Nasreddin

For other uses, see Nasreddin (disambiguation).

A depiction of Nasreddin

Nasreddin (Persian ملا نصرالدین, Arabic: جحا transl.: Joĥa ,نصرالدين meaning "Victory of the Faith", Turkish Nasreddin Hoca, Bosnian Nasrudin hodža) was a satirical sufi figure who lived during the Middle Ages (around 13th century), somewhere in Greater Khorasan, under the Seljuq rule. Many nations of the Near and Middle East claim the Nasreddin as their own (Afghans, Iranians, Turks, and Uzbeks). His name is spelled differently in various cultures and is often preceded or followed by titles "Hodja", "Mullah", or "Effendi" (see section "Name variants"). Nasreddin was a populist philosopher and wise man, remembered for his funny stories and anecdotes. In China he is known as Afanti, a folk hero of the Uyghurs (a Turkic people)

Much of Nasreddin's actions can be described as illogical yet logical, rational yet irrational, bizarre yet normal, foolish, yet sharp, and simple yet profound. What adds even further to his uniqueness is the way he gets across his messages in unconventional yet very effective methods in a profound simplicity.

Nasreddin's origin & legacy

File:Khodja Nasritdin.jpg

The ever-smiling Hodja riding on his bronze donkey in Bukhara.

Backwards, no less...

Where and when he was born, and where and when he died, are not known with certainty, but he is claimed to have lived in Anatolia. According to this claim, Nasreddin was born in the Hortu Village in Sivrihisar, Eskişehir in 13^th century, then settled in Akşehir, Konya, and there he died. However, we do not have any historical text or scholar research supporting this.

But whatever the origins of Nasreddin are, pinpointing them has become a trivial point. As generations went by, new stories were added, others were modified, and the character and his tales spread to broader regions. The types of themes and wisdom in his tales have become legendary products of a variety of nations' observations and imaginations. And although most of them depict Nasreddin in an early small village setting, the tales deal with concepts that have relevance to today's universe and people.

Today, Nasreddin stories are told in a wide variety of regions, and have been translated into many languages, and some regions independently developed a character similar to Nasreddin, and the stories have become assimilated together. In many regions, Nasreddin is a major part of the culture, and is quoted or alluded to frequently in daily life. Since there are thousands of different Nasreddin stories, one can be found to fit almost any occasion. Nasreddin often appears as a whimsical character of a large Albanian, Arab, Azeri, Bengali, Bosnian, Hindi, Pashto, Persian, Serbian, Turkish and Urdu folk tradition of vignettes, not entirely different from zen koans. He is also very popular in Greece for his wisdom and his judgment; he is also known in Bulgaria, although in a different role, see below.

Nasreddin's tales

The Nasreddin stories are known throughout the Middle East and have touched cultures around the world. Superficially, most of the Nasreddin stories may be used as jokes. They are told and retold endlessly in the teahouses and caravanserais, in the homes and on the radio waves, of Asia. But it is inherent in the Nasreddin story that it may be understood at any of many depths. There is the joke, the moral – and the little extra which brings the consciousness of the potential mystic a little further on the way to realization.

The anecdotes attributed to him reveal a satirical personality with a biting tongue that he was not afraid to use even against the most tyrannical rulers of his time. He is the symbol of Middle-Eastern style satirical comedy and the rebellious feelings of people against the dynasties that once ruled this geography.

Some mystic traditions use jokes, stories and poetry to express certain ideas, allowing the bypassing of the normal discriminative thought patterns. The rationality that confines and objectifies the thinking process is the opposite to the intuitive, gestalt mentality that the mystic is attempting to engage, enter and retain.

By developing a series of impacts that reinforce certain key ideas, the rational mind is occupied with a surface meaning whilst other concepts are introduced. Thus paradox, unexpectedness, and alternatives to convention are all expressed. Although there are several books that attempt to put together the many jokes attributed to him, most people encounter his jokes in the context of their daily lives. Often, a Nasreddin joke is told by one party when the other party makes the kind of mistake that Nasreddin had parodied.

Some tales of Nasreddin are also adapted and used as teaching stories by followers of Sufism. This is such a common practice that, given the nature of many of Nasreddin's jokes, multiple interpretations (or several 'layers' of meaning) are to be expected. Idries Shah, a well-known Sufi and writer, published a number of collections of Nasreddin stories (see list below), and suggested that the stories' various layers of meaning have a teaching-effect.

In some Bulgarian folklore tales originated during the Ottoman rule, the name appears as an antagonist to a local wise man, named Hitar Petar (Хитър Петър, meaning "cunning Peter"). In Sicily the same tales involve a man named Giufà.

While Nasreddin is mostly known as a character from anecdotes, later whole novels and stories have been written and an animated feature film was almost made.

The oldest manuscript of Nasreddin was found in 1571.

In Europe Nasreddin can be compared with the German Till Eulenspiegel.

The Russian composer Shostakovich celebrates Nasreddin, among other figures, in the second movement (Yumor, 'Humor') of his Symphony No. 13. The text, by Yevgeny Yevtushenko, portrays humor as a weapon against dictatorship and tyranny. Shostakovich's music shares many of the 'foolish yet profound' qualities of Nasreddin's sayings listed above.

Examples

A large collection of Nasredin tales are stored in Wikibooks.

Delivering a Khutba

Once, Nasreddin was invited to deliver a khutba. When he got on the minbar (pulpit), he asked "Do you know what I am going to say?" The audience replied "NO", so he announced "I have no desire to speak to people who don't even know what I will be talking about" and he left.

The people felt embarrassed and called him back again the next day. This time when he asked the same question, the people replied "YES". So Nasreddin said, "Well, since you already know what I am going to say, I won't waste any more of your time" and he left.

Now the people were really perplexed. They decided to try one more time and once again invited the Mullah to speak the following week. Once again he asked the same question - "Do you know what I am going to say?" Now the people were prepared and so half of them answered "YES" while the other half replied "NO". So Nasreddin said "The half who know what I am going to say, tell it to the other half" and he left!

Two sides of a river

Nasreddin sat on a river bank when someone shouted to him from the opposite side:

- "Hey! how do I get across?"

- "You are across!" Nasreddin shouted back.

Whom do you trust

A neighbour comes to the gate of Nasreddin Hoja's yard. The Hoja goes out to meet him outside.

"Would you mind, Hoja," the neighbour asks, "lending me your donkey today? I have some goods to transport to the next town."

The Hoja doesn't feel inclined to lend out the animal to that particular man, however; so, not to seem rude, he answers:

"I'm sorry, but I've already lent him to somebody else."

Suddenly the donkey can be heard braying loudly behind the wall of the yard.

"You lied to me, Hoja!" the neighbour exclaims. "There it is behind that wall!"

"What do you mean?" the Hoja replies indignantly. "Whom would you rather believe, a donkey or your Hoja?"

UNESCO

The stories of Nasreddin Hodja are in many languages. They are popular all over the world. In honor of Nasreddin Hodja, UNESCO (http://portal.unesco.org/) decided to call the year 1996-1997 International Nasreddin Hodja Year.

Collections

• 600 Mulla Nasreddin Tales, collected by Mohammad Ramazani (Popular Persian Text Series: 1) (in Persian).
• The Exploits of the Incomparable Mulla Nasrudin, by Idries Shah
• The Subtleties of the Inimitable Mulla Nasrudin, by Idries Shah
• The Pleasantries of the Incredible Mullah Nasrudin, by Idries Shah
• The Wisdom of Mulla Nasruddin, by Shahrukh Husain

Name variants

Nasreddin's name is also commonly spelled Nasrudin, Nasr ud-Din, Nasredin, Naseeruddin, Nasruddin, Nasr Eddin, Nastradhin, Nasreddine, Nastratin, Nusrettin, Nasrettin and Nastradin (lit.: Victory of the Deen).

His name is sometime preceded or followed by a title of wisdom used in the corresponding cultures: "Hoxha", "Khwaje", "Hodja", "Hojja","Hodscha", "Hodža", "Hoca", "Hogea", "Hodza".

In Arabic speaking countries this character is known as "Djoha", "Djuha", "Dschuha", "Giufà", "Chotzas", "Mullah", "Mulla", "Molla", "Maulana", "Efendi", "Ependi". For these, see Hajji, Mullah and Effendi (In several cultures his name is just the title).

In the Swahili culture many of his stories are being told under the name of "Abunuwasi".

See also

• Hershele Ostropoler
• Gebre Hanna
• Tenali Ramakrishna
• Bartholdi

External links

• Works by Nasreddin Hoca at Project Gutenberg
• http://www.nasruddin.org
• http://www.nasrettinhoca.org/ Template:Tr icon
• Another collection of jokes
• Booklist comprising larger collections of Nasreddin Stories
• "Nasreddin Hodja. Tales of the Turkish Trickster retold by D. L. Ashliman"
• Jokes of Nasreddin Hodja Template:Tr icon