“Mockery” in Buddhist and Islamic-Turkish Texts
Hasan İsiAlthough Tengrist beliefs, the religious of Turkish, Mongolian and Siberian peoples, are indirectly referenced in concepts, such as kök, t(e)ŋri, kök t(e)ŋri, yèr, sub/suv, yèr sub/suv, umay, and so on, in Turkic, this ancient religion developed primarily based on Buddhist, Manichaean and Islamic teachings. Ancient Turkic religion has two main branches. The first branch is the Turkish religion that developed along Buddhist and Manichaean lines. The second branch of the old Turkish religion is Islam, which was adopted by the Turks in 10th and 11th centuries and accepted as the state religion by the Karakhanids. The term "mockery", which means to make fun of the deficient, defective, or ridiculous aspects of someone or something, has a rich content in ancient Turkic religions. "Mockery", which is not welcome in religions such as Buddhism and Islam and is considered a religious sin, is dealt with intensively in many religious texts this respect. The present study analyzes the vocabulary of “mockery” as a religious prohibition and sin in the Old Turkic religions of Buddhism and Islam. This study first explores the concept of “mockery” and its place in Buddhist and Islamic thought systems. Second, it traces the appearance of the term in historical Turkic languages. The study identified 32 Turkish terms within the conceptual field of “mockery” (to make fun of). Based on these terms, which were listed as bullet points and analysed thematically and linguistically, it was found that the Turkish language has a rich content of vocabulary based on the conceptual field of “mockery”.
Budist ve İslamî-Türkçe Metinlerde ‘Alay (Etmek)’
Hasan İsiTürk dilinin ilk yazılı belgeleri olan Köktürkler çağında kök, t(e)ŋri, kök t(e)ŋri, yèr, sub/suv, yèr sub/suv, umay vs. gibi kavramlarla dolaylı olarak Göktanrı inancı zikredilmesine rağmen Eski Türk dinî, asıl gelişim alanını Budist, Manihaist ve İslamî öğretiler temelinde bulmuştur. Eski Türk dini, iki ana kola sahiptir. İlk kol, Budist ve Manihaist çizgide gelişim bulan Türk dinidir. Eski Türk dininin ikinci kolu ise, 10 ve 11. yüzyıllarda Türklerce kitleler halinde benimsenen ve Karahanlılar tarafından da devlet dinî olarak kabul edilen İslam dinidir. Günlük hayatta birinin, bir şeyin ya da bir durumun eksik, kusurlu, gülünç yanlarını eğlence konusu yapma anlamına gelen ‘alay (etmek)’, Eski Türk dinlerinde ‘kavramsal’ bir içeriğe sahiptir. Budizm ve İslamiyet gibi dinlerde yapılması hoş karşılanmayan, dinî bir günah olarak da yasaklanan ‘alay (etmek)’ kavramı, bünyesinde bu anlamı yansıtan birçok terim barındırmaktadır. Bu yönüyle, eldeki çalışma Eski Türk dinlerinden Budizm ve İslamiyet’te dinî bir yasak ve günah olarak ‘alay (etmek)’ anlamlı söz varlığındaki dinî terimlere dayalı değerlendirmelerden oluşmaktadır. Çalışmada öncelikle ‘alay (etmek)’ kavramına değinilip ilgili kavramın Budist ve İslamî düşünce sistemleri içerisindeki yeri gösterilerek bu kavram işareti (söz varlığı) içerisinde yer alan terimlerin tarihî Türk dillerindeki görünümü ortaya konacaktır.
The religious cultures of the ancient Turks are preserved in written documents. These documents provide information about many religious values. The information about the old Turkish religions is reflected in the vocabulary directly based on these belief systems. This old Turkish religious vocabulary was mainly developed through translated religious literature and borrowed religious cultures following the Turks’ adoption of religions such as Buddhism, Manichaeism, and Islam. Although the old Turkish religious terminology is methodically seen in borrowed quotations, it also has remarkable original examples, especially in the pattern of creating Turkish equivalents for foreign religious concepts.
For example, for the Sanskrit expression ṛṣi (“soothsayer, enlightened person”), Buddhist Uyghurs used both the term erži of Sogdian origin and the product of the literal Turkish translation, ugan. The same situation can be seen in Islamic texts. In Islamic-Turkish texts, ugan (“Allah, who is omnipotent”) is the preferred Turkish equivalent of the Arabic expression kadir. In this case, the old Turkish religious vocabulary creates a Turkish consciousness by taking foreign religious terms and responding with the related concept in Turkish when appropriate.
The present study evaluates the concept of “mockery,” which is seen as a religious sin in terms of both individual-society and individual-religion in Buddhist, and Islamic-Turkish texts. In Buddhism, “[to] mock,” which means making fun of something or someone, underestimating others, or revealing the faults and shortcomings of others with words, signs, or writing, is among the ten sins in Buddhism. In Buddhism, the ten sins are physical, language and mental killing, stealing, sexual abuse, blasphemy, flattery or random and irresponsible speech, slander and hypocrisy, greed, anger, and stupidity. In this respect, the concept of “(to) mock” in Buddhism is among the sins committed with language. The concept of “(to) mock” which is not permissible for a Buddhist who has adopted the principle of walking in a way of Buddha, is on a similar level to the religion of Islam. When we come to the religion of Islam, the concept of “(to) mock” is seen as making fun of both the religion and the person. In the Qur'an, “Woe to every person who makes it a habit to tug at people from behind and to make fun of their faces with the signs of their hands, eyebrows, and eyes!” (Humaza 1) and “O you who believe! Let one community not make fun of another community; maybe it’s better than what they mocked at, nor should women make fun of other women; maybe it’s better than what they're mocking. Donot blame each other; Do not call each other with hurtful or derogatory nicknames. How bad it is to call a person with a name that evokes sinfulness after he has believed, and how bad it is to do so and be branded as sinful after believing. Those who do not repent and turn to Allah after such acts, these are the oppressors themselves.” (Hujurat 11) both clearly prohibit mockery to protect the “fraternal bond” between believers in the Islamic thought system.
The texts examined in this study demonstrate that historical Turkic languages have a rich vocabulary surrounding the concept of “mockery”. This is the product of both borrowing foreign terms and creating literal Turkish translations of foreign religious concepts. The present study will first explore the concept of “mockery” itself both in the Buddhist and Islamic contexts andin terms of the individual-society relationship. Afterward, the terms surrounding the concept of “mockery” will be elucidated, and I will conduct a linguistic analysis into the meanings of these terms as well as their origins, formation, and the texts in which they appear.
The study identified 32 Turkish terms within the conceptual field of “ridicule (make fun of)”. These terms, listed as bullet points and analysed thematically and linguistically, show that the term “mockery”, which is forbidden as a religious sin in both Buddhist and Islamic systems of thought, has extensive products in the Old Turkish religious vocabulary.
