H is for Harman Dali (Women's Epics A to Z)

This year my theme for the A to Z Blogging Challenge is Women's Epics. My goal was to read 26 traditional epics from around the world that have women as their heroes. Because epics like this do exist, and they are fascinating! Read the intoduction post here.

The Tale of Crazy Harman
Turkmenistan

This epic (dessan) is part of the larger Turkmen epic cycle Görogly, but it is often performed by epic-tellers as a standalone story, and is extremely popular. Within the cycle, it takes up 134 passages out of 1235. The epic cycle was born among Turkmen tribes in Azerbaijan in the 16th century, but the figure of the central hero is also very popular among the Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Kurds, Tajiks, Armenians, etc. Görogly is known for leading a band of heroes fighting for freedom against oppressive rulers, taking from the rich and giving to the poor. Originally the epic cycle included 44 separate stories. I read the English translation of the story of Harman Dali in this book. It is based on a 1937 recording by an epic-singer named Palwan bagsy (bagsy is the word used for minsters and epic-singers). Palwan bagsy's repertoire included 12 of the original 44 tales, and is one of the most complete recorded versions. The prose translation of Harman Dali was about 60 pages long.

Among epic-singers, the story of Harman Dali is especially well-known and popular, because it highlights the importance of music and musicians. It takes about 5-6 hours to recite (dessan are usually recited and sung with musical accompaniment). The book gives several chapters of cultural context, and also includes three studies about Turkmen wedding ceremonies, initiations, and the cosmology represented in the epic. The introduction collects historical records of bagsy and their performances, which was a fascinating read.

What is it about?

TL;DR: Crazy Harman will only marry a man who defeats her in a music contest or in a fight. Many men die at her hands, until she encounters the famous hero Görogly. She defeats him too but lets him live. Later, an old wise man finally bests her at singing... and helps her find love with his young apprentice.

A rich man named Arslan bey wishes for a son. He marries twelve women. The younges wife eventually gives birth to a girl. Arslan bey celebrates the birth with a great feast, and the baby is named Harman Dali. When she turns seven, she is sent to school; when she is fourteen, matchmakers start coming to ask for her hand. Her father insists that she herself should decide about marriage. She doesn't want an idle or lazy husband, so she asks for her father's promise in writing that she alone can choose her husband. Her father agrees.

Harman Dali asks for money, and sets to work. She has sixty palaces built with gardens, and hires 360 maidservants. Then she announces that she rules her lands, and she is looking for a husband. If a man comes who can defeat her in singing or in fighting, she'll marry him. If not, she'll kill him.

Both bagsy and warriors come in droves to challenge her, but they all lose. After three years, Harman Dali has a minaret built from three hundred heads of defeated suitors. No one is willing to challenge her anymore. She summons fortune-tellers, and asks for their help to find a husband. They are hesitant to give suggestions, worried they would be responsible for more death, so they send her to their mentor, a wise old woman.

The old woman reads Harman Dali's future as sees the hero Görogly in it. Harman Dali sends her to fetch the hero right away (giving her a tulpar, a magic horse). The old woman delivers the message, and Görogly's interest is piqued. However, before leaving to meet Harman, he talks to his wife (he already has one), the fairy woman Agayunus. The wife warns him against going to challenge the famous Crazy Maiden - but she also adds that if he really wants to go, he should wisit the wise Asyk Aydyn first, and study with him for a month.

Görogly doesn't listen. He rides straight to Harman Dali's yurt. She sees him approaching on his magic horse, and immediately notes "he won't make a good husband." He makes a spectacle of himself, riding wildly around. They immediately begin a banter contest in song, in which Görogly demands that she should give him water, and she keeps telling him "get it yourself." Eventually she tells him off and wins the song contest. Görogly at this point is terrified of the woman, but she decides not to kill him, even though he lost, because she was the one who invited him. 

Harman Dali heads back to her palace. Görogly, embarrassed by his loss and angered by her attitude, rides her down and knocks her over. Harman Dali is angered, so she yanks him off the horse and they begin fighting. Harman Dali is better, and she overcomes Görogly repeatedly, but he keeps calling technicalities. Finally she is sitting on his chest with a knife to his throat, but he asks for a musical instrument to sing a song. She allows it. He sings her a love song, and regains his strength in the meantime.

After this, the pair gets into an increasingly... sensual fight scene. Görogly bounces the girl while lying under her. Her dress slips off, and she is slick with sweat. He tries to grab her hair but she moves out of reach. Eventually he touches her between the legs, which surprises her (and she finds that she likes it), and the fight ends. Even though Harman Dali won both challenges, she decides to spare Görogly's life. She tells him that if she ever gets married, he should come back to visit her and she'll spend one night with him. She also teases that she might marry one of his disciples.

Görogly returns home to his wife and pretends that he had a great time. She, however, immediately sees the truth: "Why don't you just say 'a woman defeated me and I ran away so here I am'?" Embarrassed, Görogly decides to return to Harman Dali, taking his disciples Mirim and Gammar with him. He sends Gammar (who is a bit foolish) to Harman Dali's garden, where her maidservants soon capture him. He sings a son, But Harman doesn't like it, and gets him locked up. Next, Mirim goes in. The maidservants capture him too. He also sings a song, but Harman Dali is not pleased. She orders both captives to be killed ("if I don't keep killing someone every week, some vagabond might feel entitled to invade my privacy"). However, Mirim begs her for mercy, and name-drops Görogly. Hearing that name, she spares them. They slink back to Görogly, who realizes he does need help.

Görogly sets out to ask Asyk Aydyn for help. After the old man (115 years old) defeats him in a duel of wits, Görogly becomes his disciple. However, he is kind of lazy for a disciple, and eats a lot. One night, Asyk has a dream about Harman Dali, and asks his disciples to interpret it. They all fail. He asks Görogly too, but the hero insists the dream means they should go on a raiding expedition. When the old master refuses, Görogly throws a fit and goes home.

Asyk has a favorite disciple, a clever young man named Kerem Dali. He interprets the dream correctly and tells Asyk about Harman Dali. The two of them set out to meet her, because Asyk wants her for a wife. When they arrive he sends Kerem Dali ahead, at noon when the maidservants are asleep. He walks into Harman Dali's room, claiming to be a trader. They talk, and she asks him to sing; he sings a song that she really likes, and she feels attracted to him. However, she doesn't want to make things easy. She picks a fight with him.

A wild scene ensues. Kerem runs around the garden, singing a song, tempting her. She chases him down and carries him back to the house. She "sits him on her lap, facing her body, as if she is trying to breastfeed him" and asks him for another song. His song enchants her, and she embraces and kisses her strongly. Eventually Kerem returns to his master, admitting he was defeated. Asyk decides to use magic to defeat Harman Dali.

Master and pupil disguise themselves with magic, and return to the garden, playing thirty-two magical instruments at once. Harman Dali is confused. She decides to go on a pilgrimage to pray. Along the way, Asyk has Kerem dig a shallow gave and he hides in it. When Harman sees Kerem, she challenges him to another duel of song... but instead of the young man, the old master "rises" from his grave and respons to her verses. He wins the contest, and Harman Dali admits she has been defeated. She sets out to her palace, intent on "satisfying" the old man. However, her father sees them approaching, and he grows so angry at his daughter's foolishness (of bringing a "senile old man" home) that he beats all three of them. Harma Dali goes home, embarrassed.

However, Asyk is not willing to let go of the woman he's won. He visits the country's ruled, the padisah in a dream, and scares him so much that the padisah sets out to find him when he wakes up. Once they meet, Asyk demands justice, saying that Harman Dali has made a vow to marry the one who can defeat her. The padisah pays a visit to Arslan bey. While being feasted, he demands entertainmen from the "old bagsy that sits outside." Arslan bey refuses - but then the padisah demands thirty-six years of back taxes from him. Arslan bey changes his mind real quick. In fact, he is so desperate to fetch the old man that he gives Asyk a piggyback ride.

Asyk sings about his victory over Harman Dali, and the padisah convinces Arslan bey to give his daughter away, as promised. Then in turn Asyk gives Harman to Kerem as a wife, with all her riches, which makes her very happy. They go to Kerem's homeland, had a huge wedding, and Harman Dali builds herself a palace and 360 houses, hiring 360 servants. She "lives a pleasant life."

Meanwhile, Görogly hears about Harman Dali getting married. He sets out with his best friend to meet her and collect on her promise. He visits Kerem's father under the guise of having his dutar (musical instrument) repaired. He drugs the entire household, and visits Harman Dali in her palace at night. They have a singing contest, bantering with each other. Harman Dali lets Görogly win on purpose. They sleep together. After that Harman Dali tells him to leave and never come back.

On his way out Görogly kidnaps one of Kerem's sisters. Her father rides after them, but fails to recover her, and Görogly gives the girl to his best friend Köse as a wife. At the wedding, he sings about his adventures with Crazy Harman.

The highlights

Apparently, the number of Arslan bey's wives was decided by dice roll.

I liked how Harman Dali was a fierce woman, but she was not forced into the concept of marriage. Many times a "defeating the warrior maiden" trope actually includes shameful defeat by a stronger male hero (or cheating). I was delighted that in this case, she was very much a consenting party in the whole thing. To the fortune-tellers she says "I am seventeen years old, and I have tried everything. There is no dish I haven't tasted, no weapon I haven't used, not a single thing I haven't experienced. However, I haven't yet known the joys of marriage." Similarly, the sensual scene where Kerem sat on her lap and sang his song was quite lovely. She threatened to kill him, but he inhaled her "scent of musk, saffron and other herbs" and thought to himself "if I die in Harman Dali's soft lap, I won't be sorry." The song he sings is tempting, and it has a refrain of "if I take you you'll kill me, if not I'll die alone."

The best line, however, was the one describing Harman Dali and Görogly lying together in bed after having sex: "They lay on the eiderdown like a dried and shrunken Kazakh melon."

I also enjoyed the playful banter and relationship between Harman Dali and the wise old woman. Harman paid her for her services, and the old woman kept asking for more gifts, pretending to be old and frail, while they both knew she was being coy. In the end, she did say "I am not just helping you for the money; I do it out of motherly duty." She was also quite sassy with Görogly, calling him out on his white lies. When she returned to Harman Dali, and she wanted her to stay to mediate the encounter with Görogly, the wise woman firmly said no (not willing to get involved in that mess) and left. She was quite the character.

There was a lot of other great banter throughout this story, and Harman Dali usually expressed herself in no uncertain terms. Görogly tried to ask for a kiss once their fight was over, but she just said "Get up and leave. I already made you a promise. If you don't like it, I'll kill you. End of story!"

I greatly enjoyed the scene where the maidservants chased Mirim around the garden. They were described as "well-fed, strong girls", wearing only long bluses with their hair undone, chasing Mirim as he zigzagged through the garden. The storyteller noted that "three hundred and sixty is not a small number". Eventually they cornered him, "poked and prodded him", then lifted him and carried him off. It was a fun scene.

I was also amused by the scene where the 360 disciples tried to interpret the dream about Harman Dali. There were funny solutions they brought up, like "now is a good time to buy oxen" and "you should sow sesame." The whole thing was poking fun of dream interpretation.

THIS EPIC IS QUITE FUNNY, SASSY, AND SEX-POSITIVE.

I keep wondering if it would be fun to adapt this into a novel, or a movie, or something else... What do you think?