Dadaloğlu
Encyclopedia
Dadaloğlu was an Ottoman
folk poet (1785 ?-1868 ?)
, a language with extensive burrowings of words and phrases from Persian
and Arabic
. This language was not used in daily speech and was not intelligible for most of the population. On the other hand, the folklore literature
used everyday language which was Turkish
with minimum number of loan words from other languages. The best known examples of folklore literature were poems named koşma. A special type of koşma was varsağı which can be described as epic koşma..
(Nur Mountains
and possibly Toros Mountains). His name was Veli. Dadaloğlu was his mahlas (pseudonym). He was a member of a nomadic Turkmen tribe named Afshar tribe
. Ottoman government in the first half of the 19th century decided to settle down the nomadic tribes to end the tension between the nomadic tribes and the settled people. They were given agricultural land. But most of the tribe members preferred traditional nomadic life style and struggled against the Ottoman high commander. Dadaloğlu was also in the struggle and in his varsağı poems, he reflected the feelings and the reactions of his people. In his verse,
After a period of struggle, finally Ottoman government persuaded the tribe to adopt a sedentery life. The new home was in Central Anatolia, north of the former area. Dadaloğlu died in the village of Kavaklıpınar, Şarkışla
district of Sivas Province
.
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...
folk poet (1785 ?-1868 ?)
Background
In the Ottoman Empire there were two distinct literatures. Literature of the palace, so called divan literature used Ottoman TurkishOttoman Turkish language
The Ottoman Turkish language or Ottoman language is the variety of the Turkish language that was used for administrative and literary purposes in the Ottoman Empire. It borrows extensively from Arabic and Persian, and was written in a variant of the Perso-Arabic script...
, a language with extensive burrowings of words and phrases from Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
and Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
. This language was not used in daily speech and was not intelligible for most of the population. On the other hand, the folklore literature
Turkish folk literature
Turkish folk literature is an oral tradition deeply rooted, in its form, in Central Asian nomadic traditions. However, in its themes, Turkish folk literature reflects the problems peculiar to a settling people who have abandoned the nomadic lifestyle...
used everyday language which was Turkish
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,...
with minimum number of loan words from other languages. The best known examples of folklore literature were poems named koşma. A special type of koşma was varsağı which can be described as epic koşma..
Biography
Dadaloğlu lived in the mountaneous areas of south AnatoliaAnatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
(Nur Mountains
Nur Mountains
The Nur Mountains , also known as Gâvur Mountains , the ancient Amanus , is a mountain range in the Hatay Province of south-central Turkey, which runs roughly parallel to the Gulf of İskenderun....
and possibly Toros Mountains). His name was Veli. Dadaloğlu was his mahlas (pseudonym). He was a member of a nomadic Turkmen tribe named Afshar tribe
Afshar tribe
Afshars, also called Avshar are a branch of the Turkic Oghuz groups. These originally nomadic Oghuz tribes moved from Central Asia through Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, and finally most of them settled in Anatolia.Most of Afshars are followers of Shia Islam....
. Ottoman government in the first half of the 19th century decided to settle down the nomadic tribes to end the tension between the nomadic tribes and the settled people. They were given agricultural land. But most of the tribe members preferred traditional nomadic life style and struggled against the Ottoman high commander. Dadaloğlu was also in the struggle and in his varsağı poems, he reflected the feelings and the reactions of his people. In his verse,
- Ferman padişahınsa, Dağlar bizimdir...
- If the decree belongs to the SultanSultanSultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
, the mountains belong to us...
After a period of struggle, finally Ottoman government persuaded the tribe to adopt a sedentery life. The new home was in Central Anatolia, north of the former area. Dadaloğlu died in the village of Kavaklıpınar, Şarkışla
Sarkisla
Şarkışla is a town in the Central Anatolian Sivas Province of Turkey. The mayor is Kasım Gültekin .Aşık Veysel, one of the most famous Turkish folk poets and folk music singers of the 20th century were born in Şarkışla, as well as another earlier poet named Aşık Sefil Kanberi...
district of Sivas Province
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...
.