Books by Helga Anetshofer
Dealing with dervish headcoverings (tac) in the Ottoman Empire and interpreting them in a broad s... more Dealing with dervish headcoverings (tac) in the Ottoman Empire and interpreting them in a broad sense, this book is based on a late 18th century treatise of the Naqshbandi scholar Mustaqim-zade Suleyman Sadeddin (d. 1788) from Istanbul. The introduction interprets the meaning of headcoverings in both Ottoman society as well as in a dervish's private world and it discusses the terminology used in the dervish literature. The second chapter is the critical transliteration of Mustaqim-zade's treatise. Mustaqim-zade does not only tell the history and meaning of headcoverings in Islam but also examines precisely the differences of the headcoverings in different tariqats. Nine different indices conclude the book. Some of these are commented. The index on dressing terminology is especially important and serves as a reference. The book is illustrated with partly non-published hand drawings from Ottoman manuscripts as well as prints and photographs.
Papers by Helga Anetshofer
Zemin, vol. 6 (2023): 34–81
This paper presents textual evidence for the Turkic word qımız "fermented mare's milk" in a broad... more This paper presents textual evidence for the Turkic word qımız "fermented mare's milk" in a broad historical and cultural context. It combines philological and linguistic analysis with cultural and historical examination, as well as supporting archaeological evidence. Original primary sources in Byzantine Greek, Turkic, Sogdian, Chinese, Arabic, Persian, and Mongolian, ranging from the 6th-13th centuries, have been analyzed and re-evaluated. The primary meaning "sour, acidic" for qımız is attested by Maḥmūd al-Kāšɣarī (1077), and in various modern Turkic languages. I argue that the direct etymon of Turkic qımız is Middle Persian ḫāmīz "a pickled meat dish," with the basic meaning "sour, fermented." Furthermore, I propose that a Semitic word of the Proto-Semitic root *ḥmṣ "to sour, ferment" (most probably Biblical Hebrew ḥāmēṣ, modern Hebrew chametz "leavened [food; forbidden on Passover]") is the ultimate origin of certain names of fermented, sour food and drink items in Semitic, Iranian, Armenian, and Turkic languages. Thus, I propose to call Hebrew ḥāmēṣ a sort of "Wanderwort," whose spread—via Syriac and other languages—was supported by the religious significance of the Hebrew term.
“Buyurdum ki….” – The Whole World of Ottomanica and Beyond: Studies in Honour of Claudia Römer, ed. by Hülya Çelik, Yavuz Köse, and Gisela Procházka-Eisl. Brill: Leiden; Boston, 2023, 15–42
The Old Anatolian Turkish (OAT) enclitic discourse particle1 iki (bound variant-(y)iki) expresses... more The Old Anatolian Turkish (OAT) enclitic discourse particle1 iki (bound variant-(y)iki) expresses the speaker's wonder, surprise, counter-expectation, uncertainty, or disbelief in formally interrogative sentences. Thus, I am calling it a mirative particle.2 OAT iki is scarcely documented, understudied and therefore still not generally known in Turkic studies. It is the continuation of Old Turkic (OT) erki, which is abundantly documented in Old Uigur, but also lacks a thorough study. Numerous examples from Old Uigur texts are attested in Röhrborn's Uigurisches Wörterbuch (lemma "ärki").3 OT erki occurs in interrogative and declarative sentences, and is usually described in the Turcological literature as a modal particle with various epistemic meanings, including wonder, doubt, speculation, scepticism, disbelief, uncertainty, certainty, probability, hope, etc.4 However, only the Old Turkic erki-structures in interrogative sentences have equivalents in Old Anatolian Turkish or Modern Turkish. 1 Discourse particles are also called discourse markers or pragmatic markers. Modal particles like German denn, wohl, nur-which are often suitable translations for Old Anatolian Turkish-(y)iki-are sometimes called a subclass of discourse particles. 2 DeLancey has presented mirativity as a cross-linguistic category for marking new and unexpected information (
Artichoke: Ottoman & Turkish Literature in English Translation, ed. Roberta Micallef, Boston University, 2023
The Story of Dalla the Trickster (Dalla-i Muḥtāle) and Her Adversaries :
34th Story from the Book... more The Story of Dalla the Trickster (Dalla-i Muḥtāle) and Her Adversaries :
34th Story from the Book Relief After Hardship (Ferec baʿde ş-şidde)
(Ms. Budapest 213a–226b, copied in Edirne, 1451) – Facsimile, Transcription, Translation
The Ottoman World: A Cultural History Reader, 1450–1700, co-edited with Hakan T. Karateke, 2021
Ottoman Turkish translation extract (The Ottoman World, Chapter 45).
The Ottoman World: A Cultural History Reader, 1450–1700, co-edited with Hakan T. Karateke, 2021
Ottoman Turkish translation extract (The Ottoman World, Chapter 41).
The Ottoman World: A Cultural History Reader, 1450–1700, co-edited with Hakan T. Karateke, 2021
Ottoman Turkish translation extract (The Ottoman World, Chapter 26).
The Ottoman World: A Cultural History Reader, 1450–1700, co-edited with Hakan T. Karateke, 2021
Ottoman Turkish translation extract (The Ottoman World, Chapter 3).
Zemin, 2022
This paper argues that the Turkish words ‹yapağı› “raw wool,” ‹yapalak› “owl,” and ‹lapa lapa (ka... more This paper argues that the Turkish words ‹yapağı› “raw wool,” ‹yapalak› “owl,” and ‹lapa lapa (kar)› “(snow) in thick flakes” are all etymologically related to Old Turkic yapaḳu “flocks or clumps of sheep wool; tufts or flocks of entangled, matted hair.” Old Anatolian Turkish and Ottoman attestations for yapaɣu/yapaɣï “dense tufts (of grass); raw wool,” yapalaḳ “1. feathered, hairy; 2. owl,” and yapa yapa ḳar (> Turkish ‹lapa lapa kar›) are provided and discussed. Departing from the commonly accepted etymological proposal, yapalaḳ “owl” has been reanalysed as *yapaɣu+laḳ “hairy, woolly, feathered (little ball).” *Yapa in the reduplicated form yapa yapa (ḳar) “(snow) in thick flakes” is proposed to be an irregular development of yapaɣï “flock(s) of wool,” corroborated by cognate forms in modern Turkic languages (e.g., Tatar yapalaḳ ḳar, Kazakh žapalaḳ žapalaḳ ḳar). The previously suggested etymologies for yapaḳu and, more recently, yapa yapa ḳar, deriving both from yap- “to cover, close” are falsified. Involved processes like irregular sound change (/y-/ → /l-/), metaphorical extension and semantic change, as well as lexical split (Turkish ‹yapağı› and ‹lapa lapa (kar)› < yapaɣï) are adressed.
Archivum Ottomanicum 35, 229-284 , 2018
Osmanlı Toplumunda Ötekileştirme, Düşmanlık ve Nefret (16.-18. Yüzyıllar), 2022
(Turkish version of “Are You From Çorum? ....”, 2018)
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Books by Helga Anetshofer
Papers by Helga Anetshofer
34th Story from the Book Relief After Hardship (Ferec baʿde ş-şidde)
(Ms. Budapest 213a–226b, copied in Edirne, 1451) – Facsimile, Transcription, Translation
34th Story from the Book Relief After Hardship (Ferec baʿde ş-şidde)
(Ms. Budapest 213a–226b, copied in Edirne, 1451) – Facsimile, Transcription, Translation
Within early Anatolian Turkish epic literature Greek born Efromiya is certainly the most important and most prominent warrior woman figure. The woman warriors of this genre are almost exclusively Christian born converts, just as their counterparts in contemporary Italian epic romances are Saracen (Muslim) born converts. Therefore I challenge the comparison of this warrior woman type in early Anatolian conversion narratives to the ‘pre-Islamic Turkish warrior woman,’ as often seen in modern studies of literature. Efromiya is also the only heroine who retains her pre-conversion name. That means, the audience of the epic narrative was continously reminded of her otherness not only by her prowess in martial arts, but also by her foreign name. Nonetheless Efromiya is celebrated for her strength throughout major parts of the epic. She often appears commanding the Muslim troops together with the eponymous hero Melik Danişmend and her husband Artuhi, a new convert like herself.
When first her military leader and then her husband die towards the end of the narrative, Efromiya is now perceived as a threat to the Muslim community because of her extraordinary strength. Without much elaboration she is poisoned by her own eunuch slave whose motivation is to prevent her from apostasizing and becoming a Christian again. Although it is a common epic theme that the hero is poisoned by a base and treacherous slave in the end, Efromiya’s case is different because the action of the slave is not condemned. In a later reworking of the Danişmendname from the sixteenth century the slave is even praised for his sincere loyalty. After losing the protection of her leader Melik Danişmend and her husband Artuhi warrior woman Efromiya’s conversion no longer suffices to make her a trusted member of the community.