Aşık Mahzuni Şerif

Şerif Cırık, popularly known as Aşık Mahsuni Şerif, was a Turkish ashik, folk musician, composer, poet, and author. Aşık is a title used to indicate his position as a respected musician and his relationship with Alevism.

Mahsuni Şerif was born in the Berçenek village of Afşin, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey in 1939. His mother's name is Döndü, his father's name is Zeynel Cırık. There was no primary school in his village, Berçenek. Instead, he studied the Koran in Lütfü Efendi Madrasa, located in the village of Alembey, until he could graduate later on from the local primary school. He started playing baglama and writing poems in 1956 while attending military school.

After Mahzuni left the army, he started to become a public poet by continuing to traditional Turkish Folk poetry. He was writing about political topics and his poems were all about public's problems. For instance one of his poems is about lack of education in villages (school without class [Sınıfsız Okul]). He interested in Turkish Folk tradition since he was 12. He learned playing baglama from his uncle Ashik Fezali (Pehlül Baba). His first record was released in 1964. He resided in Gaziantep for a while, after he moved to Ankara. He actively worked for the labor party's youth branch in 1963, 1964. He met with Fikret Otyam. Thanks to him he met with Cüneyt Arcayürek Form Gazette of Hürriyet. First writing in gazette about Mahzuni was written by Cüneyt Arcayürek. He found the Society of Ashiks for public poets. He gave concerts supported by Fikret Otyam and Union of Gazette. He founded a record firm with the money he earned in 1968. However, he bankrupt with his partners Ayhan Coşkun and Abbas Sütçü in a short time. In 1989–1991 years he was chosen as one of the World's biggest three poets by the Turkish Folk Poets Federation. He is known as these folk songs: Dom Dom Kurşunu, Yedin Beni, Yuh Yuh, Fadimem, Gül Yüzlüm, Ciğerparem, Merdo, Dostum, Han Sarhoş Hancı Sarhoş, Çeşmi Siyahım, Yalan Dünya, Ağlasam mı, Abur Cubur Adam, Katil Amerika, Ekmek Kölesi. His folk songs are vocalized by a lot of folk music and pop music artists. Some of them are Ersen ve Dadaşlar, Edip Akbayram, Cem Karaca, Gülden Karaböcek, Zeki Müren, İbrahim Tatlıses, Ahmet Kaya, Mahsun Kırmızıgül, Murat Göğebakan, Selda Bağcan. Mahzuni released 453 records, 50 tapes and 9 books.

In 1974, Mahzuni Şerif was arrested upon his return from an overseas concert. This arrest stemmed from a false claim made by a member of the TPFA (Turkey, Public Freedom Army) organization, who kidnapped the owner of Türkola Records by falsely stating, "Mahzuni wants you." Despite the lack of truth in the accusation, Mahzuni Şerif was sentenced to a prison term lasting 14 15 months. As a result, during the mid 70s, he faced an eight year prohibition from performing on stage and was unable to travel abroad. To sustain himself, he resorted to selling records in a small store. During the political climate of 1971, following a military coup that ousted the Süleyman Demirel government, the Nihat Erim government took power. This new administration adopted stringent measures against leftist individuals. In response, Mahzuni Şerif composed a folk song titled "Erim Erim Eriyesin," which directly referenced the president of the new government by his surname. Through his song, Mahzuni implicitly criticized the oppressive tactics employed by the administration, conveying the message that they would eventually "melt away" under the weight of their own repressive actions. Consequently, Mahzuni Şerif was arrested and sentenced to a 10 month prison term. In 1972, he visited the village of Sivrialan in Sivas to pay a visit to Aşık Veysel, a renowned folk poet. In 1973, Mahzuni Şerif was arrested once again, this time on charges of inciting people to commit crimes. He was tried in the Ankara Court, which operated under military governance. In 2001, Mahzuni Şerif faced a legal suit due to certain statements he made in an article. The legal proceedings commenced on December 27, 2001. Unfortunately, the case remained unresolved at the time of his passing in Germany. Mahzuni Şerif endured torture during his time in prison. When asked by a journalist whether he had ever been offered the title of a state artist, a significant honor in Turkey, he responded, "The state rewarded me by subjecting me to torture, such as having my nails forcibly removed, in a military controlled court." His poignant reply shed light on the immense suffering he experienced as a consequence of his activism and highlighted the stark contrast between the state's actions and the recognition typically associated with being a state artist.

He died on May 17, 2002, in Porz, Köln, Germany. He was buried in an area called Çilehane, in Hacı Bektaş Veli Complex, Nevşehir Province. Şerif became one of Turkey's best known musical interpreters of Turkish folk music and folk poetry.