THE PERCEPTION OF HACI BEKTAS IN THE POEMS OF ÂŞIK MEHMET ÇİL OF AKSARAY IN THE CONTEXT OF LIVING BEKTASHISM YAŞAYAN BEKTAŞİLİK BAĞLAMINDA AKSARAYLI ÂŞIK MEHMET ÇİL’DE HACI BEKTAŞ ALGISI

Various beliefs and practices of the Bektashi order, which was founded by the followers of Hacı Bektaş-iVeli, one of the leaders of Turkish mysticism, are still alive in some Turkmen settlements in Anatolia.Gaziemir village of Aksaray, where Bektashism continues to exist as a way of life, is one of them. Thevillage is close to Hacı Bektaş-i district of Nevşehir, to Yūnus Emre Tomb, and to the village and tombof Taptuk (Emre) in Ortakoy district of Aksaray, which accounts for the vitality of the belief and practiceregarding the three great mystics in the village. Gaziemir village is 100 kilometres to the Hacı Bektaş-iVeli Complex, 87 kilometres to the Yūnus Emre Tomb, and 50 kilometres to the Taptuk Emre Tomb. Theresidents of Gaziemir village visit the Hacı Bektaş-i Veli Tomb in their daily lives for various reasons such ashaving a child and making vows, and regularly participate in the annual Hacı Bektaş-i Veli CommemorationFestival. Âşık Mehmet Çil, who was born into the Alevi-Bektashi culture in the village of Gaziemir, servedregularly as baba (a religious title granted to the helper of the spiritual leader dede in Alevism) for a longtime, and represented dede, who came to the village once a year. Mehmet Çil, who spent most of his life inhis village dealing with animal husbandry and farming, apart from some short leaves for military serviceand business purposes, is one of the strongest representatives of Bektashism, regarding the culture he wasborn into and the duty he assumed in this culture. This study aimed to make evaluations about Bektashismin the example of Gaziemir village and to determine the effect of the concrete existence of Hacı Bektaş-iVeli Complex on the continuity of living Bektashism. The method used in this study is field research basedon natural observation, and text-centred analyses were carried out on Mehmet Çil’s poems related to thesubject. The result of the study revealed that the cultural vitality in the village and the concrete existence ofHacı Bektaş-i Veli Complex contributed significantly to the continuity of the belief.Keywords: Hacı Bektaş-i Veli, Alevism-Bektashism, Aksaray, Âşık Tradition, Mehmet Çil.