Poems and Proverbs in Dîvânu Lugâti’t-Türk (Book)

Professor Ahmet Bican Ercilasun’s work Şiirler ve Atasözleri in Dîvânu Lugâti’t-Türk is a detailed study of the poems and proverbs found in Kaşgarlı Mahmud’s 11th-century lexical and cultural compendium, Dîvânu Lugâti’t-Türk. The book provides a foundational resource for literary, linguistic, and cultural historical research.

The work systematically examines the poems and proverbs in Dîvânu Lugâti’t-Türk both in terms of textual transmission and analysis. Through thematic organization of the poems and evaluation of the linguistic structures and semantic patterns of the proverbs, it sheds light on the oral and written expressive elements of historical Turkish culture.

The book is generally divided into three main sections:

1. Introduction and Methodological Assessments
2. Textual Transmissions and Explanations of Poems and Proverbs
3. Classification and Semantic Analyses of Proverbs

The “Söz Başı” and “Introduction” sections provide historical and linguistic background on Kaşgarlı Mahmud, the author of Dîvânu Lugâti’t-Türk, including the historical period he lived in, the Turkish tribes, their dialects, and the distinguishing characteristics of these groups.

The poetry analyses in the first section of the work are organized into thematic, structural, and formal evaluations. The poems are classified under two main categories:

• Quatrains: These include quatrains on themes such as spring, nature, war, heroism, entertainment, love, and longing. Notable examples include “Kış ile Yazın Atışması,” “Kurt Peşinde,” and “Alp Er Tonga Ağıdı.”
• Distichs: In addition to qasidas addressed to Terken Hatun, these distichs explore individual and social themes such as ethics, advice, generosity, fate, time, hunger, love, and beauty.

Each poem is presented with its original text, a modern Turkish translation, and explanatory commentary.

• One of the most comprehensive sections of the work is the formal and semantic analysis of the 266 proverbs found in Dîvânu Lugâti’t-Türk. Particular attention is paid to the “two-winged” structural pattern characteristic of these proverbs.

For the classification of proverbs, the work draws upon Carl Brockelmann’s tripartite taxonomy:

1. Proverbs found only in Dîvânu Lugâti’t-Türk,
2. Common proverbs also attested in other Turkish tribes,
3. Proverbs with international parallels.

In addition, the book presents alternative classifications based on criteria such as “prevalence,” “theme,” and “way of life.”

In the final section of the book, the texts of the proverbs are listed alongside their modern Turkish translations, accompanied by analyses of their cultural value judgments. This section includes proverbs that convey universal as well as culturally specific wisdom, ethical principles, moral guidance, and life knowledge. Some examples are:

• “Ula bolsa yol azmas, bilig bolsa söz yazmas” (If there is a guide, the path will not be lost; if there is wisdom, words will not mislead)
• “Kız birle küreşme, kısrak birle yarışma” (Do not wrestle with a girl; do not compete with a mare)