Nasreddin
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Nasreddin (also commonly spelled Nasrudin, Nasredin, Nasruddin, Nasr Eddin, Nastradhin, Nasreddine, Nastratin, Nusrettin) was a lower Muslim cleric who lived among the Middle-eastern people in the Middle Ages. His name is often preceded or followed by the title of a religious scholar, theological teacher, or man of wisdom: "Khwaje", "Hodja", "Hoca", "Hogea", "Hodza", "Chotzas", "Mullah", "Mulla", "Molla", "Maulana".
Nasreddin was a populist philosopher and wise man, remembered for his funny stories and anecdotes. He often appears as a whimsical character of a large Persian, Arabic and Turkish folk tradition of vignettes, not entirely different from zen koans.
Where and when he was born and where and when he died are not known with certainty, but he is usually assumed to have lived in Anatolia or Persia between the 11th and the 14th century. He is well known among various Middle-eastern people. Possibly due to the fact that his stories are shared among pilgrims to Mecca, his humor is familiar, under different names, to people from China (or Central Asia) to Morocco. There is a modern tomb dedicated to him in the city of Akşehir in Turkey. He is also the symbol of Akşehir, which hosts several statues of Nasreddin Hoca and an international festival dedicated to him. The city of Bukhara in Uzbekistan also has a statue of him riding his donkey backwards and grasping its tail (as he is traditionally depicted), and journals bear his name in Baku and Tabriz.
The anectodes attributed to him reveal a satirical personality with a biting tongue that he was not afraid to use even against the most tyrannical sultans of his time. He seems to be the symbol of both the Central Asian style satirical comedy and the rebellious feelings of people against the dynasties that once ruled this geography. A recent study on historical written sources by Pertev Naili Boratav revealed that there also exist a large collection of stories attributed to Nasreddin, which dominantly possess political incorrectness or challenge the order and values of the society.
Some mystic traditions use jokes, stories and poetry to express certain ideas, allowing the bypassing of the normal discriminative thought patterns. The rationality that confines and objectifies the thinking process is the opposite to the intuitive, gestalt mentality that the mystic is attempting to engage, enter and retain.
By developing a series of impacts that reinforce certain key ideas, the rational mind is occupied with a surface meaning whilst other concepts are introduced. Thus paradox, unexpectedness, and alternatives to convention are all expressed. These are among the reasons why people laugh at the tales of Hodja Nasrudin. Although there are several books that attempt to put together the many jokes attributed to him, most people encounter his jokes in the context of their daily lives. Often, a Nasreddin joke is told by one party when the other party makes the kind of mistake that Nasreddin had parodied.
Some tales of Nasreddin are also adapted and used as teaching stories by followers of Sufism. This is such a common practice that, given the nature of many of Nasreddin's jokes, multiple interpretations (or several 'layers' of meaning) are to be expected.
Mark Twain's Library of Humor includes a story attributed to Nasreddin Hoja.
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Examples
Two sides of a river
Nasrudin sat on a river bank
when someone shouted to him
from the opposite side:
- "Hey! how do I get across?"
- "You are across!" Nasrudin shouted back.
Who do you trust
A neighbour comes to the gate of Nasreddin Hoja's yard. The Hoja goes out to meet him outside. "Would you mind, Hoja," the neighbour asks, "to lend me your donkey today? I have some goods to transport to the next town." The Hoja doesn't feel inclined to lend out the animal to that particular man, however; so, not to seem rude, he answers: "I'm sorry, but I've already lent him to somebody else." Suddenly the donkey can be heard braying loudly behind the wall of the yard. "You lied to me, Hoja!" the neighbour exclaims. "There it is behind that wall!" "What do you mean?" the Hoja replies indignantly. "Whom would you rather believe, a donkey or your Hoja??"
Camel Ride
One day, the venerable Mullah Nasrudin came galloping on camel-back through a small village. His camel carried him at a rush into and out of the village without stop, while the villagers all stared in curiosity at his passing. The very next day, the Mullah and his camel came rushing back through the village, all the time his eyes furiously searching on all sides of him. Again, the villagers watched open mouthed wondering just what Nasrudin was up to. On the third day, the Mullah Nasrudin and his camel once again came galloping through the village, but this time a small boy ran out in front, causing him to screech to a halt.:
- The small boy asked, "Great Mullah, what are you looking for?!"
- The Mullah Nasrudin responded, "For my camel. Have you seen him?"