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ARlfiS
THE term Ottoman being here used in the
political sense given to it on the establishment
in 1908 of a constitutional form of government
in Turkey, this volume will be found to comprise
Tales current not only among the Mohammedan
subjects of the Sultan, but also among the various
races professing other creeds who form so large
an element in the population of the Ottoman
Empire.
Of the first, the folk- tales of the Osmanlisasthe Turks prefer to designate themse esare notonly very numerous, but are also exceedingly varied
in character. There are, for instance, religious and
semi - religious legends connected with the Prophet
vi FOREWORD
Mohammed and his family and with the holy men
of Islam ; mythical stories concerning the magical
exploits of King David and King Solomon ; wildromances concerning Djins or Genii, Paris and
allied Supernals ; fables with a moral ; and comic
and humorous stories innumerable. The various
Tales in which Solomon figures are not, however,it would appear, reminiscences of the Israelitish
King, but rather of the Chaldean King of the
Gods, the wise Ea, one of whose namesSallimanu
was adopted by the Hebrew prince Jedidiah. llAnd in certain of these stories Solomon is actually
represented as a kind of demiurgos, the Lord of all
Creation.
The Supernals of the Osmanlis fall, however,generally speaking, under the denomination either
of Djins or Peris. For under the former term are
comprised magical beings as a class, including theTellesti-m which guard ancient buildings or buried
treasures, together with other Supernals whose
propensities resemble those of our mischievous
goblins or good fairies . Some dwellings are
believed to be frequented by Djins of the latterSee Lenormants CImldecm Magic , pp. 89, 203, a nd 5 14 ; Sayce,
Religion of the Ancient Babylom'
am, pp. 57, 58 and 2 Samuel xii .
24, 25.
FOREWORD vii
description, who are termed ErSahibiJ TheHouse - masters,
and bring all kinds of prosperity
to their hosts . The former class, on the other
hand, not only take a delight in destroying the
property of their human co - dwellers, but also
annoy them by making the most hideous nocturnal
noises . Like most Supernals, the Djins also possess
the power of assuming any shape they please, from
that of a shadowy being of colossal proportions, ora beautiful youth or maiden, down to that of a cat
or mouse, or even a pitcher or broom . Both the
good Djins, who serve Allah, and the malevolent
class, who obey Eblis, are held to have been created
before mankind ; the rebellion of Satan having
consisted, according to Moslem belief, in his
refusing to pay homage to Adam when commanded
to do so by Allah .
Djins are popularly held to be of two sexes,
and propagate their kind . Though exceedingly
long- lived, they do not appear to be credited with
immortality. For their former chiefAshmed ai, or
Asmodeus , whom King Solomon held in durance,is no more, and his son, Daniel by name, is now
the ruler of the demon world.
The tales and legends current among the
viii FOREWORD
Kurdish tribesmen are not less varied and interest
ing than those of their O smanlis neighbours .
Among them are many charming marclze n, some
of which closely resemble Greek or Teutonic
favourites ; and delightful fables or stories of
animals , which seem to be but Oriental variants
of those contained in the collections of !E sop
La Fontaine, and other fabulists . There are also
stories of buried treasure guarded by Djins, and
touching love - stories , together with innumerable
legends describing tribal exploits and feuds ,deeds of v iolence, and reprisals equally ruthless .
The mythical being termed Dev, who figures in
Tale X IV . , appears to be the Kurdish equivalent
of the British Giant, Scandinavian Troll, Indian
Bales/2am , and Greek Dhrakas, a ferocious but
simple -minded monster, who is usually out - witted
by one of those favourite heroes of folk- taletheyoungest of three brothers , or a Widow
s Son .
The Albanian Dev or s is also, like the Kurdish
Supernal of the former name, a being possessed of
extraordinary physical strength . He is a regular
s ,
is said of an unusually strong man,as we
say, He is another Samson . According to the
people of Elbassan,the Dif is an enormous giant
FOREWORD ix
who lives underground,and whose business it is
to keep the cauldrons boiling which supply the hot
medicinal springs in the neighbourhood of that
town. And among the other uncanny creatures
which figure in Albanian folk- legend are the
Koutcke
dhm and the Lioum'
a , the Lougat and
the Kamkantsoh
. The first occurs frequently in
folk- tale, andin addition to her cannibalisticpropensitiesis credited with the power of dryingup the springs and fountains at which she d rinks,while the Lioum
a is held to be extremely partial
to the flesh of young children .
In the Albanian highlands also, as in other parts
of Turkey, there is no ancient ruin to which is not
attached some legend of hidden treasure, guarded
by word and by spell, by fire- breathing winged
serpents, or under the safe keeping of a gigantic
Negro or Djin. When such a treasure is guardedby a Negro
,he , it is popularly believed, brings it
out into the sunshine to prevent the tarnishing of
the gold and gems comprised in it. Those who
have thus concealed treasure for the benefit of
their posterity have also fixed the time when it
may be brought to light, leaving to their heirs the
formula of the magic spell pronounced at the
FOREWORD
time of its burial, with a note of the year, day
and hour when it may alone be brought above
ground. These formalities duly observed, the
guardian of the treasure, be he Negro, Djin, or
Serpent, will unfailingly render up his charge.
In a country peopled by a doz en different races,it is not surprising to find that a considerable
interchange of folk- tales has taken place, these
having, in the majority of cases, been adapted to
suit the ideas and customs of the borrowers.
In addition, however, to such Supernals as the
various Christian races of the country may have
thus introduced into their own popular legends and
stories, there are many others which have remained
the peculiar property of each respectively. I have
already, in the Foreword to my translations of
Greek Wonder Tales, dealt at some length withthe mythical personages who figure in the folklore
of the modern Hellenes, the classical Fates,Nereids, Lamias, Syrens, Stoiclze
ia and others,many of whom may be looked upon as but
personific ations of the powers of nature. Of the
same character also are the Vilas and Samodioasof the Slavonic communities . The former seem
to approach most nearly to the fairies of the West,
FOREWORD xi
though, like the Nereids of the Greeks, they,together with the Samodivas, are of the full stature
of mortals Little People being unknown in
Eastern lands . In common with fairies, too, they
resent being mentioned by name, and are generally
referred to by some such euphemism as Those
without,
The Happy Ones,
The Brides of May,
etc . As a rule both Vilas and Samodioa s are
harmless, and amuse themselves by playing onlyelfish tricks on mortals ; but they take it very ill
when the latter disturb them in their sylvan
haunts . Sometimes also, like the N ereids and
Lamias, they form matrimonial alliances with
mortal men , and have families . With their
children, however, they may possibly fly away
some fine day, leaving the unhappy husband and
father disconsolate .L . M . J . G.
FOREWORD
I . THE PERIS GOD-DAUGHTER
II . THE KINGS SON AND THE DERV ISHS DAUGHTER
THE STORY OF THE SOOTHSAYER
THE QUEST OFWORLDS DESIRE
V . THE STORY OF THE SEVEN CHAMPIONS
THE STOLEN PRINCETHE THREE WONDERFUL DRESSES
THE THREE BROTHERS AND THE I R THREE S ISTERS
IX . THE MOTHERS BLESSING
X . THE QUEEN OF N IGHT
XI . ASHMEDAI AND KING SOLOMON
XII . THE AMAZ ON QUEEN
XIII . THE PRINCESS OF TIFLISXIV . How HASANEK OUTWITTED THE DEV
IN COLOUR
BY CHARLES FOLKARD
The Prince sses took ea ch her melon , and descended to the
ga rd en FrontispzeceFACING PAGE
Pe r is , mygodmothe rs Cha nge me into a cyp ress
The Prince bought the p ictureSi lve r Cup of mine !
sa id he, b ring fo rth th i r ty kind sof food for me t o ea t wi th my friend the De rv ish
She ca l led the Lions and a sked them, Why d id you letthi s man in
The b i rd she ba de fly high a nd swift ly, and the ki t ten shepla ced on her la p
She fo rgot his cha rge to her, and she bent and kissedhim
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FACING PAGEOn the ba nk nea r bysat a young ma iden weeping
Our he ro mounted wi th her on the fa lcons ba ck, anddescend ed from the mounta in
I t wa s the Queen of the N ight
He held the i r cur l ing ends in hi s ha nds and covered themwi th pa ssiona te kisses
Pa ying h i s forty li ra s, he saw beh ind the window- pa nethe Beauty wi thout Pee r
OTTOMAN WONDER T