ARAŞ;TIRMAWHAT NAME DID THE RUM SAINTS GIVE TO HACI BEKTAŞ; VELî? - A RESEARCH ON THE WORD AKTARMAÇ MENTIONED IN HACI BEKTAŞ; VELI VELÂYETNAME

Abstract

The most comprehensive work on Haci Bektaş Velî's family, lineage, birth, discoveries and miracles is the work in the genre of maneuvers, which appears in manuscript records under the names Velâyetnâme-i Haci Bektaş-i Velî and Menâkibnâme-i Haci Bektaş-i Velî. The text of the Velâyetnâme, which contains topics such as the lineage of Haci Bektaş Velî, the founding leader of the Bektashi order, his introduction as a seyyid belonging to the family of the prophet, his going to the lands of Rum as a murshid in the position of the pole with the commission of Ahmet Yesevî, and his showing many miracles to the masters of Rum, has undoubtedly played a very effective role in increasing the importance of Haci Bektaş Velî's charismatic personality in the eyes of the masses of people and increasing people's loyalty to the order. Written in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, although there are disputes about the author of the work, the general opinion is that it is Firdevsî-i Rûmî. Both in the Velâyetnâmes and in some other works about Haci Bektaş Velî, some names/nicknames such as "Kutbu'l-aktâb, Sultânu'l-evliyâ, Burhânu'l-asfiyâ, Envâru'l-yakîn, küsâde-i bâb-i hikmet, ser-çeşme-i nûr-i dîn, Kutb-u Rabbânî, Sultânu'l-ârifîn" are given for Haci Bektaş Velî. All of these epithets are composed of Arabic phrases. In addition to these, when Haci Bektaş Veli showed miracles to the Rum saints and tied them to him, the Rum saints gave Haci Bektaş Veli the name Aktarmaç, which is a Turkish word. This study will focus on the word Aktarmaç in some copies of the Velâyetnâme of Haci Bektaş Velî. In nine of the eighteen copies examined, the word is found in the form Ahtarmac / Ahtarmaci / Aktarmac / Ohtarmac. It has been observed that the word has been variantized according to the manuscripts. The verb form of the word, ahtar- / aktar-, was analyzed semantically and comparatively in historical language texts. It is thought that the verb in question means 'to turn the heart, to bind to oneself' in the Velâyetnâme manuscripts and that this verb is used as a mystical term in the Velâyetnâme. The Sufi meanings of the word Ahtarmac / Ahtarmaci / Aktarmac / Ohtarmac, derived from the verb ahtar- / aktar- with the suffix -mac, such as 'one who turns to the path, binds to oneself, spiritual guide' have been pointed out. In this study, the word Aktarmaç is proposed as the Turkish equivalent of the Arabic word 'murshid'. © 2024 Ankara Haci Bayram Veli University. All rights reserved.