the ritual encapsulates will be introduced and its cultural importance will be emphasized. One aspect the study will focus on is the mandala symbol. Indeed, honça, central to weddings and circumcisions in the region, in its form and ascribed meanings, resonates with a mandala blueprint. In this context, honça, fulfilling its traditional role during these ceremonies, represents inner balance, bringing participants together around a central point. The study will also explore how honça and the honça lowering ritual, which holds deep symbolic meanings among the locals, function culturally.

Honca, Tunceli, Circumcision, Wedding, Alevi, Mandala