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Newroz: The Kurdish festival story, the
forbidden festival
21.3.2010
By Ruken Tursun |
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March 21, 2010
A traditional holiday celebrating the deliverance of
the Kurdish people from a mythical tyrant is under
threat...
It is Newroz festival today. Newroz means 'new day'
in Kurdish.
They say this 'new day festival' is being celebrated
in all Eastern cultures but for Kurdish people it
means a lot more than a new day that says spring is
coming.
Once upon a time, there was a cruel commander whose
name was Dehak (Zuhak), in Mesopotamia.
Maybe he wasn't called cruel before, maybe he was a
good man, but there was something which made him to
do bad things.
It was his illness. He was near death. A doctor said
he could live longer if he would eat the brain of a
young boy every day.
He was afraid of death,www.ekurd.nethe wanted to live longer but
didn't think that his victims might also want to
live and was afraid.
He began to execute them one-by-one everyday. He
searched for new ones, and went on killing and
living longer. |
Kawa, the ironworker (Kawey Asinger)
Kurds around the world celebrating the New Kurdish
year "NEWROZ' |
Kawa a Kurd who was an ironworker, had a son too. He
loved his son like every father but was brave.
He decided to play a dangerous game. He preferred to
be killed to seeing his son die at Dehak's hand.
He shared his plan with the citizens. He said: "I'm
taking my son to (Zuhak) Dehak's house. I will
take my sledgehammer with me.
I'm going to kill him and rescue my son. If I
succeed, I will make a fire on the mountainside as a
sign of victory, if I don't, you will know both of
us are dead."
Kawa and his dear son went to Dehak's house. Dehak
(Zuhak) was grinning, a new victim came and would
give his life for Dehak that day.
Kawa, for the sake of his son's life, hit his
sledgehammer on Dehak's head, hit many times until
sparks flew and those sparks became a big fire that
could be seen from the mountain.
Newroz then became a celebration of a new day,
coming after the dark.
The powerful commander lost his life by the hand of
an ordinary ironworker to give life to those young
innocent people. It was a sign of victory and hope
for many generations since then.
Today Kurdish people light fires everywhere to mark
the occasion.
It is not a sign of victory,www.ekurd.netbut the hope that
victory will one day come. They want to be
independent in their own country under the name of
Kurdistan.
They want to speak Kurdish everywhere, to learn and
teach it to their children at schools, and learn
Kurdish history and literature.
As it stands, they can't even use their Kurdish
names. The current injustice is bigger than Dehak's.
Although every Turkish national day is celebrated,
and Newroz isn't counted as a holiday.
Students, teachers, doctors and nurses are not
allowed leave to celebrate. If they do go, they will
be questioned.
People are being assimilated. Kurdish culture is
dying. The cruelty is bigger now than it ever was
before.
There are Kawas but not many because courage is also
dying.
Newroz means 'a new day' but Kurdish people still
hope for a real new day.
Re-Published from eKurd.net archive 2007
Copyright © 2010 ekurd.net. All
rights reserved.
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