Kesik Baş is a mes̱nevī written in Old Anatolian Turkish. It tells the story of how Ali (the cousin, son-in-law and companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad) battled against a giant so that the severed head of a devout Muslim would regain his body and thereby would be able to rescue his dear ones.[1] The work spread in Anatolia in the Middle Ages, and it is generally attributed to Kirdeci Ali.[2] The work is part of an array of works that were originally transmitted orally being read out in gatherings or during religious celebrations.[3]
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The work was first brought to awareness of scholars by Mehmet Fuat Köprülü in 1918.[1]
The text is written in a register of spoken vernacular Turkish, marked by a limited and mostly Turkish vocabulary, except for words belonging to the world of religion, which are of Arabic origin. It also contains a large number of verbs and many instances of direct speech. It infrequently uses Persian syntactic constructs.[4]
Copies
editNoteworthy copies of the work include:
- N. Y-462 of the Türk Tarih Kurumu’s Library datable to 1732–3[5]
- A 3881 in the National Library of Ankara[5]
- A copy printed in Istanbul in 1893 and included in the book entitled Hikāye- i Mevlidü’n Nebī[5]
- No. 1344 in the Üsküp Gazi Hüsrev Bey Library dated to 1618[5]
- Ms. 06 Hk 3953/1 located in the National Library in Ankara. The manuscript is undated, but may be dated to the 17th-18th century[6]
References
edit- ^ a b Cazzato 2022, p. 237.
- ^ Cazzato 2022, p. 237, 243.
- ^ Cazzato 2022, p. 243.
- ^ Cazzato 2022, p. 248.
- ^ a b c d Cazzato 2022, p. 239.
- ^ Cazzato 2022, p. 247-248.
Sources
edit- Cazzato, Irene (2022). "The Kesik Baş: Some Remarks on a Medieval Turkish Legend". Eurasian Studies. 19 (2): 237–265. doi:10.1163/24685623-12340116.