Pir Sultan Abdal
Encyclopedia
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
Alevi
Alevi
The Alevi are a religious and cultural community, primarily in Turkey, constituting probably more than 15 million people....
poet, whose direct and clear language as well as the richness of his imagination and the beauty of his verses led him to become loved among the Turkish people
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
. Pir Sultan Abdal reflected the social, cultural and religious life of the people; he was a humanist, and wrote about resistance, love, peace, death and God. He was also rebellious against authoritarian rule which led him into problems with the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
establishment.
Origins
Pir Sultan Abdal's ethnic origin is TurkishTurkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
, his poetry was in the Turkish language
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
and he originated from Sivas, which is mostly populated by ethnic Turks. Although Some researchers believe "Pir Sultan" wasn't just the one in Sivas
Sivas Province
The Sivas Province is a province of Turkey. It located at the eastern part of the Central Anatolian region of Turkey; it is the second largest province in Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Yozgat to the west, Kayseri to the southwest, Kahramanmaraş to the south, Malatya to the southeast, Erzincan...
, who has rebelled against the state and hanged for his religious convictions by Hızır Paşa's orders. Most of the information about him and his era we find in his verses, which reveal him as cultivated well educated and intellectual.
Pir Sultan Abdal, was an Alevi
Alevi
The Alevi are a religious and cultural community, primarily in Turkey, constituting probably more than 15 million people....
, his early work is dedicated to lyrical and pastoral themes and to the gnostic approach he had adopted. He criticized some Ottoman governors, Hizir Pasha in particular who ruled the region and his unjust officers.
His verses and calls for the rights and freedoms of the peasant folk soon attracted a lot of support among the masses who supported these ideals. As a result he was hung by Hizir Pasha.
But the tradition of his poetry and his struggle have remained alive till this day. His poetry was sung accompanied by the baglama
Baglama
thumb|180px|Cura and bağlamaThe bağlama is a stringed musical instrument shared by various cultures in the Eastern Mediterranean, Near East, and Central Asia....
, or saz, throughout the ages by folk singers. Today in modern Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
the Baglama is one of the most loved instruments of the people and is extremely popular and widely used.
Many poets acquired his name to keep 'Pir Sultan's voice' alive. According to literary historians, there were at least six other poets bearing the same name.
Poetry
Dostun en güzeli bahçesine bir hoyrat girmişKorudur hey benli dilber korudur
Gülünü dererken dalını kırmış
Kurudur hey benli dilber kurudur
Şu meydanda serilidir postumuz
Çok şükür Mevlâ'ya gördük dostumuz
Bir gün kara toprak bürür üstümüz
Çürütür hey benli dilber çürütür
Kendisi okur da kendisi yazar
Hak hilâl kaşına eylemiş nazar
Senin akranların cennette gezer
Hürüdür hey benli dilber hürüdür
Hangi dinde isen ona tapayım
Yarın mahşer günü bile kopayım
Eğil bir yol ak gerdandan öpeyim
Beri dur hey benli dilber beri dur
Pîr Sultan Abdal'ım başından başlar
İyisini yer de kemini taşlar
Bin çiçekten bir kovana bal işler
Arıdır hey benli dilber arıdır
Koyun beni hak aşkına yanayım
Dönen dönsün ben dönmezem yolumdan
Yolumdan dönüp mahrum mu kalayım
Dönen dönsün ben dönmezem yolumdan
Benim pirim gayet ulu kişidir
Yediler ulusu, kırklar eşidir
Oniki imamın server başıdır
Dönen dönsün ben dönmezem yolumdan
Kadılar, Müftüler fetva yazarsa
İşte kemend, işte boynum asarsa
İşte hançer, işte kellem keserse
Dönen dönsün ben dönmezem yolumdan
Ulu mahşer günü olur divan kurulur
Suçlu, suçsuz gelir anda derilir
Piri olmayanlar anda bilinir
Dönen dönsün ben dönmezem yolumdan
Pir Sultan’ım arşa çıkar ünümüz
O da bizim ulumuzdur pirimiz
Hakka teslim olsun garip canımız
Dönen dönsün ben dönmezem yolumdan
Translation
To the garden of my love there came an evil louderThe shrubs now lie there, my fair one, shrubs lie
While gathering the roses, he broke their stems to moulder
They are all dry, my fair one, they are all dry.
We've spread our prayer hide all over this place
We saw our dearest one to Holy God in grace
One day, all of us will come into the earth's embrace
We'll putrefy, my fair one, we'll putrefy.
God Himself reads the fate, Himself he scribes
He closed the crescent lashes of her beautiful eyes
Your peers are walking now with you in Paradise
houri
Houri
In Islam, the ḥūr or ḥūrīyah are commonly translated as " companions of equal age ", "lovely eyed", of "modest gaze", "pure beings" or "companions pure" of paradise, denoting humans and jinn who enter paradise after being recreated anew in the hereafter...
s they are, my fair one, houris, fair my.
Whatever your creed be, I will adore it and pray
To be awaken together with you on Judgement Day
Rise up once more to kiss your white throat that I may
Don't pass for one more trice, my fair, don't pass by.
I am Pir Sultan Abdal, the first of the firsts,
I feed my soul with the best and remedy the worst
I'll pool honey from thousand blooms to one comb till it bursts
I am the bee, my fair one, the bee am I.
Source: http://www.turkishclass.com/poem_204
Legacy
Pir Sultan followed the traditional style of folk literature. The outstanding characteristic of his poems, the use of vernacular language, keen and clear style still prevail in folkloric poetry. He also had a great influence on the poets of modern Turkey in the republican era and is today a beloved figure.See also
- AshikAshikAn Ashik is a mystic troubadour or traveling bard, in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, and Iran who sings and plays the saz, a form of lute. Ashiks' songs are semi-improvised around common bases....