tions, particularly of Sufi orders, though few are
known by name. Turkmen tribes first came to
Anatolia at the end of the eleventh century. During
the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, with increased
Turkmen migration, Islam spread throughout
tribal society, mainly through dervishes, who were
dedicated, humble male believers. In the formative
years of Ottoman society dervishes also took part
in the conquest of Thrace and the Balkans and be-
came gazis, Islamic war heroes. They received land
in the conquered territories and built their dervish
lodges, which often became centers of Turkic cul-
tures and religious teaching (Barkan 1942).
The Bektaçi order was prominent, especially in
rural Anatolia, and its dervishes led a sedentary life
in organized lodges in contrast to the anarchical
dervish groups who later on formed the heterodox
groups in Turkey called Alevis. Both Alevis and
Bektaçis refer to a popular saint called Hacı Bektaç
(d. 1270) who belonged to Turkmen tribes and
became the symbol of Anatolian Islam. Unlike his
contemporary, Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi (1207–
73), he did not study in the medreses. Bektaçwas
not a theologian but a mystic, and throughout his
life he remained close to people and did not give up
the shamanism customary in Central Asia (Méli-
koff 1998). In both Bektashism and Alevism women
took part in religious gatherings together with men,
and some women velis (friends of God), addressed
as bacı(sister), were as highly regarded as their
male counterparts (Çamuro©lu 1992, Ocak 2000).
In Bektashism the chief of the tekkeis baba(father)
and in Alevism dede(grandfather) is the spiritual
chief of the community, but according to a fifteenth-
century Ottoman historian, Açıkpaçazade, the Bek-
taçi order was founded after the death of Bektaçby
a woman called Kadıncık Ana (anameans “mama/
mother,” kadıncık“little woman”). Kadıncık Ana,
either the adoptive daughter of Bektaç, according
to Açıkpaçazade, or his spiritual wife, according to
the Vilâyetnâme, Bektaç’s hagiography, saved his
life during the Babà±ìrevolts (1241–3) and also
founded the order with the help of his disciple
Abdal Musa (Mélikoff 1998, 2).
In medieval Anatolia giving women a socially
recognized place in the public sphere by addressing
them as sisters or mothers was not peculiar to reli-
gious associations. During the Seljuk period, a
semi-mystical organization and forerunner of the
trade guilds, the Ahi brotherhood, had a branch,
said to be established by Fatma Bacı, whose mem-
bers were women engaged in weaving and related
occupations and which was known as Bacıyân-i
Rûm (Bayram 1994).
Many women followed the path of Sufism opened
turkey 713by Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi, a path which advo-
cates unlimited tolerance regardless of religious
background. Some women, not necessarily his
descendants, became the representatives of the
order in the Mevlevi mukabele(semaor whirling
ceremony), were appointed as shaykha, wore tradi-
tional hırkaand sikke, whirled with men, took
responsibility for both men and women on the Sufi
path, and had numerous murids (Helminski 2003).
They are still known as the female saints of
Anatolia and their tombs and shrines have been vis-
ited throughout the centuries, especially by women
(Araz 1966). However, following the empower-
ment of the medreses in Ottoman society, including
in the Mevlevi order, in many religious orders
women and men were segregated and only in
Bektaçi and Alevi circles could women regularly
continue to participate in religious gatherings with
men (Gölpınarlı 1969, 147).
Owing to this time-honored tradition, the relega-
tion of women to women-only gatherings and
keeping their saintly presence publicly under low
profile became salient characteristics of many reli-
gious associations in modern Turkey as well. For
example, in the provincial towns of eastern and
southeastern Anatolia, and in the conservative reli-
gious orders of the large cities, wives or daughters
of shaykhs are usually considered to be responsible
for maintaining the communication between the
shaykhs and their female followers; hence women
function as the female representatives of those par-
ticular orders, yet they do not actually hold office.
In modern Turkey women continue to be active
participants of religious associations, whether in
newly established non-governmental organizations
or branches of various traditional religious orders,
but because of the orthodox Islamic modesty codes
which entail the seclusion of women, they stay one
step behind men. This does not reflect either their
spiritual or mental capacities, but the gender biases
prevalent in those associations.Bibliography
N. Araz, Anadolu evliyaları, Istanbul 1966.
Ö. L. Barkan, Osmanlı ÷mparatorlu©unda bir iskan ve
kolonizasyon metodu olarak vakıflar ve temlikler I.
÷stila devirlerinin kolonizatör Türk derviçleri ve zaviye-
leri, in Vakıf Degisi5 (1942), 279–386.
M. Bayram, Fatma Bacı ve Bacıyân-i Rûm, Konya 1994.
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1992.
A. Gölpınarlı, 100 soruda tasavvuf, Istanbul 1969.
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