In the first half of the eighteenth century Sa'dî Efendi's life was divided between two Mevlevi houses: for some twenty-four years he taught the Masnavi at the Mevlevi lodge in Amasya, while to the west of the town he held the sheikh's seat at the Şeyh Cû'î Mevlevi lodge. The family name "Hâcızâde" points to his father, the Mevlevi sheikh Ebû Saîd Ahmed Dede, known as "Hacı Dede". Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar counts him a poet among the Mevlevi gnostics and adds that he knew Arabic and Persian literature. In 1129 (1716-17) he replaced his elder brother as sheikh and trustee of the lodge, and he died on 22 Şevval 1153 (January 1741). None of the verse he wrote is in hand.

His Entry in the Amasya Tarihi

In Hüsameddin's tenth volume the record bears the heading "Sa'dî Efendi-Hâcızâde, eş-Şeyh, el-Hâc"; the "el-Hâc" in the heading shows that he had made the pilgrimage:

Amasyalıdır. Mevlevî-hâne meşâyihinden "Hacı Dede" demekle meşhûr eş-Şeyh Ebû Sa'îd Ahmed Dede Efendi'nin mahdûmudur. Pederi 1114'de irtihâl etdikte tahsîl esnâsında olduğundan büyük birâderi Sa'îd İbrâhim Dede Şeyh Cû'î tekkesi şeyhi ve mütevellîsi olmuşdu. İkmâl-i tahsîl ve tekmîl-i sülûk edib 1129'da birâderinin ref'iyle mezbûr tekke şeyhi ve mütevellîsi olup yirmi dört yıl kadar Amasya mevlevî-hânesinde mesnevî-hân ve Şeyh Cû'î'de icrâ-yı meşîhatle be-nâm olduğu hâlde 1153 senesi şevvâlinin yirmi ikisinde dâr-ı na'îme rihlet etdi. Urefâ-yı Mevleviyye'den şâir, edebiyât-ı Arabiyye ve Farsiyye'ye âşinâ idi. Oğulları Mehmed, Ahmed, Osmân Dedelerdir. Nâyî Osmân Dede mütevellî ve mesnevî-hân olup 1189'da vefâtıyla mahdûmu Mustafa Dede mütevellî ve mesnevî-hân oldu. Bu da 1234'de vefâtıyla Osmân Efendi ve bunun da 1274'de vefâtıyla mahdûmu Ömer Çelebi yalnız mütevellî ve Kemer-başı Bafralı Mustafa Efendi de mesnevî-hân oldu.

Translated into plain English: An Amasya man, the son of Şeyh Ebû Saîd Ahmed Dede Efendi, one of the sheikhs of the Mevlevi lodge, known as "Hacı Dede". When his father died in 1114 he was still a student, so his elder brother Saîd İbrâhim Dede became sheikh and trustee of the Şeyh Cû'î lodge. Having completed his studies and the mystical path, he became sheikh and trustee of that lodge in 1129, when his brother was removed. For about twenty-four years he taught the Masnavi at the Mevlevi lodge of Amasya and won renown as sheikh at Şeyh Cû'î, and he passed away on the twenty-second day of Şevval 1153. He was a poet among the Mevlevi gnostics and familiar with Arabic and Persian literature. His sons are Mehmed, Ahmed and Osman Dede. Osman Dede, the ney player, became trustee and Masnavi reader; on his death in 1189 his son Mustafa Dede became trustee and Masnavi reader. When Mustafa died in 1234 the posts passed to Osman Efendi; when Osman Efendi died in 1274, his son Ömer Çelebi became trustee only, and Bafralı Mustafa Efendi of Kemerbaşı was appointed Masnavi reader.

His Father and Elder Brother

The father of Ebû Saîd Ahmed Dede, Mehmed, had himself been one of the dervishes of the Amasya Mevlevi lodge. He was trained in the service of Şeyh Hasan Kutsî Dede, became leader of the chanters (zâkirbaşı) and received from him the name "Ebû Saîd". In 1095 (1683-84) he became sheikh and Masnavi reader of the Şeyh Cû'î lodge, and a year later sheikh of the lodge in town as well; in 1099 the town sheikhdom was taken from him, but he remained at the village lodge until his death early in 1114. In Hüsameddin's account the father, too, was versed in Arabic and Persian literature; the words he uses of the son are almost the same as those he uses of the father.

That Sa'dî Efendi was still a student when his father died suggests that he was born in the late 1680s or in the 1690s; his date of birth is not recorded. The post passed to his elder brother Saîd İbrâhim Dede. In the father's entry Hüsameddin writes that İbrâhim Dede was also sheikh of the Amasya Mevlevi lodge, that his sons were Lütfullah, Ahmed Gavsî and Mehmed, and that this branch was called the "Hacıoğulları" or "Hacı Dedezâdeler". In 1129 İbrâhim Dede's post at Şeyh Cû'î was taken from him (the source uses the word "ref'", removal) and given to his younger brother. The reason for the change is not recorded.

At the Şeyh Cû'î Lodge

The lodge of which Sa'dî Efendi was sheikh stood west of Amasya, north-west of the Şeyh Cû'î vineyards, near the pond below today's village of Yuvacık. The Mevlevi sheikh Cû'î Mehmed Çelebi had built it in 817 (1414-15) and in his endowment deed tied the sheikhdom and the post of Masnavi reader to his descendants. The tomb the founder built for himself still stands next to the village mosque as the Tomb of Sheikh Cui Baba. In some of the entries devoted to members of the Hacı Dede family, Hüsameddin records the tradition that this house descended from Şeyh Cû'î; that the lodge stayed so long in the family's hands agrees with that tradition.

At the village lodge he was both sheikh and trustee of the endowment; at the Mevlevi lodge in town he was the teacher of the Masnavi, and he held the two offices together for twenty-four years. The list of lodges in Hüsameddin's first volume says that in 1154 (1741-42), a year after his death, İsmâil Dede was appointed sheikh and Masnavi reader of Şeyh Cû'î; this record is consistent with Sa'dî Efendi having kept the post until his death.

His Descendants

The last part of the entry shows that, after Sa'dî Efendi, the trusteeship and the post of Masnavi reader remained in the line of his sons for more than a century. On the death of Osman Dede, the ney player, in 1189 (1775-76), the posts went to his son Mustafa Dede, and on Mustafa's death in 1234 (1818-19) to Osman Efendi; after Osman Efendi died in 1274 (1857-58) the two offices were separated. His son Ömer Çelebi became trustee of the endowment only, while the teaching of the Masnavi passed to Bafralı Mustafa Efendi of Kemerbaşı. His elder brother's line did not break with the Mevlevi order either: Sâbit Mehmed Dede, a grandson of İbrâhim Dede's son Ahmed Gavsî Dede, is also remembered as a poet.

His Poetry

To judge by the phrase "urefâ-yı Mevleviyye'den şâir", Sa'dî Efendi was known in Mevlevi circles as a writer of mystical verse; even so, his poems have not been found. The entry names no pen name, quotes no couplet and points to no anthology. One may wonder whether the name Sa'dî also served as his pen name; since the source says nothing on the matter, this remains a guess.

Chronology

1095 (1683-84): His father Ebû Saîd Ahmed Dede becomes sheikh of the Şeyh Cû'î Mevlevi lodge.

1114 (1702): His father dies; his elder brother Saîd İbrâhim Dede becomes sheikh and trustee.

1129 (1716-17): On his brother's removal he becomes sheikh and trustee of the Şeyh Cû'î lodge.

22 Şevval 1153 (January 1741): He dies.

1154 (1741-42): İsmâil Dede is appointed sheikh and Masnavi reader of Şeyh Cû'î.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Online sources