Amasyalıdır. Suyolcululardan Çekem Osmân’ın oğludur. “Çekem”, Amasya’da “su yolcu” demektir. Fuzalâ ve üdebâ-yı mevâlîden Mü’eyyedzâde Pîrî Ahmed Çelebi’den ilm, edebiyat, kitâbet tahsîl ederek beytü’l-mâl kâtibi oldu. Uzun müddet bu kitâbetle kana’at edib 1039 senesi hilâlinde vefât etdi.
Abdî Efendi Tezkiresinde diyor ki: Bu zamanın üdebâsından Âzerî, Türâbî, Hevâyî ile musâhabât ve mutâyebâtı vardır. Bunlara “anâsır-ı erbaa’-ı edeb” denirdi. Kelâmî Mustafa Efendi bunlarla dem-güzâr olurdu. Kâtip, şâir, edîp, yazısı güzeldi. Şu fahrîyesi şâyân-ı dikkatdir:
Nazar itdikçe o mâhpâreye cân
Gözümün nûruna virür leme’ân
Gül cemâlinden alur şâm ü seher
Ma’rifet feyzini gönlüm her an
Bunun içün viriyor teşnelere
Sözlerim âb-ı zülâl-i ‘irfân
In Modern English
He was from Amasya. He is the son of Çekem Osmân, one of the waterway keepers. "Çekem" in Amasya means "waterway man". Having learned learning, literature and clerkship from Mü'eyyedzâde Pîrî Ahmed Çelebi, one of the scholars and men of letters, he became a clerk of the treasury (beytülmâl). He was content with this clerkship for a long time and died in the year 1039 [1629-30].
The Abdî Efendi Tezkiresi says the following: he exchanged conversation and wit with Âzerî, Türâbî and Hevâyî, men of letters of this time. They were called "the four elements of literature". Kelâmî Mustafa Efendi spent time with them. He was a clerk, a poet and a man of letters, and his handwriting was beautiful. The following fahriye (poem in praise of oneself) is noteworthy:
Nazar itdikçe o mâhpâreye cân
Gözümün nûruna virür leme'ân
Gül cemâlinden alur şâm ü seher
Ma'rifet feyzini gönlüm her an
Bunun içün viriyor teşnelere
Sözlerim âb-ı zülâl-i 'irfân
Meaning: Whenever my soul gazes at that moon-faced beauty, it gives radiance to the light of my eyes. My heart, evening and morning, at every moment, receives the bounty of gnosis from his rose-like face. For this reason my words offer the thirsty the clear, sweet water of gnosis.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- suyolcu: the official who looked after the waterways (according to the text its name in Amasya is "çekem")
- fuzalâ, üdebâ: accomplished people, men of letters
- mevâlî: the learned (ilmiye) class, scholars
- beytülmâl kâtibi: the clerk who kept the records of the state treasury
- musâhabât, mutâyebât: conversation and wit
- anâsır-ı erbaa: the four elements (fire, water, earth, air)
- dem-güzâr: one who spends time together
- fahrîye: a poem praising oneself
- mâhpâre: moon-piece, a very beautiful person
- leme'ân: radiance
- teşne: thirsty
- âb-ı zülâl: clear, sweet water
The Poets of the Four Elements
According to the information Hüsameddin gives, four men of letters of Amasya named Âbî, Âzerî, Türâbî and Hevâyî were called "the four elements of literature". The pen names agree with these elements: âb is water, âzer is fire, türâb is earth, and hevâ is air. This play on names is also seen in the quatrains in the Abdî Efendi Tezkiresi that Hüsameddin relays. Kelâmî Mustafa Efendi is also mentioned together with this circle.
When describing the poets of Amasya, Hüsameddin turns to Abdî Efendi's tezkire of poets. That Âzerî and Türâbî Mustafa Efendi were well-known poets of this circle is also mentioned in other studies. No separate record was found for Âbî Mehmed Çelebi himself; only this tezkire and Hüsameddin's relaying of it are known.
The Word Çekem
Hüsameddin states that the word "çekem" means waterway man in Amasya. It was not possible to verify this word in other sources.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 12–13. amasya.bel.tr
- "Amasya Tarihindeki Şairler ve Merzifonlu İbrahim Cûdî Efendi'nin Bilinmeyen Bir Şiiri", academic article. https://www.academia.edu/63466698
Academic studies