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On Verbal Dueling Among Turkish Boys

In their article about verbal dueling among boys in Turkey, Dundes, Leach, and Ozkok discuss various aspects of these duels but seem to have certain problems with two aspects of these duels.' One of these is the doubt created by the fact that most experts have not encountered it;2 the second is the need to interpret the phenomenon.3 It is in no way surprising that neither anthropologists nor folklorists who have studied Turkish culture have witnessed verbal duels. These duels never take place in front of grown men. First of all, the adolescents participating in such a duel would not dare participate in such behavior in front of grown men. Respect for elders is too important for such behavior to take place in front of them. Furthermore, such an attempt would be strongly and physically interrupted by any grown men even if attempted. As soon as a man is seen the participants will stop. The fact that this has not been witnessed by a non-Turkish expert does not, however, preclude its existence in any way. Verbal duels are very much a living tradition among Turkish adolescents. They are, indeed, a daily occurrence which I personally remember witnessing all through my childhood. What I did not at the time realize is the fact that as a future anthropologist I would be verifying this daily and very usual aspect of the life of Turkish adolescents. Dundes, Leach, and Ozk6k claim that women do not know these curses.4 Women do, however, know most of the curses and, very rarely, a verbal duel between women will take place. I have witnessed at least two of these in Istanbul and would have to add that they took place between what appeared to be lower-class women. Their dueling techniques did not in both cases seem to be too important because their motivation seemed to be toward a fight. Both of these duels did end in fights. It must also be noted that these were not witnessed by grown men or other women; the only very interested and smiling witnesses were young boys and some girls of the neighborhood. It would probably have been impossible for the women to indulge in such behavior in the presence of men, for the men would have stopped them immediately. According to Dundes, Leach, and Ozk6k the retort must end-rhyme with the insult.s However, this is not necessary although it is, indeed, preferred in the duels. What is essential is to come up with something more devastating to an opponent's
1Alan Dundes, Jerry W. Leach, and Bora Ozkok, "The Strategy of Turkish Boys' Verbal Dueling Rhymes," in Journal of American Folklore, 83 (1970), 325-349. 2Ibid., 326, 341, and 343. 3Ibid., 326 and 344. 4Ibid., 326. 5 Ibid., 327.

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honor than what he has just said. Thus, a very essential aspect of verbal dueling is escalation. A typical situation will escalate as follows: a boy will get upset at another and call him an ass or a bear; this will be followed by an immediate retort on the part of the second boy such as sensin (it is you). The first boy will then call the second one eeollu esek (son of an ass), then will come the second step of the escalation; a series of homosexual slurs and curses on both sides. When these become intolerable to either party, the third step in the escalation will take place, in which mothers and sisters are insulted. Culturally and psychologically, this is the most difficult to accept. This will be followed by the fourth and final stage of escalation: a fist fight. All the different levels of verbal dueling are accompanied by the gesture of sticking the thumb between the index finger and the third finger of the hand, and the slapping of the hand (usually the right hand) on the palm of the other hand. This gesture is used to emphasize important points of phallic attack within the verbal duel. It must be noted that unless the parties are separated or one of the parties reluctantly gives up because he is afraid of fighting, a fight is quite usual. The fight, if one of the parties is highly upset, will take place earlier. If one of the parties accepts defeat without fighting he is regarded as a coward. Other boys will usually try to separate the parties, and sometimes one or both of the participants will yell Tutma beni! (Do not hold me back) although no one may be doing so. There are also some instances which are very rare, and which are only indulged in by recognized bullies, which involve the exposing of their phalluses during verbal dueling. This is not acceptable under normal circumstances and is regarded as a very lowly manner of dueling. One reason why homosexual themes are very often used is that a personal attack is less socially and psychologically damaging than an attack on female relatives. As a consequence of this, this type of verbal attack is at a lower level of escalation than an attack on female relatives. Dundes, Leach, and Ozkok state that if a phallic attack is not appropriately answered the participant is reduced to a feminine sexual role.6 This is not quite the case because the participant can at that moment start a fight to protect and prove his manhood. It is reluctance to fight which is the supreme cowardice in the structure of insult dueling. As claimed in the article, homosexuality is, indeed, an important dimension of verbal dueling.' The main reason for this is not the existence of a major amount of homosexuality. It is, however, the fact that this area of dueling is one which can be elaborated upon without the danger of immediate fighting. The chances of a fight breaking out are by far greater as soon as one's mother or sister is mentioned. This also is why spectators will shout from the sidelines, "Do not mention his mother, leave her out of it." The mentioning of female relatives is regarded as a last resort, with the full knowledge of the imminent danger of fighting involved in it. The interpretation of the duels is a more difficult problem than the discussion of the process itself. However, the rules as well as the causes for verbal dueling can be found in the enculturation processes within peer groups and examples of slightly older boys who participate in verbal dueling. It is, however, obvious that to explain an
6Ibid., 347. 7 Ibid., 344.

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institution as complex as verbaldueling in Turkeysimply as a part of peer groupsand enculturationis to beg the question. An analysisof the majoraspectsof verbaldueling may, however, provide us with some clues for a better understandingof this phenomenon. First and foremost, it must be noted that the honor of the women of the family is a matter of extreme seriousnessin Turkishculture.8 The individualman or boy is duty bound to protect the women of the family, and he is also obligatedto make sure that the traditionalboundariesof sexual behavior.As soon as verbal they do not transgress dueling turns to rhymesand swearingabout mothersand sistersit becomes a matterof family honor, which must be protected at all costs. No Turkishboy can refuse the challengeof protectinghis female relatives.The rejectionof homosexualslursis also of adolescenthas to make sure that he has done major importanceand any self-respecting his best to protect himself againstverbalattacks of this type. The protection of one's honor is an important matter which encompasses and emphasizes the due of the female membersof the family and which is prescribedbehaviorfor the adolescent. Why, then, is an aspect of culturewhich is certainto create strongreaction,such as verbal attacks on honor, an integralaspect of an adolescent'slife in Turkey?I disagree with Dundes, Leach, and Ozk6k who claim that the fear of castrationthroughthe rite of circumcisionis an integralaspect of the reasonsbehind verbaldueling.' The major reason for my disagreementis basically methodological.I simply cannot accept this complex ritualisticbehavioras a consequence of a castrationcomplex. All young men in Turkey suffer almost total sexual frustration,and these duels form a type of sexual expression through verbal aggression.This can, at least partially,alleviate the sexual frustrationsone encounters. It would seem that throughverbalduels and the immense energy used in them at least some of this frustrationcan be aired. Fatalism in Turkey is part of the culture of the older generation and a way of thought to which one succumbs as one gets older. Young people in Turkey are and in a quest for a better life. The consequenceof this is that they will look aggressive for avenues of self-expression.As a matter of fact, very young men in Turkey are referred to as delikanh, individualswith crazy blood. Verbal dueling expresses the boldness and lack of total socialization expressed by adolescents in Turkey. At the very same time it is an expression of both attacking the family honor of another person and protecting one's own honor. Whatcould be more "crazy blooded" than that? Although the root reasons of verbal dueling can be searchedin both conscious and unconscious sexual materialsof Turkishculture and may well have functions of this type, it seems to me that more importantthan these, verbalduelingis a means to train the adolescent in one of the most importantaspectsof Turkishculture,namely, honor. Throughthese duels the young man not only learnsbut is trainedto protect his family honor, a duty which he will have to performall throughhis life. Purdue University WestLafayette,Indiana MARKGLAZER

8Raphael Patai, Society, Culture, and Change in the Middle East (Philadelphia, 1971), pp. 261 and 299; Joe E. Pierce, Understanding the Middle East (Rutland, Vermont, 1971), pp. 48-64; Paul Stirling, Turkish Village (New York, 1965), pp. 230-233. 9Dundes, Leach, and Ozkik, 345-346.

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