underworld. To avoid this, people started dressing up as ghosts and spirits if they left their homes on this particular day. They hoped that this would confuse the ghosts and spirits. The name is derived from the Old English 'hallowed' meaning holy or sanctified and is now usually contracted to the more familiar word Hallowe'en. Hallowe’en is now celebrated in many countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia. Hallowe’en was also a time when spirits might give messages to people.
A common symbol
is the pumpkin. Pumpkins are carved into
ugly creatures such as witches, goblins and ghosts. Lights and/or candlesare fixed inside. Witches fly on their broomsticks and travel
from house to house asking for candies.
In this article,
I want to tell you how Karakancoloz from Anatolia found its way to America and
became Hallowe’en.In other words,‘karakancoloz’ is the same as the Hallowe’en
witch. I am going to give you some
examples. In Gaziantep, there is a saying, “to become gancoloz,” meaning
someone who does not go into a deep sleep or somehow is uncomfortable. “You have a gancoloz child,” is a phrase that
you can hear quite often. Sometimes, a
baby has difficulty falling asleep. In
thiscase, they say that ‘karakancoloz’ got into the child and that is the
reason the child cannot get to sleep
Omer Asim Aksoy
wrote a three-volume dictionary about the dialects of Gaziiantep, which is
located in southeast Tirkey. In his
dictionary,’kancoloz’ means ‘phantom’.
In 2002, writer
Mesta Yapici, who was from Izmir in western Turkey, published a book about
pumpkin and zucchini dishes. He included
much information about both the pumpkin and zucchini. He was from a region in western Turkey, an
area that had a very large Greek population.
He said a calendar that is used by many farmers and targets January 18,
19, and 20 as days when the weather is extremely cold and called it Corazgecesi, meaning the night of the
witches. In other words, it is called ‘karacancaloz’.
The word coraz means hunchback. It describes someone who has a wrinkled face,
is ugly and very scary. Supposedly, the
‘coraz’ enters a house through the chimney.
She has a magic comb that is made from horns. When she combs someone’s hair it is very
painful. She then spits in the water
jugs. Young girls make it a point to get home early so the witch cannot touch
them.
Also, on this
special day, okra is never cooked because cooked okra will allow slugs to come
out. If you cook bulgour, your house will be infested with ants. Therefore, pumpkin and zucchini are used
instead.
Özhan Özturk, a Turkish
writer and researcher, wrote
for the first Turkish Folklore Encyclopedia and the first encyclopedic
dictionary of the culture andfolklore of the peoples of the Black
Sea region
of Turkey. He
describes ‘gancoloz’as a man with dark hair or furlike an animal. This man lives in the mountains, does not
talk and only comes out on New Years.
You should be cautious because he can be very hamful to you.
On the coldest way of the year, It is
believed that the “karakancoloz” or “karakancilo” comes out when there is a
strong wind, usually on the banks of small rivers. He is harmful but there is a way to appease
him. You have to offer him local food:
kuymak (made with flour and butter) and huliya.
To keep him away, you leave the food outside in the garden. People shout, “What do you want? Kara kumakmıbuzakmı?” “Do youwant a calf?” If you don’t put anything out, he will eat
your youngest son.
In some villages on the coast of the Black
Sea, it is believed that the “karakancoloz” would come out during the first 6
days of January. Charcoals was used to mark the top of the barn door so he
could not get in and usethe ropes and axes thatwere hidden. Doors to the cellars and areas where food was
kept would beclosed to bar entry. In
some places, it was also believed that the “karakancoloz” would eat the liver
of a newborn baby.
A reference book by Pertev Naiii Boratav, aTurkish folklorist and researcher of folk literature, has been
characterized as 'the founding father of Turkish folkloristics during the
Republic. He asserts that in April,
farmers make fun of the month of March and because the month became ups it took
away one day from the month of February, That particular day was very cold and
windy and served as punishment for mocking it.
In the Armenian tradition, it is believed that at the end of
February, ‘karakancoloz’ will
enter your house and you have to be prepared.
To do this, in March, you have to take a stick and hit the walls of the
house and the barn. It should be done at
the end of February and the beginning of March.
You have to shout, “Come in March, and go out February!” Doing this sends,‘karakancoloz’ away.’
In Cappadocia, the Greeks call it
‘karakancoloz’. Dried fruits are put all over the house to keep him away.
On Christmas day, people bring holy water
from the church and sprinkle it all over the house;‘Karakancoloz’ hates water
and goes underground for the winter.
In Diyarbekır, they
would put safety pins on their coats so that‘karakancoloz’ cannot take them
away.
Did you ever think that this wandering,‘karakancoloz’
is celebrated each year on October 31st as Hallowe’en?