Abstract
Kızana Tekke was founded in the sixteenth century in the village of Sait Baba in Eskicuma. The first sheikh who is thought to have sat on the post of the tekke was a woman dervish named Kızana, from which the tekke took its name. Information about Kızana first appears in Demir Baba Velâyetnamesi. Kızana is the best woman of the bride at the wedding of Demir Baba’s father Hacı Dede and mother Zahide Başu, as described in the velayetname. At this wedding, Kızana was made to wear a hilat by El-Hac Dede, Tursun Baba and Kademli Baba. There are many stories about Kizana in the oral tradition. One of them has similar characteristics with Sarıkız in Manisa. The common point of the narratives is that the woman in the character of a saint has come to a respected place among the people over time and started to serve the people. The starting point of these narratives is based on the Alevi-Bektashi tradition. The values overlapping with the position of women in the Alevi-Bektashi tradition brought Kızana to the position of sheikh of the tekke as a female dervish and had the tekke named after her. The fact that the tekke, which still exists today, has guests is important in terms of preserving its prestige and its place in the Alevi-Bektashi tradition. While preparing the study, archival documents were used to reveal its position and service area from past to present. The documents, which are found from five different funds, draw attention to different features of the tekke. After the establishment and function of the Kızana Tekke was revealed, its place in the oral tradition was explained. It is important in terms of showing the position of women in the Alevi-Bektashi tradition and the fact that the sheikh of the tekke established at an early date in the Balkans was a woman.
Keywords: Osmanlı Tarihi, Bulgaristan, Alevi-Bektaşi, kadın, Kızana.
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