Reading Notes: Turkish Fairytales, Part A

 

 

Birds in Turkey
Source: Tumblr

Title: Forty-Four Turkish Fairy Tales
Author: Ignacz Kunos
Link: Here

Fear - The story of a son who sought out fear. One of the forty robbers had the boy make helwa at the cemetery. A hand reached out from a grave and the boy still didn't know fear and struck it away, to the shock of the robbers to hear when he returned. Next they sent him to a building where a weeping child sat on a swing. A maiden asked for a boost to reach the child, she almost strangled him with her feet, only to disappear when she jumped off leaving a bracelet. Next, he ran in a Jew who wanted the bracelet for his own. Next he saved a ship from a Daughter of the Sea (Deniz Kyzy) by beating her away.

After, he runs into three pigeons that turn into women, two of which claim to be the ghost woman and the other the one who attacked the ship. When they speak of a man who did his tasks, he claimed responsibility and they gave him the matching bracelet to reclaim the first. They bed him to stay, but he can't rest until he finds fear.

Next three pigeons chose him as Shah. After he survived, the Sultana showed him what fear was with a shock.

The Wizard-Dervish -The Padishah had no heirs, so he accepted a deal from a dervish on the agreement that the boy be returned to the wizard on his 20th year. It occurred on his wedding and he was left on a mountain. Again, there was a three bird motif, this time white doves. One aided him, and he also married her with her help.

However, the mother who was a witch came to challenge them, and it was by the dove-woman's cleverness that she changed herself and her husband and feigned ignorance in every form. They married and celebrated for 40 days and 40 nights.

The Fish-Peri - This one echoes the stories of clothing being stolen to trap mystical women in marriage. The beauty of the fish-woman attracts the unwanted attention of the Padishah, but she helps her fisherman husband. Motifs of women and wisdom that are prevalent in these stories so far. This was a silly, funny story in the end as a baby struck the Padishah at his impossible tasks until the last demand was to get it off him.

The Crow-Peri - Similar motif except for the crow-woman remaining hidden. I've read a Filipino version of this with minor differences, so it was familiar to me.

Of Note: Wisdom and magic, and the women using their wits to help save the men.