''Baš Čelik'' (, ), meaning "head of steel", from
Turkish ''baş'' for "head" and ''çelik'' for "steel", is a
Serbian fairy tale
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...
, collected by
Vuk Karadžić
Vuk Stefanović Karadžić ( sr-Cyrl, Вук Стефановић Караџић, ; 6 November 1787 (26 October OS)7 February 1864) was a Serbian philologist, anthropologist and linguist. He was one of the most important reformers of the moder ...
. It is similar to the
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...
's "
The Crystal Orb" (
Aarne–Thompson type 552A).
Synopsis
A king has
three
3 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
3, three, or III may also refer to:
* AD 3, the third year of the AD era
* 3 BC, the third year before the AD era
* March, the third month
Books
* '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 ...
sons and three daughters. On his deathbed he makes his sons swear that they will marry off their sisters to the first person who asks. One night a booming voice demands that one sister be given to him. The two older brothers are reluctant, while the
youngest (the Least of Three) heeds his father's dying request and hands her over. The same thing happens for the next two nights, until all the sisters are given away to mysterious strangers. The three brothers then decide to go and search for their sisters.
Throughout their travels, each brother fights many-headed serpents, the youngest tossing the serpent into a lake putting out their camp fire; so he has to go out alone to find fire, and using his wits he defeats nine
giants
A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore.
Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to:
Mythology and religion
*Giants (Greek mythology)
*Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...
that were terrorizing the region. Finally, he rescues a princess from the giant's village and is allowed to marry the princess. He lives in her castle and is allowed to visit any of the rooms, except one which is bound with chains (the One Forbidden Thing). When his wife is away from the castle, he goes inside the room and comes across a man bound in chains. The man calls himself Baš Čelik, and he begs for three glasses of water. Every time Čelik drains a glass, the prince receives an extra life. When the third glass is handed to him, Čelik regains his massive strength, breaks the chains, opens his wings, and flies away with the youngest son's wife.
Now the prince sets out on a new
quest to rescue his wife. On the way, he discovers that his sisters were married to the Lords of Dragons, Hawks and Eagles. He visits their castles and is welcomed. But when he tells each Lord of his plans to defeat Čelik, they try to stop him, telling him its impossible. The young prince refuses to listen, so each Lord gives him a magical feather that when burned will summon their armies. He tries to rescue his wife but each time, fails and loses his life. On the fourth time he fails again and dies, but not before he burns the feathers and his body is saved by his brothers-in-law. They resurrect him using the magical water from
River Jordan
The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...
. At this point the prince's wife learns that Čelik cannot be killed, because his life is in a bird that is in a heart of fox in a forest of a high mountain. Helped by the Lords, the prince finally slays Čelik and rescues his wife.
Translations
The name of the tale was translated as ''Bash Tchelik, or Real Steel''. The tale was also collected by British author
Elodie Lawton Mijatović and translated as ''Bash-Chalek, or, True Steel''. A third translation of the tale renamed the antagonist ''Steelpacha''.
Adaptations
The tale was also part of ''Fairy Tales of the Allied Nations'', a compilation of fairy tales by illustrator
Edmund Dulac
Edmund Dulac (born Edmond Dulac; 22 October 1882 – 25 May 1953) was a French-British naturalised magazine illustrator, book illustrator and stamp designer. Born in Toulouse he studied law but later turned to the study of art at the École ...
, with the name ''Bashtchelik (or, Real Steel)''.
Analysis
In a ''recenzija'' (review) of a reedition of
Vuk Karadžić
Vuk Stefanović Karadžić ( sr-Cyrl, Вук Стефановић Караџић, ; 6 November 1787 (26 October OS)7 February 1864) was a Serbian philologist, anthropologist and linguist. He was one of the most important reformers of the moder ...
's book of Serbian folk tales, Croatian folklorist
Maja Bošković-Stulli
Maja Bošković-Stulli (9 November 1922 – 14 August 2012) was a Croatian slavicist and folklorist, literary historian, writer, publisher and an academic, noted for her extensive research of Croatian oral literature.
Early life
Bošković-Stul ...
also classified the tale as a combination of types: AaTh 552A + 304 ("The Dangerous Night-Watch") + 302 ("Ogre's Soul in the Egg").
Professor Andreas Johns described Serbian Bash Tchelik as a "close relative" of East Slavic character
Koschei
Koschei ( rus, Коще́й, r=Koshchey, p=kɐˈɕːej), often given the epithet "the Immortal", or "the Deathless" (russian: Коще́й Бессме́ртный), is an archetypal male antagonist in Russian folklore.
The most common feature of ...
, the sorcerer, since, in the course of the story, both are released from prison by the hero, kidnap the hero's wife and hide their soul (heart, or weakness) in an external place (outside his body).
[Johns, Andreas. 2000. “The Image of Koshchei Bessmertnyi in East Slavic Folklore”. In: ''FOLKLORICA - Journal of the Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Folklore Association'' 5 (1): 15. https://doi.org/10.17161/folklorica.v5i1.3647.]
References in media
*Baš Čelik is the main villain in 1950 Serbian
fantasy film ''
Čudotvorni mač'' based on Serbian folk tales. In this film, Baš Čelik could only be slain by a particular sword. In the original legend, no weapon could harm him. Only denying him water would reduce his strength.
*Baš Čelik was the name of a
former Yugoslav
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
heavy metal band.
*Baš Čelik is part of the ''
Monster in My Pocket
''Monster in My Pocket'' is a media franchise developed by American company Morrison Entertainment Group, headed by Joe Morrison and John Weems, two former senior executives at Mattel.
The focus is on monsters and fantastical and legendary cr ...
'' series, appearing in the centerspread of issue #3 with the spelling "Bash Tchelik". There does not appear to have been a toy version, however.
*Baš Čelik is the name of a two-part song from the ''
Dok čekaš sabah sa šejtanom
''Dok čekaš sabah sa šejtanom'' () is the second studio album by Yugoslav band Zabranjeno Pušenje released on June 11, 1985. It was released through Jugoton in SFR Yugoslavia. It is the band's first double album.
Following the unexpected ...
'' album by the
osnian bandrock band
Zabranjeno Pušenje
Zabranjeno pušenje () is a Bosnian rock band formed in Sarajevo in 1980. The group's musical style primarily consists of a distinctive garage rock sound with folk influences, often featuring innovative production and complex storytelling. Curre ...
.
*''Baš Čelik'' is the name of the first Serbian
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
board game
Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well.
Many board games feature a comp ...
.
*In 2008
fantasy art
Fantastic art is a broad and loosely defined art genre. It is not restricted to a specific school of artists, geographical location or historical period. It can be characterised by subject matter – which portrays non-realistic, mystical, my ...
ist and
illustrator Petar Meseldžija published the book ''The Legend of Steel Bashaw'' with the story based on the tale.
See also
*
The Death of Koschei the Deathless
The Death of Koschei the Deathless or Marya Morevna (russian: Марья Моревна) is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in '' Narodnye russkie skazki'' and included by Andrew Lang in ''The Red Fairy Book''. The characte ...
*
The Fair Fiorita
The Fair Fiorita is an Italian fairy tale collected by Thomas Frederick Crane in ''Italian Popular Tales''. Italo Calvino included a variant of it, ''The Princesses Wed to the First Passer-By'', in his ''Italian Folktales''.
Synopsis
A king with ...
*
The Three Enchanted Princes
The Three Enchanted Princes or The Three Animal Kings ( Neapolitan: ''Li tre rri anemale''; Italian: ''I tre re animale'') is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work, the ''Pentamerone''. It is Aarne–Thom ...
*
The Crystal Ball (fairy tale)
"The Crystal Ball" (german: Die Kristallkugel) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 197. It is Aarne-Thompson type 552A, the girls who married animals.
Origin
The Brothers Grimm indicated the origin of ''Die Kri ...
References
*
Woislav Petrovitch. ''Hero Tales and Legends of the Serbians''.
Harrap, 1917.
*
Alan Garner
Alan Garner (born 17 October 1934) is an English novelist best known for his children's fantasy novels and his retellings of traditional British folk tales. Much of his work is rooted in the landscape, history and folklore of his native coun ...
. ''The Hamish Hamilton Book of Goblins''. Hamilton, 1969.
**Garner's version, by his own admission, is a free adaptation of Petrovitch's.
Monster in My Pocket: The Scholar's Resource: Bash Tchelik
External links
Bash-Chelik board game site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bas Celik
Serbian folklore
Serbian fairy tales
Fairy tale stock characters
Fictional Serbian people
Slavic folklore characters
ATU 500-559