Giufà, or Giucà as he is referred to in some areas of the country, is a character of

Italian folklore Folklore of Italy refers to the folklore and urban legends of Italy. Within the Italian territory, various peoples have followed one another over time, each of which has left its mark on current culture. Some tales also come from Christianizat ...

. His antics have been retold and memorized through centuries of oral tradition. Although the anecdotes from his life mainly revolve around the southern Italian and Sicilian lifestyle, his character traits are visible in the folk characters of many Mediterranean cultures. In fact, scholars suggest that the character Giufà developed from stories of

Nasrudin Nasreddin () or Nasreddin Hodja (other variants include: Mullah Nasreddin Hooja, Nasruddin Hodja, Mullah Nasruddin, Mullah Nasriddin, Khoja Nasriddin) (1208-1285) is a character in the folklore of the Muslim world from Arabia to Central Asi ...

, a Turkish folk character. It is believed that during Islamic rule of the island of Sicily, stories of this man (known in Arabic as Juha) were absorbed into the Sicilian oral tradition, transformed to exemplify cultural norms and eventually transmitted throughout southern Italy. Although Giufà is most often recognized as the "village fool", his actions and words usually serve to provide a moral message. It is his peers' reactions, rather than Giufà's outrageous behavior, that are judged at the end of each story.

Literature

Giufà is one of the names given to Gurdulù, the character of "village idiot" and squire of the knight Agilulfo in

Italo Calvino Italo Calvino (, also , ;. RAI (circa 1970), retrieved 25 October 2012. 15 October 1923 – 19 September 1985) was an Italian writer and journalist. His best known works include the '' Our Ancestors'' trilogy (1952–1959), the ''Cosmicomi ...

's novel ''

The Nonexistent Knight ''The Nonexistent Knight'' (Italian: ''Il cavaliere inesistente'') is an allegorical fantasy novel by Italian writer Italo Calvino, first published in Italian in 1959 and in English translation in 1962. The tale explores questions of identity, in ...

'', set in Carolingian France. Giufà is also the protagonist of one of the tales of ''The sea color of wine'' by

Leonardo Sciascia Leonardo Sciascia (; 8 January 1921 – 20 November 1989) was an Italian writer, novelist, essayist, playwright, and politician. Some of his works have been made into films, including '' Porte Aperte'' (1990; ''Open Doors''), ''Cadaveri Eccellent ...

. In this story, Giufà goes hunting. Mistaking a cardinal's hair for a bird, he shoots him. After killing him, he takes the body to his mother to cook it. After his mother's scolding, Giufà throws the cardinal's body into his well. The local cops start looking for the cardinal and smell the stench in the well. Since none of them want to go down into the well, Giufà offers to go down himself. Once down, instead of tying the cardinal's body, he ties a ram that he had also thrown into the well.

References

External links

Mal'uocchiu: ambiguity, evil eye, and the language of distress
* Italian Wikipedia page on Giufà {{DEFAULTSORT:Giufa Italian folklore Culture of Sicily Humor and wit characters