Keçəl

Azerbaijani · mortal · Azerbaijani traditional religion; continuing · mortal

Keçəl, the bald-headed one, is a beloved figure of Azerbaijani folk narrative in two linked guises. In the wonder-tales he is the underestimated bald youth who, mocked for his appearance, triumphs over divs, kings and the rich through sheer cleverness, a cousin of the Anatolian Keloğlan. In seasonal ritual he is the companion and comic foil of Kosa, the two forming the paired leads of the Kosa-kosa play performed before Novruz, where their banter and horseplay frame the drama of winter's death and spring's return.

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