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13th c. CE — Anatolia

Bektashiyya

The Anatolian daughter of the Yasavī steppe

Overview

Traditionally traced to Ḥājjī Bektāsh Walī, whose lineage draws from Aḥmad Yasawī's Turkic dervishes. Central to Ottoman Janissary spirituality and to Alevi-Bektashi culture today.

Core teachings

  • Love of the Ahl al-Bayt
  • Interior sharīʿa
  • Poetic transmission

Practices

  • Cem ritual
  • Semah
  • Communal meal (sofra)

Key texts

  • Makālāt
    Ḥājjī Bektāsh Walī

Living legacy

Deep influence on Anatolian and Balkan spiritual culture.