The Ceremony of the Selamlik in the Travelogues Written in Urdu
Arzu ÇiftsürenThe relations between Indo Pak Subcontinent and Ottoman Empire followed a different direction after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. Abdulhamid II carried out many activities with the idea of Pan Islamism and as a result of these activites different kinds of supports reached the Ottoman Turks from the subcontinent more than the other Muslim geographies. Only few years later of starting travelogue in Urdu literature, travelelogues on Turkey have been written. In these travelogues social, culturel and politikal informations about Ottoman have been given. Selamlik ceremony which is one of the ceremonies that makes Sultan and people closer was reflected with all its splendor.
Urdu Dili ile Yazılan Seyahatnamelerde Cuma Selamlığı
Arzu ÇiftsürenHindistan Pakistan Alt Kıtası ile Osmanlı Türklerinin ilişkileri özellikle 1877- 78 Osmanlı-Rus Savaşı’ndan sonra farklı bir seyir izlemiştir. II. Abdülhamid dönemine İslam Birliği çerçevesinde Alt Kıtada faaliyetlerin artırıldığı, İslam ülkeleri arasında en fazla desteği de bu coğrafyadan geldiği söylenebilir. Urdu dilinde seyahatname yazılmaya başlamasından çok kısa bir süre sonra ortaya Osmanlı topraklarını özellikle İstanbul’u konu olan pek çok seyahatname çıkmıştır. Bu seyahatnamelerde Osmanlı Türklerine ilişkin siyasi, sosyal ve kültürel pek çok alanda bilgi verilmiştir. Osmanlı’da padişah ile halkın yakınlaşmasını sağlayan törenlerden biri olan Cuma Selamlığı Urdu dili ile yazılan seyahatnamelerde bütün görkemi ve ihtişamıyla akis bulmuştur.
In addition to being literary genre, travelogues are closely related to disciplines of history and geography. Like any other philosophical view and art-work, travelogues also carry many pros and cons. One common critique of travelogues is that they are written only from the author’s point of view whereby the author’s biases and preferences cannot be completely disregarded. It is also observed that most travel writers exaggerate in order to influence and persuade their readers. Consequently, the information contained cannot be guaranteed to be reliable because of the authors’ biases and exaggerations. Nevertheless, travel writing still presents vast information merged into conceptual thoughts specific to the country under observation, not only from the stand point of geography but also from the point of view of social structure.
The first travelogue in Urdu was written by Yousuf Kambal Posh in 1837 after his adventurous trip to London. Thereafter, travelogues about Turkey and Turks were written by other writers in Urdu. It is pertinent to mention that the travelers from the Indian subcontinent also made efforts to convey their thoughts through travelogues and visited Turkey especially during the reign of Abdulhamid II. Travelogues of this period narrated information about Turkey in various domains, from politics to culture, from education to everyday life.
The travelogues of this era were deeply influenced by the ideas of Panislamism, first conceived by Abdulhamid II, linking Turkey with the South Asian subcontinent. After 1857, Muslims from the Subcontinent turned their faces to the Ottoman Empire and tried to provide financial and moral support to their Turkish brothers to whom they were connected via the caliphate bond. In the first phase of these travelogues, authors writing travelogues about Turkey in Urdu were mostly prominent educationalists and jurists from the Indian subcontinent. One of the main motives that brought them to the Ottoman lands was to inscribe the metaphysical forces of Istanbul, to observe and then share academic views with their own people, creating public about the Turks while at the same time ensuring coordination amongst the Islamic countries. Examining the travelogues of Shibli Naumani, Abdurrahman Amritsari and Sheikh Abdulqadir, we find that detailed information about the Turks and the sociocultural state of affairs in the Ottoman Empire is provided.
The Selamlik ceremony, for example, was of great importance to these foreign travelers travelling from the sub-continent. In these travelogues, the authors wrote that although the Selamlik ceremony had a social aspect that enabled the Sultan and the people to get closer, it also enabled the Sultan to inspect the current situation of the military. They also explain that, being Muslims, they are proud to comprehend the glory of the Ottoman Empire at this very ceremony. Some of these travelers from the sub-continent were bestowed “Tamgha-e Majidi” by then Khalifa of time Abdulhamid II.
