Wrestling with sporting history
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Temmuz 04, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - In keeping with a tradition that has lasted for over six hundred years, this weekend one wrestler will receive the honor of being named Turkey’s 'başpehlivan.' But standing in his way is 2,000 competitors, heat and several gallons of oil
Beefy men with bodies covered in oil wrestling under a fierce summer sun: probably not the most pleasant sport to take part in, but for spectators there is plenty on offer to grab their attention.
This weekend, combat sport enthusiasts are invited to witness the 648th edition of the world’s longest running sporting competition: The annual Kırkpınar Oil Wrestling Tournament in Edirne, northwestern Turkey. About 2,000 wrestlers will all try to prove they are the strongest throughout the weekend by defeating all other competitors. The task is already made difficult enough as each "pehlivan" strives to win with his body covered in oil (the vegetable variety, rather than the crude), and the fact that he has to endure the searing heat makes the Kırkpınar one of the hardest of combat sports. But for a spectator, it is very intriguing: from the "cazgır" (the one who shouts the name of the wrestlers) to the "yağcı" (oil-man) to the endless playing on drums and horns, there are many things to be seen around the Kırkpınar field.
Despite being a uniquely challenging combat sport, oil wrestling has yet to conquer the globe. There have been remarks by organizers and local administrators that it could be marketed worldwide, in the same way Japanese did with their iconic sumo. Most recently, former Edirne Mayor Mustafa Büyük earlier this year said oil wrestling was too big to remain just a local tradition.
Büyük said there were plans to combine the wrestling styles of sumo and Kırkpınar.
An exhibition match between a sumo wrestler and an oil wrestler is on the cards for future Kırkpınar festivals and defending champion Recep Kara welcomes the decision, saying he would be ready to take on a yokozuna, the highest ranked sumo wrestler.
"As the başpehlivan of Turkey, I would not back down if I had to take on a sumo wrestler," said Kara. "I can take the field at any time with anyone who has the heart and strength."
Heart and strength are the keys to victory in oil wrestling. All the wrestlers dream of prevailing at the end of the weekend to be named "başpehlivan" (master wrestler), but one of the first names to be considered this year is Kara, the two-year holder of the Golden Belt. Hoping to claim a third straight victory to be named eternal champion, Kara says he has been training hard for the event. "After being named ’başpehlivan’ in 2007 and 2008, I will fight to win my third championship," Kara told the Anatolia news agency. "In the last century, there were only a few pehlivans that managed to win three years in a row. I have this responsibility on my shoulders. I have prepared well, and I want to win."
Kara’s emphasis on "last century" says a lot about the Kırkpınar tradition, which dates back more than six centuries.
Wrestling to death
The legend of Kırkpınar is said to have begun centuries ago in 1360. Forty Turkish soldiers under the command of Prince Süleyman, the son of Orhan Gazi, who fell tired after capturing several forts in Edirne, decided to rest at a spring and soon after two of them began wrestling. They wrestled through the night and were found dead in the morning. In their memory, soldiers returned in subsequent and held wrestling matches near the same spring.
That is how the tradition began and, according to the Guinness World Records, this legend makes Kırkpınar the world's oldest continuously sanctioned sporting competition.
"To watch Kırkpınar is to witness a tradition," said Edirne Mayor Hamdi Sedefçi. "Edirne is the main place for oil wrestling and where Turkey’s başpehlivan is chosen," said Sedefçi. "We are happy to witness the tradition and are honored to organize such an important event. Kırkpınar’s elements give it its own unique culture." The winner of the tournament will receive 16,000 Turkish liras this year, while the runner up gets 13,000.
It may have something to do with the increasing prize money, but there have been strong criticisms in recent years that pehlivans are starting to wrestle more prudently and are avoiding too much contact. Sedefçi admits that this is a problem, but believes it can be solved with support from fans. "We want the quality to improve and maybe we should decrease the number of participants," Sedefçi said. "Wrestlers are too cautious and that is why some matches are boring. Spectators should stand up and be more encouraging in that regard."
When asked how he responds to criticism, başpehlivan Kara is quick to defend himself. "I haven’t heard anything like that before, but it is different to watch wrestling in a room under an air conditioner than wrestling on the field under the sun," said Kara. "People who think like that should try coming onto the field and see if they can last 10 minutes."
The Kırkpınar tournament will not be broadcast live on national television this year, a heartbreaking situation for the aspirations of oil wrestling, especially when compared to sumo, which enjoys coverage the worldwide.
But still, oil wrestling has had small bids to go international. The sport has a growing fan base in the Netherlands, after one fan started to organize oil wrestling tournaments in 2001. Supported by a Web site (www.kirkpinar.nl), which welcomes a visitor with the tagline, "The most macho of all sports," the Amsterdam Kırkpınar has easily become the second most fascinating oil wrestling tournament.
Interest in the Amsterdam Kırkpınar could be an indication that oil wrestling is the next best thing for an international audience that wants to see ever more exotic interpretations of combat sports. But until the day sports fans around the world embrace oil wrestling, this weekend’s Kırkpınar will remain the main event.
This weekend, combat sport enthusiasts are invited to witness the 648th edition of the world’s longest running sporting competition: The annual Kırkpınar Oil Wrestling Tournament in Edirne, northwestern Turkey. About 2,000 wrestlers will all try to prove they are the strongest throughout the weekend by defeating all other competitors. The task is already made difficult enough as each "pehlivan" strives to win with his body covered in oil (the vegetable variety, rather than the crude), and the fact that he has to endure the searing heat makes the Kırkpınar one of the hardest of combat sports. But for a spectator, it is very intriguing: from the "cazgır" (the one who shouts the name of the wrestlers) to the "yağcı" (oil-man) to the endless playing on drums and horns, there are many things to be seen around the Kırkpınar field.
Despite being a uniquely challenging combat sport, oil wrestling has yet to conquer the globe. There have been remarks by organizers and local administrators that it could be marketed worldwide, in the same way Japanese did with their iconic sumo. Most recently, former Edirne Mayor Mustafa Büyük earlier this year said oil wrestling was too big to remain just a local tradition.
Büyük said there were plans to combine the wrestling styles of sumo and Kırkpınar.
An exhibition match between a sumo wrestler and an oil wrestler is on the cards for future Kırkpınar festivals and defending champion Recep Kara welcomes the decision, saying he would be ready to take on a yokozuna, the highest ranked sumo wrestler.
"As the başpehlivan of Turkey, I would not back down if I had to take on a sumo wrestler," said Kara. "I can take the field at any time with anyone who has the heart and strength."
Heart and strength are the keys to victory in oil wrestling. All the wrestlers dream of prevailing at the end of the weekend to be named "başpehlivan" (master wrestler), but one of the first names to be considered this year is Kara, the two-year holder of the Golden Belt. Hoping to claim a third straight victory to be named eternal champion, Kara says he has been training hard for the event. "After being named ’başpehlivan’ in 2007 and 2008, I will fight to win my third championship," Kara told the Anatolia news agency. "In the last century, there were only a few pehlivans that managed to win three years in a row. I have this responsibility on my shoulders. I have prepared well, and I want to win."
Kara’s emphasis on "last century" says a lot about the Kırkpınar tradition, which dates back more than six centuries.
Wrestling to death
The legend of Kırkpınar is said to have begun centuries ago in 1360. Forty Turkish soldiers under the command of Prince Süleyman, the son of Orhan Gazi, who fell tired after capturing several forts in Edirne, decided to rest at a spring and soon after two of them began wrestling. They wrestled through the night and were found dead in the morning. In their memory, soldiers returned in subsequent and held wrestling matches near the same spring.
That is how the tradition began and, according to the Guinness World Records, this legend makes Kırkpınar the world's oldest continuously sanctioned sporting competition.
"To watch Kırkpınar is to witness a tradition," said Edirne Mayor Hamdi Sedefçi. "Edirne is the main place for oil wrestling and where Turkey’s başpehlivan is chosen," said Sedefçi. "We are happy to witness the tradition and are honored to organize such an important event. Kırkpınar’s elements give it its own unique culture." The winner of the tournament will receive 16,000 Turkish liras this year, while the runner up gets 13,000.
It may have something to do with the increasing prize money, but there have been strong criticisms in recent years that pehlivans are starting to wrestle more prudently and are avoiding too much contact. Sedefçi admits that this is a problem, but believes it can be solved with support from fans. "We want the quality to improve and maybe we should decrease the number of participants," Sedefçi said. "Wrestlers are too cautious and that is why some matches are boring. Spectators should stand up and be more encouraging in that regard."
When asked how he responds to criticism, başpehlivan Kara is quick to defend himself. "I haven’t heard anything like that before, but it is different to watch wrestling in a room under an air conditioner than wrestling on the field under the sun," said Kara. "People who think like that should try coming onto the field and see if they can last 10 minutes."
The Kırkpınar tournament will not be broadcast live on national television this year, a heartbreaking situation for the aspirations of oil wrestling, especially when compared to sumo, which enjoys coverage the worldwide.
But still, oil wrestling has had small bids to go international. The sport has a growing fan base in the Netherlands, after one fan started to organize oil wrestling tournaments in 2001. Supported by a Web site (www.kirkpinar.nl), which welcomes a visitor with the tagline, "The most macho of all sports," the Amsterdam Kırkpınar has easily become the second most fascinating oil wrestling tournament.
Interest in the Amsterdam Kırkpınar could be an indication that oil wrestling is the next best thing for an international audience that wants to see ever more exotic interpretations of combat sports. But until the day sports fans around the world embrace oil wrestling, this weekend’s Kırkpınar will remain the main event.