Literature and the sublime

Shawkat Mullah Ismail Hassan

Please, allow me to begin my speech with the item of:

Fatherland of Kurds and their original name in history

The Oldest name of Kurd in the history is Judi and their oldest fatherland is embracing Jüdî’s Mountain.  See English Translation of Qur-an pp.594, 595 King Fahd complex.P.O.Box3561 3561 Al-Medina Al-Munawerah.

The letters J.B. and K are philologically interchangeable, and Jüdî, Güdî, Küdî are sounds that can pass into each other. There is no doubt that the name is connected with the name "Kurd", in which the letter r is a later interpolation, for the oldest Sumerian records name a people called Kütî or Gütü as holding the middle Tigris region not later than 2000 B.C. That region comprises the modern Turkish district of Bohtan, in which Jabal Jüdî is situated (near the frontiers of modern Turkey, modern ‘Iraq’, and modern Syria), and the town of Jazirat ibn `Umar, (on the present Turco-Syrian frontier), which extends into 'Iraq and Persia. The great mountain mass of the Ararat plateau dominates this district. This mountain system "is unique in the Old World in containing great sheets of water that are bitter lakes without outlets, Lake Van and Lake Uremia being the chief. Such would be the very region for a stupendous Deluge if the usual scanty rainfall were to be changed into a very heavy downpour. A glacier damming of Lake Van in the Ice Age would have produced the same result. The region has many local traditions connected with Noah and the Flood. The Biblical legend of Mount Ararat being the resting place of Noah's Ark is hardly plausible, seeing that the highest peak of Ararat is over 16,000 feet high. If it means one of the lower-peaks of the Ararat system. It agrees with the Muslim tradition about Mount Jüdî (or Güdî), and this is in accordance with the oldest and best local traditions. These traditions are accepted by Josephus, by the Nestorian Christians, and indeed by all the Eastern Christians and Jews, and they are the best in touch with local traditions. See (Viscount) J. Bryce, "Transcaucasia and Ararat," 4th ed., 1896. pp. 216.Beside that, it is known by Kurds themselves that at the very beginning of history Kurds were three main tribes: Medes, in the suburbs of Pishtkoh Mountain in the west of Modern Persia, the second tribe is Cassites, in the Eastern of today’s Iraq where there is still a big city in the name of (Kut) , the third one is Judi tribe as it is aforesaid. In modern Turkey, it is forbidden for a Kurd to say that he is Kurdish, as all Kurds there are named Mountainous Turks. In the Islamic Republic of Iran they have no right to ask for their national rights, saying that there cited in the Holly Qur-an, the rights of the whole people in Persia beside the actual human rights of all the nations existing on the Earth. In Iraq, Kurds have grasped somehow, their national rights by their continuous struggle.

There had been found, nearly one thousand years before now, the remnants of (Neanderthals) in the cave of (Shaneder)in (Biradost Mountain)in the middle of Kurdistan. Kurds were never idolatrous throughout their history.

Before entering into Zoroastrian religion, 5830 years before Christ, they were worshipping the sun and its light, as they had found through it, the principles of life. Later on Kurds entered into the religion of Zoroaster. The follower of which have faith in one God. The prophet Zerdesh

(Zoroaster) was a pioneer in the field of thought, conscience and literature. He is the holder of (Avesta) part of which is written in poetry and read as hymens in prayer and religious events and during childbirth.

This holly book is written in the old Kurdish language with (Aremi /Syryani) or let us say(Assyrian alphabet)but Kurds had added characters (p,ch,v,zh,g,o).

The Origin of the Kurdish language is as follow:

Indo European 5000 B.C.→ Indo Iranian→ Iranian→

Central Iranian→ KURDISH (the member of the same language family of Ossetic, Pashto, and Baluchi).

Noh’s father Idris, he who had lived in the suburbs of Jüdî Mountain was the first man who had used quill in writing. His mausoleum is now in Naynewa(Mussel) in the Southern Kurdistan. See. Tefseer, Dr.Muhammad Suleiman Abdullah al-Ashqer, pp.767, Dar Al-Muaed lilnashir1996.

When Kurds entered Islam, they got busy with their new religion: selecting by heart the verses of the Holly Quran and the sayings of the Messenger Muhammad. (The prophetic tradition).They got to learn reading, writing and speaking Arabic language beside their mother tongue. The mosques became educational centers. It became the duty of the Mullahs to teach people the principles and provisions of the Islamic religion in Arabic language while before i.e. during Sassanit period, Kurds got to learn speaking ,reading and writing in Farsi. There came into existence among the Kurdish Mullahs, writers, poets, novelist writing in several languages, that is to say in Kurdish, Arabic , Persian language and later on during Ottoman Empire, in Turkish language either, as the Ottoman rulers had forbidden Kurds to write in their own language. During this era, many villages in the Southern Kurdistan became actual centers of public and religious education. Meanwhile there were also secular public educational centers in Sulaimaniyah, Erbil and Kurkuk, where there taught: logic, syntax, ethics, rhetoric, astrology, astronomy, algebra, arithmetic, morphology, poetics and mathematics. The history of building up schools goes hands in hands and shoulder to shoulder with the first sprouting of Kurdish literature.

The oldest public schools were established by Ibrahim Pasha Baban in the city of Sulaimaniyah in the year 1784.Abdul-Rezzaq Bedir Khan had found the first public school in the city of (Kho-iee) in the year1913.Later on in 17/08/1920 there were established another public school in Sulaimaniyah.

In 21/01/1926 the Kurdish language became the official language of Kurds throughout Southern Kurdistan. In the year 1908 there was established the first military high school in Sulaimaniyah, beside an evening school for adults and seniors being found by the famous Kurdish poet Peeremerd

Where he taught the senior students Kurdish poetics. Later on he compiled his poems in a heavy book which still exists in the Southern Kurdistan libraries.

There were opened the first Girl school in Sulaimaniyah in 21/04/1926.

After the 14^th July of 1958 Kurds in Iraq got to have their rights and freedom to publish newspapers, magazines and books. The Kurdish literature stepped forward.

After the Kurdish revolution, which lasted throughout the years 1961-1971 Southern Kurdistan had got a kind of Autonomy. They opened more Schools, institutes and two universities in Sulaimaniyah and Erbil.

After four years of 11^th Marc 1971 agreement between Kurds and Baghdad Regime, the central Government withdrew from the abovementioned Agreement. So there erupted an appraisal in the whole cities of Southern Kurdistan from the year 1976 till 05/03/1971.Kurds liberated the whole parts of Southern Kurdistan, made a general election .Kurds got to have their own parliament and cabinet. The new circumstances paved the way in front of Kurdish language and literature to flourish. Now there are eight universities in the Federal Province of Southern Kurdistan beside a great number of institutes. There is growing interest in the role of publishing and promoting translation ,there is a wide freedom of the press. A large number of daily and weekly newspapers and magazines are printed and published in Southern Kurdistan, the number of which is a little bit more than those which are printed and published in the People’s Republic of China. There are some foreign organizations in Sulaimaniyah and Erbil which have opened private English, Turkish, Arabic and Kurdish schools. The Turkmen and Assyrians have their own schools established by the Local Government of the Federal Province of the Southern Kurdistan. They have their own press and publishers for their publications in their own languages.

In Southern Kurdistan you can attend private sessions of (English for Speakers of Other Languages and other sciences) classes.

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