Folk Heroes of Turkey

NAMES OF THE MOST POPULAR FOLK HEROES

q  Nasreddin Hodja – Populist philosopher

q   Karagöz and Hacivat – Contrasting couple which makes everybody laugh

q   Temel – Fictional character from Trabzon

q   Keloğlan – Traditional folktale character (Bald Boy)

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THOSE FOLK HEROES

- Nasreddin Hodja is Turkey's (and perhaps all of Islam's) best-known trickster. His legendary wit and droll trickery were possibly based on the exploits and words of a historical imam. Nasreddin reputedly was born in 1208 in the village of Horto near Sivrihisar. In 1237 he moved to Aksehir, where he died in the Islamic year 683 (1284 or 1285). As many as 350 anecdotes have been attributed to the Hodja, as he most often is called. Hodja is a title meaning teacher or scholar. He frequently is compared with the northern European trickster Till Eulenspiegel.

- Karagöz (meaning blackeye in Turkish) and Hacivat (shortened in time from "Haci Cevat" meaning "Cevat the Pilgrim", and also sometimes written as Hacivad) are the lead characters of the traditional Turkish shadow play, popularized during the Ottoman period. The central theme of the plays are the contrasting interaction between the two main characters. They are perfect foils of each other: Karagöz represents the illiterate but straightforward public, whereas Hacivat belongs to the educated class, speaking Ottoman Turkish and using a poetical and literary language.

- The purely fictional Temel comes from the Laz Black Sea coastal region of Turkey and brings with him an endless stream of none–too-subtle, often Off color gags. No one ever accused Temel of being too smart -- he could have been the model for the film "Dumb and Dumber" -- and he (along his wife, family, and friends) is cast in obvious contrast to the more dignified Nasreddin Hoca.

- Keloğlan (English: bald boy) is a fictional character from the Turkish culture. As a well-known character - also known as keleşoğlan - Keloğlan has a problem of being bald from birth. He is the substitute of the Anatolian people who can have big dreams who are virtuous, prudent, a little bald, a little romantic and very sportive. There are a lot of short-stories that are written about Keloğlan for children to read. He is one of the most famous folk heroes of Turkey. He is also well-known in Europe. There are some Turkish movie serie about Keloğlan stories.

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THEIR SENSE OF HUMOR

- Nasreddin Hodja is a satirical Sufi figure, sometimes believed to have lived during the Middle Ages (around 13th century) and considered a populist philosopher and wise man, remembered for his funny stories and anecdotes. He appears in thousands of stories, sometimes witty, sometimes wise, but often, too, a fool or the butt of a joke. A Nasreddin story usually has a subtle humour, but it is claimed that within the tale there is usually also something to be learned.

- Hacivat is always the one with a level head. Though Karagöz always outdoes Hacivat’s superior education with his “native wit,” he is also very impulsive and his never-ending deluge of get-rich-quick schemes always results in failure. Hacivat continually attempts to “domesticate” Karagöz, but never makes progress.

- “Temel” is a prominent character of Laz jokes. “Temel” means in Turkish “basic,” but in this case, it connotes more of a stupid person. Temel also has friends called Dursun and İdris and a wife named Fadime

- Keloğlan represents the wisdom of Turkish countryside culture. Even though he is poor, he can solve all of the problems with his clever tricks. Through those tricks he also puts the problem making people into a funny situation by making them understand that they were wrong. He usually conflicts with those who have a high ego and brag about themselves. But at the end of story his mother beats him with her stick and humiliate him by saying that he is stupid. His little genie helper and his mother are supporting characters in his tales.

SOME EXAMPLE STORIES/JOKES (IF AVAILABLE)

NASREDDIN HODJA:

Hammam

   One day The Hodja went to the hammam. Looking at his poor clothes, the workers at the hammam didn't treat him right and gave him torn towels. In spite of the lousy service, Nasreddin Hodja gave them all fat tips when leaving.The next time Hodja went to the hammam, the workers provided him with excellent service. They gave him the newest towels and massaged his back. However, this time The Hodja left them only small changes. One of the workers ventured to find out why.`Hodja Effendi, last time you gave us big tips...' he hinted.`Oh, yes. Those tips were for today's service,' Hodja replied, `today's tips are for my previous visit.'

Age

   They asked Nasreddin Hodja his age.`Forty.' he replied.`But Hodja, when we asked you your age ten years ago, you gave the same answer!'`That's my word, and I stick with it.' Hodja said

  Tray of Baklava

   One day The Hodja and his friends were sitting at the coffee house. A young boycarrying a tray of baklava attracted the attention of one of the men.`Hodja Effendi, look!' he pointed, `That boy is carrying a tray of baklava.'`It's none of my business.' Hodja shrugged his shoulders.`But, Hodja, watch! He is taking it to your house.'`In that case,' Hodja asserted, `it's none of your business.'

TEMEL

When Temel got drunk...

  "Ah my darling Fadime, drink makes you so beautiful," said Temel.
"But I didn't drink anything," replied his wife.
"Yes, but I did," he slobbered.

Temel the restaurateur...

    A man comes into Temel's Restaurant. He orders a steak dinner, eats it, and finishes off his wine. With that he turns angrily to Temel and says, "That meal was terrible. I want to speak to the restaurant owner immediately. Where is he?" Cringing in fear, Temel squeaks out, "He's at the restaurant next store -- having his dinner..."

Temel drinks too much

   Temel is drinking too much. To show him the harm, his friends throw a worm into his glass of whiskey. When the worm dies, one of his friends says, "Look Temel, what can you learn from that?"
Temel looks up blearily. "You should drink whiskey if you have worms in your body," he says.

COMMON POINTS BETWEEN OTHER NATIONS’ FOLK HEROES

There are characteristic similarities between Keloğlan and Clever Peter. Both characters are poor and have intelligent tricks to solve their problems, or create advantages from disadvantages. They both have donkeys as transportation vehicle, which they go everywhere together.

Maltese Gahan has similarities with Turkish folk hero Nasreddin Hodja. They both have dumb attitudes, however they also have an innocent and unique wise side.

THE FUNNIEST MOMENT OF YOUR STAY IN ISTANBUL

The crazy neighbour was so generous that he could provide us the hot water rain which made us scream “Hallelujah, it’s raining man!”.