Oil wrestling
Encyclopedia
Oil wrestling also called grease wrestling, is the Turkish
national sport
. It is so called because the wrestlers douse themselves with olive oil
. It is related to the Uzbeki
kurash
, Tuvan
khuresh
and Tatar köräş
. The wrestlers, known as pehlivan (from Persian
پهلوان or pehlevān, meaning "hero" or "champion") wear a type of hand-stitched lederhosen
called a kisbet (sometimes kispet), which is traditionally made of water buffalo hide, and most recently has been made of calfskin
.
Unlike Olympic wrestling, oil wrestling matches may be won by achieving an effective hold of the kisbet. Thus, the pehlivan aims to control his opponent by putting his arm through the latter's kisbet. To win by this move is called paça kazık. Originally, matches had no set duration and could go on for one or two days until one man was able to establish his superiority, but in 1975 the duration was capped at 40 minutes for the baspehlivan and 30 minutes for the pehlivan category. If there is no winner, play continues for another 15 minutes—10 minutes for the pehlivan category, wherein scores are kept to determine the victor.
The annual Kırkpınar
tournament, held in Edirne
in Turkish Thrace since 1362, is the oldest continuously running, sanctioned sporting competition in the world. Oil wrestling festivals also take place in northern Greece in the Eastern Macedonia (Serres
region) and West Thrace (Rhodope Mountains
). In recent years, this style of wrestling has also become popular in other countries, particularly the Netherlands
and Japan
.
folk wrestling
are found throughout Central Asia
under the names Köraş
, Khuresh
, Kurash
, etc.
Turkish wrestlers started covering themselves according to Islamic law (between the navel and the knees) after the 10th century.
After the Oghuz
branch of Turks migrated to Western Asia and Anatolia, they brought their Central Asian Kurash wrestling style with them. After the conquest of Anatolia
by Seljuk
Turks, they introduced the traditional freestyle wrestling called karakucak (literally "black hug") and the special leather clothing and initiated using olive oil to make it harder to grip one's opponent, from the ancient Western Asian wrestling; and created what is today known as Yağlı Güreş or Turkish oil wrestling. In the Ottoman Empire
, wrestlers learned the art in special schools called تکیه tekke, which were not merely athletic centres, but also spiritual centres
Wrestlers oil one another prior to matches as a demonstration of balance and mutual respect. If a man defeats an older opponent, he kisses the latter's hand (a sign of respect for elders in Turkey).
Matches are held all over Turkey throughout the year, but in early summer, around 1000 competitors gather in Kırkpınar
for an annual three-day wrestling tournament to determine who will be the baspehlivan ("chief wrestler") of Turkey. Ottoman chroniclers and writers attest that the Kırkpınar Games
have been held every year since 1362, making them the world's oldest continually sanctioned sporting competition. The games have been cancelled only about 70 times. The original site was some 35 kilometres (21.7 mi) distant. In 1924, they were moved to the present location after the Balkan War.
There are some organized oil wrestling competitions outside Turkey, particularly by the Royal Dutch Power Sport Federation (KNKF Koninklijke Nederlandse Krachtsport en Fitnessfederatie) in the Netherlands.
These aghas were awarded a golden belt.
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
national sport
National sport
A national sport or national pastime is a sport or game that is considered to be an intrinsic part of the culture of a nation. Some sports are de facto national sports, as baseball is in the U.S., while others are de jure as lacrosse and ice hockey are in Canada.-De jure national sports:-De facto...
. It is so called because the wrestlers douse themselves with olive oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
. It is related to the Uzbeki
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
kurash
Kurash
Kurash is a form of upright jacket wrestling native to Uzbeks, practiced since ancient times. It is an event in the Asian Games and there is an effort to include Kurash in the Olympic games.-Rules:...
, Tuvan
Tuvans
Tuvans or Tuvinians are Turkic peoples living in southern Siberia. They are historically known as one of the Uriankhai, from the Mongolian designation...
khuresh
Khuresh
Khuresh is a traditional form of wrestling in the ethnically Turkic region of Tuva, in southern Siberia. The word originates from the same root as Turkish "Güreş" ....
and Tatar köräş
Köräs
Köräş, also Tatarça köräş - Tatar wrestling, is the Tatar style of wrestling, related to some Central Asian styles of wrestlings, such as kurash and Turkey's yağlı güreş....
. The wrestlers, known as pehlivan (from Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
پهلوان or pehlevān, meaning "hero" or "champion") wear a type of hand-stitched lederhosen
Lederhosen
Lederhosen are breeches made of leather; they may be either short or knee-length. The longer ones are generally called Bundhosen....
called a kisbet (sometimes kispet), which is traditionally made of water buffalo hide, and most recently has been made of calfskin
Calfskin
Calfskin is a leather or membrane produced from the hide of a calf. Calfskin is particularly valuable because of its softness, and non fine grain. It is commonly used for high-quality shoes, wallets and similar products, as well as traditional leather bookbindings...
.
Unlike Olympic wrestling, oil wrestling matches may be won by achieving an effective hold of the kisbet. Thus, the pehlivan aims to control his opponent by putting his arm through the latter's kisbet. To win by this move is called paça kazık. Originally, matches had no set duration and could go on for one or two days until one man was able to establish his superiority, but in 1975 the duration was capped at 40 minutes for the baspehlivan and 30 minutes for the pehlivan category. If there is no winner, play continues for another 15 minutes—10 minutes for the pehlivan category, wherein scores are kept to determine the victor.
The annual Kırkpınar
Kirkpinar
Kırkpınar is a Turkish oil-wrestling tournament. It is held annually, usually in late June, near Edirne, Turkey since 1346.- Description :Before each bout, the wrestlers pour olive oil over their entire bodies, and the matches take place in an open, grassy field, with the contestants naked except...
tournament, held in Edirne
Edirne
Edirne is a city in Eastern Thrace, the northwestern part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Edirne served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 to 1453, before Constantinople became the empire's new capital. At present, Edirne is the capital of the Edirne...
in Turkish Thrace since 1362, is the oldest continuously running, sanctioned sporting competition in the world. Oil wrestling festivals also take place in northern Greece in the Eastern Macedonia (Serres
Serres
Serres is a city in Greece, seat of the Serres prefecture.Serres may also refer to:Places:* Serres, Germany, a part of Wiernsheim in Baden-WürttembergIn France:* Serres, Aude in the Aude département...
region) and West Thrace (Rhodope Mountains
Rhodope Mountains
The Rhodopes are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, with over 83% of its area in southern Bulgaria and the remainder in Greece. Its highest peak, Golyam Perelik , is the seventh highest Bulgarian mountain...
). In recent years, this style of wrestling has also become popular in other countries, particularly the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
History
Cognate forms of TurkicTurkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
folk wrestling
Folk wrestling
A folk wrestling style is a traditional wrestling discipline which may or may not be codified as a modern sport. Most human cultures have developed their own sort of grappling style unique from other styles practiced...
are found throughout Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
under the names Köraş
Köräs
Köräş, also Tatarça köräş - Tatar wrestling, is the Tatar style of wrestling, related to some Central Asian styles of wrestlings, such as kurash and Turkey's yağlı güreş....
, Khuresh
Khuresh
Khuresh is a traditional form of wrestling in the ethnically Turkic region of Tuva, in southern Siberia. The word originates from the same root as Turkish "Güreş" ....
, Kurash
Kurash
Kurash is a form of upright jacket wrestling native to Uzbeks, practiced since ancient times. It is an event in the Asian Games and there is an effort to include Kurash in the Olympic games.-Rules:...
, etc.
Turkish wrestlers started covering themselves according to Islamic law (between the navel and the knees) after the 10th century.
After the Oghuz
Oghuz Turks
The Turkomen also known as Oghuz Turks were a historical Turkic tribal confederation in Central Asia during the early medieval Turkic expansion....
branch of Turks migrated to Western Asia and Anatolia, they brought their Central Asian Kurash wrestling style with them. After the conquest of Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
by Seljuk
Great Seljuq Empire
The Great Seljuq Empire was a medieval Persianate, Turko-Persian Sunni Muslim empire, originating from the Qynyq branch of Oghuz Turks. The Seljuq Empire controlled a vast area stretching from the Hindu Kush to eastern Anatolia and from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf...
Turks, they introduced the traditional freestyle wrestling called karakucak (literally "black hug") and the special leather clothing and initiated using olive oil to make it harder to grip one's opponent, from the ancient Western Asian wrestling; and created what is today known as Yağlı Güreş or Turkish oil wrestling. In the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, wrestlers learned the art in special schools called تکیه tekke, which were not merely athletic centres, but also spiritual centres
Wrestlers oil one another prior to matches as a demonstration of balance and mutual respect. If a man defeats an older opponent, he kisses the latter's hand (a sign of respect for elders in Turkey).
Matches are held all over Turkey throughout the year, but in early summer, around 1000 competitors gather in Kırkpınar
Kirkpinar
Kırkpınar is a Turkish oil-wrestling tournament. It is held annually, usually in late June, near Edirne, Turkey since 1346.- Description :Before each bout, the wrestlers pour olive oil over their entire bodies, and the matches take place in an open, grassy field, with the contestants naked except...
for an annual three-day wrestling tournament to determine who will be the baspehlivan ("chief wrestler") of Turkey. Ottoman chroniclers and writers attest that the Kırkpınar Games
Kirkpinar
Kırkpınar is a Turkish oil-wrestling tournament. It is held annually, usually in late June, near Edirne, Turkey since 1346.- Description :Before each bout, the wrestlers pour olive oil over their entire bodies, and the matches take place in an open, grassy field, with the contestants naked except...
have been held every year since 1362, making them the world's oldest continually sanctioned sporting competition. The games have been cancelled only about 70 times. The original site was some 35 kilometres (21.7 mi) distant. In 1924, they were moved to the present location after the Balkan War.
There are some organized oil wrestling competitions outside Turkey, particularly by the Royal Dutch Power Sport Federation (KNKF Koninklijke Nederlandse Krachtsport en Fitnessfederatie) in the Netherlands.
Notable pehlivans
- 1861-1886 Gaddar Kel Aliço "Ruthless Bald Aliço" (1845 - 1922), champion for 26 years. He left the sport after a defeat by Yusuf İsmailYusuf İsmailYusuf İsmail , also widely known as Youssouf Ishmaelo, was a Turkish professional wrestler who competed in Europe and the United States as Yusuf Ismail the Terrible Turk during the 1890s. During his lifetime, his native Turks knew him as Şumnulu Yusuf Pehlivan...
and became the coach of Adali Halil. - Yusuf İsmailYusuf İsmailYusuf İsmail , also widely known as Youssouf Ishmaelo, was a Turkish professional wrestler who competed in Europe and the United States as Yusuf Ismail the Terrible Turk during the 1890s. During his lifetime, his native Turks knew him as Şumnulu Yusuf Pehlivan...
- 1896(?) 1898(?) Adalı Halil Pehlivan / Aliço apprentice (1871, Kilise Köy,Greece - 1926, Edirne) was buried at the special erected Pehlivan Cemetery. Champion between either 1896 or 1898 (depending on the source) to 1913 (16 or 18 years continuously). At the beginning of the Edirne Kırkpınar, all wrestlers and officials go to his grave for a ceremonial prayer.
- Yusuf Pehlivan of Geçkin
- Hergeleci İbrahimHergeleci Ibrahimİbrahim Mahmut , nicknamed Hergeleci, was a Turkish pehlivan , who also performed as a professional wrestler. He was the Turkish Kırkpınar champion in 1914.- References :...
- Kara Murat of Çömlek Village
- Molla İzzet of Silivri
- Nakkaş Eyüp of Çatalca (born in Kestanelik village near Catalca) was nicknamed Nakkas ("miniaturist") because he was very careful while wrestling, so it was commonly said his style is that of a miniaturist.
- Yenici Mehmet
- Kızılcıklı MahmutKızılcıklı MahmutKızılcıklı Mahmut Pehlivan was a Turkish wrestler foremost known for his victory over Tom Jenkins in 1908 and loss to Frank Gotch in 1909 during a North American tour.Given Yusuf İsmail's fame, American professional wrestling promoters chose to launch Mahmut with the ring...
- Kurtdereli Mehmet
- Çolak Mümin Molla (1873, Kavala, Greece - 1915) became famous after he defeated Adali Halil. Mumin was called Colak for having one missing (or paralyzed) arm.
- Suyolcu Mehmet
- Benli Badullah, first champion of the Turkish Republic era, in 1924.
Notable aghas
- Süleyman Şahin (1967–68)
- Gazanfer Bilge (1969–70)
- Alper Yazoğlu (1991-93) *
- Hüseyin Şahin (1995-98) *
- Seyfettin Selim (2009-11) *
These aghas were awarded a golden belt.
Popular culture
- In the television show Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre WorldAndrew Zimmern's Bizarre WorldBizarre World is the followup to the successful Bizarre Foods. The show encompasses not only the classic bizarre foods of the world but also the unique cultures of the world. The new show appears to have been dropped in favor of new episodes of Bizarre Foods, which began in April 2010...
, host Andrew ZimmernAndrew ZimmernAndrew Zimmern is a James Beard Award-winning TV personality, chef, food writer, and teacher. As the co-creator, host, and consulting producer of Travel Channel's series Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern and Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre World, he travels the world exploring food in its own native...
experienced Yağlı güreş firsthand. - In Super Street Fighter IVSuper Street Fighter IVis a 2010 fighting game produced by Capcom. It is an updated version of Street Fighter IV and has been said to mark the definitive end of the Street Fighter IV series. Having been deemed as too large an update to be deployed as DLC, the game was made into a standalone title, but given a lower price...
, the character Hakan uses an extremely exaggerated form of Yağlı güreş as his fighting style. This is notably the first time the fighting style has been depicted in a video game. - In the 1964 movie TopkapiTopkapi (film)Topkapi is a heist film made by Filmways Pictures and distributed by United Artists. It was produced and directed by the emigre American film director, Jules Dassin...
, thieves try to steal a jewel-encrusted dagger from the Topkapi museum. In an attempt to direct the attention of suspicious local officials, some of them attend a large oil wrestling competition. Scenes flip back and forth between what is happening at the Topkapi and what is happening at the match — scenes of the wrestling competition are seen from start to finish, starting with an army of competitors marching to the wrestling arena and ending with the final two wrestlers.