Gurbetname by Guvahi

Abstract

It is unknown when Guvahi, one of the 16th century poets, was born. It is certain that he had died after the year 1527. Although it is said in some sources that his name is Mehmed and his father’s name is Abdullah, this information should however, be approached with suspicion. He lived his life in Geyve, which is known as a district of Sakarya today, with a profession in cavalry. According to the available recources, he has known to have four legacy pieces of work, namely; Pendname, Tazarruname, İbretname and Gurbetname. The date of when the Gurbetname was written, which is the subject of this study, is currently unknown. According to the manuscripts in which we can identify, the number of couplets of his work is 105. Written in a masnavi verse. As the name suggests, Gurbetname is a piece of work that ideally deals with the subject of expatriates. Guvahi expressed through his work the difficulty of being abroad in the language of a Water Wheel. The Gurbetname is a work of sufistic advice. It was written in a simple language according to that era. The piece was written in a narrative writing style. The depictions in Gurbetname are quite successful. There are also good examples of the use of figures of speech in the work. In this study, Guvahi’s life and his pieces of work were emphasized, the content of the Gurbetname was mentioned, the form and features of the piece were discussed, information was given about the manuscripts and the critical text was presented.