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The Image of The Devil in the Ottoman and Islamic World with Respect to Culture, Music and Dance

Current Debates in Social Sciences Vol. 30

Pages: 33-47

Language: Turkish

Date: 2019-01

Type: Book Chapter

Publication: Current Debates in Social Sciences Vol. 30

Publisher: Ijopec


Abstract

In the broader Ottoman mentality, Satan and other Satainc figures such as peri, cin, hortlak, cadı, vampir had a very significant place in daily life. Figures like Evliya Çelebi, Aşık Paşazade, Ebusuud Efendi and the Arabic and Persian sources that they were influenced by (such as Arabic Fiqh boks and Sheik Sadi-i Shirazi etc.) we see that the image of the devil is described in a very detailed way. In these descriptions, we see the influence of Qur'an and the hadiths, other sacred books, local beliefs, folk religion and mythology. This multicultural image of the devil, of course, represents different faces of evil, and in some cases, it also represents cunningness, vigilance and intelligence. In this context, we see that some Ottoman pashas had the nickname satan (şeytan). A pasha, nicknamed the devil, may then be called Angel because of his good service, or that the pleased Sultan Murad IV called Evliya Çelebi as the devil's apprentice. In spite of these examples, the enemy of the Ottoman state is almost always demonized. In fact, as the enemy, Ottomans were also demonized by the Europeans as well. This international othering and demonization were mainly a result of the wars. On the other hand, we also see similar de-monizing attitudes within the Ottoman society as well. Among them, we find the demonization of Sufis by even more Orthodox theologians. Some Ottoman Muslims were also demonized with totally absurd beliefs (i.e. Gypsies and Kurds were believed by some to be descended from Satan) as well. Music, which had a very significant place in Ottoman life, also had its share of such demonization. Music, dance (raks) and even sema were demoni-zed by Orthodox Islamic figures, even though music was the main part of worship by sects/orders such as Mev-levi, Rufai, Rafizi and Bektashi. In this chapter, the role of demonic figures and their function in the Ottoman culture and music will be analyzed.

Osmanlı ve İslam Dünyasında Kültür, Müzik ve Dans Ekseninde Şeytan İmgesi

Current Debates in Social Sciences Vol. 30

Sayfa: 33-47

Dil: Türkçe

Tarih: 2019-01

Tür: Kitap Bölümü

Yayın Adı: Current Debates in Social Sciences Vol. 30

Yayıncı: İjopec


Özet

‘Geniş Osmanlı’ muhayyilesinde şeytan ve genel olarak peri, cin, hortlak, cadı, vampir gibi şeytani figürlerin gündelik hayatta oldukça önemli bir yeri vardır. Evliya Çelebi, Ebusuud Efendi vs. gibi dönem kaynaklarına ve bunları besleyen Arap ve İran (Arapça fıkıh kitapları, Şeyh Sadi-i Şirazi vs.) yazınına baktığımızda şeytan imgesinin oldukça detaylı bir şekilde betimlendiğini görürüz. Bu betimlemelerde Kuran’dan, hadislerden faydalanıldığı gibi aynı zamanda diğer kutsal kitaplardan, yerel inanışlardan, halk dini ve mitolojisinden simgelerden de yararlanıldığını görürüz. Bu çok kültürlü şeytan imgesi tabi ki pek çok farklı yüzüyle kötülüğü temsil ettiği gibi, bazı durumlarda kurnazlığı, uyanıklığı ve zekayı da temsil eder. Bu bölümde şeytani figürlerin geniş Osmanlı muhayyilesindeki yerleri ve Osmanlı kültüründeki işlevlerinin müzik bağlamında eleştirel bir kritiği yapılacaktır.

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