The evaluation of Yunus Emre in the notion of fakelore

Abstract

Whether they are nationalist, socialist, humanist, Alevi or Sunni, a great many writers embrace and adopt Yunus Emre's views; they look upon him as a representative of their own opinions and make of the poet a historical figure legitimating these opinions. With regard to this status attributed to Yunus Emre, certain questions such as the following emerge: Is the poet indeed a representative of one or all of the perspectives? If not, why do writers of many different stances ascribe to Yunus Emre such a function? A satisfactory answer to these specific questions requires the evaluation of the poet and his works in terms of the notion "fakelore". To this end, this article, wherein the views of Richard M. Dorson, Alan Dundes, Eric Hobsbawn and Terence Ranger on fakelore and on the invention of tradition will be taken into consideration, aims at the analysis of the fakeloric status of Yunus Emre.