The telling tradition of Nasreddin Hodja/MollaNesreddin/Molla Ependi/Apendi/Afendi Kozhanasyr/ Nasriddin Afandi anecdotes
The Telling Tradition of Nasreddin Hodja/Molla Nesreddin/Molla Ependi/Apendi/Afendi Kozhanasyr/Nasriddin Afandi Anecdotes is an intangible cultural heritage element on social practices and festivals related to the tradition of telling anecdotes. It is transmitted orally among generations and is shaped around Nasreddin who became a symbol of humor and wisdom. Although there are slight differences about images, names and anecdotes of Nasreddin in communities, the main features of the element have been shared as a common heritage in the Submitting States. Communities acknowledge that he was a wise person who analyzed the society well and gathered shared intelligence, thought and life experience of people in his own personality. The anecdotes of him are short and intensive narrations transmitted through oral tradition and written sources, attributed to Nasreddin whose reputation spread to the wide geographical area. Some of the anecdotes have become classic, and the epigrams of these anecdotes have turned into idioms and proverbs in time. His anecdotes are intensely practiced in the printed and visual media as well as in the oral tradition and especially in the programs prepared for children. In the anecdotes of Nasreddin, the components of wisdom, repartee, witticism, common sense, absurdity and surprise merged firm and these are distinguishing features of the anecdotes. Nasreddin breaks very often accepted norms and concepts, while finding an extraordinary way out of the situation, where he is always the winner, by the power of word. Anecdotes call for humor, satire, sarcasm, and cynicism, to reveal the negative traits of people. However, the anecdotes is a genre with an instructive, entertaining function, a profound meaning that ends with moral, intellectual, and logical results. His anecdotes include relations of different people and their behaviors in various situations. Through his anecdotes, all kinds of unpleasant behaviors are being criticized and judged through humor. Communities in the Submitting States enrich conversations with his anecdotes and support speeches with his witticism. His anecdotes are narrated easily by everyone to strengthen any thought by giving examples in the dailylife, to convince other people or to explain a situation. In some Submitting States, although there is no specific narrator or teller of these anecdotes, the artists of traditional theatre use the element to enrich their narratives and to entertain people. On the other hand, there are specific tellers of the anecdotes in some Submitting States (Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan). The anecdote tellers select words and perform with great care. In this sense, it mostly depends on knowledge, understanding, thinking, performance culture and skill of the performer to tell anecdotes in meaningful, impressive and funny way. It is important for performer to know various life situations, possess an impressive culture of speech, and make use effectively and skillfully his face, eye, hand, and body movements. In Submitting States, local administrations, municipalities, universities and NGOs which play significant roles in transmission of the element, organize various activities and festivals periodically for commemoration of Nasreddin at local, national and international levels. Public participation in these festivals and activities is considerably high.
#oral tradition
#telling
#proverbs
#humour
#wisdom
#performances
Azerbaijan,Kyrgyzstan,Kazakhstan,Tajikistan,Turkmenistan,Turkey,Uzbekistan
2022