Folk Literature
FOLK
LITERATURE
The literary
works, which is based on syllabic meter like minstrel poetry different from
classical school of poetry, the oral literary works whose owners can not be
determined such as proverbs, legends, tales, stories, anecdotes, lullabies,
folksongs, riddles, folk music forms, wailing are all under the name of “Folk
Literature”.
MINSTREL
LITERATURE
Minstrel
is a poet type which is seen from the beginning of 11th and 12th
centuries in Turkish Folk Literature. It’s believed that the minstrel poet
takes his poetry power from his drinking the wine of love which his master
presented to him in his dream and dreaming the image of his lover. “Folk
poet” is used instead of “Folk minstrel”. Folk mistrals have left many works
having different subjects. Since most of these works were told by illiterate
minstrels impromptu, some of them were forgotten and some of them were protected.
The folk poems of the minstrels are told impromptu.
Folk
poems having religion and Islamic mysticism subject are called “Tekke (Dervish-lodge”
Poems”.
MANİ (Turkish
folk-music forms)
They
are quatrains sang according to the syllabic meter of generally whose teller
are nor known. Bayati word is used to call mani in Eastern Anatolia. The
rhyme order is a-a-b-a
RIGMAROLE
These works are generally in the children traditions and which can
be produced with main rhyme and rhymes and which are arranged according
to the similarities of sounds and words and whose tellers are not known.
They can be classified as
FOLK
SONGS
Folk song is
the name mostly used to show every kind of folk poem which is sung with
a melody in oral tradition of Türkiye. Names of Lullabies, wailing, folk
poems, tunes can be used according to the classifications of the words and
tune in special conditions.
LULLABY
These
are literary works which are sung to make the children sleep or to make
them stop crying with a simple language and syllabic meter and with a melody.
WAILING
These
are literary works sung with melodies which express the feelings of fright,
anxiety, sorrow and mutiny in cases of natural disasters, deaths, illnesses
and helplessness. Singing a wailing is called crying a wailing and the one
crying a wailing is called “wailer”.
TALE
Is
a type of expression which is imaginary, is on unknown time and which does
not aim to make the listeners believe. To draw the attention of the listener
on the take rigmarole are told in the beginning in the end or in some proper
places.
ANECTODES
Are
the short literary works which focus on the events of daily lives and which
aims to draw results from the told events and in which satire, witty remorks
and humor exist.
STORIES
Are
a way of expressing Heal events of life in a long form in which the sounds
and mimics are used in combination with melodies and saz.
They are divided
into two groups according to their dimensions.
Short
stories having a simple structure and which have been taken from a legends,
tales or real lives and which focus only on an event. Telling them may
take at most two hours.
The
stories which focus on a group of crowded people, the unexpected situations
coming one by one and as a result, the difficult events. This makes the
story to be told in a longer time. These stories may continue to be told
1-7 nights.
RIDDLES
Are
stereotyped words which asks about natural events and human beings, the
living things such as animals and plants, goods, religious subjects and
motives; aiming to make associations. The equivalents of these words are
accepted without any dispute.
PROVERBS
Are
the words that we have inherited form our ancestors, that have a certain
opinion and whose tellers are not known and which are used in daily languages.
LEGENDS
Legends
which are a sort of Folk Literature, making a cultural transfer from past
to today, are one of the areas helping to contribute the structure of human
beings and cultural structure that they produced. Is one of the types of
literature which is formed attributing supernatural characteristics to real
and imaginary beings, places and events, which canalize the individual and
social life of a person with the belief that they are told as real, and
whose tellers are definite. They may be classified according to their subjects
as:
Legends
on historical places, people and events
Legends
on supernatural beings
Legends
on animals
Legends
on religious subjects.
Legends
on plants and trees
Legends
on natural surrounding and events
Examples of Legends
BLESSINGS
May God let
nobody be in difficult situation.
May God let
you get what you desire.
May God let
your child be brought up with mother and father.
May God give
you blessed increase.
May God not
let you in need of others help.
May you see
happy days.
May God increase
your knowledge
May God give
you a long life
May your
foot be lake, your head spring
May God forbid.
May you be
great man
May your
head be upright
You become
successful in this matter, Congratulations.
Thank God,
we have seen present days
Don’t you
worry, may your life be spared.
My God do
not spare your blessing on my child
Thank God
I am in very
difficult situation, please save me my God.
Thank God,
I am very well
May you see
better days
May your
turn come next
Every thing
depends upon health, the rest is in vain.
May God give
extra for you
I wish God,
hope God, be that day today.
May God give
you a harmonious living together.
May your
hands never see trouble !
May it stay
in your hand
May you marry
and see better days
May it be
as you wish
I wish you
live as you like
May you pass
away later
May God bless
your fore fathers
May you live
happily in your new home
May it bring
you luck
Bon voyage
May “Hızır”
visit you
Anybody who
does good May God save him from bad luck
Let us say
good, let it be good
May God have
everybody to be charitable
May God save
you accident and trouble
May nobody
feel suffer
May God not
give blind eyes
May God save
you from bad things
May you not
be eaten by everybody
May you be
family with your son, neighbour with your daughter.
May your
life be blessed
May you live
happily in your country, may your mouth be sweet, may it bring you good
luck.
IMPRECATIONS
(CURSES)
Imprecations
(curses) are integral part of our daily life, very important subject of folklore.
Angers, hatreds, rages, irremediable resistances from adults to minors, from
minors to adults, or between furious people have been reflected through these
cursing phrases. They are simple, sincere, clear. Such words are a compound
of hopes and hopelessness, fears and joys, angers and repentances. Some of such
cursing words used in İnegöl are listed hereunder:
May
God give you thousands of trouble.
May
God curse you.
May
God put you in need of a slice of bread,
May
God punish you
May
God not make you unhappy
God
damn you
God
damned
God,
may your ankles broken.
You
may not attain your desire.
May
rock fall on your head.
May
he/she die
May
you fall down
May
you eat humble pie
May
a big rock fall on your head
May
you without head
May
your one day life one day
May
the devil take you
Go
to hell
May
you burn in fire of hell
May
you suffer greatly, if God pleases.
May
you feel much sorrow
May
you die
May
your tongue be held and not speak
I
wish your chin be broken
May
you burst
May
you be target for double bullets
May
you not find remedy for your trouble
May
a wasp sting your tongue
May
your trouble not be cured
May
you no longer speak
May
you hold your tongue
May
you be come mad
May
you get no benefit from my milk you suck
May
your hand and arm be broken off
May
your hand and leg be useless
May
blood drop on your hand
May
your hand and leg got entangled
May
you suffer from your children
May
you go but not return
May
you die.
May
your eye become blind
May
your eye’s light fade out
You
don’t make me happy, so you may not see better days
May
your greed never be satisfied
I
did not enjoy the advantage of it, it may not bring you benefit.
You
have spoiled my life, may your life be spoiled.
May
you have great harm
“İrmiyesice”
May
Blind Devil curse you
May
your eardrum burst
May
you be unlucky
May
you be exterminated
May
you become baldheaded
I
have been deeply depressed, Damn you
May
you become penniless
May
you not attain your desire
Whatever
you have done, may you deserve the same
May
you be worst than me
May
your family become destroyed
May
your family die out
I
wish you were never born
May
you die because of me
May
he be frightened to death.
May
you burst out
May
you be broken to pieces
May
you suffer great misery.
May
you get baldheaded
May
their urine be stopped
May
your wickedness cease to exist only by your death
Go
to hell
NAMES,
NICKNAMES AND CAUSES FOR GIVING SUCH NAMES
Names
and nicknames are symbols serving people living in a society to know each
other better and to distinguish from one another. Names of ladies usually
consist of soft, sweet, melodic, pleasant and good words to hear. Names of
male are hard words suitable for character of male. These words symbolise
the strength in life style of men.
Nicknames
are encountered as much more determining factor in distinguishing persons’
identity. Among causes for giving nicknames are included such features as
occupation, diligence, laziness, residential area, ethnic root, jealousy,
envy, physical characteristics, attitude towards environment, saying handed
down from the past, etc.
Names
used in İnegöl are the names used nationwide in Türkiye. Therefore we find
it unnecessary to give examples from them. Thinking that they may be example
for nicknames and reason for their giving, we have contented with examples
selected from the section of folk. These examples may be listed as follows:
Acaroğulları:
Based on surname of “Acar”, which refers to all members descending from
the same family.
Akbabalar:
Members of the family whose surname is “Akbaba”
Almanyalılar
(Those from Germany): They are called with this name because they
lived in Germany for a while.
Amet
Çavuşlar: They are called with this name because the father performed
his military service as sergeant
Arabacı
Yaşar : He is called with this name since he earns his life by doing
profession of riding wagon.
Ballıklı
Sütçü Hasan: He is given this name because he came from the village
of “Ballık” and sold milk.
Bekçiler:
Occupation of father is watchman.
Belbeller:
Father of the family is barber.
Calgıcı
Arif: He is a musician who plays musical instruments in festivals.
Çargan
Hatçe : This name has been given her because she has spoken too
much.
Değirmenciler:
They are called with this name because they have a mills in their
village.
Elektrikçi
Selimler: The person whose name is Selim has been called with this
name because all of his family performs the profession of electrical
works.
Ezan
Dede: He is called with this name because he goes to mosque ten
minutes before the time of “Ezan”
Fırıncılar:
They have their own bakeries.
Gölemenliler:
This family has been called with this name because they have come
from the village of “Gölemen”.
Habeş
Osman: He is called with name because he does not know what to do.
Karabıyık
Mustafa: He has black moustaches
Koreliler:
Father of the family involved in the war of Korea
Kürt
Yusuf: He is given this name to understand his race.
Lümbeli
Mustafa: He has come from the village of “Lümbe”.
Pomak
Ahmet: Because his origin was “Pomak”
Sağarların
Fatma: This name is given to her because her father is deaf.
Seyde
Ağalar:: Because they have a lot of properties, this name is given
to them.
Şişko
Fadime: She has received this name because she is very fat
Tatarlar:
This family acquired this name because of their Tatar origin.
Tekel
Hatçe: She received this name because she goes always to Tekel (Monopoly)
and buys items of monopoly.
Tilki
Remzi: He is given this name because of his cunningness like fox.
Topal
Sümko: meaning cripple “Süleyman”.
Topçu
Mustafa : He is given this name because he set football.
Torunlar:
He is called with this name because he received attention of everybody
while walking with his grandchildren.
Uzun
Caferler: Because he is very tall he is called with this name.
Yılanlı
Karı : She is called with this name because it is believed that
a snake is present in her.
Sedirlinin
Aziz Efendi (Mr. Aziz from “Sedirli”).
Yağcıların
Ahmet Ağa (Mr. Ahmet from “Yağcılar”)
Kıl boyunun
Ali Efendi ( Mr. Ali of slender neck)
Tahta
Pıcağın Ömer ( Ömer of wooden knife)
Yorgansızın
Üssün Oyma kapılının Hüseyin ( Üssün of without quilt, Hüseyin of carved
door)
Altı
aylığın Ali Bey (Mr. Ali of six months)
HAGEM
PUBLICATIONS ON FOLK LITERATURE
Wailings
with their stories, Ahmet Z. Özdemir 1994
The
Declarations of IIIrd International Congress of Turkish Folk Literature
and Folklore, 1995
The
Declarations of International Silk Rood Folk Literature Symposium, 1995
The
Declarations of Nasreddin Hodja Symposium, 1997
The
Declarations of Vth International Congress of Turkish Folk Culture, the
section of Folk Literature 1-2,
Poem
Competitions on “Family and Society” and “Tolerance” between Folk Poets
in 1994-1995.
A
Fütüvvetname whose writer is not certain Assoc. Prof. Ibrahim Aslanoğlu,
1997.
The
Cenknames of Prophet Ali in Folk Literature, Prof. Dr. İsmet, 1997.
Texts
of Dobruca Turkish Folk Literature, Prof. Dr. Enver Mahmut, Dr. Nedret
Mahmut, 1997.
An
Attribute to Pertev, Naili Boratov, 1998
An
Anthology of Living Folk Poets, 1993.