Teberler | |
|---|---|
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Turkey, Jordan, Syria | |
| Languages | |
| Turkish | |
| Religion | |
| Islam (Alevism) |
TheAbdals (Turkish:Abdallar) are a largelyTurkish-speaking ethnic group found in much ofAnatolia and parts of theBalkans andSyria,[1] who follow anitinerant lifestyle. This lifestyle is closely connected with the activity of music making at weddings and circumcision parties. Other occupations associated with the Abdal include tinning, basket making and sieve manufacture.[2]
Abdals use theendonymTeber.[3] Abdals were registered in Ottoman records asTurkoman Gypsies (Ottoman Turkish:Turkmān Ḳibṭīleri), which denoted Abdals’ tribal affiliations withTurkomans but different ethnic or social origin.[4][5]
According to Orhan Köprülü, the Abdals ofTurkey might be descended from theHepthalites.[6][7][8]Albert von Le Coq mentions the relation between Abdals ofAdana andÄynus of East Turkestan, by them having some common words, and by both referring to themselves as Abdals and speaking an exclusive language among themselves.[9]
The three most notable characteristics of the group are its close relationship with theAlevi sect, its use of a secret language (Abdoltili/Teberce) orargot and its wide distribution. It seems that the nameAbdal was associated with Alevi dervishes of Central Anatolia, whose existence is first recorded in the 16th century. TheseAbdalan-ı Rum were extreme Alevis practising celibacy and withdrawal from the world. Their unorthodox behavior led to their suppression by theOttoman authorities.[10] According to the Abdal themselves, their ancestors once came fromNorth India and went to Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asia and then toOttoman Anatolia and intermarried withTurkmen tribes. They say they are not like theRomani people in Turkey and distance themselves from them.[11]
The Ottoman state started to collect Gypsy (Kıpti) poll tax (cizye) from Abdal communities they registered as Gypsy in Kastamonu, Çankırı-Tosya, Ankara, Malatya, Harput, Antep, and Aleppo no later than late 17th century. Abdals in Teke (Antalya) were affiliated with another fiscal category, ifraz-ı zulkadriyye, until 1858, when the Ottoman reformers incorporated the fixed tax of relevant groups into the Gypsy poll tax.[12]
In the 15th century, the Abdals were gradually excluded from the process of centralization and transformation of theOttoman Empire into a bureaucratic empire, and as a result of the establishment of Sunni Islam in Edirne and, from 1453, in Istanbul, they took on an irregular character. With the establishment of theSafavid State in Iran and the spread ofQizilbash activity in Anatolia, the Abdals became integrated in the 17th century with theShamlu[13] Qizilbash movement.[14][15]
Abdals in Turkey mostly speak Turkish, specifically a dialect with additional vocabulary.[3] The Abdal language consists of borrowing fromHindustani,Persian with someRumelian Romani words with an essentiallyTurkish andTurkmen grammar.[16]
Abdals would traditionally have a symbiotic relationship with Turkmen but also Kurdish tribes, playing a particular role as musicians, entertainers, minstrels, jewelers and magicians, whereas they would be accommodated by the people they were living together with. However, Abdals wouldn't intermarry with these people yet they would be allowed to stay within the larger community.[10][17]
Gerek türkmen ve gerekse kürt oymaklarında mutlaka birkaç hane aptal bulunur. Oymaklar göçebe iken de toprağa yerleştikleri zamandan da bu abtallar bağlı bulundukları oymaklardan ayrılmazlar. Aptalsız oymak yok gibidir. Aptallar ne sürü ve ne de toprak sahibidirler. Hangi oymağa mensupsa onları o oymak besler. Ekseriya davul zuma çalarlar. Oymak halkını eğlendirirler. Ayak işleri görürler. Çok eski zamanlardanberi oymak ve kabilelere refakat eden bu aptalların göçebe cemaat içinde manevi ve pratik bir rolleri olsa gerek. Aptallara kız verilmez, aptallardan kız alınmaz. Buna karşılık hiç bir cemaat kendi aptallarını kovmaz; ve aptallar da onlardan ayrılmazlar. Bunlar cemaatin bir nevi uşağı ve dilencisidirler.
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| Census in Turkey | |
| Lists | |