Ata Köpek Mergen as Joke Character in Turkmen Literature: His Life and Jokes

Turkmens have a very rich oral literature tradition. Jokes and the character of jokes, which are the main protagonists, have a wide place in these products of oral literature. An important joke character in Turkmen oral literature is Ata Köpek Mergen. Ata Köpek was born in Marı province on December 11, 1898. During his childhood, Ata Köpek learned about Turkmen poets and literati from his father, then from the people of village and in the old-style madrasa where he was educated, and read their works. His articles, poems and jokes were published in important magazines and newspapers of that period. The most important feature of Mergen, who came to the fore with his joker identity at a young age, is that he is both the narrator and the subject of the jokes. So the jokes are shaped around him. In his jokes; we see mullahs who abuse the people financially and spiritually by using religion, the attitudes of the political (Kolhoz: collective farm) administrators who only think of their own benefits, the bourgeoisie's contempt for the people, that is the conflict between the rich and the poor. In these jokes, Mergen approaches all the faults that cause social disruption with a satirical and didactic style. In this study, the concepts of humor and joke are discussed in general and the type of jokes in Turkmen literature is briefly mentioned. Then, information was given about Ata Köpek's life and literary personality, and finally, examples of some of his jokes were given in Turkey Turkish.