|
brother, so the contest
continued throughout the night illuminated
by candle and torch light. In the end, however,
both of the brothers ran short of both breath
and energy and so they died.
At the spot where the two men had perished,
where there was a fig tree, their friends
laid them to rest. Then many years later
they came to visit the tree. At that very
place where the two brothers were buried,
they found a great river flowing. Following
this, the people of the region start calling
the area “Kirkpinar” (Forty Springs). This
was at the green pastoral area of the Greek
village of Samona. At the end of the Balkan
wars and World War I, the Kirkpinar Wrestling
Contest started to be held at the place
called Virantekke, which is located between
Edirne and Mustafapasa. After the foundation
of the Turkish Republic, since 1924 the
contests have been held in Edirne’s Sarayiçi
area.
Until 1928, agas (landlords) organized the
Kirkpinar Wrestling Contest and they entertained
the guests and gave awards to the winners.
However, due to economic troubles in the
country, people became reluctant to volunteer
to become agas. So, starting in 1928, the
Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilay) and the Child
Protection Society (Çocuk Esirgeme Kurumu)
took over the duties of putting together
the wrestling contests.
In 1946, the Edirne Municipality started
organizing the Kirkpinar Wrestling Contest,
and in this year also Edirne Mayor Tahsin
Sipka added the contest’s organization to
the municipality’s official duties.
Pehlivan
“Pehlivan” is a Persian word normally meaning
brave, but it also has a number of secondary
meanings: officer, governor, a physically
large man or a person who tells the truth.
Throughout history the word has been used
with a variety of meanings. The Seljuks
used to employ the word to refer to heroic
warriors, accomplished shooters and wrestlers.
In the 16th century, it was used exclusively
for athletes, and this practice continued
to the end of the reign of Sultan Mahmut
II.
The entire Turkish nation, including women
and children, loves wrestling, and they
respect wrestlers for their roots in the
culture of warriors and heroism. People
love pehlivans because they are physically
stronger than everyone else, as well as
muscular, healthy-looking, and brave, and
because they have strong characters and
you can trust their word.
In Ottoman times, wrestling contests were
held as a part of festivals and weddings
or as a way to raise funds for groups promoting
social welfare.
|
