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First of all, there was "Oral
Humour" in the Turkish Cypriot Community. Humorous Poems
(Satires) recited by bards and folk poets, shadow-theatre
characters like "Karagöz-Hacivat", public story tellers' stories
containing satire and wisecrack are considered the first examples
of Turkish Cypriot Humour.
Turkish Cypriot Humour is-heavily
based on Ottoman humour due to the fact that the Island of Cyprus
was under the control of the Ottoman Empire for many years
(1571-1878). The people who were sent from different regions of
Anatolia not only brought their traditions and customs but also
brought their culture along with them.
Humour which plays an important
part in the Cypriot Turkish Community has not only been reflected
as a social entertainment mediator (shadow plays, puppet shows)
with theatrical characteristics but also has been used in the
various branches (story, epic, riddle, ballad, tongue-twister) of
Turkish Cypriot Oral Folk literature.
Turkish Cypriot Humour was passed
over orally from the beginning of the Ottoman Empire (1571) till
the date when the Island's control was handed to the British
Empire (1878). The reason for that is during the reign of the
Ottoman Empire there weren't any independent printing facilities
in Cyprus; to allow newspapers and magazines to be published
With the development of independent
printing, Turkish Cypriot and Greek Communities started to publish
their own newspapers. "Sa'adet" (1889-?) was the first newspaper
published by the Turkish Cypriots to be followed by various
newspapers.
In Turkish Cypriot Humour "The
period of humour with caption" started with the first humour
newspaper "Kokonoz" (1896-1910)
The Turkish Cypriot cartoon as an art starts with "Davul".
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