The Epic of Köroğlu is a natural epic in which the story of the legendary hero who appears in Turkic, Altai, Anatolian, and Azerbaijani legends and folk tales is recounted.
Content of the epic
Its protagonist is Köroğlu, who also gives the epic its name. He is also pronounced Koroğlu or Goroğlu. Köroğlu is one of the shared motifs of the entire Turkic world. His mother, Cembil Hatun, becomes pregnant from light and is killed by being buried alive. Köroğlu is born in the grave and grows up nursing on his dead mother. Ahmad Yasawi's digging a grave underground and enduring hardship by living there evokes this understanding. Different versions are told, adapted in various countries. The concept of blindness includes not only not seeing but also not being seen. He journeys to the other world after his beloved. Heroes become invisible in order to protect themselves. Hızır (Khidr) is at times depicted as blind, because he has no need of eyes. Blindness symbolizes wisdom. Köroğlu's name is also Ali. Just as the word "kor" means light, it also carries meanings such as the underworld, the mountain, and the earth. When all of these are considered together, the name Köroğlu expresses three different meanings.
The son of a person whose eyes are blind (who has no need of eyes).
The son of the earth, of the mountain (metaphorically of the grave, that is, of death).
The son of the "kor," that is, of fire (of sacred power, the divine power that comes from the sky).
Köroğlu repeatedly likens himself to a wolf. The poems of the folk minstrel named Köroğlu, who lived in Anatolia in the 16th century and identified himself with this epic hero by taking his name, have also become integrated with him. Thus Köroğlu has also become integrated with the talent of minstrelsy.
The Epic of Köroğlu deals with the struggles of its hero Ruşen Ali and his father Koca (Groom) Yusuf against the Bey of Bolu. Its hero is the folk minstrel Köroğlu (Ruşen Ali), who lived in the 16th century. This epic was brought into literature in Yaşar Kemal's work Üç Anadolu Efsanesi (Three Anatolian Legends).
Etymology
It is a compound of the words "Kor" ("fire, the underworld") (or "Kör," "one who does not see") and "Oğul" (son).
Related works
Pertev Naili Boratav (1984, original work 1931), Köroğlu Destanı, Adam Yayıncılık.
Sources
- Turkish Wikipedia: tr.wikipedia.org
- English Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org