Oil wrestling facts for kids
Tournament at the Kırkpınar oil wrestling festival in Istanbul, 2006
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| Focus | Wrestling |
|---|---|
| Country of origin |  Turkey |
| Olympic sport | No |
Oil wrestling (Turkish: Yağlı güreş) is a super cool and traditional sport from Turkey. Imagine wrestlers covered in olive oil, making them super slippery! These athletes are called pehlivan (pronounced peh-lee-vahn), which means "wrestler." The best ones are called başpehlivan (bahsh-peh-lee-vahn), or "master wrestlers." They compete in special areas called er meydanı, which means "proving ground."
This unique sport has a really long history, going back about 4,500 years in places like Thrace and the Balkans. As the Ottoman Empire grew, oil wrestling became a big part of their traditions, and it's still celebrated today.
Unlike the wrestling you might see in the Olympics, oil wrestling has a special rule: wrestlers can win by getting a strong hold on their opponent's special leather pants, called a kisbet. A pehlivan tries to put his arm through his opponent's kisbet to control him. Winning this way is called paça kazık.
In the past, matches could last a really long time – sometimes even a day or two! But now, there are time limits. Master wrestlers have 40 minutes, and other wrestlers have 30 minutes. If there's no winner, they get extra time, and points are counted to decide who wins.
The biggest oil wrestling event is the annual Kırkpınar tournament in Edirne, Turkey. It's been happening since 1346, making it the oldest sports competition in the world that's still going on! You can also find oil wrestling festivals in other places like Bulgaria and northern Greece.
Contents
History of Oil Wrestling
The word for wrestling in Turkish comes from ancient Turkic languages. After the Seljuk Turks moved into Anatolia, a type of wrestling called Karakucak Güreşi became popular. In this style, wrestlers wore special leather clothes and poured olive oil on themselves. This eventually turned into the oil wrestling we know today.
In the Ottoman Empire, wrestlers trained in special schools called tekke. These places were not just for sports; they were also spiritual centers where wrestlers learned about discipline and respect.
Oil wrestling has roots even further back, to ancient Sumer and Babylonia. Many other wrestling styles in Europe and Central Asia, like Köraş and Kurash, are similar. Even Greco-Roman wrestling traditions show that oil was used in ancient times.
Before a match, wrestlers oil each other up. This shows balance and respect between them. If a younger wrestler beats an older one, he often kisses the older wrestler's hand. This is a sign of respect for elders in Turkey.
Wrestling matches happen all year round in Turkey. But in early summer, over 1000 wrestlers gather in Kırkpınar for a huge three-day tournament. They compete to become the başpehlivan (chief wrestler) of Turkey. The Kırkpınar Games have been held almost every year since 1362, making it the world's oldest sports event that's still running! The games have only been stopped about 70 times in all those centuries.
There are also some organized oil wrestling competitions outside Turkey, especially in the Netherlands.
Meet Famous Pehlivans
Here are some of the most famous oil wrestlers:
- Kel Aliço
- Koca Yusuf
- Adalı Halil
- Hergeleci İbrahim
- Kızılcıklı Mahmut
- Kurtdereli Mehmet
- Bandırmalı Kara Ali
- Tekirdağlı Hüseyin
- İbrahim Karabacak
- Ahmet Taşçı
- Recep Kara
- Ali Gürbüz
- İsmail Balaban
- Orhan Okulu
- Fatih Atlı
- Mehmet Yeşilyeşil
- Osman Aynur
Important Aghas
An agha is like the main organizer or sponsor of the Kırkpınar festival. Some aghas have been honored with a special golden belt for their contributions.
- Süleyman Şahin (1967–68)
- Gazanfer Bilge (1969–70)
- Alper Yazoğlu (1991–93) •
- Hüseyin Şahin (1995–98) •
- Seyfettin Selim (2009–13) •
• These aghas were given a golden belt.
The Peşrev Ritual
One of the most important parts of oil wrestling is the peşrev (pronounced pesh-rev). This is a special introduction that combines warm-up exercises, prayer, and a bit of a show! It's a ritual that also exists in other Turkish wrestling styles, but it's much more detailed in oil wrestling.
At the start of the peşrev, wrestlers line up. The main pehlivan (the winner from previous competitions) stands on the right. Wrestlers then face towards the Kıbla (the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca, important in Islam). They hold each other's hands and listen to a prayer from the cazgır (the announcer). Holding hands means: "You are more than a brother; you are my friend in this holy struggle." It also connects them to the legendary founders of Kırkpınar.
The Kıspet: Wrestler's Gear
A wrestler's only clothing is a pair of leather pants called a kıspet (pronounced kis-pet). These pants go from the waist down to just below the knee. The word kıspet comes from an Arabic word and came into Turkish through Persian.
Years ago, kıspets were made from buffalo skin and could weigh a lot, around 12–13 kilograms (about 26–29 pounds)! Today, they are usually made from calfskin and are much lighter, weighing about 1.8 kg (4 pounds) when dry, or 2.5 kg (5.5 pounds) when soaked in oil.
Rules of the Match
In oil wrestling, there are clear ways to win or lose.
- A wrestler loses if his back touches the ground because of his opponent's moves. This is sometimes called "showing belly to the stars."
- You also lose if you sit down and support yourself with both hands behind you, or if both elbows (or an elbow and a hand) touch the ground.
- A wrestler wins if he lifts his opponent up and carries him three steps, or if he spins him around.
- It's very rare, but if a wrestler's kıspet gets pulled down, he also loses the match.
Before 1975, matches could go on for many hours, which made organizing tournaments difficult. Now, matches for younger wrestlers are limited to 30 minutes. For master wrestlers, matches are 40 minutes long.
The winner of the final tournament gets the title of başpehlivan and a prize. If a pehlivan wins the tournament three years in a row, they get a special Golden Belt! Wrestlers who come in second and third place also receive awards, and all participating pehlivans get some "trip money" to help with their travel costs.
See Also
- Kırkpınar
- Karakucak
- Wrestling in Turkey
- Kurash
- Khuresh
