Karacaoğlan
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Karacaoğlan was a 17th-century
Anatolian Anatolian or anatolica may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the region Anatolia * Anatolians, ancient Indo-European peoples who spoke the Anatolian languages * Anatolian High School, a type of Turkish educational institution * Anatol ...
Turkish folk poet and
ashik An ashik ( az, aşıq, ; tr, âşık; fa, عاشیق) or ashugh ( hy, աշուղ; ka, აშუღი) is traditionally a singer-poet and bard who accompanies his song—be it a dastan (traditional epic story, also known as '' hikay ...
. His exact dates of birth and death are unknown but it is widely accepted that he was born around 1606 and died around 1680. He lived around the city of
Mut Mut, also known as Maut and Mout, was a mother goddess worshipped in ancient Egypt and the Kingdom of Kush in present-day North Sudan. In Meroitic, her name was pronounced mata): 𐦨𐦴. Her name means ''mother'' in the ancient Egyptian l ...
near
Mersin Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin Province, Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and dis ...
. His tomb, which was organized as a mausoleum in 1997, is at Karacaoğlan hill in the village of Karacaoğlan, Mut, Mersin. In this regard, he was the first known folk poet and ashik whose statue was built. His poetry gave a vivid picture of nature and village life in
Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
n settlements. This kind of
folk poetry Folk poetry (sometimes referred to as ''poetry in action'') is poetry that is part of a society's folklore, usually part of their oral tradition. When sung, folk poetry becomes a folk song. Description Folk poetry in general has several characteri ...
, as distinct from the poetry of the Ottoman palace, was emphasized after the foundation of the
Republic of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
in 1923 and became an important influence on modern lyric poetry, with Karacaoğlan being its foremost exponent.


Biography

There is very little known about his life. Some say he was born near Mount Kozan, near a village called Varsak. Others suggest that he is from the village of the same name, but in modern-day
Osmaniye Osmaniye () is a city on the eastern edge of the Çukurova plain in southern Turkey and the capital of Osmaniye province. Backed by the foothills of the Nur Mountains, Osmaniye lay on one of the old Silk Roads and was always a place of strategic ...
, and some suggest he lived in
Kahramanmaras Marash (Armenian: Մարաշ), officially Kahramanmaraş () and historically Germanicea (Greek: Γερμανίκεια), is a city in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey and the administrative center of Kahramanmaraş Province. Before 1973, Kahrama ...
. The Barak tribe of
Gaziantep Gaziantep (), previously and still informally called Aintab or Antep (), is a major city and capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Mediterranean Region, approximat ...
as well as the Çavuşlu tribe of Kilis claim he is from their town. Most, however, believe that he was born near
Çukurova Çukurova () or the Cilician Plain (''Cilicia Pedias'' in antiquity), is a large fertile plain in the Cilicia region of southern Turkey. The plain covers the easternmost areas of Mersin Province, southern and central Adana Province, western Osman ...
and lived among the Turkish tribes in that mountainous region of southern Anatolia. Karacaoğlan was his pseudonym. His real name is thought to be Simayil, İsmail, Halil or Hasan. According to Hodja Hamdi Efendi of Akşehir, he was an orphan. He left town at an early age. In some of his poetry it is indicated that he took two of his sisters all the way to
Bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...
or
Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
. He spent most of his life in
Çukurova Çukurova () or the Cilician Plain (''Cilicia Pedias'' in antiquity), is a large fertile plain in the Cilicia region of southern Turkey. The plain covers the easternmost areas of Mersin Province, southern and central Adana Province, western Osman ...
and Maraş. Even though not known with certainty, it is believed that he died in modern-day
Kahramanmaraş Marash (Armenian: Մարաշ), officially Kahramanmaraş () and historically Germanicea (Greek: Γερμανίκεια), is a city in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey and the administrative center of Kahramanmaraş Province. Before 1973, Kahrama ...
. The topics of his poetry reflect the nature in which he was embedded, along with the Turkish nomadic culture of the
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mountains of which he was a part. The main themes of this poetry stemmed out of nature, love, longing for home, and death. As with other Turkish folk poetry of his time in Anatolia, his language was expressive, yet unadorned, direct, and simple. With a big heart, he fell in love with women and wrote poetry about them getting water from a fountain or making bread. His poetry were in the forms of koşma,
türkü Turkish folk music (''Türk Halk Müziği'') is the traditional music of Turkish people living in Turkey influenced by the cultures of Anatolia and former territories in Europe and Asia. Its unique structure includes regional differences under ...
,
mani Mani may refer to: Geography * Maní, Casanare, a town and municipality in Casanare Department, Colombia * Mani, Chad, a town and sub-prefecture in Chad * Mani, Evros, a village in northeastern Greece * Mani, Karnataka, a village in Dakshi ...
, varsağı, üçleme, destan, güzelleme and koçaklama. More than five hundred of his poems have survived to this day. He died in 1679.


See also

*
Yunus Emre Yunus Emre () also known as Derviş Yunus (Yunus the Dervish) (1238–1328) (Old Anatolian Turkish: يونس امره) was a Turkish folk poet and Islamic Sufi mystic who greatly influenced Turkish culture. His name, ''Yunus'', is the Muslim ...
* List of Turkic languages poets * Turna


References


External links


His poetry in Turkish
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karacaoglan 1606 births 1680 deaths 17th-century poets from the Ottoman Empire Turkish-language singers Turkish-language poets People from Mersin Male poets from the Ottoman Empire 17th-century male writers