SOME NEW FACTS ON THE EXISTENCE AND LITERARY ACTIVITIES OF THE BEKTASHI ORDER IN 19TH CENTURY BOSNIA
SOME NEW FACTS ON THE EXISTENCE AND LITERARY ACTIVITIES OF THE BEKTASHI ORDER IN 19TH CENTURY BOSNIA

Summary/Abstract: It is generally assumed that the Bektashi dervish order has never been active on the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The author deals with a so far unknown source (a manuscript in Turkish from the National Library in Sarajevo) which undoubtedly proves an activity of the order in Bosnia even in the late 19th and early 20th centuries i.e. when the order was formally dissolved. In the mentioned manuscript there are some verses belonging to two Bektashi poets, Bosnevi and Fahri (probably from Sarajevo) evaluated as literary average but socially rather interesting personalities. Their poetry reveals elements of social and political satire as well as examples of the traditional extreme esoteric teachings of marginal groups in Islam. The author offers their verses which reflect the Bektashi spirit and the theological doctrine of the brotherhood, both in Turkish original and translation. The article sheds some light on the history of the Bektashi order, history of Bosnia-Herzegovina under Ottoman dominance as well as cultural history of Bosnia.

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