Newroz as celebrated by Kurds

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This article is on the Kurds celebrating the Iranian feast of Norouz. For the main article, please see Norouz.
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Newroz (sometimes: NûRoj) [1] refers to the celebration of the traditional Iranian new year holiday of Norouz for many Kurds, mostly in the northern and eastern portions of Kurdistan. Norouz is celebrated throughout the countries of the Middle East and Central Asia such as in Iran, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey. In Kurdish legend, the holiday celebrates the deliverance of the Kurds from a tyrant, and it is seen as another way of demonstrating support for the Kurdish cause.[2][3][4][5][6][7] The celebration is commonly transliterated Newroz by the Kurds and coincides with the spring equinox which falls mainly on 21st March [8] and the festival is held usually between the 18th and 24th of March. The festival currently has an important place in the terms of Kurdish identity for the majority of Kurds, mostly in Turkey and Syria.[2][3][4][6] Though celebrations vary, people generally gather together to welcome the coming of spring; people wear coloured clothes and flags of green, yellow and red, the colours of the Kurdish people are waved.[9][10]

Contents

[edit] Mythology

[edit] Story of Zahak

In the Shahnameh, an poetic opus written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi around 1000 AD, Zahhak is an evil Arab king who conquers Iran and who has serpents growing out of his shoulders.[11] Zahak's rule lasts for a thousand years during which two young men are sacrificed daily to provide their brains to the serpents to alleviate the pain that Zahak felt.[11] As discontent grows against Zahhak's rule, the nobleman plan a revolt, being led by Kaveh, a blacksmith who has lost eighteen sons to Zahhak.[11] Kaveh is able to eventually defeat Zahhak and instates Fereydun as king.[11] The root of story of Zahak and Kaveh goes back to ancient Iranian legends. and has earlier been mentioned by Masudi and after Ferdowsi by medieval Kurdish historian Sherefxan Bidlisi [12].

[edit] Zahak and spring

In the 1930s, the Kurdish poet Taufik Abdullah, wanting to instil a new Kurdish cultural revival, used a previously known modified form of the story of Kaveh, (written as Kawa in Kurdish).[2] He connected the myths where people felt oppressed with Newroz, thus reviving a dying holiday and made it a symbol of Kurdish national struggle.[2] However it should be noted that Kurds celebrated Newroz long before this, and the word Newroz has been mentioned in the Kurdish poetry of 16th century.

It is a tradition to jump across a fire at Newroz
It is a tradition to jump across a fire at Newroz

In the Kurdish myth, Kawa lives for 2,500 years under the tyranny of an Assyrian Zahhak, who is named Zuhak or Dehak by the Kurds.[2] [13]. In the Kurdish myth, Dehak's evil reign causes spring to no longer come to Kurdistan.[2] Furthermore, the man who was charged with slaughtering two young people each day would instead kill one person a day and would mix their brains with that of a sheep, thus saving one young man a day. The saved young children, (which according to the earlier versions of the legend by Masudi, Ferdowsi and Bidlisi were described as ancestors of Kurds [14] [15]) are then trained by Kawa into an army which on March 20 marches to Zahhak's castle where Kawa kills the king with a hammer; Kawa then sets fires on the hillsides to celebrate the victory and summon his supporters; also spring returns on the next day.[2]

This legend is now used by the Kurds to remind themselves that they are a different, special people, and the lighting of the fires have since become a symbol of freedom.[2]

[edit] Divergent views

According to the Kurdish writer, Musa Anter, Newruz was originally celebrated on August 31, not March 21. However, after the introduction of the Arab calendar, the celebration was shifted to March [16]. Some scholars associate Dehak or Zehhak with Astyages, the last Emperor of the Medes. During the reign of Astyages, the native religion of Cult of Angels had a strong influence on Zoroastrianism, through introduction of Magi priests into that faith. It was during the Achaemenian period that the honorific royal title of Azhi Dahak was given a demonic character by the Zoroastrians as an attempt to reverse the Magi influence. Azhi Dahak is still venerated as Sultan Sahak by the adherents of the Yarsan religion[17].

[edit] In Modern times

Newroz celebration, Istanbul 2006.
Newroz celebration, Istanbul 2006.

The Kurdish association with Newroz has become increasingly pronounced since the 1950s when the Kurds in the Middle East and those in diaspora in Europe started adopting it as a tradition.[3] In combination with the persecution they suffered in Turkey, the revival of the Newroz celebration become more intense and politicized and became a symbol of their resurrection.[3] By the end of the 1980s Newroz was mainly associated with Kurdish identity and the attempts to express and resurrect it.[3]

While the Kurdish celebration has taken the form of a political expression in Turkey, most Kurdish celebrations in Iran are identical to the national festivals.[4] Izady states that the reason for this may be that the original tradition and folklore behind Newroz has been lost in the northern and western parts of Kurdistan (i.e. Turkey), where it was never as involving, as it was in the southern and eastern parts.[4] Izady further states that Newroz might have gained prominence in the northern and western parts because of the prominence of the celebrations that the staunchest Kurdish adherents of Newruz, the Iraqi and Iranian Kurds, have enjoyed through their more frequent popular uprisings.[4] Thus the western and northern Kurds seem to have resolved to the celebration of the new year as a unifying political expression.[4]

In 2000 Turkey legalized the celebration of the spring holiday, spelling it Nevruz and claiming it as a Turkish spring holiday.[3][18] In the Kurdish regions of the country, specifically in Eastern Turkey, but also in Istanbul and Ankara where there is a large Kurdish population, people gather and jump over bonfires.[3] Previous to it being legalized, the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, had chosen Newroz to stage terrorist attacks to obtain publicity for its cause;[3] this had led to Turkish forces detaining thousands of people who were seen as supporters of the Kurdish rebel movements.[19]

In Syria, the Kurds dress up in their national dress and celebrate the new year.[20] According to Human Rights Watch, the Kurds have had to struggle to celebrate Newroz, and in the past the celebration has led to violent oppression, leading to several deaths and mass arrests.[6][21] The government had stated that the Newroz celebrations will be tolerated as long as they do not become political demonstrations of the treatment of the Kurds.[6]

Kurds in diaspora also celebrate the new year; for example Kurds in Australia celebrate Newroz, not only as the beginning of the new year but also as the Kurdish National Day;[5] and the Kurds in Finland celebrate the new year as a way of demonstrating support for the Kurdish cause.[22] Also in London organizers expected 25,000 people to celebrate Newroz during March 2006.[23]

[edit] Controversies

A child holding a flag depicting PKK-leader Abdullah Öcalan during a Newroz celebration 2006
A child holding a flag depicting PKK-leader Abdullah Öcalan during a Newroz celebration 2006

Contemporary Newroz celebrations in Turkey are often criticized for having the character of a political rally rather than a traditional celebration, because of a highly political atmosphere and a political content of many speeches.[24] On several occasions the Newroz events have turned into violent clashes between authorities and demonstrators shouting slogans in praise of imprisoned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan.[25]

During the 2006 Newroz celebrations Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated that "There are circles that want to overshadow Nevruz Festival (…and) exploit our spring festival to speculate new clashes and disputes." [26]

[edit] Newroz in Kurdish literature

Newroz has been mentioned in works of many Kurdish poets and writers as well as musicians.[27] One of the earliest records of Newroz in Kurdish literature is from Melayê Cizîrî (1570-1640): [28]

Whithout the light and the fire of Love,
Without the Designer and the power of Creator,
We are not able to reach Union.
(Light is for us and dark is the night)
This fire massing and washing the Heart,
My heart claim after it.
And here come Newroz and the New Year,
When a such light is rising.

Also the famous Kurdish writer and poet Piramerd (1867-1950) writes in his 1948 poem Newroz:[28]

The New Year’s day is today. Newroz is back.
An ancient Kurdish festival, with joy and verdure.
For many years, the flower of our hopes was downtrodden
The fresh rose of spring was the blood of the youth
It was that red colour on the high horizon of Kurd
Which was carrying the happy tidings of dawn to remote and near nations
It was Newroz which imbued the hearts with such a fire
That made the youth receive death with devoted love
Hooray! The sun is shining from the high mountains of homeland
It is the blood of our martyrs which the horizon reflects
It has never happened in the history of any nation
To have the breasts of girls as shields against bullets
Nay. It is not worth crying and mourning for the martyrs of homeland
They die not. They live on in the heart of the nation.


[edit] Trivia

"Newroz TV" is also name of two Kurdish satellite television stations which will start broadcasting on March 21st, 2007, one belong to PJAK [29], and the other to the Ministry of Culture of KRG[citation needed].

[edit] References

  1. ^ Rashidi-Kalhur, Ardishir (2004-03-04). History of Newroz. Kurdish Media. Retrieved on March 13, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Murphy, Dan (2004-03-24). For Kurds, a day of bonfires, legends, and independence. The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved on March 8, 2007.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Yanik, Lerna K. (2006-03). "‘Nevruz’ or ‘Newroz’? Deconstructing the ‘Invention’ of a Contested Tradition in Contemporary Turkey". Middle Eastern Studies 42 (2): pp. 285-302. 
  4. ^ a b c d e f Izady, Mehrdad R. (1992). The Kurds: A Concise Handbook. United Kingdom: Taylor francis, 243-244. ISBN 0844817279. 
  5. ^ a b Jupp, James (2001). The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, its People and their Origins. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521807891. 
  6. ^ a b c d Yildiz, Kerim; Fryer, Georgina (2004). The Kurds: Culture and Language Rights. Kurdish Human Rights Project. ISBN 1900175746. 
  7. ^ Wahlbeck, Osten (1999). Kurdish Diasporas: A Comparative Study of Kurdish Refugee Communities (Migration, Minorities and Citizenship). ISBN 0312220677. 
  8. ^ Newroz - Kurdish New Year. BBC.
  9. ^ Frantz, Douglas. "Diyarbakir Journal: Where Misery Abounds, the Kurds Make Merry", The New York Times, 2001-03-23. Retrieved on March 8, 2007.
  10. ^ Macris, Gina. "Kurds Ring in New Year", Providence Journal, 2002-03-25. Retrieved on March 8, 2007.
  11. ^ a b c d Warner, Marina; Fernández-Armesto, Felipe (2004). World of Myths: Roman Myths. University of Texas Press. ISBN 0292706073. 
  12. ^ Hakan Ozoglu, Kurdish notables and the Ottoman State, 2004, SUNY Press, page: 30. ISBN 0791459934
  13. ^ Kurdish Institute of Paris (2001-03). Newroz 2001: In Diyarbekir the celebrations brought together, in a calm atmosphere, 5000,000 people but there were many incidents in Istanbul. Retrieved on March 13, 2007.
  14. ^ Hakan Ozoglu, Kurdish notables and the Ottoman State, 2004, SUNY Press, page: 30. ISBN 0791459934
  15. ^ http://www.shahnameh.com/Epic/05Zahak/index.html
  16. ^ [1]
  17. ^ M. Izady, The Kurds: A Concise Handbook, Taylor & Francis, UK, 1992, ISBN 0-8448-1727-9, p.34
  18. ^ Kurds and No Way. SchNEWS (2005-05-06). Retrieved on March 10, 2007.
  19. ^ Turkish police arrest thousands. BBC (1999-03-22). Retrieved on March 10, 2007.
  20. ^ Kreyenbroek, Philip G.; Sperl, Stefan Sperl (1991). The Kurds. Routledge. ISBN 0415072654. 
  21. ^ Amnesty International (2004-03-16). Syria: Mass arrests of Syrian Kurds and fear of torture and other ill-treatment. Amnesty International. Retrieved on March 10, 2007.
  22. ^ Wahlbeck, Osten (1999). Kurdish Diasporas: A Comparative Study of Kurdish Refugee Communities. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0312220677. 
  23. ^ London celebrates Newroz: The Kurdish New Year. The Londoner (2006-03). Retrieved on March 10, 2007.
  24. ^ Security Directorate Booklet Says Nevruz Turkish Holiday’, FBIS-WEU-2000-1319, 19 March 2000; ‘Turkey: Security Body Says Kurdish New Year Ancient Turkish Holiday’, BBC Monitoring, 19 March 2000. cited in Yanik, Lerna K. (2006-03). "‘Nevruz’ or ‘Newroz’? Deconstructing the ‘Invention’ of a Contested Tradition in Contemporary Turkey". Middle Eastern Studies 42 (2): pp. 285-302. 
  25. ^ Turkey's Kurds Celebrate New Year in Peace. KurdistanObserver.com (2007-03-10). Retrieved on March 21, 2002.
  26. ^ -. Turkish Press (2006-03-21). Retrieved on March 10, 2007.
  27. ^ van Bruinessen, Martin (2000). Transnational aspects of the Kurdish question. Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute.
  28. ^ a b Alexie, Sandrine (2007-03-21). Newroz û Sersal (Newroz and New Year). Roj Bash. Retrieved on March 22, 2007.
  29. ^ http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/6005849.asp?gid=74


[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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