Tevfik Kolaylı (March 24, 1879 – January 28, 1953), better known by his pen name Neyzen Tevfik, was a
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
poet, satirist, and ''neyzen'' (a "
ney
The ''ney'' ( fa, Ney/نی, ar, Al-Nāy/الناي), is an end-blown flute that figures prominently in Persian music and Arabic music. In some of these musical traditions, it is the only wind instrument used. The ney has been played continually ...
performer" in Turkish). He was born in
Bodrum
Bodrum () is a port city in Muğla Province, southwestern Turkey, at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Its population was 35,795 at the 2012 census, with a total of 136,317 inhabitants residing within the district's borders. Known in ancient t ...
and died in
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, ...
. His name is occasionally misspelled as Neyzen Teyfik.
Biography
Tevfik learned
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
as a young man, and became a
Mevlevi
The Mevlevi Order or Mawlawiyya ( tr, Mevlevilik or Mevleviyye; fa, طریقت مولویه) is a Sufi order that originated in Konya (a city now in Turkey; formerly capital of the Seljuk Sultanate) and which was founded by the followers of Jalal ...
in
İzmir
İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban agglo ...
. He then moved to Istanbul and continued his Mevlevi practice in
Galata
Galata is the former name of the Karaköy neighbourhood in Istanbul, which is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn. The district is connected to the historic Fatih district by several bridges that cross the Golden Horn, most notabl ...
and
Kasımpaşa. In 1902 he became a
Bektashi
The Bektashi Order; sq, Tarikati Bektashi; tr, Bektaşi or Bektashism is an Islamic Sufi mystic movement originating in the 13th-century. It is named after the Anatolian saint Haji Bektash Wali (d. 1271). The community is currently led by ...
dervish
Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from fa, درویش, ''Darvīsh'') in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity
A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, ...
.
His interest in poetry influenced him into meeting with
Mehmet Akif Ersoy
Mehmet Akif Ersoy (20 December 1873 – 27 December 1936) was a Turkish people, Turkish pan-Islamist poet, writer, academic, politician, and the author of the İstiklâl Marşı, Turkish National Anthem. Widely regarded as one of the premiere l ...
. As was the case with many other intellectuals of his period, Tevfik's satirical poetry critical of the conservative sultan
Abdul Hamid II
Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid II ( ota, عبد الحميد ثانی, Abd ül-Hamid-i Sani; tr, II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 10 February 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 31 August 1876 to 27 April 1909, and the last sultan to ...
resulted in his exile to
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
in 1903,
which he later visited again between 1908 and 1913.
Neyzen Tevfik's fame in popular
Turkish culture
The culture of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Kültürü) combines a heavily diverse and heterogeneous set of elements that have been derived from the various cultures of the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Europe, Caucasia, Middle East and Central Asia ...
is mainly due to his virtuosity with the ney. Moreover, he was also a heavy drinker while practicing a form of
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
as it was common among Bektashis. He therefore is also a symbol of a clash between the orthodox Islamic doctrine, and the
Bektashi
The Bektashi Order; sq, Tarikati Bektashi; tr, Bektaşi or Bektashism is an Islamic Sufi mystic movement originating in the 13th-century. It is named after the Anatolian saint Haji Bektash Wali (d. 1271). The community is currently led by ...
order that he was in, as illustrated in the following translation of his writing:
His religious views were highly mixed and tend to change in accordance with his mood. Yet, in his last years, he wrote a poem "Türk'e Birinci Öğüt" (First counsel to the Turk) in which a verse, regarding religious institutions mentioned before the verse, says:
''"Varsa aslı bunların alemde siksinler beni."''
(If any of these are true, well, fuck me.)
Therefore he can be considered a radical, if not directly atheist or non-theistic.
Yet, in a scholarly article that takes into account his overall life, including final utterings, shows that he was a genuine believer even though he criticized superficial religiosity: "Hayatında kendisine maddî imkânlar sağlayacak kişilere iltifat etmemiş, bildiği ve inandığı gibi yaşamıştır. “Felsefemde yok ötem, ben çünki sırr-ı vâhidim / Cem‘-i kesrette yekûnen sıfr-ı mutlak olmuşum / Yokluğumla âşikârım, Ehl-i beyt’e âidim / Secdemin şeklindeki ism-i Muhammed şâhidim” mısraları ve ölümüne çok yakın bir zamanda kendisini ziyarete gelen Cemalettin Server’e söylediği, “Şahit ol Server, ben şuurlu bir müminim” sözü onun dinî inancı hakkında bir kanaat verir."
Tevfik is featured in the sculptor
Gürdal Duyar
Gürdal Duyar (20 August 1935 – 18 April 2004) was a Turkish people, Turkish sculptor, known especially for his monuments to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Atatürk and Bust (sculpture), busts of famous people. His art is characterized by a Modern scul ...
s monument ''
Şairler Sofası
A part of Beşiktaş Vişnezade Park is oriented under the name "Şairler Sofası". ''Şairler Sofası'' is the 1998 sculpture by Gürdal Duyar whos name the park goes by. The depicted characters in the sculpture as well as the figures depicted ...
'' together with 6 other poets. Elsewhere
in the same park, another sculpture of him by
Namık Denizhan Namik or Namık is a masculine given name. Notable people with the name include:
* Namig Abdullayev (born 1971), Azerbaijani wrestler
* Namik Dokle (born 1946), Albanian politician
* Namık Gedik (1911–1960), Turkish physician and politician
* ...
sits on a bench.
Poetry
* ''Hiç'', 1919
* ''
Dilara'ya Maktuplar '',1953
Music
* Nihavent Saz Semaisi
* Şehnazbuselik Saz Semaisi
* Taksimler, taş plak.
References
External links
* Biyografi.net
''Biography of Neyzen Tevfik''
* mbdincaslan.com
''His Selected Works''
Ney players
Turkish flautists
Turkish non-fiction writers
20th-century Turkish poets
Turkish satirists
20th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire
Mevlevi Order
1953 deaths
1879 births
People from Muğla
Composers of Ottoman classical music
Composers of Turkish makam music
Musicians of Ottoman classical music
Musicians of Turkish makam music
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