Karagz and Hacivat

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Karagz*
Masterpieces of the Oral and
Intangible Heritage of Humanity

Hacivat (left) and Karagz (right)

Country

Turkey

Reference

180

Region**

Europe and North America

Inscription history
Inscription

2009

* Name as inscribed by UNESCO

** Region as classified by UNESCO

Karagz (meaning blackeye in Turkish) and Hacivat (shortened in time from "Hac vaz" meaning "vaz the
Pilgrim", and also sometimes written as Hacivad) are the lead characters of the traditional Turkish shadow
play, popularized during theOttoman period and then spread to most nation states that comprised the
Ottoman Empire and most prominently in Turkey and Greece.
The central theme of the plays are the contrasting interaction between the two main characters. They are
perfect foils of each other: In the Turkish version Karagz represents the illiterate but straightforward public,
whereas Hacivat belongs to the educated class, speaking Ottoman Turkish and using a poetical and literary
language. Although Karagz has definitely been intended to be the more popular character with the Turkish
peasantry, Hacivat is always the one with a level head. Though Karagz always outdoes Hacivats superior
education with his native wit, he is also very impulsive and his never-ending deluge of get-rich-quick
schemes always results in failure. In the Greek version Hacivat (Hatziavatis) is the more educated Greek who
works for the Ottoman state, and often represents the Pasha, or simply law and order, whereas Karagz
(Karagiozis) is the poor peasant Greek, nowadays with Greek-specific attributes of the raya.
Hacivat continually attempts to domesticate Karagz, but never makes progress. According to Turkish
dramaturge Krl, Hacivat emphasizes the upper body with his refined manners and aloof disposition, while
Karagz is more representational of the lower body with eating, cursing, defecation and the phallus."[1]
Other characters in the plays are different ethnic characters living under Ottoman domain such as (in the
Turkish version) Armenians, Albanians, Greeks, Frenks, Arabs and Akarabs(Arabs with white skin, usually
depicting the people of Aleppo), each with their unique, stereotypical traits. In the Greek version new
characters have been introduced or altered: The Pasha, the daughter of the Vezir (both representing the
state, the latter being very beautiful and courted unsuccessfully by Karagz (Karagiozis), Barba-Giorgos the
enormous Roumeliot shepherd who acts as an uncle to Karagz, the Morfonios (beautiful) with the enormous
nose (adapted from a previous Ottoman character), Velingekas (the policeman who represents the Ottoman

state but has his own matcho honor code) as well as inventions such as Stavrakas (the Piraeot Rebet,
matcho character) and his Rebetiko band, Nionios from Zante, the Cretan, the Jew (adapted from the
Ottoman character).
Karagz-Hacivat plays are especially associated with the Ramadan in Turkey, whereas they are associated
with the whole year in Greece. Until the rise of radio and film, it was one of the most popular forms of
entertainment in Turkey, whereas in Greece it continues to be popular and televised too.

Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Karagz plays
3 Animators
4 Adaptations
5 See also
6 Notes
7 Literature
8 External links

History[edit]
When the plays were first performed is unclear. Some believe that the first Karagz-Hacivat play was
performed for Sultan Selim I (reigned 15121520) in Egypt after his conquest of the country in 1517, but 17th
century writer Evliya elebi stated that it had been performed in the Ottoman palace as early as the reign of
Bayezid I (reigned 13891402). In the 16th century, Ottoman Grand Mufti Mehmet Ebussuud el-madi issued
a celebrated opinion allowing the performance of Karagz plays.[2]
According to one Turkish legend, the first performance of karagz occurred when a lowly commoner visited
the sultan. Rather than simply making a complaint, as most commoners did, he put on a short puppet show
to tell a tale about the sultans corrupt officials. The myth states that the sultan was delighted by the
performance so much that he appointed the puppeteer as his Grand Vizier and punished the corrupt officials
that had inspired the puppeteers tale. Another story is that the two main characters, Karagz and Hacivat
(alternatively spelled as Hacivad) were actual people. These two legendarily clownish individuals were
construction workers on a mosque in Bursa sometime in the mid-1300s. Their silly antics distracted the other
workers, slowing down the construction, and the ruler at the time ordered their execution. They were so
sorely missed that they were immortalized as the silly puppets that entertained the Ottoman Empire for
centuries.[1]
Karagz can be deceitful, lewd, and even violent.[1] Other characters in these plays are the drunkard Tuzsuz
Deli Bekir with his wine bottle, the long-necked Uzun Efe, the opium addict Kanbur Tiryaki with his pipe,
Alt Kari Beberuhi (an eccentric dwarf), the half-wit Denyo, the spendthrift Civan, and Nigr, a flirtatious
woman. There may also be dancers and djinns, and various portrayals of non-Turks: an Arab who knows no
Turkish (typically a beggar or sweet-seller), a black servant woman, aCircassian servant girl, an Albanian
security guard, a Greek (usually a doctor), an Armenian (usually a footman or money-changer), a Jew
(usually a goldsmith or scrap-dealer), a Laz (usually a boatman), or an Iranian (who recites poetry with an
Azeri accent).[1]

Karagz plays[edit]

Karagz and Hacivat play at Turkfest in Seattle (2007)

Karagz plays are structured in four parts:

Mukaddime: Introduction. Hacivat sings a semai (different at each performance), recites a prayer, and
indicates that he is looking for his friend Karagz, whom he beckons to the scene with a speech that
always ends "Yar bana bir elence" ("Oh, for some amusement"). Karagz enters from the opposite
side.

Muhavere: dialogue between Karagz and Hacivat

Fasil: main plot

Biti: Conclusion, always a short argument between Karagz and Hacivat, always ending with Hacivat
yelling at Karagz that he has "ruined" whatever matter was at hand and has "brought the curtain
down," and Karagz replying "May my transgressions be forgiven."

Sources:[1][3]

Animators[edit]

Hayal Craig Jacobrown at Turkfest in Seattle (2007)

Though Karagz theatre requires a skilled puppeteer who is capable of controlling the puppets and using
different voices, it only requires about four people for a performance that can include dozens of characters.
An apprentice, called the sandkkr, assists the puppeteerwho is called either the Karagzc, hayal
(meaning both "imaginary" and "image creator") or hayalbaz by handing him the puppets in the correct
order and setting up the before the show. A singer, or yardak, might sing a song in the prelude, but
theyardak is never responsible for voicing a character. The yardak may be accompanied by a dairezen on a
tambourine. The simple design of karagz theatre makes it easy to transport; the puppets are all flat and the
screen can be folded into a neat square, which is optimal for traveling karagz artists. The screen and table
behind it take up much less space than a stage so that a performance can be set up anywhere that is dark
enough for shadows to be cast. A single hayal impersonates every single character in the play by mimicking
sounds, talking in different dialects, chanting or singing songs of the character in focus. He is normally
assisted by an apprentice who sets up and tears down, and who hands him the puppets as needed. The
latter task might also be performed by asandkkr (from "sandk", "chest"). A yardak might sing songs, and a
dairezen play the tambourine.[1]
The puppets themselves have jointed limbs and are made from the hide of a camel or a water buffalo. The
hide is worked until it is semi-transparent; then it is colored, resulting in colorful projections. The lamp for
projection is known as a ema (literally "candle"), but is typically an oil lamp. Images are projected onto a
white muslinscreen known as the ayna ("mirror"). Projections is from the rear, so the audience does not see
the puppeteer. Puppets are typically 3540 centimeters in height.[1]

Adaptations[edit]
Karagz and Hacivat has also been adapted to other media. For example, the 2006 live action Turkish film
"Hacivat Karagz Neden ldrld" (Who Killed Shadows) directed by Ezel Akay.[4]

See also[edit]

Karagiozis, the Hellenized branch of the same shadow play tradition.

Wayang

Notes[edit]
1.

^ Jump up to:
a bc de fg

Ersin Alok, "Karagz-Hacivat: The Turkish Shadow Play", Skylife - ubat (Turkish Airlines inflight

magazine), February 1996, p. 6669.

2.

Jump up

^ Schneider, Irene (2001). "Ebussuud". In Michael Stolleis (ed.). Juristen: ein biographisches Lexikon; von der
Antike bis zum 20. Jahrhundert (in German) (2nd edition ed.). Mnchen: Beck. p.193. ISBN3-406-45957-9.
3.

Jump up
^ Emin Senyer, Parts of Turkish Shadow Theatre Karagoz, karagoz.net. Accessed online 22 October 2007.

4.

Jump up
^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0485510/

Literature[edit]
Kudret, Cevdet. 2004. Karagz. stanbul: Yap Kredi Yaynlar. 119., Sanat, 2111. ISBN 975-08-0862-2

External links[edit]

Traditional Turkish Shadow Theatre Karagoz

Brazilian Turkish Shadow Theatre Karagoz

Greek Karagoz - Karagiozis

[show]

vte

UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible

Cultural Heritage of Humanity/Europe & N. America
[show]

vte

UNESCO Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity: RepresentativeList

Categories: Theatre in TurkeyPuppetsBursaTurkish words and phrasesTurkish inventionsFictional
Turkish peopleTurkish folkloreMasterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity

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