Pir Sultan Abdal (Pīr Sulṭān Abdāl) is a legendary figure whose mystical ideals and humanist values are venerated in particular by Alevi (ʿAlevī) communities in Turkey. For them, his name reflects the religious standing and possibly the ethnic origin of this celebrated poet. Although not mentioned in historical records, his life is reconstructed from folkloric sources, especially from religious poems (nefesler) that were possibly composed by him and that were transmitted orally by itinerant musicians, or aşıklar (ʿāşıqlar) to the accompaniment of a long-necked lute (bağlama sazı;) . Although the