We are hosting Karagöz and Hacivat at In İstanbul, on account of remembering and reminding the artfully depictions of a show based on misunderstandings and a crossing humour.
For how long have we not heard the voices of Karagöz and Hacivat? How many Ramadans have passed without seeing the shadow play screen? Karagöz show was the unsurpassed pleasures of the children of forty or fifty years ago from now. It was always available in sponsals; it was an indispensable entertainment for the coffeehouses in some districts in Ramadan nights, and after the Ramadan prayers, fathers and grandfathers were taking the children to the world of images. The children were fascinated by the melodies coming from the tambourine, the violin and the lute behind the screen, have also companied to the music. Albeit, today there are other shows that supersede the Karagöz show, there are still hayalîs (shadow play puppeteer masters); a stubborn Karagöz and for sure the gentleman Hacivat.
And here is the show… First the shadow play screen is set and the lights are arranged. A ‘showpiece’ which is not closely related with the show such as flower pots, flowers, a cat are placed on the screen, and the audience prepares themselves to the ambiance of the show. The ‘showpiece’ leaves the screen with the company of a reed pipe named ‘nareke’, and from the left, Hacivat presents himself descanting a ‘semai’ (a kind of folk poetry). And after this, he descants his screen ode which starts with “Hay, Hâk!” (O God!) addressing and salutes the audience. And then he calls for Karagöz by saying “Yar bana bir eğlence medet!” (Oh my beloved, grant me a merriment). It is Karagöz, he won’t come on the screen at once, surely he refuses to do so. But Hacivat is determined, he insists and Karagöz flounces into the screen and begins to scuffle with Hacivat. While this racket goes on, Hacivat escapes. Karagöz is left alone on the screen and starts whining about Hacivat. Hacivat returns to the screen and the dialogue episode called ‘Muhavere’ begins…
In the “Muhavere” episode between Karagöz and Hacivat, Hacivat who is cultivated, wise and educated tries to explain some things to Karagöz by speaking rationally. But, Karagöz, due to his ignorance, misunderstands every word and bites Hacivat’s nose off. “Muhavere”, the funniest episode of the Karagöz show, ends with a message referring to the main episode of the show. And then the lights go dim and the setting changes for the following episode “Fasıl” (main part). In Fasıl episode, some certain shows like Karagöz Kayıkçı (Karagöz the Boatman), Cazular (The Hags), Salıncak (The Swing), Sakallı Gelin (Ters Evlenme) (Bearded Bride (Wayward Wedding)), Hamam (Hammam), Abdal Bekçi (The Dervish Warden), Kanlı Kavak (The Bloody Poplar), Kanlı Nigar (The Bloody Nigar), Yalova Sefası (Yalova Pleasure), Yazıcı (The Scribe), Sünnet (The Circumcision) are performed. In these shows, there are special participating characters with their different clothes and accents such as Çelebi (The Gentleman), Yahudi (The Jew), Zenne, Tuzsuz Deli Bekir, Matiz (The Drunkard), Acem (The Persian), Arap (The Arabian), Ak Arap (The White Arabian), Arnavut (The Albanian), Beberuhi, Ermeni (The Armenian), Rum (The Greek), Kürt (The Kurd), Laz (The man from the Black Sea), Kastamonulu (The man from Kastamonu), Tiryaki (The Opium Addict), Kocakarı (The Crone). In this way, the show becomes colourful, the screen jollifies, and the show proceeds to the final episode with the company of laughter.
“You’ve pulled down the screen, plied it in ruins!” Although the final episode goes calms for a minute or two, there becomes another racket between Karagöz and Hacivat. Karagöz he is, he won’t stop. He starts beating Hacivat… Hacivat leaves the screen by saying:
“You’ve pulled down the screen, plied it in ruins! Let me go and tell the owner in two ticks.”
Karagöz salutes the audience and leaves the screen from the right corner raising slowly, by saying:
“Please forgive us howsoever had we have slip of the tongue.”
The Karagöz Legend: Not only on the shadow play screen… The origin of the shadow play is known as the Far East. It is argued that Turks had learnt this art due to their close relationship with China, and they had developed it according to their own culture. Although there are various thoughts about the shadow play technique taking name of Karagöz in Anatolia, the one from Bursa is the most wide-spread.
Reputedly, Orhan Gazi, one of the sultans of the Ottomans, when he was building the Ulucami mosque, he had the blacksmith Kambur Bali Çelebi (Karagöz) and the stonemason Halil Hacı İvaz (Hacivat) as workers. The humorous dialogues between these two jocose and witty characters attract the attention of other workers and causes the work to drag and the construction goes slow. When Orhan Gazi learns about the situation, he gets nervous and gets them to be executed. But later, he feels penitence. Şeyh Küşteri, known as the first Karagözcü (shadow play puppeteer) takes off his turban, and stretches it as a screen and he takes of his sandals and plays them as Karagöz and Hacivat to Orhan Gazi, by lighting a candela.
Although Karagöz and Hacivat were executed, the dialogues and the jokes between them have been turned into a show that is transferred between generations. With its depictions, the idiolects of the characters, the clothes and the music, the shadow play which became a tradition reflecting the main aspects of Anatolian culture, embraces many cultural and social values. The characters of the shadow play, which collects the aspects of the traditional drama, music, literature and arts, are carved not only onto the shadow play screen but also into our minds.
“Old Texts” and “New Order” The texts of Karagöz are classified as ‘Kar-i Kadim’ (Old Texts) and ‘Nev-i İcad’ (New Order, New Texts). The old Karagöz plays are called as Kar-i Kadim. The number of Kar-i Kadim plays is equal to the nights of Ramadan excluding the Kadir Gecesi (The Night of Power, the revelation of the Quran). The plays on the first and the last nights are fixed. On the first night Mandıra (the Dairy Farm), and on the last night Meyhane (the Drinking House) plays are performed. The purpose of performing Meyhane play on the last night of the Ramadan is giving the good news of the opening of the drinking houses, because the next day is bayram (religious feast). The new Karagöz plays are called Nev-i İcad. These plays are the ones except the twenty eight plays performed on Ramadan.
Formerly the Karagöz performer was called ‘Hayalî’, ‘Hayâlbâz’ or ‘Şebbâz’. Nowadays, although they are called ‘The Master’, there are still the ones using the name of ‘Hayalî’. The only actor of the Karagöz show is Hayalî. He embroiders the depictions, he plays them and he vocalizes the characters.
Masters of Karagöz In the Karagöz show, most tragicomic scenes are performed via the existence of various characters. These characters are the inhabitants of the neighbourhood. They come to the screen in an order in the show. Some of these characters are the ones who came to Istanbul from various places in Anatolia to earn money and they have certain jobs. Generally, they carry the regional clothing and they speak in their own accents, and these aspects create the ‘element of humour’.
Karagöz As it is understood from his name, Karagöz is the most important character of the plays and he is the central figure. He is extrovert, expressing his ideas and emotions unreservedly, not trying to be someone he is not, an uneducated ‘homme du peuple’. He is the representative of the people’s commonsense in the plays. The people allow his little flaws like trying to cheat and trick others with his artless sensations. He gets into trouble since he says what he thinks immediately. He is always deficient in means because he does not have a permanent job and education. In different plays, he is seen in various clothes and in different type of characters. Like Female Karagöz, Karagöz the Donkey, Nude Karagöz, Karagöz the Warden, Karagöz the Bride, Karagöz the Circumcised Boy and Karagöz the Cameraman... Hacivat Hacivat is the completely opposite character of Karagöz. He is educated. Reputedly, he was educated at the Enderun, the palace college. He speaks the madrasah language very kindly and gently. He has information on almost everything, he knows almost about everything like music, literature, arts, economics, math, grammar, rhetoric and manners and he tries to teach these to Karagöz on all occasions. He is obsequious, hypocritical and he can behave politically on every issue. But at the same time he is a mediator and conflict solver, he is moderate and earnest. Although he is a successful businessman, he prefers to make Karagöz work for himself. In some plays, he is seen in different clothes and character types like Karagöz. Çelebi (The Gentleman) He is one of the indispensible, classic characters of the Karagöz plays. In some plays, Çelebi is a man educated in abroad, in some others a rich spendthrift, and in others a stiff playboy. He is well educated and a man of pleasure. In one of his hands, there is always a bunch of flowers, a staff, an umbrella or a package. Zenne Zenne, is the generic name for the women in Karagöz shows. Zennes can be from different ages and social classes. They are generally belligerent, cunning and minding the material things. Tuzsuz Deli Bekir His dagger in one of his hands, in the other his wine chalice, he is a swashbuckler who comes to the screen with a loud yelling. He is the most feared one. He is also called Zeybek, Sarhoş (The Boozer) and Külhanbeyi (The Rowdy) Matiz (The Drunkard) Although he is said to be the same person as Tuzsuz Deli Bekir, in most plays, Matiz is a different drunkard character.
Baba Himmet (Himmet the Great) He is known as the most hefty character of the shadow play. He is called Himmet the Great from Kastamonu or the Himmet the Chopper. He chops wood with his axe on his back. He has a rude way of speaking and he speaks in the Kastamonu accent. Beberuhi He is short and thick-headed. He always mocks Karagöz and tries to infuriate him. He is known as ‘Six Fathoms’ in Karagöz plays. Yahudi (The Jew) Yahudi is the most famous character used for accent mockery. He is cunning, he loves to fool Karagöz. He shows up in ragman roles generally. Tiryaki (The Opium Addict) He is known with his addiction to opium. He uses delighting stuff like tobacco and narghile. His dozing off everywhere is his most striking feature. Except for these main characters we have briefed above, there are lots of foreigners, non-Muslim, dwarf, hunchback, stutterer, handicapped characters and crackpoct depictions who have immunity. Besides, Çengi, Dansöz (the belly dancer) and the characters of today’s popular persons show up on the screen at the end of the shows.
In İstanbul Issue 6 An article by: Eda Özer