The Parodic Semantics of the Image of Molla Nasreddin: Wisdom and Tricksterism

In the article the image of Molla Nasreddin in the context of the trickster paradigm is analyzed and it is shown that he acts as a parodic embodiment of wisdom, a cultural hero model and sacred forms of behavior in folklore texts. In the study the archetypal essence of the image in relation to the Wise Old Man archetype is explained and it is based on the fact that it has a dual semantic structure that combines elements of both wisdom and foolishness. In the article it is explained that Molla Nasreddin’s explanations of the Moon, Sun, stars and constellations, as well as his strange and paradoxical responses to various situations, as a form of parodic imitation of the original idea of creation and mythological cosmogony. In this regard, the activity of the character is presented as an alternative version of the creative functions of the cultural hero, based on laughter and irony. In the study the hero-trickster opposition across various mythopoetic paradigms are systematized. These paradigms include the horse-donkey, horse-ox, goldfinch-crow, beauty-ugliness and Molla Nasreddin-sayyid or dervish oppositions. Through these juxtapositions the parodic transformation of heroic ideals and sacred models in folklore texts is shown. In the article the plots surrounding Molla Nasreddin’s death-feigning is also examined. These motifs, in addition to demonstrating the trickster characteristics of the character, symbolically express the idea of death and life, chaos and cosmos, the transition between this world and the next. Thus, Molla Nasreddin is seen as a complex folklore figure who, through laughter and parody, reinterprets fundamental concepts of culture and ironically repeats the functions of a mythological hero.