Eski Türk İnançları ve Kalenderîlik Bağlamında Osmanlı Topraklarında Vegan Sufiler: Etyemez Şeyhler

After the Malazgirt War and during and after the Mongol invasion, hundreds of dervishes belongingto various sects settlde in Anatolia with Turkmen tribes. On the one hand, these dervishes spread theirreligious opinions among the Turkmens, on the other hand they established zawiya (small Islamicmonastery) and ensured the inhabitance of Anatolia. Detailed studies and wide-range informationabout the orders, beliefs and lifestyles of some of these dervishes are available today. However, dueto the large number of sects operating in Anatolia, especially in the 13th and 14th centuries, it cannotbe said that there are detailed studies and knowledge on all of them. One of the dervish groups, aboutwhich only a limited information exists, is the Etyemezler (vegan Islamic sufi order) who played arole in the Turkification and Islamization of Anatolia. On the one hand, the name of Etyemez refersto the beliefs of Buddhism and Manicheism, which are among the old religions of Turks, againstmeat consumption, on the other hand, it brings to mind the Kalendiri/Kalenderi groups who wereinfluenced by Indo-Iranian mysticism, including Buddhism and Manicheism and lived in anchoritic life-style. The sheikhs of this sect, like other heterodox dervishes, lived with the nomads and spreadtheir religious views among them. The Etyemezli community found in the town of İncesu in Kayseriis a good example of this. Furthermore, the zawiyas that they established became crowded with timeand turned into villages and neighborhoods. In addition to the zawiyas identified in the Balkans andAnatolia, they established villages in Bozok, Ankara, Kastamonu, Kütahya, Sivas/Kangal, Samsun/Bafra and Samsun/Terme as described above. In this study, based on some sources such as archivaldocuments and menakıbnames, examine the name Etyemez, their origins, beliefs characteristics, activitiesin Anatolia and their spreading zone, as well as their contacts with Alevi and Bektashi groups.