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Ahmadi Khani’s Theory of Kurdish
Nationalism in Mem û Zin - Part I
30.8.2012
By Dr Kamal Mirawdeli
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Ekurd.net |
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Dr Kamal Mirawdeli, a prominent Kurdish writer and
Kurdistan Region Presidency Candidate 2009, he was
the strongest rival of the incumbent president of
the region and was the second winner in the
elections.
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Read more by the Author
August 30, 2012
Read: Part I |
Part II
PART I
Perhaps pseudo-Kurdologists, Euro-centrists and
Oreintalists, in Edward Said’s sense of the word,
would be annoyed by just seeing this title let alone
my argument for the fact that there is a
comprehensive theory of nationalism regarding
Kurdish nation in Ahamdi Khani’s Mem û Zin (finished
writing it in 1690). Yes there is a complete theory
including Khani’s specific innovative theoretical
Concepts, which act as strategic interpretive
elements for the explanation of nationalism in
general and Kurdish nationalism in particular; there
are nationalist themes and issues specific to
Kurdish nation; there is Khani’s clear expression
that he is thinking as a nationalist Kurdish
intellectual and he has dedicated al his life,
labour and his work Mem u Zin in particular to
explain and embody the cause of Kurdish people and
their need for national leadership, national
cultural revival, national liberation and a
sovereign state of their own; and finally there is
the actual epochal work of Mem u Zin which is a
marvellous dramatization of Kurdish country, culture
and way of life, the character of Kurdish men and
women and Kurdish issues and aspirations.
However I do not believe in projecting my own
understanding and ideas into Khani’s text or any
text for that matter. The best scientific objective
methodology is to let the text speak for itself,
reveal its content and connotations and its own
inner logic and thematic constructions. Khani has
made all this very easy for anyone who understands
his immensely erudite language and style. His work
is very self-conscious. He predicts various readers
reactions to his work so he in advance offers, among
other innovative techniques, an elaborate critical
discourse, to help the readers especially Kurdish
patriots to read his work with sympathy and
understanding.
Thus, the following discourse analysis, which is
part of my comprehensive academic study of Khani’s
work entitled Love and Existence, Analytical Study
of Khani’s Tragedy of Mem u ZIni, which will be
published soon, is based on three steps: 1.
Transcribing Khani’s original texts in Roman
alphabet (for Arabic words I have used normal
standard pair sound combinations such ad /gh/ and
/dh/ for words such as ghilman, dheheb), literal
line-by line and word-by-word translation of the
verses into English and then offering a discourse
analysis of the themes and ideas in each section.
This I hope, will ensure the best methodology to
give justice to Khani’s ideas and arguments for
which he has so passionately pleaded.
Khani’s Theory of Kurdish
Nationalism: Discourse Analysis of his Prologues
(1)
1.1 Why did Khani write his story in Kurdish?
(235-237) Khani j kemalê bêkemalî
Meydana kemalê dîtî Xalî
Ye'nî ne j qabilî w xebirî
Belki b te’essub w a'shirî
Hasil j ‘inad eger ji bê dad
Ev bida'te kir Xilafe mu'tad
(235-237)) Khani out of his perfect lack of
perfection
Saw the arena of perfection vacant
Meaning not out of competence and expertise
But because of te’essub and ‘eşîrî
In short, from stubbornness, maybe unjustified,
Made this 'bida't' (custom- breaking innovation)
contrary to what is customary
(357-361) Kurmanc im û, kûhî u, kenarî
Van çend xeberêd Kurdewarî
Imza bikirin b husnê eltaf
îsgha bikin ew b sem’ê însaf
Eshabê gherez ku guh bidêrn
‘Eyba b kerem li min veşêrin
Ava rûyê şai’ri nerêjn
Ger mumkine yêke qenj bebêjin
Sehw û gheletan nekin te'eccub
Ta’wil bkn, j bo te’ssub.
(357- 361) A Kurd, a mountaineer and a frontier-man
(kenari)
[Recorded] some of the tales of Kurdewari
Stamp it with your kind-heartedness
Listen to it with ears of fairness
Those who listen to it with purpose
Let them be generous, and hide my flaws
Let them not insult the poet
If possible, say good things [about it]
Don’t be shocked by flaws and mistakes
Interpret them, for the sake of te’essub.
Khani mentions the important words of te’essub and
‘eşîrî as the most impelling factors for what he
himself calls his exceptional innovation: bida’
(which is, as we shall see, the rewriting of a
Kurdish folk story 'fsana' as a dramatic mathnawi in
Kurdish." He also asks his fellow Kurds to make a
“with- te’essub” or a patriotically partisan reading
of his work and hide his flaws.
Playing on the Arabic work kemal which is one of the
names of God and has several sublime meanings such
as perfection, fulfilment, achievement and
excellence, Khani says that he saw the arena of
Kurdish 'perfection' vacant, though 'perfectly'
aware of his own 'imperfection', because of his
te’essub and ‘eşîrî and not out of 'competence and
expertise' he went against the customary course of
affairs and created a bid'at which is a term used by
Islamic traditionalists to describe any new idea
that breaks with well-established traditions or
customs. So bid'at is what Khani has done; and
te’essub is the reason for it, and ‘inad
(stubbornness) is his personal unshaken
determination to fill in the gap of 'perfection' in
the area of Kurdish written literature. Khani's word
te’essub is from the same Arabic root ‘e’sab, which
Ibn Khaldun has used in his al-Muqaddima to coin his
sociological concept of ‘esabiyye. This is ' a type
of integrative ‘esabiyye. Ibn Khaldun views as
instrumental for dynastic rule and state-making to
be produced and reproduced." (Akbarzade (2003), p.
31)
Ibn Khaldun's description of ‘esebiyye expresses a
sort of 'community solidarity' aimed at underpinning
a dynastic political power that represents the
interests of that community. It has been translated
as social solidarity or tribal solidarity or
community spirit, etc, as it is primarily based on
blood or close geographical ties. Ibn Khaldun
writes: "Social solidarity [‘esebiyye] is found only
in groups related by blood ties or by other ties
which fulfil the same functions. This is because
blood ties have a force binding on most men, which
makes them concerned with any injury inflicted on
their next of kin. Men resent the oppression of
their relatives, and the impulse to ward off any
harm that may befall those relatives is natural and
deep rooted in men." (Issawi, 2002, p.103).
Khani's te’essub means having ‘esebiyye and he also
uses ‘eşîrî' (feeling for or commitment to e’shiret,
tribe) in that sense. But as we shall see Khani's
te’essub and ‘eşîrî go beyond the elementary
condition of kinship to include both concrete and
conceptual national constituents such as idea of
common homeland, shared culture, shared history and
most importantly shared national cause in the face
of the other. In this sense the most natural element
of kinship relevant to Khani's work, as described by
Ibn Khaldun is "resenting oppression and deep-rooted
desire to ward off harm". This in Khani's case means
putting an end to the historical oppression of all
those kinships that he conceptualises as his people,
the Kurds. What Khani sees is lacking in the area of
'perfection' is the use of native language as an
instrument of self-representation, self-expression,
communal solidarity, love epics and knowledge. He
makes the task of filling this gap and 'achieving
perfection' in this area, his Grand Narrative, his
great national enterprise. So Khani's t'assub can be
translated as 'national solidarity’, rather than
social, tribal, or community solidarity. He provides
perfect enough description of his enterprise, to
warrant this conclusion. At the end of his
exposition,www.ekurd.net
Khani describes himself as a simple mountain Kurd
who has recorded the tales of his folks. He mentions
the cultural word Kurdewari, which is a very old
term used by the Kurds to describe their lands,
culture and communities. While Kurdistan means the
land of the Kurds, Kurdewari means the regions where
the Kurds live and their language, habits, and
customs prevail. (The word is a noun formed of Kurd
and the suffix –ewari meaning in the manner of).
Wahbi and Edmonds (1966) define it as " the Kurdish
world, something typically Kurdish.” Kudroev and
Isupova ((1983) give a similar meaning as well as
'Kurdish country'. I have translated it as Kurdish
cultural milieu or country. It has also been
translated as 'Kurdish culture'. Thus while
Kurdistan is a purely geographical name, Kurdewari
has for the Kurds strong cultural and sociological
content. Contrary to the views of Kurdish
adversaries who insult the Kurds for being
inhabitant of mountains and uncivilised, Khani
expresses his pride in being so. The only thing he
wants is that his fellow Kurds would receive his
product with the same sense of national solidarity,
te’essub, with which he wrote it, despite its
possible deficiencies.
1.2 What is the historical context of Khani's
enterprise?
Ez meme di hikmeta Xudê da Kurmanc di dewleta dinê
da Aya bi çi wechî mane mehrûm Bilcumle ji bo çi
bûne mehkûm? Wan girti b şîrî şehrê şuhret Tesxîr
kiirn biladê himmet Her mîrekî wan bi bedhlê Hatem
Her mêrekî wan bi rezmê Rostem Bifikir Ji ‘Ereb
hetta ve Gurcan Kurmancî ye bûye şubhê burcan Ev Rûm
û ‘Ecem b wan hesarin Kurmanc hemi l char kenarin
Her dû terefan qebilê kurmanc Bo terê qeza kirine
amanc Goya ku li ser heddan kilidn Her taife seddekn,
sedidn Ev qulzumê Rûm u behrê Tacîk Hindi Ku bikin
xuruc û tehrîk Kurmanc dibin bi xwên mulettax Wan
Jêkve dikin misalê berzex (216-225)
I am puzzled by the wisdom of God The Kurds among
[all] the countries (dewleta) of the world Have, for
what reason, been deprived? Why have they all been
subjected? (mehkum) They have seized with swords the
cities of fame And controlled the countries of
courage
Everyone of them is in generosity a Hatem
Everyone of them in bravery is a Rostem
Look from Arabia to Gurjan (Gurjistan) Kurmanci they
are who have become like towers. These Rûms (Turks)
and Ecem (Persians) are shielded by them
Kurmanc are in all the four ends
Both sides have made the Kurmanc tribes The target
for the arrows of accident Claiming they are keys at
the borders Each tribe of them is a barrier, a wall
This sea of Rum and the sea of Tajik Whenever they
start out and move Kurmanc are stained with blood
They separate them from each other like isthmus
The aloneness of the Kurds of 'owning no books' is
in fact the facet of another more serious fatal
fault, which is lack of independence and
self-government, a difficult question that Khani
tries to comprehend and answer. Here, Khani
expresses an existential contradiction regarding his
people and he is puzzled by the enigma behind the
wisdom of God to put his people in this fatal
geo-imperial disadvantage which made them subjected
and unable to have dewlet (sovereign country) like
all other peoples in the world. Even worse, the
Kurds had (geo-politically, in today's sense) become
preventive dams and protective walls for others.
Whenever the Persians and Ottomans move against each
other, it is the blood of the Kurds which is shed to
shield them. They have kept the Kurds as isthmoid
tribes and buffers between them. The puzzling
contradiction to Khani is that the Kurds deserve
better for as character and courage, they are
examples of generosity of spirit like the legendary
Arab Hatem, and embodiment of endurance and courage
like the legendary Aryan Rostem mentioned by
Firdewsi. But the Kurdish bravery, rather than
becoming a factor for independence, it has become a
factor for maintaining the very geopolitics that has
ensnared them. The Kurdish historian Sharafkhan
Bedlisi also refers to this geo-imperial peril. But
for him Kurdish bravery was not entirely negative.
For him, coupled with the mountainous character of
the land, it made the foreigners desist from
occupying the land, being content with getting gifts
or using Kurds for their own defence. He writes:
"Great princes have not targeted their country and
had not intended to occupy it. It was sufficient for
them to receive gifts from them. Otherwise they
ignored them and left them to their own. And if they
are engaged in war they use the Kurds to fight their
enemies for them. "(Sherefname, p.38)
Read Part II
Kamal Rasul Mirawdeli (Dr), a prominent
Kurdish writer and the former presidential candidate
in 2009 Iraq's Kurdistan Region elections.
Copyright © 2012 Ekurd.net.
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