Akadémia Kiadó

The subject matter of the book is the psalms and folk songs of an Islamic mystic community, the Bektashis living in the European part of Turkey. Most of the music of these religious communities has been unresearched so far, although their deep respect for traditions, the salient role of music among them and the preservation of pre-Islam customs all indicate that it is worth seeking for traces of the musical culture of ancient Turkic layers among them.

During their fieldwork between 1999 and 2003 the authors videotaped the overwhelming majority of the religious hymns and also several of the folk songs in 24 Thracian villages from 150 Bektashi men and women. Consequently beside the analysis there are personal experiences, a deeper knowledge of these people, their behavior and the social context.

After a brief introduction to Sufi ideas in the book thoughts will be cited from a writing attributed to Haji Bektash Veli and from a book by Kaygusuz Abdal dervish. These will bring the Reader closer to mystic Islamic thinking and the texts of the religious hymns.

The main novelty of the book is a study devoted to the systematic presentation of the music of a Sufi community, comparing folk and religious tunes and interpreting them in a broader context. Also hundreds of folk song texts and the poems sung by Bektashi poets are given together with their English translation. By reading the texts one can get an insight into the everyday thought and religious principles of the community.

All these are completed by several photos, many transcriptions and a CD-attachment with the most typical tunes of the Bektashi community.