Stephen Spender
Translation Competition

COMMENTARY
The lyrics on the next page likely belonged to Dadaloglu, one of the most famous Turkish folk poets, who is assumed to have lived in late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries near the Taurus mountains (in southern Turkey today). Turkish folk poetry followed an oral tradition; hence there are slightly different versions of these lyrics in use.

Like my paternal grandfather’s family, Dadaloglu belonged to the nomadic Afshar tribe. The Afshars’ most famous son in history was Nader Shah, who, at the peak of his reign, ruled Iran and many of the neighbouring regions in the 18th century. His death and consequent loss of power to other competing tribes in Iran spelled a disaster for the Afshars; many left Northern Iran in masses and immigrated to Ottoman lands.

Despite having nomadic roots themselves (Ottomans settled in Anatolia in the 13th century), Ottomans were keen believers in centralised government. Settlements of nomadic tribes were considered a requirement to increase tax revenues and grow the size of the conscription eligible population for the army; and during the nineteenth century, Ottomans intensified their forced settlement policies. Afshars were offered agricultural land, but most tribe members preferred their traditional nomadic lifestyle and struggled against the Ottoman high commander of the region; they did not want to change their way of life or lose their identity.

Most of Dadaloglu’s poems shed a light on this period and the associated struggles of the tribesmen. This popular poem has elements of rebellious protest and bravery in the face of almost certain death against a superior power.

In my translation, I have tried to focus on the message of each verse rather than the structure of the poem. As a result, my English translation unfortunately does not rhyme. The Turkish original has a rhythm to it and is usually sung rather than read, accompanied with a guitar-like instrument called Saz. Such rhythm proved difficult to achieve in the English translation.

Few words in this poem are either old Turkish or Persian and required research beyond my knowledge of Turkish. For example, the word “kirmani” in the first verse of the second quatrain has Persian roots with the “i” suffix at the end of “kirman” meaning “from Kirman”. I understand that swords from Kirman (or Kerman) in Iran were renowned for their high-quality and curved shape. The word “temren” in the second verse means arrow or spearhead made of iron in old Turkish which made sense to me given that iron means “demir” in modern Turkish. The word “davlumbazlar” in the second verse of the third quatrain was a confusing one. It means “stove hood” or “paddle box” in modern Turkish. My research suggests that “davlum” may have been a derivation of ”davul”, meaning “drum”. “Baz” is a Persian suffix which is used to denote a person who does certain things, such as “er” in English. “Lar” is a Turkish suffix for plural. As such, I have concluded that “davlumbazlar” meant “drummers” in the 19th century Anatolia. Depending on how one reads this verse, it could mean the drummers being hit or drums being hit by the drummer; I chose the latter option.


TURKISH VERSION OF THE POEM

Ferman padişahın dağlar bizimdir

Kalktı göç eyledi Avşar elleri,
Ağır ağır giden eller bizimdir.
Arap atlar yakın eyler ırağı,
Yüce dağdan aşan yollar bizimdir.

Belimizde kılıcımız kirmani,
Taşı deler mızrağımızın temreni,
Hakkımızda devlet etmiş fermanı,
Ferman padişahın dağlar bizimdir.

Dadaloğlu’m yarın kavga kurulur,
Öter tüfek davlumbazlar vurulur,
Nice koç yiğitler yere serilir,
Ölen ölür kalan sağlar bizimdir.
​

ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE POEM

The decree is the sultan's, the mountains are ours

Afshars rose and are emigrating,
The slow, slow moving folk are ours.
The Arabian horses shorten the distance,
The roads over the highest mountains are ours.

On our waist are swords from Kirman,
The tip of our spears can pierce stone,
About us the state has decreed,
The decree is the sultan’s, the mountains are ours.

Dadaloglu says a battle will begin tomorrow,
Guns will sing, war drums will beat,
Many brave warriors will fall,
Those who die, die, those still alive are ours.