1

Naming Process in Dedem Korkut Kitabi 1

Metin Bosnak, Ph.D.

A name is the appellation and/or the etiquette of its bearer. Although it may

sometimes not mean anything, and that its original meaning may have vanished or been

distorted through the diachronic process of semantic shifts, onomastics does provide for

us indispensable insights into the nature of a society, its very structure and institutions.

It is in this respect that onomastics of Dedem Korkut's world is crucial.

Just like in Beowulf where pagan and Christian elements co-mingle, shamanistic

and Islamic traits are juxtaposed in the book. The setting covering a vast area, Central

Asia and Northeastern Anatolia, the purported or the narrated author is Dede Korkut

who, as Sumer and Walker put it in The Book of Dede Korkut Kitabi,

... combines the duties of wise old man,

religious leader and bard suggestive of the
Central Asian shaman. He provides suitable
names for boys entering manhood, Bugach, for
example and Beyrek with the Gray Horse. When
the Oghuz are troubled by seemingly
irreconcilable problems, they call upon Dede
Korkut to solve their problems.2

Names and naming traditions were a pivotal and integral part of the ancient

Turks as they still are in some regions of Turkey, with though, changing rituals. Since

the children, especially, the boys are considered to be the perpetuators of the father's

stock, we read in the story of Bogac Han that "Hanlar hani han Bayindir... oglu olani ak

otaga, kizi olani kizil otaga kondurun... Oglu kizi olmayani Allah Teala kargayuptur,

biz dahi kargaruz, belli bilsun demis idu."

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It is Dede Korkut or the clergyman he is pictured to be that names children.

Together with the name go some tools, animals and material paraphernalia. The name

given to a person is almost identical and/or descriptive of its bearer. A boy of fifteen is

considered an adult, and

Ol zamanda bir oglan bas kesup kan dokmese ad

komazlar idi, eyle olsa çagirdilar, Dedem
Korkut gelir oldu, oglani alip babasina
vardi.... Bayindir Han'in meydaninda bu oglan
ceng-etmistur, bir buga öldürmüstür, senin
oglun Bugac olsun. Adini ben verdim, yasini
Allah versun, dedi.

Bugaç merits a name only when he has proved his prowess, knocking down a

bull with his fist. A. Inan propounds that "Kahraman asil adini kahramanlik

gösterdikten sonra atla beraber alir. Bana öyle geliyor ki, "ad" ile "at" mense itibariyle

ayni kelimedir. Kahraman ata binmeden ad alamiyor."3 However, this assumption

overtly introduces some problems, to which Gökyay brings the following explanation:

Dogan çocuga ugurlu ve yakisan bir ad bulma, boy

baskanina, saygideger bir konuga veya boyun samanina
aittir. Müslümanliktan sonraki dönemlerde samanin
yerini dervis almistir.... Ana-babanin verdigi ad
gerçek ad degildir, geçici addir. Boyun reisi veya
kami tarafindan verilen bu adi alan yigit,
boyun üyesi ilan edilirdi.4

Despite the illustrative information presented, it is feasible to extrapolate that

there is no hint as to how the girls are named or whether they also have to carry out any

action of valor or dexterity to be considered eligible for a name. Besides, some of the
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names in the book which seem to have been replaced or compounded by new names,

have the characteristics of the old.

Therefore, the essential purport of this paper will be to do a taxonomic study on

the origins of the names in the book as meticulously as the linguistic and intellectual

means allow. There will inevitably be some overlapping in categorization, since some

of the names fit into more than one subcategory.

A- Morpho-Semantic Approach

a- Imperatives given as names:

1- Bayindur (enrich, make prosperous!), from "boyutmak." It may also be used as

an adjective just to mean "prosperous, built-up."

2- Korkut (frighten, show!). Concerning this name Kakuk prefers the former

meaning.5 However, Dede is not a frightening character in the stories; on the contrary,

he is quite a lovable man. we are convinced that the concept of someone like Dede

acting as "murshid" has penetrated the book together with the other Islamic leitmotifs

recurrently cropping up in the stories. In the Koran, the Prophet is said to have been

sent to act as a preceptor, showing people the right way and frightening them when

they deviate from the right path. Thus, Dede does not frighten the people, but

enlightens them.

3- Dogsun (let him be born!). The name may also be a distant reverberation of

"tosun" (calf), associated with some virile and youthful characteristics.

4- Ulas (reach, attain, run to help).

B- Adjectives given as names:6

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ba- Falling under this category are the nicknames, nouns used as adjective, and

attributes referring to certain characteristics of their bearers.

1. Ayna Melek.

2. Bani Çiçek.

3. Can Kiz.

4. Bugduz.

5. Deli Budak.

6. Deli Evren.

7. Demür Gücü.

8. Egrek.

9. Eren.

10 Gaflet.

11. Kadilik.

12. Kam (trouble, anguish).

13. Kanli (bloody).

14. Kara Gune (to the dark day). That is, he is helpful when one is in need.

15. Karçar (the solidified, concretized one). Verbal adjective in the present

progressive.

16. Kazilik Koca (an old man as vigorous as Mount Kazilik or as the horses

grazing at its skirts).

17. Kisirca Yenge (sterile aunt).

18. Kilbas (hair-headed).

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20. Kulmas. Possibly a clipped from of the Arabic phrase " " ["Say

whatever you want"] or a variant of "kalmas" ["herze," "yave" in Turkish].

21. Mamak (woman-like, hermaphroditic), from "mam+k."

22. Salur (one who rides or annihilates fast), from "sal+ar."

23. Segrek (one who runs, paces; fidgety), from "segremek"

25. Selcan (Torrent-like soul) = "sel"+can"

26. Selçuk (small torrent) = "sel"+diminutive suffix

27. Ters Uzamis (elongated in the wrong direction).

Possibly, he is too corpulent in the story.

28. Yagrinci (tomorrow-ist, negligent).

29. Yalanci (liar).

30. Yaltacuk (one who butters up, curries favor), from "yaltaklanmak"+"cuk," the

diminutive suffix.

31. Yapagilu (one with the wool just shorn of the sheep).

32. Yünlü (one with the wool processed).

bb- Names compounded or associated with color:

The color adjectives such as sari and kara are frequently used, referring to the

skin color of their bearers and their connotations: the former is associated with valor

and difficulty; and the latter, with maturity. Observe, e.g., the following:

1. Boz Oglan.

2. Kara Arslan (Dark Lion).

3. Kara Budak (Dark Knot).

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4. Kara Çoban (Dark Shepherd).

5. Sari Çoban (Yellow Shepherd).

6. Sari Kulmas.

bc- Hypochoristic names, associated with animals;

1. Arslan (Lion), signifying power and bravery.

2. Bogac (Bull-like), implying virility and robustness.

3. Büre (Flea), signifying fastness, swiftness, and smallness.

4. Evren (Dragoon, Sneak), derogatively used.

5. št (Dog), pejoratively used.

6. œir (lion), borrowed from Persian.

bd- Names associated with plants;

1. Çiçek (Flower).

2. Sogan (Onion), maybe derived from "sognak."

be- Names associated with things, objects, esp., of war and nature because of the

latter's intrinsic qualities;

1. Arsun Oglu (the Son of the Firmament).

2. Ayna Melek (Mirror Angel)

3. Çesme Ag Melek (Fountain Gray Angel).

4. Kara Budak.

5. Demür Gücü ( šron Power).

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6. Han Kazan (Khan Cauldron). Concerning this name Kakuk writes that,

L'etymologic de I'anthroponyme Kazan etant

deja discutee, il n'est pas certain qu'il
rentre dans cette categorie.... Il s'agiraitdu
derive du verbe kaz- "errer," tandis que selon
Rasonyi en revanche... il proviendrait du nom
commun kazan "chaudron".... Kazan (russe
kazanj) a acheve de rendre generalament connu.
Dans les sources historiques turques osmanlies
il est atteste sous la forme de Kazgan, Kozan,
Gazan.7

7. Kapak Han (Lid Khan), may also mean "let us grasp, snatch away, Khan."

8. Turali (one with a knotted handkerchief or shield or imperial monogram).

9. Yapagili Koca.

10. Yayhan (Arrow Khan).

B- Socio-Phenomenological Approach

These names reflect or arise from certain phenomena or social patterns as

evidenced by the stories themselves:

1- Bogaç: He has got his name after did a heroic action, killing a bull.

2- Bogazca Fatma: She is a woman never satisfied with sex, a "yerikli," as Bogaç

himself divulges. The name means "pregnant, crazy about sex." Addressing her Beyrek

himself alludes to this fact:

And içeyim bu kez bogaz kisraga bindigim yok...

Hay ben seni hob taniram...
Senin adin kirk oynaslu Bogazca Fatmacik degül midür?
Yürü var yerüne otur oynamagil.
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Yohsa dahi ayibun açarim bellü bilgil.

3- Bamsi Beyrek: His case is similar to Bogaç's.

4- Egrek (Slanting or šllegitimate): When Kazan Bey's house is plundered by the

Becheneks, his mother is raped by št Beçene. Later on, then child she bears is given this

name.

5- Kisirca Yenge.

C- Phrasal names with certain characteristics:

1- Bin Bügdüz Baslari (A thousand hunchback-heads).

2- Düzen Oglu Alp Rüstem (Alp Rüstem, the son of order or trick).

3- Ense Koca-Oglu (Son of neck, the old man).

4. Gaflet Koca-Oglu œir œemseddin (Lion the sun of religion, the son of oblivion,

the old man).

5- Eylik Koca-Oglu Alp Eren:

6. Eylik Koca-Oglu Dönebilmez Dönek.

7. Eylik Koca-Oglu Saru Kulmas.

8. Kam Gan-Oglu Han Bayindir.

9. Kizillik Koca-Oglu Bey Yegenek.

10. Kiyan Selçuk-Oglu Delü Dündar.

11. Yagrinci-Oglu El Almis.

12. Yalanci-Oglu Yaltacik.

D- Technonymous names:
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Until after the surname law was passed in 1934 by the Turkish Grand National

Assembly, the Turks did not have any surnames in the sense we consider them today.8

They were usually using technonyms in lieu of surnames, which is a consequence of the

Islamo-Arabic traditions. As a matter of fact, before Islam penetrated the world of

Dedem Korkut.

The Altai, including the Cheen, or Black

Forest Turks... The Kirei and the
Kumandists... were almost wholly shamanists,
though the Teleut were nominally converted to
Islam... and The Kire... were Nestorian
Christians from the eleventh century...
Their conversion has been a gradual process...
Islam was introduced at an early date among
the southern tribes.9

Therefore, the Turkish equivalents of the Arabic technonyms such as "ebu, eba,

ebi" (the father of), and "ibnu, ibne, ibni" (the son of) and similar formations were

adopted by Turks as observed in the following:

1- Gaflet Koca-Oglu œir œemseddin.

2- Eylik Koca-Oglu Alp Eren (Heroic saint, the son of goodness the old man).

3. Eylik Koca-Oglu Dönebilmez Dölek (The-never-coming-safe, the son of

goodness the old man).

4. Yagrinci-Oglu El Almis (The one who the others have taken, the son of

tomorrow-ist).

5. Yalanci-Oglu Yaltacuk (Yesman, the son of liar).

E- Names with Arabo-Islamic origins or connotations:

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1- Ayna Melek

2- Bay Bican (Rich one-souled, or soulless).

3. Eren.

5. Kutlu Melek.

6. Zübeyde (Possessive of whiteness, shining)...

F- Names used with or showing status and dignity:

1- Alp Eren.

2- Alp Rüstem.

3- Bay Büre.

4- Bay Bican.

5- Bayindur Han.

6. Beg Yegenek.

7. Burla Hatun.

8. Can Pasa.

9. Sari Çoban.

10 Han Kazan.

11. Kadili Koca-Oglu

12. Kara Çoban...

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Notes

1. Unless otherwise stated, all the references to the book are from O.S. Gökyay,

ed., Dedem Korkut Kitabi (šst.: M.E.Basimevi, 1973).

2. F.R.Sumer, A.E. Uysal, and W.S. Walker, eds and trans., Introduction, The

Book of Dede Korkut (Austin and London: U of Texas P, 1966) X-XII.

3. For more information, see A. Inan, "Göçebe Destanlarinda Kahramanlar:

Dogumlari, Ad Almalari ve Hüviyetleri" in Yucel 66 (Aug. 1940) 274.

4. Gokyay CCXXVI-II.

5. See Susan Kakuk, "Quelques categories des noms de personne Turks," Acta

Orientalia Hungarica. 18 (1974): 1-35.

6. The meanings of the names are to be given only once to avoid tautology.

7. Kakuk 15.

8. See Ilhan Basgöz, "The Meaning and Dimension of Change of Personal Names

In Turkey," Turcica Revue D'etudes Turques. 16 (1983): 210-18.

9. For more information on this process, see N.K., Chadwick and Zhirmunsky,

introduction, Oral Epics of Central Asia (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1969) 1-15.
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2. A commission of TDK on Humanities, eds. Divan ü Lugat-it-Türk Ankara:

TDK P, 1972.

3. A commission of TDK on Humanities. Türkce Sözlük, 6th ed. Ankara: Bilgi P,

1974.

4. Caferoglu, Ahmet. Uygur Sözlügü. šst.: Burhaneddin P, 1934.

5. ---, Eski Uygur Türkcesi Sözlügü. šst.: Ed.Fak., 1968.

6. Clausson, Sir Gerard. An Etymological Dictionary of Pre-13th Century. Oxford:

The Clarendon P, 1972.

7. Emre, A. Cevat. Türkçede šsmin Temelleri. šst. Burhaneddin P, 1943.

8. Ergin, Muharrem. Dede Korkut Kitabi. Ankara: Ank. UP, 1964.

9. Kutlu, œemseddin. Türkçede Kadin ve Erkek Adlari. Ankara: Ank. UP, 1969.

10. Püsküllüoglu, Ali. Seçilmis Çocuk Adlari. Ankara: Maya P, 1981.

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