Minstrel Yavuz from Samsun (His life, art and poems)

The Turkish nation has had a rich cultural heritage in the historical process and has kept it alive for generations. The tradition of minstrelsy has also emerged based on the production process of an established culture. It seems that the tradition, rooted in the Central Asia, has passed through different stages from past to present. The tradition that started with the kam and baksi tradition in the Central Asia and continued with the poetry has taken its final form with minstrelsy. Minstrel literature has emerged as a brand-new synthesis product apart from dervish tradition seeking religious-mystical unity with the dancing poetry and has taken its present form. Minstrel literature is a period of which we can follow its development beginning from 16th century in Anatolia. The minstrelsy tradition, which constitutes a significant part of our cultural existence, is nowadays continuing its vitality in our cities such as in Kars, Erzurum, Erzincan, Sivas, Tokat, Malatya, Adana, and Mersin. It is not possible to talk about the existence of an established minstrelsy tradition in Samsun. However, there is a considerable amount of minstrels in Samsun who try to keep this tradition alive today. Âşık Yavuz is an important source for the survival of the minstrelsy tradition in Samsun. In the study, where Âşık Yavuz's life, art and poetry are introduced, his place in the minstrelsy tradition is also assessed. Âşık Yavuz, who wrote more poems and started to play saz after having had a drink (bade) by Pir (Father) in his dream, used pseudonym, and said poems in dedim-dedi and leb-degmez styles, is an important representative of the tradition. Poems of the minstrel, which keeps the minstrelsy tradition in every direction, reminds Yunus Emre's poems and communicates his message to the community with wise words. In this sense Âşık Yavuz is a minstrel tries to keep the minstrelsy tradition alive in Samsun