Nasreddin

Nasreddin ( Turkish نصر الدين خواجه Nasreddin Hoca, IA Nasreddin Hoca ) is the name of the most prominent protagonists of humorous prose stories throughout the Turkish- Islamic -influenced area from the Balkans to the Turkic peoples of Central Asia. His historical existence is not protected; It is believed that it at 13-14. Century has lived in Akşehir in southwestern Anatolia.

Name

The same figure, which is called in Turkish Nasreddin Hoca is on Azeri as Molla Nəsrəddin, in Kazakh as Ķožanasyr ( Қожанасыр ) and in China on Uighur as Əpəndi Nəsiridin ( نەسىرىدىن ئەپەندى ) and in Chinese as Āfántí (阿凡提derived from Effendi ) is known. In addition, the figure in contemporary Iran and much of the former Persian Empire as Mollah Nassredin ( مولا نصرالدین ) is known.

History

For the südwestanatolische Akşehir as a place of his work speaks a mausoleum with his name, which is located there.

The first Nasreddin Hoca anecdotes about in Turkish-language sources are located in the Saltuk Name / سالتوق نامه of Ebülhayri Rumi (d. 1480 ) and Leta ʾ if / لطائف of lamii Çelebi (d. 1531). Lamii Çelebi Nasreddin Hoca is as contemporaries of Şeyyad Hamza (14th century). In popular tradition, however, the view has prevailed, which dates back to the Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi. Evliya Çelebi wrote in the 17th century on its journey to the presumed tomb of Nasreddin Hocas in Akşehir and carries one anecdote, Nasreddin Hoca in with Timur (d. 1405) occurs. Attempts to historicize the character Nasreddin, however, are considered speculative. It should also be mentioned that there are historical foundation charters ( Vakfiye ) from the years 1257 and 1266 a reference to a person named Nasreddin Hoca / نصر الدين خواجه who had come to court. Whether it is the same person who remains speculative.

Before the widespread use of printed books, the tradition was primarily oral, a tradition that has been preserved, among other things in Turkey today. It is regularly used Nasreddin Hoca Festival, where his jokes are staged. Most books with jokes of Nasreddin Hoca have appeared in Turkey, but there are there only a few extensive collections.

Sometimes Nasreddin plays the role of a sly, sometimes that of a stupid man in his jokes. Due to the wide geographical spread and the long time tradition new stories were attributed to Nasreddin over again. So it was inevitable that the ascribed jokes are a mix of folk wisdom, cunning, but also bawdy or suggestive content. Some of his jokes were interpreted allegorically in dervish circles, like an early manuscript shows.

He was given all sorts of witty, humorous or farcical tales subsequently attributed ( such as from Dschuha ). In many stories he simply plays a joke character like Little-Fritz, in others a kind of Till Eulenspiegel, where there are similarities in the stories to Eulenspiegel ( see, for example, the sound of money, which appears similar in Till Eulenspiegel or in Grimm's Fairy Tales ). From Italy to India he is known in all Islamic and Christian dominated regions, and it will be many community events attributed. Nasraddin or Nostradin is claimed by most nations of the above-mentioned regions, but his ethnicity remains unknown.