Nasreddin () or Nasreddin Hodja, , , , , / ALA-LC: , / ALA-LC: , , , , is a character commonly found in the folklores of Central Asia and a hero of humorous short stories and satirical anecdotes. His adventures are celebrated in dozens of languages, starting with Turkish, and others such as Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Albanian, Persian, Arabic, Greek, Corsican, and Russian. There have been frequent claims about his historical existence, with some pointing to purported physical or archaeological evidence such as a commemorative tombstone in the city of Akşehir, Turkey. The specific date or place of Nasreddin's birth, and his historicity, remain an open question.
Nasreddin appears in thousands of stories, sometimes witty, sometimes wise, but in many of which he is presented as a (holy) fool or as the butt of a joke. A Nasreddin story usually has a subtle humour and a pedagogic nature. The International Nasreddin Hodja festival is celebrated between 5 and 10 July every year in Akşehir.
In 2022, "The tradition of telling comic tales about Nasreddin Khoja" was added in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list after it was jointly submitted in 2020 by the governments of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan.
Origin and legacy
There are many claims about his origin. The first anecdotes about Nasreddin Hoca in Turkish-language sources are found in the سالتوق نامه Saltuḳ-nāme by Ebülhayri Rumi (d. 1480) and inلطائف Letāʾif by Lamiî Çelebi (d. 1531). Lamiî Çelebi identifies Nasreddin Hoca as a contemporary of Şeyyad Hamza (14th century). The Mufti of Sivrihisar, Hüseyin Effendi (d. 1880) writes in Mecmua-Maarif that the Hodja was born in the village of Hortu, Sivrihisar in 1208 and died in 1284 in Akşehir, the town he had immigrated to. Some authors claim he was a contemporary of Timurleng.
Many other sources as well give the birthplace of Nasreddin as Hortu Village in Sivrihisar, Eskişehir Province, present-day Turkey, in the 13th century, after which he settled in Akşehir, and later in Konya under the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum, where he died in 1275/6 or 1285/6 CE. It is claimed that the tomb of Nasreddin is in Akşehir, and the International Nasreddin Hodja Festival is held annually in Akşehir, 5–10 July.
There are also opposing views to the effect that Nasreddin's origin lies in Central Asia. For instance, the Russian writer Leonidas Soloviof has claimed Hodja to be of Bukharan origin.
There is even a claim that he is a figure of fiction altogether, and that he is a Turkish conversion into Hodja (Khodja) from the famous Arabian joke-teller Juha (Djoha/Djuha). Juha is mentioned in al-Jahiz's book "Concerning mules" (). According to al-Dhahabi's book "The balance of moderation (advisable) in the criticism of men" (), his full name was Abu al-Ghusn Dujayn al-Fizari, he lived under the Umayyad Caliphate in Kufa, and his mother was said to be a servant to Anas ibn Malik. He was one of the tabi'un in Sunni tradition.الذهبي ميزان الاعتدال (المجلد 1)، ص 326
The oldest manuscript of Nasreddin dates to 1571. Some of the stories, however, are in the Philogelos and Aesop's fables.Der Hodscha Nasreddin, Albert Wesselski, sidenote to story 201
Today, Nasreddin stories are told in many countries - especially those of the Muslim world - and have been translated into many languages. Certain regions independently developed a 'wise fool' character similar to Nasreddin, and the stories have become part of a larger whole. 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.Ohebsion, Rodney (2004) A Collection of Wisdom, Immediex Publishing, . Nasreddin often appears as a whimsical character in an extensive folk tradition of vignettes in Persianate culture.
Azerbaijani scholars and claimed that the folklore hero Molla Nasraddin was the minister of the Ilkhanate period, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi. The reasons for this are that they lived in the same period, Tusi included anecdotes in one of his works, ridiculed astrologers as a scientist, Molla Nasraddin went to Emir Timur as a representative of the country, the parallel between Nasir al-Din al-Tusi being sent to Hulagu Khan by the ruler of Alamut and both having the same name—Hasan. However, Mammadhuseyn Tahmasib stated that this information is not conclusive evidence.
Name
Many peoples of the Near, Middle East, South Asia and Central Asia claim Nasreddin as their own (e.g., Turks,The outrageous Wisdom of Nasruddin, Mullah Nasruddin . Retrieved 19 February 2007.Sysindia.com , Mulla Nasreddin Stories. Retrieved 20 February 2007.Silk-road.com , Nasreddin Hoca Afghans, Iranians, and Uzbeks). His name is spelt in a wide variety of ways: Nastradin, Nasrudeen, Nasrudin, Nasruddin, Nasriddin, Nasr ud-Din, Nasredin, Nasiruddin, Naseeruddin, Nasr Eddin, Nastradhin, Nasreddine, Nastratin, Nusrettin, Nasrettin, Nostradin, Nastradin (lit.: Victory of the Deen) and Nazaruddin. It is sometimes preceded or followed by a title or honorific used in the corresponding cultures: "Hoxha", "Khwaje", "Koja", "Hodja", "Hoja", "Hojja", "Hodscha", "Hodža", "Hoca", "Hocca","Hooka", "Hogea", "Mullah", "Mulla", "Mula", "Molla", "Efendi", "Afandi", "Ependi" ( 'afandī), "Hajji". In several cultures he is named by the title alone.
In Arabic-speaking countries this character is known as "Juha", "Jiha", "Djoha", "Djuha", "Dschuha", "Chotzas", "Goha" ( juḥā). Juha was originally a separate folk character found in Arabic literature as early as the 9th century, and was widely popular by the 11th century. Lore of the two characters became amalgamated in the 19th century when collections were translated from Arabic into Turkish and Persian.
In Sicily and Southern Italy he is known as "Giufà", derived from the Arabic character Juha. In Maltese, his name is 'Ġaħan'.
In the Swahili and Indonesian culture, many of his stories are being told under the name of "Abunuwasi" or "Abunawas", though this confuses Nasreddin with an entirely different man – the poet Abu Nuwas, known for homoerotic verse.
In China, where stories of him are well known, he is known by the various transliterations from his Uyghur name, 阿凡提 (Āfántí) and 阿方提 (Āfāngtí). The Uyghurs believe that he was from Xinjiang, while the Uzbeks believe he was from Bukhara. Shanghai Animation Film Studio produced a 13-episode Nasreddin related animation The Story of Afanti in 1979, which became one of the most influential animations in China's history. The musical Nasirdin Apandim features the legend of Nasreddin effendi ("sir, lord"), largely sourced from Uyghur folklore.
In Central Asia, he is commonly known as "Afandi" or "Afanti". The Central Asian peoples also claim his local origin, as do Uyghurs.
Afandi or Afanti originates from Turkish "Efendi" (Effendi) and this is a title still used to show respect in Turkey. The combination "Hoja Efendi" is used in Turkey very often for the Muslim scholars in modern times as well. The word "Efendi" is ultimately derived from Greek "Authentes" (αὐθέντης) into Turkish. "Nasreddin Hoja Efendi" was shortened as "Efendi" in time. Subsequently "Efendi" happened to be the proper name as "Affandi" in Central Asia for Nasreddin Hoja.
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 told as jokes or humorous anecdotes. They are told in the teahouses and caravanserais of Asia and in homes and on the radio. But it is inherent in a Nasreddin story that it may be understood at many levels. There is the joke, followed by a moral and usually the little extra which brings the consciousness of the potential mystic a little further on the way to realization.Idris Shah (1964), The Sufis, London: W. H. Allen .Ron J. Suresha (2010), The Uncommon Sense of the Immortal Nasruddin, New Milford, Conn.: Bear Bones Books .
Examples The Sermon Once Nasreddin was invited to deliver a sermon. When he had gone up into the 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 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 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 Let the half who know what I am going to say tell it to the half who don't, and left.Many written versions of this tale exist, for example in
Whom do you believe?
A neighbour came to the gate of Hodja Nasreddin's yard. The Hodja went to meet him outside. "Would you mind, Hodja," the neighbour asked, "can you lend me your donkey today? I have some goods to transport to the next town." The Hodja didn't feel inclined to lend out the animal to that particular man, but, not wishing to appear rude by simply saying "no", he answered: "I'm sorry, but I've already lent him to somebody else." All of a sudden the donkey let out a loud bray from behind the wall of the yard. "But Hodja," the neighbour exclaimed. "I can hear it behind that wall!" "Whom do you believe," the Hodja replied indignantly, "the donkey or your Hodja?"Widely retold, for instance in
Taste the same Some children saw Nasreddin coming from the vineyard with two baskets full of grapes loaded on his donkey. They gathered around him and asked him to give them a taste. Nasreddin picked up a bunch of grapes and gave each child a grape. "You have so much, but you gave us so little," the children whined. "There is no difference whether you have a basketful or a small piece. They all taste the same," Nasreddin answered, and continued on his way.A similar story is presented in
Nasreddin's ring Mullah had lost his ring in the living room. He searched for it for a while, but since he could not find it, he went out into the yard and began to look there. His wife, who saw what he was doing, asked: "Mullah, you lost your ring in the room, why are you looking for it in the yard?" Mullah stroked his beard and said: "The room is too dark and I can't see very well. I came out to the courtyard to look for my ring because there is much more light out here".
In the literature and folk tradition of Central Asia and the Caucasus
Uzbeks consider Nasreddin an Uzbek who was born and lived in Bukhara, and stories about him are called latifa or afandi. There are at least two collections of Uzbek stories related to Nasriddin Afandi: "Afandining qirq bir passhasi" – (Forty-one flies of Afandi) – Zohir A'lam, Tashkent "Afandining besh xotini" – (Five wives of Afandi)