Literature
The very first and important examples of the oral literature tradition
in Turks are the epics. Foremost among these are the “Alp
Er Tunga Epic”, which tells how the Saka Khan Alp Er Tunga,
who supposedly lived in the 7th century, prevailed over the Iranian
armies; the “Bozkurt (Grey Wolf) Epic”, which relates
how the Göktürks sprung from a she-wolf, and the “Ergenekon
Epic” telling how the same Göktürks in the previous
epic left Ergenekon by melting down an iron mountain. The first
known written examples of Turkish literature are the Orkhun Inscriptions,
written in the Göktürk alphabet and dating from the 6th
and 7th centuries. The most prominent of these inscriptions, of
which the translations of the Turkish sections were published in
various languages, are on the monuments erected in the name of Tonyukuk,
Kül Tegin and Bilge Khan. These inscriptions are significant
because they illustrate that the Turks had an advanced written language
in that period and a richness of expression.
Conversion to Islam and Turkish
Literature. The “Kutadgu Bilig”, authored by Yusuf Has
Hacib (11th century) and being the first work of Turkish literature,
bears the characteristics of an uninflected and unadulterated Turkish
language. The work contains views and advice on matters such as
religion, the state, politics and education.
Another prominent work of Turkish literature influenced by Islam
is the Dîvanü Lûgati’t-Türk (Dictionary
of Turkish Languages), written by Kasgarli Mahmut. Both of these
works were written in Hakaniye Turkish, a south-western dialect.
Another important development in Turkish language, which would also
directly influence the Turkish literature, occurred in the southwestern
dialect spoken by the Oghuz-Turcoman tribes as of the 11th century.
Eventually, the clans which settled in Azerbaijan and a section
of Iran developed the Azerbaijani Turkish, while those who had settled
in Anatolia developed Turkey’s Turkish.
The State has been encouraging writers and conducting studies to
this end so that the famed and their works are not forgotten. Within
this context, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism supported the
festivities abroad organized by ILESAM, Turkish Union of Owners
of Scientific and Literature Works, on the occasion of the centennial
of the prominent poet Arif Nihat Asya’s birth. The Ministry
also declared the year-long period between May 2004 and May 2005
as “Necip Fazil Year” on account of the 100th Birth
Anniversary of Necip Fazil Kisakürek, the skilled poet in Turkish
literature. It organized a series of events in order to focus national
and international interest on the writings of Kisakürek, who
left his mark on Turkish history of culture with his ideas, poems
and literary and philosophical works.
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