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Hekimoğlu Türküsü

Hekimoğlu (English: The Ballad of Hekimoğlu) is a popular Turkish türkü in the musical modal Chahargah with a rhythm of 4/4. Although the TRT archive lists Ümit Tokcan as the source under the repertoire number 110, Ümit Tokcan himself says that the folk song was actually compiled by Kadir İnanır. The region of the folk song is Fatsa, Ordu. It was first written as a lament by Kalyoncuoğlu Recep, who is also known as Töreli Hafız. The türkü was repopularised in the 2000s by popular Turkish media franchise Valley of the Wolves, playing a crucial role in the series, it was covered by Oktay Kaynarca who played as the character "Süleyman Çakır" in the franchise.

Story of the türkü
Hekimoğlu İbrahim, who was born in the village of Yassıtaş, about 40 kilometers from Fatsa, fell in love with a beautiful girl whom everyone called “Narin”; however, the girl was engaged to a Georgian lord who ruled the region. When the lord learned of their relationship, he invited Hekimoğlu to his house. During the meeting, Hekimoğlu killed the lord's nephew, who had reached for the lord's weapon, thus causing bloodshed between the Georgians and the villagers of Yassıtaş. After the incident, Hekimoğlu sent his mother away from the village and settled her with a relative in Bolu. He took his nephews with him and went to the mountains, spending the rest of his life as a bandit and becoming a folk hero in the imagination of the people, someone who took refuge from injustice. The Georgian lord constantly reported him to the gendarmerie, but Hekimoğlu escaped many times thanks to his special rifle (“aynalı martin”) equipped with a mirror. Hekimoğlu survives many battles, but eventually falls into an ambush set by Dadyan Arslan, who has been pursuing him, and is wounded and killed. == Song ==
Song
The anonymous türkü emerged in the early years of the 20th century with the title "Hekimoğlu Derler Benim Aslıma". Like many folk songs of the time, several versions exist. The most common version of the türkü is: :Hekimoğlu derler benim aslıma :Aynalı martin yaptırdım da narinim kendi neslime :Hekimoğlu derler bir küçük uşak, :Bir omuzdan bir omuza narinim on arma fişek :Konaklar yaptırdım mermer direkli, :Hekimoğlu dediğin de narinim aslan yürekli :Konaklar yaptırdım döşetemedim, :Ünye Fatsa bir oldu da narinim baş edemedim :''Ünye, Fatsa arası Ordu'da kuruldu,'' :Hekimoğlu dediğin narinim o da vuruldu :I'm called Hekimoğlu, (lit., son of physician) :I had a Martini-Henry rifle with mirror made for myself, my narin :The one called Hekimoğlu is a small kid, :One shoulder to one shoulder narin, bandolier with ten bullets :I had mansions with pillars of marble built, :He whom you called Hekimoğlu, is lion-hearted :I had mansions built but I couldn't make them furnished, :Ünye and Fatsa joined their forces, my narin, I couldn't cope with them :Between Fatsa and Ünye, Ordu was established, :He whom you called Hekimoğlu was shot tooIn the first couplet, the word martin refers to a Peabody-Martini-Henry rifle. It is also debated that the word "ordu" used in the last couplet is used in the meaning of meaning of military (). It is claimed by former member of the Grand National Assembly Mustafa Hasan Öz that the phrase in which Öz's grandfather's name was mentioned ("I couldn't cope with Dadyan Arslan") was replaced by "Ünye and Fatsa joined their forces, my narin, I couldn't cope with them" in case of a reaction from the public. Censorship There is a distinct difference between the folk lyrics of the folk song and the lyrics included in the TRT archive. Hekimoğlu in the language of the people is the depiction of a virtuous rebel who opposes oppression, injustice and bastardy. While the Hekimoğlu, who was included in Mehmet Özbek's book "Folklore ve Türkülerimiz" and transferred to the TRT archive, is abstracted from all those virtues and turned into a person who has a softer personality. The acute accents in the lyrics of the folk song were replaced by docile and orderly words. For example, the following parts of the folk song were censored: According to author, Kurdologist and Turkologist Mehmet Bayrak, although the headman seems to be on Hekimoğlu's side, in reality he is in collaboration with the Turkish gendarme. As a matter of fact, he gives a tip-off through one of his men and Hekimoğlu gets cornered by the gendarmes because of the headman's trick. A big clash breaks out and Hekimoğlu, according to a rumour, breaks through the circle, but dies of his wounds before he can get far. The couplets themself also vary depending on the variation, with them being changed to: :Bugün günlerden pazardır, pazar :Çiftlice muhtarı dediğin de narimin, puştluklar düzer :Today is Sunday, Sunday :Whom you call Çiftlice headman, narimin fucks over people == Compilation ==
Compilation
The folk song was first compiled in Fatsa by Şükrü Şenses during compilation work carried out by the Ankara State Conservatory under the direction of Muzaffer Sarısözen. It was published in Ahmet Caferoğlu's 1946 book Kuzeydoğu İllerimiz Ağızlarından Derlemeler (Compilations from the Dialects of Our Northeastern Provinces). This text, which consists of three-line stanzas and a two-line refrain, is of the koşma type, and its melody is unknown. The name “Kadir İnanır” is also written on the record “Hekimoğlu” (1974) released by Ümit Tokcan. According to an article by Dadyan Arslan Çığtay in a local Fatsa newspaper in 2024, Dadyan Arslan, who led the Georgians in the region, banned discussions of the subject and singing of the folk song after Hekimoğlu's death, and thus the Hekimoğlu folk song was not sung for years on the grounds that it “fueled hostilities.” Years later, Ümit Tokcan, at the suggestion of Kadir İnanır, wanted to record this song on his cassette and obtained permission from Dadyan Arslan's son to sing it on the cassette. In the same article, it is stated that the phrase “I couldn't deal with Dadyan Arslan” in the folk song was removed at the request of Dadyan Arslan's son and the line “Ünye Fatsa became one, I couldn't deal with it” was added. == Variations ==
Variations
The türkü has been covered by many singers and bands such as: • Resul DindarAynaGökhan KırdarÖzdemir Erdoğan • Oktay Kaynarca • Mazhar ve FuatFuat SakaTülay German (uncensored version) • Grup ÇığSoner Olgun Variations outside of Anatolia Μανώλης Λιδάκης (Manolis Lidakis) sang the türkü in Greek as Στου μυαλού μου τ'άγρια βάθη (In The Wild Depths Of My Mind). == In popular culture ==
In popular culture
The libretto of the opera Hekimoğlu, written by Bertan Rona and composed by Tolga Taviş, was based on the folk song Hekimoğlu. In the 1222nd measure of the work, Narin sings “Hekimoğlu Türküsü” accompanied by an alto flute, and the work ends with the participation of the choir and orchestra. The Turkish television series Hekimoğlu, released in the 2003-2004 season, was created by enriching the story of the folk song with the screenwriters' additions. == See also ==
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