Келоглан – приказен герой в епоса Кьороглу
Keloglan – a fairy tale protagonist in the Kyoroglu epic

Summary/Abstract: The fairy tale is an ancient folklore genre born with the early human societies which accounts for a large part of folk prose. In the heroic epics there are often common plots, themes and motifs from the fairy tale, and elements of the so called ‘realistic tale’. This also applies to the different versions of the heroic Koroglu epic, in which reminiscences of pre-religious beliefs, elements and fairy tale characters are often borrowed and modernised. One of the most interesting fairy-tale characters in the epic is Keloglan (Bald Hamza), a character manifesting both features of everyday life and mythological origin. Keloglan, although he evokes some sympathy due to his wit, ingenuity and cunning, has generally a number of negative traits, and can even be evil. He is the twin brother of the hero, which predetermines his role as a trickster. As in most Turkic tales, the Bald Man in the epic is the object of contempt and disgust, outwitting the miller, and later Kioroglu himself, and manages to escape with his horse Garat to get his reward from the Pasha. The story of the bald Hamza outwitting Kyoroglu at the mill reveals ancient carnival motifs that recreate actions typical of ‘the other world’: the characters' disguise dressing when taking on a different social role, followed by a series of destructive actions.

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