Cook the pumpkin, hide the comb and wait for him
Karakoncolos is a malevolent winter goblin.He wanders the streets at the coldest time of the winter.He has the size of a child, cat or monkey. His body is black and covered with hair. Although it is believed to be harmless in most places, he gives people fear with his ugliness. When you come across Karakoncolos on the street, he stops you and asks you questions.”Where are you coming from?” “Where are you going?” like. Your life depends on your answers. All answers must include the word “Kara”. For example, you should say “I am coming from Karaköy” “I am going to Karaburun”.Otherwise, he could injure you or -even worse- kill you with a huge comb in his hand (Well, shouldn’t he be harmless!?).That’s why combs are locked up in the houses in winter.
All around Turkey there are also folktales mentioning a similar goblin. It is called “Karakoncola” in the Eastern Black Sea Area, comes again with the coldest winds of winter, crashes down and destroys whatever comes in front of him. In order to avoid any harm, local dishes were left on a tray at the door of each house. Otherwise, if he could not find anything to eat he would eat the little son of the house.
In Eastern Part on these nights, called Witch or Karakoncolos Nights, it is believed that if pumpkin dishes and desserts are made and eaten at home, those who eat these meals will not have a sore throat throughout the year. As a similar tradition, in the Balkan part of Turkey, at the coldest time of the year Bocuk Night is organized. Everyone paints their faces like ghosts and wraps themselves in white sheets and frightens their neighbors. Pumpkin is cooked again in every house because it is believed that “Bocuk Witch” will not do evil in the house where the pumpkin is cooked.
Well, you may call it as “Bocuk Night” or “Halloween” it is up to you. However don’t forget to eat pumpkin that night, just in case.
- Türk Söylence Sözlüğü, Deniz Karakurt
- Karadeniz Ansiklopedik Sözlük, Özhan Öztürk
- Karakancoloz ve Halloween, Ayfer T. Ünsal
- ‘Korkutarak’ köylerine binlerce turist çekiyorlar, Anadolu Ajansı