Âşık Veysel

Âşık Veysel (Turkish: [aːˈʃɯk vejˈsæl]; born Veysel Şatıroğlu (Turkish: [ʃaːˈtɯɾ.oːɫu]); 25 October 1894 – 21 March 1973) was a Turkish Alevi ashik, bağlama virtuoso, and folk poet. He was born and died in the village of Sivrialan, Sivas Province, in the Ottoman Empire (later Turkey). Blind since the age of 7, Veysel's songs were typically melancholic, and dealt with a range of themes revolving around morality, love, faith, life and death, patriotism, nature, and his own perception of the world as a blind man. Veysel is considered one of the most prominent icons of Turkish folk music and literature. Among his most popular folk songs are Uzun İnce Bir Yoldayım (Turkish: I'm on a Long and Narrow Road); "Black Earth" (Kara Toprak); "Let My Friends Remember Me" (Dostlar Beni Hatırlasın) and "Your Beauty is Worth Nothing" (Güzelliğin On Para Etmez). In 2022, Veysel was posthumously awarded a Presidential Culture and Arts Grand Award by the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in the "loyalty" category. In 2023, on the 50th anniversary of his death, Veysel was recommended to UNESCO for a year of commemoration, backed by Turkey, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, North Macedonia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. His 123rd birthday was commemorated in a Google Doodle on October 25, 2017. Veysel Şatıroğlu was born in Sivrialan, an Anatolian village in Sivas Province, in late 1894, the son of Gülizar Keçecigillerden and "Karaca" Ahmet Şatıroğlu, a farmer. He was his parents' fifth child. These included two elder sisters, both of whom died in infancy of smallpox; and two brothers, one of whom died in infancy, and the other in a childhood accident. Only one brother, Ali, survived to adulthood. In 1896, Veysel's birth was followed by that of a younger sister, Elif. His family were Alevis, whose ancestors migrated to Anatolia from Turkestan sometime during the 17-18th centuries. Initially settling in the Kars region of Anatolia, the family later moved to Divriği, eventually settling in Sivrialan when Veysel's grandfather Ali Şatıroğlu, or his great-grandfather İbrahim Şatıroğlu, migrated there from the village of Kaledibi. Karaca Ahmet, Veysel's father, was orphaned at a young age, and grew up in Sivrialan as a shepherd and farmer. The family surname was initially Ulu, although the descendants of Ahmet Karaca were known as the "Şatıroğulları", a nickname, since at least the time of Veysel's birth. The surname was legally changed in 1934 to Şatıroğlu, after the passage of the Turkish Surname Law in that same year. Veysel's exact date of birth is disputed. It is typically given as 25 October, but the precise day is unknown; the best estimates suggest he was born in the autumn of 1894. He spent his entire childhood in his home village of Sivrialan, where his father's family, known as the Şatıroğulları, resided in four small houses overlooking the surrounding mountains. According to Veysel's mother, Gülizar, she gave birth to Veysel on the way home from milking sheep, in a nearby pasture known as Ayipınarı. Unable to return home in time, she delivered Veysel by the roadside and cut the umbilical cord herself, using a rock, then wrapped up the infant and walked back to Sivrialan (known as Söbüalan at the time). As all but one of Gülizar and Ahmet's previous children had died of smallpox, their newborn son was taken to Mount Beserek, a sacred mountain located approximately 10 km (6.21 miles) from Sivrialan. The mountain is thought to have healing properties; according to local folklore, Mount Beserek was the site where the 6th century Islamic martyr Owais al-Qarani (Turkish: Veysel Karanî), found some camels he had previously lost in Syria. Al-Qarani was martyred in the Battle of Siffin, where he had fought for another prominent Islamic figure, Ali ibn Abi Talib. In light of this, Ahmet and Gülizar named their newborn son Veysel, believing this name would compliment that of their older son, Ali Şatıroğlu. In later interviews, Veysel described his earliest childhood as being happy. In his own words, he recollected, "until the age of seven I ran and played and had fun like everybody else." Veysel had a fine voice from a young age, and from the age of 3 or 4 was frequently asked to sing. Of his father, Karaca Ahmet, Veysel recalled: Şu kadarını hatırlıyorum ki. Güneşin ışıklarını tutmaya çalışırdım. Babam “Avuçla oğlum, bana getir.” derdi. Ben de oynaya zıplaya avuçlayıp babama getirirdim. Avucumu açıp verecek bir şey bulamayınca hayret ederdim. Köy yerinin eğlencesinden ne olacak; babam beni bu şekilde eglendirirdi. I remember this much. I used to try to hold the rays of the sun. My father would say, "Catch it, son, bring it to me." I would jump up and down and grab it and bring it to my father. I would open my palm and marvel when I couldn't find anything to give him. That is the fun of the village; this is how my father used to entertain me. —Âşık Veysel Smallpox was prolific in the region, and struck Sivas in the winter of 1901. Veysel, aged 7, had received a new robe (an entari) from his mother, and went to a nearby house to show it to Muhsine, the wife of his maternal uncle (Veysel's memory of this event was unreliable; in other recollections, he stated that had merely gone outside to play). It had recently rained in Sivrialan, and the road was saturated with mud and snow. On the way home, Veysel's foot slipped. He fell and bloodied his hand, and, after lying there for some time, got up and ran home in tears. It was discovered that he had developed a fever. Veysel was undressed and quickly put to bed. The next morning, he was unable to get up; it was soon discovered that Veysel too, had contracted smallpox. Veysel was bedridden for three months. As the disease progressed, he developed a smallpox pustule in his left eye, which eventually caused a leakage that left him completely blind on that side. Veysel's right eye was spared, but quickly began to fail as well. He was left able only to perceive changes in light. By the time the pox eventually faded, Veysel was blind and scarred for the rest of his life, and needed to be led by the hand. His first guide was his sister Elif, who would frequently lead her brother around the village, describing to him what she saw. Of this period in his life, Veysel said: Çiçek zorlu geldi. Sol gözüme çiçek beyi çıktı. Sağ gözüme de, solun zorundan olacak, perde indi. O gün bu gündür dünya başıma zindan. Smallpox came hard. A smallpox scar appeared in my left eye. Perhaps because of the difficulty of the left, a veil fell over my right eye. Ever since that day, the world has been a dungeon for me. Genç Yaşımda Felek Vurdu Başıma Genç yaşımda felek vurdu başıma Aldırdım elimden iki gözümü Yeni değmiş idim yedi yaşıma Kayıb ettim baharımı yazımı. When I was young, fate struck me I had both my eyes taken from my hand I had just reached the age of seven I lost my spring and my summer. —  Extract from "Genç Yaşımda Felek Vurdu Başıma" Date unknown At this stage, there remained hope that Veysel would be able to regain the use of his right eye. There were ophthalmologists in nearby Akdağmadeni, 71 km (44.1 miles) from Sivrialan, whose main function was to perform cataract surgery. Some years after Veysel had first contracted smallpox, itinerant ophthalmologists (locally referred to as "swallow servants", Turkish: kırlangıç uşakları) arrived in Sivrialan and examined Veysel's right eye. They informed Veysel's father, Karaca Ahmet, that cataract surgery would be able to restore the vision in that eye, but as they did not carry the necessary equipment, advised Ahmet to take Veysel to Sivas for surgery. Conflicting accounts exist as to the sequence of events that followed. The most commonly cited version is the one recounted by Veysel in 1964, during an interview with TRT correspondent Rıdvan Çongur. In this recollection, Ahmet had planned to take Veysel to Akdağmadeni for surgery, but for one reason or another, was yet to make the trip.