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