Original is in the Topkapi Palace
Museum.XVIIth. century hand written book
(Topkapi Palace Museum Library Cat. No. 2142).
(Please click on the picture to see a larger image)
Who is Nasreddin Hodja
or in qarachay-balqar - Nasra Hoca
Nasreddin Hodja picture.
Original is in the Topkapi Palace
Museum.
XVIIth. century hand written book
(Topkapi Palace Museum Library
Cat. No. 2142).
(Please click on the picture to see a
larger image)
We, the people in QARACHAY-BALQAR are all familiar with the jokes and stories of Nasreddin Hodja. Since our childhood, we have been hearing these jokes all along. These funny stories are part of our culture. The jokes were part of his daily life and they became accepted and welcomed by the public since his time.
He was a man
with great humor, he was very clever and had an answer to almost all the
problems and the dilemmas of his time. Even today, about 600 years after he has
lived and passed away, we still laugh and think about his tricks, common sense,
ridicule, anecdotes, wit, leg pulling, practicality and ingeniousness. Every
person and every institution of the Turkish society has received a criticism or
remark from his philosophical mind. He did not spare his satire for the state,
religion, culture or habits. All of the human psychology and social weaknesses
received their part of laugh from him. He has seen the human element in each
aspect of the everyday life and has used his wit to make everybody aware of the
other side of the reality. That is why his jokes are still alive today.
He has lived
in 13th century, he still lives among us with his jokes. According to the
historical documents we have, we are not very sure of his exact birth date or
exactly how he has lived. According to some stories, he was in life when
Tamerlane invaded Anatolia in 15th century. Some says he lived before or after
Tamerlane. Some findings indicate that he has died between 1284-1285. On the
wall of his tomb in Aksheir, the date of his death is inscribed as 1383. There
is a town called Sivrihisar near the city of Eskisehir in Anatolia where he was
born. The tomb of his sister Fatima is there who has died in 1327, 43 years
after his death. According to a book called "Saltukname" which dates back to
1480, he was born in Sivrihisar and the people from this town have been well
known for their ridicule and uniqueness. Another handwritten book from
Biblioteque National in Paris also mentions the mentality of the people living
in Sivrihisar. We can say that he was born in Sivrihisar of Eskisehir and has
died in Aksheir in 1284, near the city of Konya.
Nasr-ed-Din means "Victory of Faith", Hodja means the "Master" or
"Teacher". He has received this honorable title later in his life. His father
was a religious leader called imam. He was schooled in the Hanafiya school near
Konya where he learned the Islamic religious essentials and legal teachings.
After this education, he became "Imam" which is the leader of the public prayers
in the mosque. He also qualified to become "Kadi" which is the person who
distributes the religious law. He was a man of humor and was very clever. There
are many anecdotes and remarks describing his humor. He was also a well accepted
public figure. Not all of his stories was humorous. Since his time, other
stories and jokes were also thought to be said by him. Actually, we can consider
that his jokes and stories were started to be created by his time by himself and
by the people of Anatolia and this process has continued over the centuries.
Today these jokes belong to Turkish people. His stories reflect not only his
life as a native of Anatolia but also his time and the life of the Turkish
people living at that time in Anatolia.
His stories can be catagorised as reflecting the following main themes of life:
| His jokes and stories are told today by the people of different countries and
his jokes have been translated to many languages.
Between July 5-10 of each year, International Nasreddin Hodja Festival takes place in Aksheir, where his tomb is. Turkish artists have used Nasreddin Hodja in theater pieces, in music, in movies, in cartoons and in paintings.
|
Elena Maria Ospina -
Colombia |