THE PHILOSOPHER’S PHILOSOPHER NNASREDDINASREDDIN HHODJAODJA by Nebi ÖZDEMİR © Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism General Directorate of Libraries and Publications 3311 Handbook Series 14 ISBN: 978-975-17-3565-2 www.kulturturizm.gov.tr e-mail: [email protected] Özdemir, Nebi The Philosopher’s Philosopher Nasreddin Hodja/ Nebi Özdemir; Trans: M. Angela Roome.- Ankara: Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 2011. 172 p.: col. ill.; 20 cm.- (Ministry of Culture and Tourism Publications; 3311. Handbook Series of General Directorate of Libraries and Publications: 14) ISBN: 978-975-17-3565-2 Selected Bibliography I. title. II. Roome, M. Angela. III. Series. 927 Translated by M. Angela Roome Printed by Grafiker Ltd. Şti. Oğuzlar Mahallesi 1. Cadde 1396. Sokak No:6, 06520 Balgat-Ankara Tel: 0 312 284 16 39 • Faks: 0 312 284 37 27 www.grafiker.com.tr Photographs Grafiker Ltd. Şti. Archive, Akşehir Municipality Archive. First Edition Print run: 5000. Printed in Ankara in 2011. CONTENTS A. NASREDDIN HODJA’S HISTORICAL IDENTITY .......5 a. Nasreddin Hodja’s Historical Identity and Related Documentation .........................................5 b. Nasreddin Hodja’s Name ................................... 10 c. Nasreddin Hodja’s Life and Family ........................ 12 B. ANECDOTES ABOUT NASREDDIN HODJA ..........15 C. NASREDDIN HODJA’S WORLD OF WIT ...............17 D. NASREDDIN THE OMNISCIENT ........................34 E. THE NASREDDIN HODJA CANON ......................63 F. NASREDDIN HODJA PUBLICATIONS ...................77 G. NASREDDIN HODJAS TRADITIONAL HUMOUR ....83 a. Humour In the Press and Literature ...................... 83 b. Th eatre ........................................................ 85 c. Cinema and Animation ..................................... 89 d. Radio, Television and the Internet ........................ 92 H. SELECTIONS FROM THE NASREDDIN HODJA CANON ........................................................ 109 BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................. 169 3 4 AA.. NASREDDINNASREDDIN HODJA’SHODJA’S HHISTORICALISTORICAL IIDENTITY:DENTITY: a. Nasreddin Hodja’s Historical Identity and Related Documents: here are two distinct trains of thought as to T whether Nasreddin Hodja was really a historical person or not. Lack of sufficient evidence makes many researchers doubtful of his being a real person in history. These researchers inform us that the Nasreddin Hodja, the popular Turkish hero and an amalgamation of different comic heroes (for example, Djuha, the hero of many comic stories in Arabia) and a historic person (such as the 13th century savant Nasreddin Hodja Tûsî) are one and the same. They are equally sceptical that there was a master of wit called Nasreddin Hodja in any geographical area outside Anatolia. A great number of people, however, strongly support the idea that Nasreddin Hodja was a historical figure who lived in Anatolia and remains alive today through the many different stories which have been created around him. 5 As well as the stories about Nasreddin Hodja and his life, there are various pieces of historical evidence concerning him. The first of these is the inscription to be found on one of the pillars of his tomb, a few lines written in 1393/1394 by Mehmed, a yeoman in the service of Bayazit 1. The tomb of Nasreddin Hodja, which lacks a tablet, and a tombstone, on which the date, which it is said should be 683, is mistakenly written as 386 but on which the name of Nasreddin Hodja does not appear, are cited as evidence by various researchers. Tablets from the grave of Nasreddin Hodja’s daughters which is today in Akşehir Museum are also accepted as important pieces of evidence. These are those of Nasreddin Hodja’s older daughter Fatima Hatun, found in 1931 in a graveyard in Sivrihisar and dated H.727 (M.1326/1327) together with that of his younger daughter, found at the foot of Nasreddin Hodja’s grave, dated H.727 (M.1326/1327) and inscribed “Dürrü Melek binti Nasreddin Hodja.” The most important proof is the information concerning the upkeep of Nasreddin Hodja’s tomb and the income for this provided by the Nasreddin Hodja Pious Foundation given in the Provincial Records for 881 (1476)1 Data from written records concerning goods and many concepts coming from hearsay are accepted as proof of the historical existence of Nasreddin Hodja. For example the name of Nasreddin Hodja is mentioned in two places in the Ebû’l- Hayr-ı Rûmî’s Saltuknâme (completed in 1480). The work called Kitab-ı Dâfiü’l- Gumûm Rafiu’l Humûm written by Mehmed Gazalî from Bursa (known as Deli Birader, the Mad Brother) includes stories widely known at the time but which had not been recorded in that way before. Again in the Güvâhî’s Pendnâme (c. 1527) 1 Boratav, P.N., 1996, Nasreddin Hodja, Edebiyatçılar Derneği, Ankara: pp 17- 24.; Sakaoğlu, S. ve A.B. Alptekin, 2009, Nasreddin Hodja, Atatürk Kültür Merkezi Pub., Ankara: pp 5-8.; Duman, Mustafa, 2008, Nasreddin Hodja ve 1555 Fıkrası, Heyamola Pub., Istanbul: pp 26-27. 6 there are three Nasreddin Hodja stories- (No brain (Aklı yoktu ki),” Eat, my fur coat, eat (Ye kürküm ye), Ready Money (Peşin parayı gördün de)- in rhyme. Another source from the 16th century, when his jokes began to be universal, is that of Basîrî (a poet from the time of Bayazit II died c. 1535) in his work Letâif where he relates two Nasreddin Hodja stories. In the same way four stories and one anecdote about Nasreddin Hodja can be found in the Mecmâü’l Letâ’if (c. 1531) begun by Lâmi’î Çelebi of Bursa and completed by his son Abdullah or Derviş Mehmed. A record in the 1581 work Kitâb-ı Mir’ât-ı Cihân by Osman of Bayburt shows Nasreddin Hodja as a patron in 784. The story told by Yahyâ of Taşlıca in the 29th stanza of his poem Gencine-i Râz, dated 1594, about the pitcher which was filled with honey at the top but soil at the bottom (the story called ‘The Fault’ is not in the document) is an attempt to criticize in verse the practice of bribery in judicial proceedings. In the work by Muhyî (d. 1533), Menâkıb-ı İbrahim-i Gülşenî, there is a Nasreddin Hodja story (He died and came to give the news of his death). The Nasreddin Hodja story (The tap which had its mouth shut) is to be found in Nev’izâde Atâyî’s work (d. 1635) Sohbetü’l-Ebkâr. The Polish traveller Simeon visited the tomb of Nasreddin Hodja when he came to Akşehir in 1618 and recorded this in Vol 3 of his “Travels of Simeon”. Evliya Çelebi, who came to Akşehir in 1638, gives information about Nasreddin Hodja in his “Book of Travels.” In his work, Evliya Çelebi gives space to the story about Tamburlaine (You’re not worth five farthings) as related by Nasreddin Hodja and this mistakenly suggests that Nasreddin Hodja and Tamburlaine were contemporaries. Evliya Çelebi describes Nasreddin Hodja as being similar to the witty Arab hero Djuhâ, This demonstrates that the attempt to combine the two witty heroes into one is groundless. In the journal written about Murat IV’s campaigns to Revan and Tabriz, the section which introduces Akşehir informs us that “Nasreddin Hodja lies here.” The Niyâzî-i Mısrî’ (17th century) memoirs relates 7 a Nasreddin Hodja story about a lady who took bribes. In the Riyâzü’ş-Şu’arâ (Riyâzî Mehmed Efendi; 17th. century) and Tuhfetü’l Haremeyn (Yusuf Nâbi; d. 1712) there are records of Nasreddin Hodja. An anonymous work called Menzilname (possibly 18th century?) tells us about Akşehir and says that the tomb of Nasreddin Hodja is in the city, and recommends it be visited. In a work (completed in 1675) written by Hüseyin Efendi of Ayvansaray, now in the Library of Topkapı Palace Treasury, various information about Nasreddin Hodja’s life is given. Data about Nasreddin Hodja from the second half of the 15th century has been mentioned earlier. From the 16th century onwards, in particular, the stories of Nasreddin Hodja began to be transferred from oral culture into written culture and are to be found in many documents. In the same way, it can be seen that, after the beginning of the 16th century, the stories of Nasreddin Hodja were written down from memory in individual writings. Today 8 the oldest extant written story about Nasreddin Hodja can be dated to 1571 from a book bearing the title Hikâyet-ı Kitab-ı Nasreddin Hodja. Written by an individual called Hüseyin, this work concontainst 43 stories.2 An important evaluation of Nasreddin Hodja has bbeeneen pupublishedbli by Pertev Naili Boratav. Boratav iinformsn us that, apart from the earearlyly mamanuscriptn OR.195 to be found in thethe BodleainBod Library, in the National LiLibrarybrary ini Paris alone there are 12 mmanuscriptanuscrip stories about Nasreddin Hodja, the earliest of which dates from the 16th century and the latest from the 19th century. In the library of the Ankara University Faculty of Languages, History and Geography, among the writings of İsmail Sa’ib is a 142-page book written in 1171 (1777) and catalogued as No: 1/1838 under the title of Hikâyât-ı Hâce Nasreddin Hodja Efendi.3 Mustafa Duman has found and collected together 68 manuscripts about Nasreddin Hodja and says the number may increase.4 As well as the works mentioned above, sources of information about Nasreddin Hodja increased with the inception of printing. Kâtib Çelebi’s Kitab-ı Cihânnümâ is accepted as being the first printed work to mention Nasreddin Hodja. Interesting information is also to be found in the following printed works: ed- Dürrerü’l Müntehabâti’l Mensûre fî Islahü’l-Galatâti’l-Meşhûre (1806; Mehmed Hafîd), el-Okyanûsü’l Basît fî Tercemetü’l- 2 Duman, 2008, Op.cit.: p 64 3 Boratav, 1996, Op.cit.: pp 9- 16. 4 Duman, 2008, Op.cit.: p 129 9 Muhît (1887-8; Mütercim Ahmed Asım), Kethüdâzâde Efendi’nin Terceme-i Hâline Zeyl-i Âcizânemdir (1877; Emin), Âsâr-ı Perîşân (1880; Mehmed Tevfik), Kâmûsü’l- a’lâm (1889; Şemseddin Sami), Menâkıb-ı İslâm, Dârül- Hilâfeti’l-aliyye (1908; Ahmed Rasim), Yâd-ı Mâzî (1914; Bereketzâde İsmail Hakkı), “Konya Vilâyeti” (1922; Dr.