The Kırkpınar Oil Wrestling Tournament, held annually in Turkey for over six centuries, begins with the recitation of a bold prayer by the cazgır, the tournament announcer: “In Allah’s name! If you fall beneath your opponent, take care! If you climb above your opponent, cling to him!”

All Kırkpınar masters gather yearly in Edirne, in the Sarayiçi region of Turkey. Sarayiçi, one could say, is the “Kaaba” of the pehlivan, the oil wrestler. In the young warriors’ arena, a zurna beats a battle rhythm. The cazgır summons the pehlivanlar to wrestle, shouting: “Allah Allah İllallah!”—“Allah, Allah, the only One!” Following the cazgır’s prayer, the wrestlers take the field and warm up in a physical ceremony known as peşrev. Peşrev is the soul of oil wrestling; the movements of peşrev resemble the flapping of an eagle’s wings as it dives to its prey. Once limber, the burly wrestlers greet the spectators. They first stroke the earth with their right hands before rising to touch both chest and forehead. They then touch the soles of their opponents’ feet before raising their hands over their own heads.

 
Hamza ibn ‘Abdul Muttalib is the holy patriarch of pehlivanlar. He was a paternal uncle of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). He was also a martyr of the Battle of Uhud, the second battle between the Meccans and the Muslims on March 19, 625. Renown for his bravery, Holy Hamza’s fellow warriors deemed him “ Lion of Allah” and “Lion of Paradise.” Few among the champions of Islam rival his reputation in battle. Famed as a large man and a great warrior, Hamza was the most celebrated of the earlier martyrs. Indeed his strength was so legendary that upon his death in battle, Hind bint Utbah, the wife of the leader of the Meccan army, gnawed greedily at his liver.

The cazgır invites pehlivanlar to the arena with a prayer to Allah, Prophet Muhammad  (peace be upon him) and pehlivan Hamza.

Allah Allah İllallah	Allah, Allah, the Only One
Hayırlar gele inşallah	May good deeds happen, Allah willing
Pirimiz Hamza pehlivan	Our patriarch is Pehlivan Hamza
Aslımız neslimiz pehlivan	Our true forefathers are Pehlivan

İki yiğit çıkmış meydane	Two brave men in the arena
Birbirinden merdane	Each stronger than the other
Biri ak biri kara	One light, one dark
İkisinin de zoru para	Both bound by money.

Alta geldim diye erinme	Lament not that I am underneath
Üste çıktım diye sevinme	Cheer not that I climbed above
Alta düşersen apış	If you fall beneath, take care
Üste çıkarsan yapış	If you climb above, cling

Vur sarmayı kündeden at	Wrap your leg around his and hurl him to the ground
Gönder Muhammet’e salavat (sav)	Deliver a prayer to Muhammad (p.b.u.h.)
Seyirttim gittim pınara	I descended to the spring
Allah, her ikinizin de işini onara.	May Allah renew you both, make you capable.

Countless cazgırlar have blessed the Kırkpınar wrestling games. These cazgırlar study each pehlivan prior to the tournament and know well the region, city, special tricks, strengths, and weaknesses of each. In their prayers, the cazgılar introduce these pehlivanlar to the audience. They warn the wrestlers of their opponents’ strength.

In Kırkpınar, and in other wrestling arenas, every cazgır has a specific repertoire of poems. Here is one poem, now a classic. The cazgır is unknown.

DİKKAAT Dikkat…	ATTENTION Attention…
Hepimiz geldik koşa koşa	We have come running
Gördüğünüz pehlivanlar güreşecek başa.	The pehlivanlar before you will wrestle for the top.
Pehlivanlar çıktı meydana her birisi	They enter the arena each one
Birbirinden merdane	Stronger than the other
Karşıki dağdan gelir kır at	From the mountain abroad comes the white horse
Kanatlar kat kat,	With folded wings
Biz de gönderelim Hazreti Muhammed’e Salavat (sav)	Let us also send a prayer to Holy Muhammad (p.b.u.h.)
Pehlivanlar çıktı meydana her birisi birbirinden merdane	The pehlivanlar enter the arena each one stronger than the other
Biri here biri kara pirimiz üstadımız Hazreti Hamza	One light, one dark our spiritual master and patriarch Holy Hamza
Erdi nura Avrupa sarayı yıkıldı oldu rahap	The European palace reached the light then fell to ruins
Kaftan kafa hükmetti koca Arap.	From Mount Qaf to Mount Qaf the colossal Arab reigned.
Ona bile kalmadı bu meydan	But even he did not conquer this arena
Pehlivanlar bize de kalmaz gördüğünüz meydan.	Pehlivanlar, nor shall we own eternal this arena
Pirimiz üstadımız Hazreti Hamza,	Our spiritual master and patriarch Holy Hamza,
Peygamberimiz Hazreti Muhammed Mustafa (s.a.v)	Our prophet Holy Muhammad Mustafa (p.b.u.h)
Biz de burada diyelim Dünyadan göç etmiş pehlivanlara	Let us also honor the pehlivanlar already migrated from this mortal world
Cennet mekan ola.	Let heaven be home.

Every cazgır utters these prayers in his own dialect and makes use of his own turns of phrase. A former pehlivan, the imam of the Ayşe Kadın mosque in Edirne, Kirişhaneli Sadık Hoca (1852-1942), served as the cazgır in Kırkpınar for many years. Here follows his poem for the heavyweight championship:

Allah Allah İllallah	Allah, Allah, the Only One
Erler çıktı meydane	Brave men came to the arena
Biri birinden merdane	Each is a rolling pin, stronger than the other

Biri ak biri kara	One white, one dark
Mevlam her birine kuvvet vere	May my Maker give each one strength
Bu meydan er meydanıdır	This arena—a brave man’s arena
Kırklar, yediler seyranıdır	Serving the forty Saints and seven Prophets

Nice koç yiğitler bu meydandan geçtiler	Men, strong as rams, crossed this arena
Acı tatlı suyun içip göçtüler	Then departed, their water bitter or sweet
Atlar gibi tepişelim	Let us trammel the earth as horses
Arslanlar gibi kapışalım	Let us arise as lions

Ya Muhammed, Ya Ali	Oh Muhammad, Oh Ali
Pehlivanların piri Hazreti Hamza Veli	Holy Hamza Veli, spiritual guide of Pehlivanlar
Dellal çıksın aradan	Let the cazgır fall behind
Hepsine kuvvet versin Yaradan	May the Creator lend strength to each and all
Hani Ali, Hani Veli	Where is Ali, Where is Veli
Pirimiz üstadımız Hazreti Hamza’dır belli.	Holy Hamza clearly our master, our guide
Karşıdan gelir kır at, kanatları kat kat	A white horse approaches with folded wings
Gönderelim Hazreti Muhammet’e salavat	Let us deliver a prayer to Holy Muhammad
Allah Allah İllalah	Allah Allah the only One
Hep birlikte pehlivanlarımıza	Altogether to our pehlivanlar
Alkışlarla diyelim maşaallah	With applause let us praise those wonders Allah willed

Sadık Hoca was followed by one of the most famous cazgırlar, the late Mustafa Şirin. After Mustafa Şirin’s death, their apprentice Şükrü Kayabaş took his place, assisted by Osman Filiz from Adapazarı.

The wrestle of the Başpehlivanlar, the heavy-weight champions, is the long-awaited finale of the game. During this peak of excitement, Kayabaş entertained thousands of cheering spectators with stanzas celebrating pehlivan bravery.

Ağustos ayında ekilen darıdan	Millet sown in the month of August
Oğul vermeyen arıdan	Bee that births no son
Sabahları kocasından sonra kalkan karıdan hayır gelmez,	Wife that rises after her husband, brings no good
Her yiğitten de pehlivan olmaz.	Nor does every brave man make a pehlivan

Zengin babayı hayırsız evlat batırır	The ungrateful son ruins his wealthy father
Fakir kocayı süslü avrat batırır	The bejeweled wife impoverishes her husband
Haylaz çiftçiyi kuru inat batırır	Dry stubbornness ruins the idle farmer
Pehlivan sen de hazırlanmamışsan	Pehlivan, if you are not prepared
Rakibin seni sırt aşağı yatırır.	Your opponent will pin you to the earth

Söğüt dalından odun olmaz	Willow branch cannot be wood
Her kızdan kadın olmaz	Nor every girl a woman
Her ananın doğurduğundan da	Not every mother’s offspring
Pehlivan olmaz.	A pehlivan

Gurur duyup göğsümüzü kabartan	They made us proud and filled our chests
Türk gücünü kıt’alara tanıtan	They told the stranger of the Turk’s strength
Marşımızı defalarca dinleten	Again our anthem plays
O yiğitler nerde kaldı o güreş?	Where are our heros? Where do they wrestle?
Yaşar’lar, Celal’ler, Gazanfer, Ali	Yaşar’s, Celal’s, Gazanfer, Ali
Minderde yenemezdi kimse Türkleri	On the mat, no one could defeat the Turks.
Yıllarca alkışladı dünya bizleri	For years the world applauded us
Neden unutuldu bilmem ki güreş?	I cannot understand how we forgot
Şansa kur’aya bırakma işi	Do not leave the job to luck or to lottery
Hatır için vermezler, altını gümüşü	They will not give you gold or silver for a favor
Hamit Kaplan Dağıstanlı Akbaş’i	Hamit Kaplan, Akbaş from Dagestan
Hatırlayıp öyle yapın güreşi…	Remember them and wrestle thus

 
Encouragement:

O din ve iman sizde oldukca	So long as exist in you this religion, this faith
Antrenman yapın fırsat buldukca	Train at any opportunity
Şampiyonluk haberiniz aldıkca	Every time your victory is proclaimed
Sevinçten ağlatır bizi bu güreş	Wrestling pulls tears from our joy

 
And advice on having mercy:

Rakibin olur belki yabancı	Your opponent is perhaps a stranger
Sakatlama onu çektirme acı	Do not cripple him, do not cause him pain
Centilmenlik efendilik mizacı	Courteous and gentlemanly,
Düsturunu unutmadan sen güreş	Wrestle and forget not your code

Ali Gümüş (1940-2015) was a wrestling journalist and the President of the AIPS (International Sports Press Association) Wrestling Commission from 1999 until the end of his life. He started wrestling in İstanbul Güreş İhtisas Kulübü (Istanbul Wrestling Education Club) in 1954. He represented the Republic of Turkey internationally in weight-lifting in 1959. He worked non-stop at the Tercüman newspaper for 35 years, writing primarily about wrestling and weight-lifting and quickly rose through the ranks to Editor, Editor-in-Chief, and General Manager positions. He is the only journalist in the world to be thrice awarded the “Service to World Wrestling Award” by FILA (United World Wrestling): in Minsk, former USSR in 1975; in Bursa, Turkey in 1977; and in Seoul, Korea in 1988. In 1991, he was awarded the “Best Wrestling Journalist of All Time” by FILA. He received the Journalist Burhan Felek Service to Journalism Award (Basın Hizmet Ödülü) in 2011, for his active role in journalism for more than 50 years. He authored more than 30 books, including “Kahraman Asker Mareşal Fevzi Çakmak” (Hero Soldier Marshal Fevzi Çakmak), which was translated to Chinese, in addition to three forthcoming books.

Zeynep Hülya Gümüş is an Assistant Professor of Genetics and Genomics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and an adjunct Assistant Professor at the Department of Medicine at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University. She authors the “Bilimum Bilim” (Miscellaneous Science) column for “Bilim ve Gelecek” (Science and the Future), a popular science monthly in Turkey. She has traveled extensively to follow wrestling competitions with her late father, Ali Gümüş.

Emily O. Wittman, Associate Professor of English at the University of Alabama, has published widely on literary modernism, translation studies, and autobiography. She is co-editor (with Maria DiBattista) of The Cambridge Companion to Autobiography and Modernism and Autobiography (Cambridge University Press, 2014).