Sage or Fool: A Case Study of Nasreddin Hodja’s Representation in Southeastern European Folklore: A Romanian and Bulgarian Perspective
Sage or Fool: A Case Study of Nasreddin Hodja’s Representation in Southeastern European Folklore: A Romanian and Bulgarian Perspective

Summary/Abstract: This paper presents research that takes a comparative approach to the anecdotes of Nasreddin Hodja, a popular figure in the folklore of all Turkic peoples and beyond. Believed to have travelled westward alongside the great Turkic tribes from Central Asia as early as the 6th century AD, with the rise of the Ottoman Empire in the 14th century Nasreddin Hodja was introduced throughout the Balkans and around the Mediterranean Basin, where he was adopted into the local cultures. Various features of his character become prevalent at different times and places, changing from a trickster or a fool to a sage and a figure of justice. While the latter have been depicted as the main features of Nasreddin Hodja in the Romanian space, the former antagonistic traits seem to be prevalent in some parts of the Balkans, owing to the different impact of the Ottoman influence in this region. Drawing from cultural anthropology and postcolonial studies under the framework of multiculturalism and employing tools such as adaptation and appropriation, the paper aims to showcase anecdotes from Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria to underpin subtle differences in the way Nasreddin Hodja has been portrayed north and south of the Lower Danube River.

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