Bash Chelik
Encyclopedia
Baš Čelik meaning "head of steel", from Turkish
baş for "head" and çelik for "steel", is a famous Serbian
folk tale. It is similar to the Brothers Grimm
's "The Crystal Orb" (Aarne-Thompson type 552A).
sons and three daughters. On his deathbed he made his sons swear that they would marry off their sisters to the first person who asked. When one night a booming voice demanded that one sister be given to him, the two older brothers were reluctant, except for the youngest
(the Least of Three) who heeded his father's dying request and handed her over. The same thing happened for the next two nights, until all the sisters were given away to mysterious strangers. The three brothers decided to go and search for their sisters to find out where they were.
Throughout their travels, they fought many-headed serpents; in addition, the youngest brother used his wits to defeat nine giant
s that were terrorizing the region; finally he saved the king’s daughter from a snake bite. Because of all this, he is allowed to marry the princess and becomes one of the king’s favorites. He lives in her castle and is allowed to visit any of the rooms, except one which was bound with chains (the One Forbidden Thing). When his wife was absent one day, he went inside and saw a man held prisoner and bound by chains. The man called himself Bash Celik, and he begged for three glasses of water. Every time he complies he gets an extra life. When the third glass is handed it to him, the man suddenly gained his massive strength, broke the chains, opened his wings, and flew away with the youngest son's wife.
Now the prince sets out on a new quest
to rescue his wife. On the way, he discovers that his sisters were married to the Lords of Dragons, Hawks and Eagles. He tries to get his wife back three times, each time losing a life that Bash Celik gave him for the glasses of water. On the fourth time he fails again and dies, but his body is saved by his brothers in law, and they resurrect him using the magical water from River Jordan. At this point the prince's wife learns that Bash Chelik cannot be killed, because his life is in a bird that is in a heart of fox in forest of a high mountain. Helped by the Lords, the prince finally slays Bash Chelik and rescues his wife.
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
baş for "head" and çelik for "steel", is a famous Serbian
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
folk tale. It is similar to the Brothers Grimm
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...
's "The Crystal Orb" (Aarne-Thompson type 552A).
Synopsis
A king had threeRule of three (writing)
The "rule of three" is a principle in writing that suggests that things that come in threes are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things. The reader/audience of this form of text is also more likely to consume information if it is written in groups of...
sons and three daughters. On his deathbed he made his sons swear that they would marry off their sisters to the first person who asked. When one night a booming voice demanded that one sister be given to him, the two older brothers were reluctant, except for the youngest
Youngest son
The youngest son is a stock character in fairy tales, where he features as the hero. He is usually the third son, but sometimes there are more brothers, and sometimes he has only one; usually, they have no sisters....
(the Least of Three) who heeded his father's dying request and handed her over. The same thing happened for the next two nights, until all the sisters were given away to mysterious strangers. The three brothers decided to go and search for their sisters to find out where they were.
Throughout their travels, they fought many-headed serpents; in addition, the youngest brother used his wits to defeat nine giant
Giant (mythology)
The mythology and legends of many different cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. "Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.In various Indo-European mythologies,...
s that were terrorizing the region; finally he saved the king’s daughter from a snake bite. Because of all this, he is allowed to marry the princess and becomes one of the king’s favorites. He lives in her castle and is allowed to visit any of the rooms, except one which was bound with chains (the One Forbidden Thing). When his wife was absent one day, he went inside and saw a man held prisoner and bound by chains. The man called himself Bash Celik, and he begged for three glasses of water. Every time he complies he gets an extra life. When the third glass is handed it to him, the man suddenly gained his massive strength, broke the chains, opened his wings, and flew away with the youngest son's wife.
Now the prince sets out on a new quest
Quest
In mythology and literature, a quest, a journey towards a goal, serves as a plot device and as a symbol. Quests appear in the folklore of every nation and also figure prominently in non-national cultures. In literature, the objects of quests require great exertion on the part of the hero, and...
to rescue his wife. On the way, he discovers that his sisters were married to the Lords of Dragons, Hawks and Eagles. He tries to get his wife back three times, each time losing a life that Bash Celik gave him for the glasses of water. On the fourth time he fails again and dies, but his body is saved by his brothers in law, and they resurrect him using the magical water from River Jordan. At this point the prince's wife learns that Bash Chelik cannot be killed, because his life is in a bird that is in a heart of fox in forest of a high mountain. Helped by the Lords, the prince finally slays Bash Chelik and rescues his wife.
See also
- The Death of Koschei the DeathlessThe Death of Koschei the DeathlessThe Death of the Immortal Koschei or Marya Morevna is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki and included by Andrew Lang in The Red Fairy Book...
- The Fair FioritaThe Fair FioritaThe Fair Fiorita is an Italian fairy tale collected by Thomas Frederick Crane in Italian Popular Tales. Italo Calvino included a variant of it, The Princesses Wed to the First Passer-By, in his Italian Folktales.-Synopsis:...
- The Three Enchanted PrincesThe Three Enchanted PrincesThe Three Enchanted Princes is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work, the Pentamerone.-Synopsis:...