Kemal Ummi (Ummi Kemal)

A mystic poet; his real name was İsmâil. He used the epithet Ümmî because he had not received a formal education.

Where he came from is contradictory in the sources. Latîfî and Âlî Mustafa Efendi state that he was from the town of Lârende in Karaman; Âşık Ahmed says that he was of Khorasanian origin. According to Âşık Ahmed, whom the source counts the most reliable, he lived in the region of Aladağ and Bozarmut near Bolu and won the attention of Hacı Bayrâm-ı Velî.

In Sufism he was among the dervishes of Şeyh Mehmed Bedreddin and among the followers of Cemâl-i Halvetî. His sheikh was Ubeydullah Hâmid (Ebû Hamîd Aksarâyî), also known as Somuncu Baba.

He died in 880 (1475).

His Poetry and Sufi Line — His poems fall into two groups: those of the kind of tevhid, münâcât and na't, and poems of religious and Sufi counsel. He used a plain Turkish and preferred an idiom laden with wisdom and aphorism; this plainness allowed his poems to be read in a wide circle.

His Works — 1. Dîvân. Twenty-seven manuscripts of it have been identified; the richest copy (Beyazıt no. 3357) contains 140 poems, including seven mesnevîs. 2. Kırk Armağan. A mesnevî of about 200 couplets on the theme of preparation for death. 3. Risâle-i Vefât. A mesnevî describing the moments of death and the states of the grave. 4. Risâle-i Îmân. A prose treatise on faith and worship.

His Tomb and Complex — Although he is stated to be buried at Bolu, there is also a report that he is buried at the Niğde Mevlevîhâne.