Âşık Hüseyin Çırakman

Âşık Hüseyin Çırakman (1930, Körkü village, Sungurlu – 2013, Ankara) was a Turkish folk poet and minstrel (âşık) raised in Çorum’s Sungurlu district. He is best known for his verse “Hoş Geldiniz Erenler” (“Welcome, Enlightened Ones”), performed and broadcast for years on Ankara Radio.

Life

Çırakman was born in 1930 in Körkü village, part of Sungurlu, into an Alevi-Bektashi family; his father’s name was Bektaş and his mother’s was Sultan. As the village had no school, he first learned to read and write from village elders, later completing primary school through an external examination. He worked as a farmer and in construction in the village, and learned to play the saz (a long-necked lute) from a local folk poet. After military service he settled in Ankara, where he briefly worked as a janitor at Ankara Radio before leaving that post.

In 1964, at a commemoration event for Hacı Bektaş Veli, he recited the verse “Hoş Geldiniz Erenler,” which was very well received and went on to serve for years as the theme for Ankara Radio’s “Köy Odası” (Village Room) program. In 1975 he was among the founders of the Folk Poets Culture Association (Hak Ozanları Kültür Derneği). While continuing the Alevi-Bektashi folk-literature tradition, he later reworked the form and content of his poetry, addressing social injustice and the hardships of the poor in a populist, realist voice, and championing Atatürk’s principles, civilization, peace and love of the homeland. He spent his final years in a shantytown (gecekondu) in Ankara’s Mamak district.

He died in Ankara on 28 February 2013 and was buried in Akpınar village, part of Sungurlu.

Works

His published works include Âşık Hüseyin Çırakman Hayatı ve Deyişleri (1956), Hak Yardımcı Her Kuluna, Sen Devam Et Okuluna (1963), Hoş Geldiniz Erenler (1969) and Sesimiz (1973). He also compiled Halkın Sesi Halk Ozanları (1975, a study and anthology) and Çorumlu Halk Ozanları (1992).

For more on Sungurlu’s history and notable figures, see the Sungurlu district page; for other historical figures from the region, see the History and People topic page.

Sources

• Türk Edebiyatı İsimler Sözlüğü (TEİS) — Hüseyin Çırakman
• Biyografya.com — Hüseyin Çırakman
• Yayla Haber — Sungurlulu Halk Ozanı Hüseyin Çırakman’ın Adı Mamak’ta Yaşatılacak
• Yeni Çağ Gazetesi — Türkülerin Babası Hüseyin Çırakman (Mehmet Yardımcı)
• Çorum Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism — Notable Figures Raised by the City