An Unknown “Ali Velayet-Name” with Nesimi Penname and Some New Poems

Abstract

In this study, the poem titled as Velayet-name-i Şah-ı Velayet, which is not mentioned in the sources and has not been published before, and five poems in the form of murabba and gazel are assessed and their texts are published. Velayat-names, which are briefly described as books describing the lives and legends of religious leaders, are one of the common genres in religious-mystical Turkish literature. Although such works have been written about many religious leaders like Ahmed Yesevi, Mevlana, Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli, Seyyid Battal Gazi, Sarı Saltık, Ahi Evran, Kaygusuz Abdal, Abdal Musa etc., it is the first velayet-name written about Hazrat Ali. In this study the issue is briefly evaluated firstly, and then the issue of Nesimis, which has been discussed and confused, is also mentioned in the article. Seyyid Nesimi, one of the most famous poets of Turkish literature, deeply influenced Turkish people with his life and poems. After his death, his followers sometimes appeared in the same penname. The best known of these is Kul Nesimi. When both the penname unity and the similarity of belief and saying come together, the poems of these different poets are inevitably confused, and all the poems with Nesimi penname have been attributed to Seyyid Nesimi. These are also very difficult to separate. In this sense, the subject that binds Nesimi to Hazrat Ali Velayet-name and other poems are discussed in the article. Then, information is given about the two manuscripts containing Velayet-name and other verses. Finally, the form and content of velayet-name and other identified poems are discussed. Hazrat Ali's greatness and heroism are described in a slightly exaggerated and mythological style, different from the classical Islamic / Sunni line in Velayet-name. The love of Hazrat Ali and Huseyin was expressed more in other poems. The transliterated texts of the mentioned poems are presented at the end of the article. It is thought that the article will be beneficial in terms of revealing both an unknown work and new poems bearing Nesimi penname, and a partially mythologically unknown Velayet-name written about Hazrat Ali and also drawing attention to the discussions on Nesimi.