Cultural Artifact #2 - Cats in Turkey
Although this topic might initially present itself as culturally ambiguous and seemingly irrelevant, the salience and relevance of cats in Turkish culture possesses both historical and religious origins that have persisted in societal norms for hundreds of years. Specifically, as observed by anthropologist Dr. Gideon Lasco during his visit to Turkey, cats are so ingrained into Turkish culture and society that they are accepted in unexpected locales, such as cafes and mosques (Lasco 2024). In his anthropological review, Lasco cites an unclear history of why cats are specially integrated into Turkish culture, but he cites prior cultural anthropological work which suggests that cats possess a position in Islam of being "ritually clean" with ties to Prophet Muhammad (Lasco 2024). Moreover, their practical use in pest control during the Ottoman Empire made cats indispensable (Lasco 2024). As such, Turkish historians believe that these roles created “traditions of ‘stewardship’” that still “persist today” (Lasco 2024).
From this cultural context, I discovered a particularly relevant poem, titled “Nankör Kedi,” or “Ungrateful Cat,” by Yalvaç Ural. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a version of the poem without an accompanying translation, as I wished to translate it myself, but I will challenge the translation on certain grounds, particularly with the filling of non-present words. Ural begins his work with the short stanza, “Kedi kedi gibiyd[;]. Köpek, köpek[;] Insan, insan gibi.” The translation identifies this as “Cats were like cats[;] Dogs like dogs[;] And man like man” (Ural). I contend that this ought to be stated as “Cats were like cats. Dogs, dogs. People like people” (Ozer). The inconsistency of the attribution of plurals to words, as well as the addition of ‘like’ and ‘and’ when they were not present in the original writing detract from Ural’s style. He follows with, “Kedi kedi gibiydi[;] Köpek biraz köpek[;] Biraz insan[;] Insan, insan gibi” (Ural). Georgina Ozer, the translator of the poem, interprets this stanza as “Cats were like cats[;] Dogs a bit like dogs[;] And a bit like man[;] and man was like man” (Ozer). I believe a more faithful translation, the importance of which will be emphasized later, ought to read as “Cats were like cates. Dogs a little dog, a little human. People like people.” The difference in these conceptions is that the removal of the ands and likes conveys an uncontrollable change of the nature of dogs towards humans, whereas the inclusion of words that convey a stronger observational presence connotate a heightened understanding of this transformation that does not exist in the original piece. Ural continues, “kedi, kedi gibiydi[;] Köpek insan[;] Insan hem insan[;] hem köpek gibi” (Ural). Ozer conveys this as “Cats were like cats[;] Dogs like man[;] And man was like man[;] Man and like dogs” (Ozer). Ozer incorrectly interprets an idiomatic use of ‘hem’ in this sentence. Instead, it should be portrayed as “Cats were like cats. Dogs, people. People both like people and dogs.” Throughout Ural’s work, it is shown that dogs and people have become more and more intertwined over time. When referencing Lasco’s writing, it potentially indicates a decay in the cleanliness of people, along with their degradation and intermeshing with dog-like behaviors and characteristics.
Ural pivots to further demonstrate this likely meaning, “Kedi tedirgindi[;] Köpek umarsız[;] Insan köpekti[;] Köpek kimliksiz” (Ural). Ozer understands these phrases as meaning “The cats were worried[;] The dogs did not care [;] People were dogs, And dogs had no identity” (Ozer). I disagree with the implication of the past progressive here, as it technically translates to “The cats worried. The dogs did not care. People were dogs, dogs had not identity.” Ural completes his poem with two simple lines, “Kedi nankördü. Çekti gitti” (Ural), which translates to “The cat was ungrateful [;] It left, just like that” (Ozer).
Returning to Lasco’s article, he cites scholarship that emphasizes how “Unlike dogs … which have been profoundly altered by breeding and the need to fit into human society, cats didn’t change that much compared with their wild ancestors and have kept their independent spirit” (Lasco 2024). Ural’s work, with the repeatedly stated unchanging position of the cat, is allegorical to the veneration and respect for cats in Turkish culture. Unlike humans and dogs, who lost their identities through constant interaction, cats demonstrated “an inscrutability and imperviousness” (Lasco 2024). At least through Ural’s work, it appears that his description of cats most strongly aligns with a personal cultural fascination with their natures, while the religious undertones of cat culture in Turkey do not arise in his work. Notwithstanding these discrepancies, it is evident that understanding the societal position of cats is an important component to learning about Turkey’s cultural and social history.
Sources:
Lasco, Gideon. "For the Love of Cats in Turkey." Sapiens.org. Sapiens. Last modified March 12, 2024. https://www.sapiens.org/culture/cat-human-bonds-history-turkey/.
Ural, Yalvaç. "Nankör Kedi." Translated by Georgina Ozer. Poetry International Rotterdam. https://poetryinternationalweb.org/pi/site/poem/item/656/auto/0/UNG....
Although this topic might initially present itself as culturally ambiguous and seemingly irrelevant, the salience and relevance of cats in Turkish culture possesses both historical and religious origins that have persisted in societal norms for hundreds of years. Specifically, as observed by anthropologist Dr. Gideon Lasco during his visit to Turkey, cats are so ingrained into Turkish culture and society that they are accepted in unexpected locales, such as cafes and mosques (Lasco 2024). In his anthropological review, Lasco cites an unclear history of why cats are specially integrated into Turkish culture, but he cites prior cultural anthropological work which suggests that cats possess a position in Islam of being "ritually clean" with ties to Prophet Muhammad (Lasco 2024). Moreover, their practical use in pest control during the Ottoman Empire made cats indispensable (Lasco 2024). As such, Turkish historians believe that these roles created “traditions of ‘stewardship’” that still “persist today” (Lasco 2024).
From this cultural context, I discovered a particularly relevant poem, titled “Nankör Kedi,” or “Ungrateful Cat,” by Yalvaç Ural. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a version of the poem without an accompanying translation, as I wished to translate it myself, but I will challenge the translation on certain grounds, particularly with the filling of non-present words. Ural begins his work with the short stanza, “Kedi kedi gibiyd[;]. Köpek, köpek[;] Insan, insan gibi.” The translation identifies this as “Cats were like cats[;] Dogs like dogs[;] And man like man” (Ural). I contend that this ought to be stated as “Cats were like cats. Dogs, dogs. People like people” (Ozer). The inconsistency of the attribution of plurals to words, as well as the addition of ‘like’ and ‘and’ when they were not present in the original writing detract from Ural’s style. He follows with, “Kedi kedi gibiydi[;] Köpek biraz köpek[;] Biraz insan[;] Insan, insan gibi” (Ural). Georgina Ozer, the translator of the poem, interprets this stanza as “Cats were like cats[;] Dogs a bit like dogs[;] And a bit like man[;] and man was like man” (Ozer). I believe a more faithful translation, the importance of which will be emphasized later, ought to read as “Cats were like cates. Dogs a little dog, a little human. People like people.” The difference in these conceptions is that the removal of the ands and likes conveys an uncontrollable change of the nature of dogs towards humans, whereas the inclusion of words that convey a stronger observational presence connotate a heightened understanding of this transformation that does not exist in the original piece. Ural continues, “kedi, kedi gibiydi[;] Köpek insan[;] Insan hem insan[;] hem köpek gibi” (Ural). Ozer conveys this as “Cats were like cats[;] Dogs like man[;] And man was like man[;] Man and like dogs” (Ozer). Ozer incorrectly interprets an idiomatic use of ‘hem’ in this sentence. Instead, it should be portrayed as “Cats were like cats. Dogs, people. People both like people and dogs.” Throughout Ural’s work, it is shown that dogs and people have become more and more intertwined over time. When referencing Lasco’s writing, it potentially indicates a decay in the cleanliness of people, along with their degradation and intermeshing with dog-like behaviors and characteristics.
Ural pivots to further demonstrate this likely meaning, “Kedi tedirgindi[;] Köpek umarsız[;] Insan köpekti[;] Köpek kimliksiz” (Ural). Ozer understands these phrases as meaning “The cats were worried[;] The dogs did not care [;] People were dogs, And dogs had no identity” (Ozer). I disagree with the implication of the past progressive here, as it technically translates to “The cats worried. The dogs did not care. People were dogs, dogs had not identity.” Ural completes his poem with two simple lines, “Kedi nankördü. Çekti gitti” (Ural), which translates to “The cat was ungrateful [;] It left, just like that” (Ozer).
Returning to Lasco’s article, he cites scholarship that emphasizes how “Unlike dogs … which have been profoundly altered by breeding and the need to fit into human society, cats didn’t change that much compared with their wild ancestors and have kept their independent spirit” (Lasco 2024). Ural’s work, with the repeatedly stated unchanging position of the cat, is allegorical to the veneration and respect for cats in Turkish culture. Unlike humans and dogs, who lost their identities through constant interaction, cats demonstrated “an inscrutability and imperviousness” (Lasco 2024). At least through Ural’s work, it appears that his description of cats most strongly aligns with a personal cultural fascination with their natures, while the religious undertones of cat culture in Turkey do not arise in his work. Notwithstanding these discrepancies, it is evident that understanding the societal position of cats is an important component to learning about Turkey’s cultural and social history.
Sources:
Lasco, Gideon. "For the Love of Cats in Turkey." Sapiens.org. Sapiens. Last modified March 12, 2024. https://www.sapiens.org/culture/cat-human-bonds-history-turkey/.
Ural, Yalvaç. "Nankör Kedi." Translated by Georgina Ozer. Poetry International Rotterdam. https://poetryinternationalweb.org/pi/site/poem/item/656/auto/0/UNG....
Comments
Wow. Very impressive to be at a level where you can critique poetic translations. I remember my high school Spanish professor used to have us read Neruda and Machado in Spanish. This was far beyond our level at the time as the secondary and tertiary meanings of the words in the poetry was lost on us students who barely knew the words' most common usages. I'd love to be able to do this in Portuguese but reckon it'll be a while before I'm there!