NASREDDIN HODJA CARICATURES IN THE CONTEXT OF THE INVENTION OF TRADITION

Tradition is a social acceptance based on several repetitions, symbols, and practices that a nation has formed within the framework of historical, social accumulations and cultural elements from the moment it first appeared on the stage of history. In this aspect, it surrounds the community and influences all elements of the community. Social admissions are determined by the binding of tradition. Tradition blends the past and present of society and extends to the future through generation to generation transmission. For this reason, tradition is the transponder of culture. Technical and technological developments, over time, also affect tradition. Tradition changes, changes and adapts to the present within the framework of needs and conditions of the age. While change occurs through the integration of tradition with new elements, transformation and adaptation take place in the form of new acceptance, practices and products through inspiration from the elements of the past. Apart from these processes, tradition is re-invented and keeps up with the times. “The invented tradition” or “the invention of tradition” creates a new traditional interpretation based on the bonds of the past and, in places, a completely new tradition. In this respect, the invented tradition plays an important role in sustaining and transferring cultural elements into the future in the globalized world. Nasreddin Hodja is one of the most important building blocks of Turkish culture with his ready-to-answer, intelligence, attitude towards events and world view. From the past to the present, the jokes that are narrated around the name of Nasreddin Hodja respond to the needs of Turkish society for humor and fun, but they are also didactic narratives. For this reason, the name “Nasreddin Hodja” has managed to find its place in all works of art by transcending the jokes that live in the collective memory. Nasreddin Hodja type, who is successful in living on his own in the tradition, has found a place in the art of caricature as well as being frequently used in literary products such as theatre, cinema, short stories and novels and has been the subject of many caricatures. With the help of his humorous direction and his encirclement of society, Hodja became an important type in cartoons. A new tradition has been “invented” within the framework of Nasreddin Hodja, to convey his jokes to the modern world through the use of anachronistic elements and transformations, to reassess his jokes with the modern sense of humor. As a result of this invented tradition, new jokes around Hodja's name have emerged. Because every reference to Nasreddin Hodja jokes in cartoons, adding, removing, converting, creates a new, previously untold joke. In this study, the caricatures of Nasreddin Hodja published in different humor magazines will be examined in the context of “the invention of tradition”. It will be examined how the jokes attributed to Nasreddin Hoca were used, what anachronistic and literary transformations were made, how the re-creation was performed based on the jokes, and how the fiction was distorted and taken into new forms. Based on the findings, the characteristics of the new tradition invented around Nasreddin Hodja will be discussed.

Keywords

Nasreddin Hodja, the invention of tradition, anachronism, caricature, transformation, re-creation