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3 The Strategy of Turkish Boys' Verbal Dueling Rhymes With Jerry W Leach and Bora Ozk6k The underlying strategy of specific traditional verbal encounters has not received much attention from anthropologists and folklorists . Anthropologists speak at length of joking or teasing relationships in general, but rarely do they describe in detail actual verbal duels or provide anything remotely resembling explication de texte. Folklorists, who tend to be text- rather than contextoriented , do at least present reasonably complete texts of insults, taunts, and retorts. However, more often than not, these texts are presented in no particular order other than the arbitrary one imposed by the collector. Given this presentation of the data, it is virtually impossible to reconstruct even an approximate idea of a live verbal battle in which the texts might appropriately be employed . For example, in Roger Abrahams's valuable study of the Dozens, the classic American Negro example of verbal dueling, he firsts lists thirty different Dozens insults ("raps") and then follows them with a separate list of twelve Dozens replies ("caps").' It is conceivable, of course, that it really doesn't matter which reply follows which initial insult. Yet, there is obviously a particular order or sequence in anyone actual dueling encounter. For those students who are interested in understanding folk rhetorical strategy (for example, what strategic factors 1. Roger D. Abrahams, "Playing the Dozens," Journal of American Folklore 75 (1962): 209-220. 82 Turkish Boys' Verbal Dueling Rhymes 83 influence a verbal duel participant to choose one retort rather than another), it seems clear that knowledge of the particular sequence of exchanges is absolutely essential. Thus full transcripts of observed or at least participant-reported hypothetical verbal duels must be collected if we are ever to attempt to analyze underlying strategies. The study of strategy in verbal duels is part of what has been termed "the ethnography of speaking folklore."2 The ethnography of speaking folklore refers to the rules governing the use of both whole genres of folklore and particular exemplars of those genres. Thus it is not just a matter of describing the general function of one type of insult, but also of describing the particular rationale underlying the use of one particular insult by one particular individual to another particular individual on one particular occasion. Admittedly, the determining factors involved may not be in the conscious mind of the duel participants. Nevertheless , like so many of the "rules" of culture, they may be articulated after careful analysis. If there is to be any fruitful study of the dynamics of the transmission or communication of folklore, then the particulars of the processes in which folkloristic materials are employed must begin to receive the critical attention of folklorists and anthropologists. If folklore is a code, then folklorists must consider the rules of usage of that code by examining the concrete contexts of that code. As an illustration of "The ethnography of speaking folklore," we shall briefly examine one type of verbal duel found throughout Turkey. Among Turkish boys from about the age of eight to around fourteen, there is a traditional form of ritual insult exchange which depends upon an individual's skill in remembering and selecting appropriate retorts to provocative insults. While it is possible that some of the initial insults or curses might be known by girls and women, it is quite unlikely that the retorts are similarly known. Moreover, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, it seems doubtful that the elaborate mechanics and tactics of engaging in these linked-retort contexts are familiar to many Turk2 . E. Ojo Arewa and Alan Dundes, "Proverbs and the Ethnography of Speaking Folklore," American Anthropologist 66, no. 6, part 2 (1964): 70-85. 84 Turkish Boys' Verbal Dueling Rhymes ish females. For that matter, the very existence of this verbal dueling tradition seems to be little known by professional students of Turkish culture judging by lack of allusions to it in the Turkish scholarly literature. Most probably, the same obscenity which keeps the tradition out of the reach of most Turkish women has tended to keep it out of the province of scholars. Still it seems incredible that none of the anthropologists who have conducted ethnographic fieldwork in Turkey have so much as mentioned the tradition. One of the most important goals is to force one's opponent into a female, passive role. This may be done by defining the opponent or his mother or sister as a wanton sexual receptacle. If the male...

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