''Hakikatçi Âşıklık: Historical and Musical Traces of a Religious Movement'' (Diversity and Contact among Singer-Poet Traditions in Eastern Anatolia) PDF

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ITS 40 Diversity and Contact among Singer-Poet Traditions in Eastern Anatolia Diversity and Contact among Singer-Poet Traditions in Eastern Anatolia edited by Ulaş Özdemir Wendelmoet Hamelink Martin Greve ISBN 978-3-95650-286-6 Orient-Institut Istanbul Istanbuler Texte und Studien 40 Diversity and C...

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Diversity and Contact among Singer-Poet Traditions in Eastern Anatolia edited by Ulaş Özdemir Wendelmoet Hamelink Martin Greve

Orient-Institut Istanbul

Istanbuler Texte und Studien 40

Diversity and Contact among Singer-Poet Traditions in Eastern Anatolia

ISTANBULER TEXTE UND STUDIEN HERAUSGEGEBEN VOM ORIENT-INSTITUT ISTANBUL BAND 40

Diversity and Contact among Singer-Poet Traditions in Eastern Anatolia

Edited by Ulaş Özdemir Wendelmoet Hamelink Martin Greve

BADEN-BADEN 2018 ERGON VERLAG IN KOMMISSION

Umschlaggestaltung: Taline Yozgatian Cover photo: Musicians during the “Festival of Folk Poets in Sivas”, 1931. Tecer, A. K. (1932). Sıvas Halk Şairleri Bayramı. Sivas: Kamil Matbaası.

Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.d-nb.de abrufbar. Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de.

ISBN 978-3-95650-286-6 (Print) ISBN 978-3-95650-481-5 (ePDF) ISSN 1863-9461 © 2018 Orient-Institut Istanbul (Max Weber Stiftung) Das Werk einschließlich aller seiner Teile ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Jede Verwertung des Werkes außerhalb des Urheberrechtsgesetzes bedarf der Zustimmung des Orient-Instituts Istanbul. Dies gilt insbesondere für Vervielfältigungen jeder Art, Übersetzungen, Mikroverfilmung sowie für die Einspeicherung in elektronische Systeme. Gedruckt mit Unterstützung des OrientInstituts Istanbul, gegründet von der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, aus Mitteln des Bundesministeriums für Bildung und Forschung. Ergon – ein Verlag in der Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, Baden-Baden Gedruckt auf alterungsbeständigem Papier

Contents Ulaş Özdemir, Wendelmoet Hamelink, Martin Greve Introduction............................................................................................................. 7 Xi Yang History and Organization of the Anatolian Ašuł/Âşık/Aşıq Bardic Traditions .......................................................................... 15 Canser Kardaş The Legacy of Sounds in Turkey: Âşıks and Dengbêjs ...................................................................................................37 Lokman Turgut Imagining a New Mitirb: A Text Analysis of a Singer-Poet Tradition in Ṭûr ‘Abdîn .................................... 53 Marlene Schäfers Tracing Connections: Kurdish Women Singers and the Ambiguities of Owning Oral Tradition ...........77 Martin Greve Neither Âşık nor Dengbêj – The Lament Singers from Dersim (Tunceli).......................................................... 95 Hande Sağlam Musical and Textual Characteristic of Alevi and Sunni Âşıks in Sivas/Turkey..................................................................................................... 131 Ulaş Özdemir Hakikatçi Âşıklık: Historical and Musical Traces of a Religious Movement ...... 149 Mahmut Ağbaht A Genre of Oral Poetry, the Fann, in the Alawi Community in the Hatay (Antioch) Province of Turkey......................................................... 183 Stefan Williamson Fa “Hüseyn’im Vay!”: Voice and Recitation in Contemporary Turkish Shi’ism.................................... 209 Farhad Shidfar Azerbaijani Ashiq Saz in West and East Azerbaijan Provinces of Iran............... 225 Contributors .........................................................................................................247

Hakikatçi Âşıklık: Historical and Musical Traces of a Religious Movement Ulaş Özdemir For communities living inside the borders of the Ottoman Empire, the nineteenth century constitutes one of the most significant historical periods with irremediable social, cultural and political changes. On the one hand, Ottoman efforts to become part of Europe and on the other hand its unsteady policies on the issues of nationhood, identity, and religion with regard to the changes all over the world left their mark on this century. Selim Deringil summarizes the condition of the Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth century (Deringil, 1999: 3, 4): In more ways than one, the Ottoman Empire falls between the cracks of the fault lines that determined world politics in the nineteenth century, and this continues to determine the way the history of imperialism is written today. On the one hand, even at the turn of the century, it was still a force to be reckoned with and, unlike the Indian princely states or African colonized peoples, it was one which could not be pushed aside. On the other hand, it was the ‘Sick man of Europe’ whose demise was expected at any moment. It was heavily penetrated by Western economic interests, and suffered from chronic financial crises. It continued to lose territory in Europe, yet by the midnineteenth century it had the third largest navy in the world, and in the last quarter of the century, much to the alarm of the British, it actually succeeded in extending its influence along the Arabian Gulf. The central point about this was that the sultan and his staff at the Sublime Porte controlled their own fate. Operating under severe constraints, to be sure, they were nonetheless able to carve out a critical space for manoeuvre in an increasingly hostile environment. This produced the basic dynamic which determined the relationship between the Ottoman statesman and his Western colleague.

The nineteenth century also marked the beginning of a new era for Alevi, Bektashi and Kizilbash communities, with whom the Ottoman Empire had problems throughout the centuries. The abolition of Bektashi tekkes (lodge) and the Janissaries by Mahmut II in 1826 affected, directly or indirectly, a number of incidents these communities would go through until the Republican era.1 During this period, centuries-long differences among Alevi communities on maintaining their faith became affected by the interaction between communities belonging to different süreks (practice). Especially, after Hamdullah Çelebi’s exile to Amasya, occasional appearances of the Babagan branch in Eastern Anatolia, in 1

For studies on the abolition of Bektashi tekkes in 1826 and more generally the Bektashi in the nineteenth century see Soyyer (2005), Maden (2012, 2013). Also for details on the lives of Hacı Bektaş Çelebis from Hamdullah Çelebi, who was exiled to Amasya in 1826, to the War of Independence see Ulusoy (1986, 92–104).

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addition to the Çelebi impact in the region, constitutes an important development in terms of the interaction between these branches and the ocaks (hearth) influential in the Eastern provinces. From a religious perspective, another important aspect of the nineteenth century is the declaration of the Tanzimat Edict, which brought forth military, administrative and legal reforms, and the Reform Edict, which aimed for equal citizenship between Muslims and non-Muslims by resolving the millet (nation) system. The Ottomans, however, interpreted the “freedom of religion” principle in these edicts as “freedom of defending their religion” (Deringil, 1999: 115). It also provided the legal foundation for proselytization for the missionaries who had started working on the Ottoman soil. Deringil, stating that missionary activities presented the most dangerous threat against the legitimacy of the Ottoman Empire in the long run, describes this case as an ideological war between Christians and Muslims that challenged the very foundations of the Ottoman legitimacy (Deringil, 1999: 115). Alevis fell within a small front in this war.

Alevis and Protestant Missionaries Starting with the second half of the nineteenth century, there is a significant amount of literature about different Alevi communities, from the Balkans to the hinterland of Iran—primarily about the ones in Anatolia, penned by Western travelers, bureaucrats, researchers and especially missionaries.2 In this literature, missionary reports present the most interesting case both for the academic interest they have received so far and the information—be it true or false—they include.3 American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM), an American Protestant missionary organization which started its activities in Anatolia in 1820, becomes the most actively involved organization to work with Alevis in the following years with the opening of its first office in Istanbul in 1831.4 Hans-Lukas Kieser summarizes the relationship between the Alevis and the Protestants as such (Kieser, 2010: 52–53): The relationship between the Protestant missionaries and the Alevis began shortly after the establishment of the Protestant millet in 1850. It was one of mutual sympathy, some 2

3

4

For a collection on Alevis and Kurds by Western travelers, bureacrauts and missionaries see Bayrak (1997). For a comprehensive and critical examination of Westerners’, and especially missionaries’, texts on Alevis see Dressler (2013, 31–77). Missionary reports, despite their biases and factual errors, include ethnographically and historically rich information about the Kizilbash-Alevi communities at that time (Dressler, 2013, 31). For a critical examination of the information provided missionary reports and the story of Ali Gako mentioned in these reports see Karakaya-Stump (2015: 207–234). For another study on the relationship between Alevism and Christianity taking these reports as its starting point see Gezik (2016: 225–255). For ABCFM’s general activities report on its work in Anatolia until 1910 see Bliss (1910). Also for ABCFM’s activities about Alevis see Kieser (2005: 102–116).

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shared values, and common hope for a new age. The reality, however, fell far short of the great expectations. Missionary enthusiasm for this people and curiosity about them remained nevertheless constant.

Numerous arguments can be made to explain why the Alevis and Protestant missionaries established a relationship. Since the information we have generally comes from the commentary on missionaries’ reports, the issue cannot be explained by a single factor. According to one argument, for instance, the affiliation between Alevis and Christians had more of a political nature rather than a religious one; this stemmed from the fact that both groups lived under the control of Sunni Ottomans and hence shared common problems (Gezik, 2016: 244). According to another opinion, religious affinity has also contributed to this relationship (Akpınar et al., 2010: 318): It is possible that the Alevis were curious about and interested in the Protestant missionaries and they had a “sympathetic relationship.” Some possible reasons include the fact that in the Alevi faith system, all religions are sacred and there are no biases against other religions; that Protestant missionaries created an appeal by building schools, hospitals and workshops that people needed; and that some Alevis expected a kind of “political protection” through their view of “Protestantism as a way out of the discrimination they have faced for centuries.”

Regardless of the reasons for the affinity between the Alevis and the Protestant missionaries, this relationship was especially affected by the policy of including Alevis in “ümmet” (religious community) during Abdulhamit’s reign and this situation, while bringing certain sanctions against missionaries, also led to creation of the necessary precautions for the Islamization mission (Akpınar et al., 2010: 318). Thus, this relationship seems to weaken towards the end of the nineteenth century (Dressler, 2013: 44): It certainly appears that at least some of the Kızılbaş, and more strongly those of the eastern provinces, considered conversion to Protestantism to be a move that promised a brighter future—provided that they could secure the support of the missionaries and foreign powers to receive official recognition as part of the Protestant millet. The material prospects that came along with the missionaries, such as the establishment of schools and access to the missions’ hospitals, clearly were very attractive to many Kızılbaş. With the Ottomans making clear their rejection of the Kızılbashes’ conversion, the latter’s inclination toward Protestantism -which had been documented so meticulously by ABCFM missionaries in the second half of the 1850s- appears to have declined considerably.

Some Ottoman archival reports belonging to the 1890s and early 1900s mention the conversion to Protestantism and the tendency to proselytization among the Alevis living in the region from Central Anatolia to Dersim (Irmak, 2010: 255). Nevertheless, missionary activities in the Ottoman Empire during the nineteenth century, in general, achieved little and a relatively small number of Muslims converted to Christianity (Deringil, 1999: 134). In this period, those who converted to Protestantism or had relations with Protestants are started to be called

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Prot, Purot, Prut, Purut, Prudi or Prodan.5 We can see the missionaries’ strongest influence on Anatolian Alevis in the traces of a religious movement known as “Hakikatçi” or “Hakikatli” even today.

The Vanguards of Hakikatçilik: Araboğulları The story of Hakikatçilik, an extant religious movement influencing Alevi communities living in different regions, starts with Şeyh Süleyman and his son Veyis, known as Araboğulları.6 Oral and written sources differ in their descriptions of Süleyman and Veyis as brothers or father-and-son.7 The Araboğulları, seyits (descendant of Hz. Ali) affiliated with the ocak of Baba Mansur located in Muhundu (Darıkent) village of Mazgirt, Dersim, for reasons unknown to us, moved to Mescit village of Kangal, Sivas where ocak talips (disciple) lived.8 Süleyman Metin, a grandchild of Araboğulları, conveys how Süleyman and Veyis from the Baba Mansur ocak took up the name “Araboğlu” (Coşkun, 2014: 137): These dedes from the Baba Mansur Ocak set out to follow the requirements of Hakikat Kapısı of “Dört Kapı, Kırk Makam,” the basis of Alevi-Bektashi philosophy. They are reported to the kadı [Muslim judge] in Kangal, with the complaint that “they are trying to form a state against the Devlet-i Âli. They are even disregarding the border in their 5

6 7

8

Ayfer Karakaya-Stump claims that there is no information available whether “pençeci Kızılbaşlar” were given the name Protestant or anything similar (Karakaya-Stump, 2015, 231). However, J.G. Taylor, the British consulate who recounts his meeting with Ali Gako in 1866—the main figure of Karakaya-Stump’s article—mentions that Gako is known as “Prot Ali Ağa” in the region (Taylor, 1868, 317). Also, various names—prut, purot, prudi— mentioned in several sources cited in this article and in use since the nineteenth century prove this point. However, these names, up until today, are used in derogatory terms at times (Baran, 2011: 155; Özcan, 2001: 2, 45; Okan, 2016: 100). For three novels that take oral narratives as a starting point to tell what happened to Araboğulları and those living around them see Çiltas (1993, 1999, 2000). Even though some sources, starting with the testimony of Araboğulları’s grandchildren, state that Süleyman and Veyis were brothers (even müsahips (companion)) (Metin, 2014: 72; Baran, 2011: 146; Türkyılmaz, 2009: 258) the missionary reports clearly assert that they were father and son, and Süleyman was a well-respected şeyh (sheikh) (Jewett, 1858: 111– 113; Winchester, 1861: 72–73; Herrick, 1866: 68–69). The only name in the reports as the şeyh’s son is Veyis. However, the reports do not provide any information about the pseudonym “Araboğlu.” In the region and among their followers, both of them are called “Araboğlu” or “Araboğulları” (Baran, 2011: 146). In this article, “Araboğulları” will be used when needed. Araboğulları, after Muhundu, moved to Kelkit, then Zara and then Kangal (Baran, 2011: 151–152; Coşkun, 2014: 137). It is argued that Araboğulları left Baba Mansur ocak because of the Tarikatçi ve Hakikatçi dichotomy among Koçgiri clans in the second half of the nineteenth century and started their own organization, and since Baba Mansur dedes (elder) generally continued to be Tarikatçi, Araboğulları left Zara—where Baba Mansur followers lived—and moved to Mescit village of Kangal. However, there is not enough information on this matter (Gezik, 2013: 56–57). Araboğulları’s house and graves are still in Mescit village (see Figure 1). The common grave of Süleyman and Veyis, which they desired to be plain and simple, has turned into a visiting point in the region (see Figure 2).

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fields.” The kadı orders them to be taken into custody and sends soldiers to the village. The soldiers cannot put the handcuffs on Şeyh Süleyman and his brother Veyis. Every time, the lock of the cuff fails. Once they arrive in Kangal, the kadı gets angry and asks why they are not handcuffed. The soldiers tell that the lock failed to work. This time the kadı tries but he fails as well. These two brothers are immediately sent to prison. Even though it is July, a very strong hail storm begins. The Ağa of Kangal comes to visit these two brothers. The door to the cell is open. Behind it, there is an Arab with a black headdress. After people learn about this incident, they start believing that the brothers are protected by this Arab and they come to be known “Araboğlu.” After being tried with capital punishment in Sivas, they are sent to exile to Küçük Söbeçimen village, Sarız, Kayseri for seven years. Once Şeyh Süleyman and his brother Veyis return from their seven-year exile, all villagers and the talips belonging to this ocak show more respect and affection due to the past events.

So far, no record has been found about the abovementioned trial. However, the problems between Araboğulları and the Ağa of Kangal are frequently mentioned in oral narratives. Thus, we can surmise that the trial might have been a verbal confrontation due to some sort of animosity, if not a court case in front of an official kadı. Furthermore, that the oral memory about the mythology of the name “Araboğlu” constantly references the same incident implies a rather strong hostility. Süleyman and Veyis, who are understood to gradually gain power around Kangal and whose position as a “şeyh” becomes more accepted, appear in the Protestant missionaries’ reports working in the region since the 1850s.9 We are not exactly sure if the Araboğulları approached Protestants with sympathy because, as mentioned above, they regarded “Protestantism as a way out of the centuries-long discrimination” and had “political protection” in mind. Yet, what the Araboğulları went through after this relationship had a long-lasting impact on communities connected to them. Hans-Lukas Kieser interprets the Araboğulları’s relationship with the missionaries (Kieser, 2005: 111–112): Towards the end of 1850s, the Harput, Sivas and Divriği offices star...