Karagöz and Hacivat

Image via Wikipedia

Gerlinde waited patiently for me to come up with something about Turkish children. So in addition to last week's post about Children's Day, I'm including a bonus...something that Turkish children like to watch.

Karagöz and Hacivat is a shadow puppet show which began as political satire during the Ottoman Empire. The two main characters are a couple of construction workers, who aren't very good at construction. Basically, its an old form of Beavis and Butt-head.  See the resemblance now?

Over the years, there have been a cartoon and movie versions, but the classic show is still performed regularly as part of Children's Day, Ramazan, birthdays, or other special occassions.

There was a bit of controversy on the news about these two characters recently. Another Turkey vs Greece debate where Greece claimed their version, called Karagiozis,as the original. UNESCO ruled it an Intangible Cultural Element of Turkish heritage.  Tomato, tomahto...who hasn't seen shadow puppets from China or Indonesia?

In this Youtube clip, Karagöz is pushing another character on a swing.  The guy falls off (which is what happens when you ask the village idiot) and yells at Karagöz for pushing to hard. The pun for adults here is that "Salanmak" literally means to swing around, but the idiom about it refers to wasting time, which they are both very good at.

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• All Turk and all play (nationalpost.com)

Children's Day

Last week I read a couple posts about about Peace One Day.  It inspired me to share a Turkish national holiday, Children's Day.

First celebrated in Turkey on April 23, 1920, the holiday was created as a symbolic gesture by Turkish leader, Ataturk. It marks the sovereignty of Turkey and celebrates the nation's children, who are its future.

Children run the country for the day. They sit in the offices of elected officials and even run a parliament session.  Its an international event now because other countries send children to participate. The celebration also includes children performing traditional dance in costume, which I watch with some awe. It reminds me of my days at Krakowianki, learning Polish dances and wearing the pretty flower crowns.

My boys have managed to escape that experience because of assimilation. I try hard to keep them aware of their heritage, mine and my husband's. Boys seem to care more about Panthers football though, even when its a losing team!

Gaziantep Children Performing: