Nasreddin Hodja
In short: Read how Nasreddin’s jokes work through the tale of the borrowed pot, then explore a storytelling tradition shared from Akşehir to Central Asia.
¹ Based on the number of Atlas countries, capped at 10. ² Editorial suggestion for reading this page. Discover Black Horse’s question
Origin and tradition
Associated with Akşehir and Sivrihisar in Anatolia, Nasreddin is also the central figure of a shared Eurasian tradition told under several names.
Nasreddin borrows a cooking pot. When he brings it back, there is a smaller pot inside. The big one had a baby, he says. The neighbour accepts the gift and gladly lends the pot again. This time it never comes back. When Nasreddin says it died, the neighbour objects. Nasreddin reminds him what he believed the first time.
The two halves of the joke test the same rule with opposite results. The neighbour accepts an impossibility when it benefits him and objects when it costs him. The timing of his change of mind is part of the story.
The seven Atlas markers dated 2022 refer to a joint UNESCO listing. The year dates that recognition of a shared tradition.
Dated records and sources
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1571 · Anatolia, Türkiye
Hikâyet-i Kitâb-ı Nasreddin · Selçuk Üniversitesi · Manuscript -
2022 · Akşehir, Türkiye
UNESCO · Nasreddin Hoca · Heritage listing -
2022 · Azerbaijan
UNESCO · Molla Nesreddin · Heritage listing -
2022 · Kazakhstan
UNESCO · Afendi Kozhanasyr · Heritage listing -
2022 · Kyrgyz oral tradition
UNESCO · Apendi · Heritage listing -
2022 · Tajikistan
UNESCO · Afandi · Heritage listing -
2022 · Turkmen oral tradition
UNESCO · Molla Ependi · Heritage listing -
2022 · Uzbekistan
UNESCO · Nasriddin Afandi · Heritage listing
Country pages
Fairy Tale Glossary
Origin
Black Horse. Nasreddin Hodja. https://blackhorsestories.com/en/atlas-tale-nasreddin-hoca/