On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his death, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has declared 2023 the ‘Year of Âşık Veysel.’ Accordingly, Âşık Veysel will be commemorated with various activities held in Turkey and abroad.
Anatolian lands are very fertile lands in terms of raising bards and minstrels: Yunus Emre, Pir Sultan Abdal, Kaygusuz Abdal, Köroğlu, Karacaoğlan, Dadaloğlu, Dedemoğlu, Kazak Abdal, Teslim Abdal, Âşık Veysel, Âşık Mahsuni Şerif and Neşet Ertaş are just a few of them.
The Great Seljuk Empire used Persian as the official state language and Arabic as the language of education and science. The Ottoman Empire also used Ottoman Turkish, a mixture of Persian – Arabic – Turkish, as the official state language, Arabic as the language of education and science, and Persian as the language of art.
The humble people of these great Turkish states received education and training in Turkish in their educational institutions, especially Alevi-Bektashi lodges, and ensured the survival of the Turkish language we speak today. If we have a living Turkish language today, we should know that we owe this to the Alevi-Bektashi lodges that provided education and training in Turkish and to the minstrels, bards and dervishes who grew up there, and we should be grateful to them.
All of the above-mentioned Turkish folk literature bards and minstrels are artists of Turkish folk literature who were trained in lodges (tekke). Today, more than half of the türküs (folk songs) we gladly listen to on radio and televisions are the works of bards and artists who were trained in these lodges, which are public education institutions.
Turkish Lodge Literature Schools
One of our last great bards who grew up in these ‘Turkish Lodge Literature Schools’ is Âşık Veysel Şatıroğlu. Although he had a negative start to life by losing both of his eyes as a child, he managed to become one of the greatest minstrels and bards raised by Anatolia by making good use of the education and energy he received in the lodges. The fact that UNESCO has declared a commemoration year in his name is proof that this saz and voice from Anatolia is heard worldwide.
We should try to commemorate and explain our minstrels and bards mentioned above, who are the cornerstones of Turkish cultural life, not on certain days and years, but every day and every year of our lives. Because the development of Turkish culture and Turkish lore depends on this. My book ‘Âşık Veysel in Children’s Hearts’, which I wrote in order to tell our children about our magnanimous, deep-minded bard Âşık Veysel Şatıroğlu, also serves this understanding.
On this occasion, we gratefully commemorate Âşık Veysel Şatıroğlu, who made a great contribution to the development of the Turkish language together with other bards and minstrels, and we hope that he will be told with programs and events worthy of his name throughout 2023.
Text: İbrahim Afatoğlu
– İbrahim Afatoğlu, Folklorist, Author
WORLD HERITAGE MAGAZINE ISSUE 1 (APRIL 2023)