Dede Korkut

Relief portrait that Dede Korkut is supposed to represent on a facade in Baku , Azerbaijan

Dede Korkut , also Dede Gorgud , is a Turkish narrative cycle that consists of twelve stories. It includes the oldest elements of the Oghusian narrative tradition and is one of the best - known Turkic-speaking traditions. The epic was named after the main character who appears in every story.

In 2018 the Dede Korkut was added to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO .

Main character and content

The figure of Dede Korkut ( Grandfather Korkut ) is strongly reminiscent of poets and magicians of the shamanistic era. As an epic singer he accompanies himself with the strings kobys , which he invented himself. Dede Korkut embodies the experience and reason of the ancestors. He is always neutral and is respected by friend and foe. He usually appears in the punch line or at the end of a story to unravel conflicts, to give advice or to negotiate with the enemy. Finally, he introduces the happy ending of a story with a plea, makes music and occasionally sings.

Some stories are still alive in Turkish folklore in a slightly different form. Two stories (Tepegöz and Deli Dumrul) show striking similarities with the Greek legends that deal with the figure of the Cyclops Polyphemus in the Odyssey and the figure of Admetus .

origin

The origin of the epic is controversial. According to the current state of research, it is believed that the stories were collected and compiled by an unknown author in the second half of the 15th century. The stories come from oral tradition and are based on the memories of the Ogusians of their Central Asian homeland.

Manuscripts and editions

A Kitab-i Dedem Korkut manuscript from the Royal Library in Dresden. This tells of how Basat killed the Təpəgöz. (basaṯ depę gözi öldürdügi toyï (= boyï) beyān ėder ḫānum hey)

Only a complete manuscript has been preserved in the Saxon State Library - Dresden State and University Library . Heinrich Friedrich von Diez made a copy of this work for the Berlin library (Ms. Diez A Fol. 61). In 1815 his book The Memories of Asia was published . The first edition of Kilisli Muallim Rıfat in 1916 ( Kitāb-i Dede Qorqūt ʾalā lisān-i ṭāʿif-i Oghūzān ) was based on this Berlin copy, as was the transcribed edition by Orhan Şaik Gökyay from 1938.

In 1950 Ettore Rossi discovered a second incomplete manuscript in the Vatican library (Cod.Turc.102), which he published as a facsimile. In 1958, Muharrem Ergin published the entire text with facsimiles of both manuscripts.

Another copy of this work was made in August 1972 for the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan Republic.

Miscellaneous

The UNESCO declared 1999 as the Dede Korkut-year . In 1999, UNESCO invited guests from Azerbaijan and other Turkish-speaking countries to Dresden to celebrate the signature. Many celebrations and events in honor of Dede Korkut also took place abroad.

There is a song by Musa Eroğlu called Dedem Korkut.

The University of Korkut Ata Üniversitesi in Osmaniye is named after Dede Korkut . Korkut Ata is the alternative name of Dede Korkut.

literature

The book of Dede Korkut. Heroic Tales from the Turkish Middle Ages Translator Hendrik Boeschoten . Series: Reclam Library. Reclam, Stuttgart 2008 ISBN 978-3-15-010666-2
Hanspeter Achmed Schmiede : Dede Korkut's book: The national epic of the Oghusen Translation from the Oghus-Turkish, Hückelhoven 1995 ISBN 3-86121-034-7
Joachim Hein: The book of Dede Korkut: a nomadic epic from early Turkish times , Zurich 1958