Türk Kültürü ve Hacı Bektaş Velî Araştırma Dergisi (Jun 2024)
HAMDULLAH ÇELEBİ’NİN MİRAÇLAMASI MERKEZİNDE, MİRAÇLAMALARIN ALEVİ VE BEKTAŞİ GELENEĞİNDEKİ YERİ: TOKAT ÖRNEĞİ
Abstract
Within the Alevi and Bektashi tradition, beliefs about the miraj event and the myth of the kirklar afterwards have managed to survive for hundreds of years, especially with poems in the genre of “mirajlama” recited in cem rituals. Although also found in written sources such as Buyruk, these verses, which are recited in the Alevi and Bektashi tradition, have survived to the present day mostly through the influence of oral culture. Mirajlamas are the forms of mythical narratives centered on miraj, which explain the origin of semah, an important part of cem rituals, and many other practices in the tradition, transformed into poetry. This type of mystical poetry, created with the traditional patterns of folk poetry, is usually performed with melody in cem rituals. In the Anatolian geography, especially in the cems of Alevi ocaks that continue the Sufian continuity, Shah Hatayi’s mirajlamas are usually recited. In addition, there are also Alevi and Bektashi communities where miraçlamas of different personalities are recited. Tokat is one of the important centers of the Alevi and Bektashi tradition, and in addition to Shah Hatayi’s mirajlama, Pîr Hamdullah Çelebi’s mirajlama is also performed in cem rituals in Tokat, especially among the ocaks affiliated to Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli. However, depending on the dedes and zakirs conducting the cems, some Alevi ocaks also recite Hamdullah Çelebi’s mirajlama and some Bektashi ocaks recite Shah Hatayi’s mirajlama. Hamdullah Çelebi was a postnishin of Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli and used the pseudonym Hasreti in his poems; he died in exile in Amasya as a result of the closure of Bektashi lodges. In this study, which centres on Hamdullah Çelebi’s mirajlama, the beliefs about the miraj event and the assembly of kirklar afterwards are interpreted especially in the context of Bektashi symbolism. Regarding the Mirajlamas, the opinions of twenty dede and zâkir, who generally belong to different ocaks and conduct cem in Tokat, were utilized, and the methods of literature review and interview were applied.Based on Hamdullah Çelebi’s mirajlama poem, it is aimed to reveal the place and importance of mirajlamas in religious and mystical folk literature, and to examine the sanctity of the miraj event and the narrative of the forties among Alevi and Bektashi communities in Tokat in the context of the relationship between myth, worship system and poetry. Our research is limited to the Tokat region and is important in terms of contributing to the ocak-centred studies on Alevism and Bektashism. Especially based on Hamdullah Çelebi’s mirajlama, which is recited in Bektashis’ cems; it has been seen that the belief in miraj and the assembly of kirklar is kept alive in Tokat, and the effect of mirajlamas on Alevi and Bektashi tradition has been discussed. Accordingly, it has been determined that there are various differences in the lyrics, stanza order and interpretation of Hamdullah Çelebi’s mirajlama according to the ocaks; the importance of reaching the most accurate evaluations in studies on such sacred narratives has been emphasized. In addition, based on the idea that mirajlamas constitute the basis of many worship systems that form the basis of Alevi and Bektashi tradition, it has been evaluated that ocak-centered and comparative studies on this subject will make important contributions to the tradition.
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