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~ I The Yezidi Oral Tradition in Iraqi Kurdistan F r I . . ' I • I I I • • • I I I I lTO Taquur Giri~ Yth_ Demirba& Christine Allison 11 190041320011 0 CURZON First Published in 2001 by Curzon Press Richmond, Surrey http:// www.curzon press.co. uk © 2001 Christine Allison Typeset in Sabon by LaserScript Ltd, Mitcham, Surrey Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ International, Padstow, Cornwall All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book has been requested ISBN 0-7007-1397-2 To David Preface 1x Acknowledgements xm Abbreviations xv Map 1: Areas inhabited by Kurds xv11 Map 2: Yezidi communities in Northern Iraq: Badinan and Sinjar xvm Part I 1 Interpreting Yezidi Oral Tradition: Orality in Kurmanji and Fieldwork in Kurdistan 3 2 The Yezidis of Northern Iraq and the People of the Book 26 3 Chronological and Generic Frameworks in Yezidi Oral Tradition 53 4 Battles, Heroes and Villains: Portrayals of Conflict 86 5 Representations of Romantic Love 135 6 Death, Loss and Lamentation in Yezidi Verbal Art 167 7 Conclusions 200 Part 11: Kurdish Texts and Translations Introduction 213 Section A: Stories and Songs of Battle 215 Section B: Stories and Songs of Love 259 Section C: Songs of Grief and Lamentation 273 Notes to Chapters 1-6 281 Appendix: Informants and Performers 292 Bibliography 297 Index 304 vii This book is an exercise m 'mapping', in a form comprehensible to outsiders, the terrain of the oral tradition of the Yezidis, Kurdistan's misunderstood religious minority. It attempts to identify the major areas and features of this oral tradition, and to note their relationships with one another. Like most initial attempts at mapmaking, it is quite possible that as the territory becomes better known to scholars, many of the contentions and conclusions of this work will be debated. Nevertheless, the first step has to be taken. Scholarly attention has so far focused primarily on traditions associated with the Yezidi religion. Most of the secular material published so far has been in Kurdish, and even where translations into European languages have been made, the meanings of the traditions for the Yezidis have not been explored. They are certainly overdue for academic study; the oral traditions of the Yezidis, and of Kurds in general, are one part of a whole field of 'folklore' which is not only full of variety but also very strong in emotional resonance. Even the discourses of identity of young, ·urban Kurds make some use of it. Images from oral tradition are found in popular songs, political speeches, paintings and novels; they are employed with great enthusiasm by Kurdish nation-builders. The Yezidis are part of this Kurdish cultural process, but they have their own special concerns. It is no idle metaphor to use the analogy of cartography for the process of studying the oral traditions of Yezidis and other Kurds. For many peoples who recall much of their past orally, there is an intimate relationship between the topography of the land and the narratives of the people. Oral tradition is the vehicle for the transmission of most Kurdish history and almost all specifically Yezidi history. The events recalled in that tradition are very closely associated with particular locations in the homeland. In Kurdish discourses, the process of remembering the land also recalls its history, including both conventionally 'historical' and more 'legendary' events. For the Yezidis in particular, whose whole way of life is integrated into their religion, past and present events are closely linked to each other and to their environment. Locations are not only associated with past events, but may also be imbued with strong religious meanings. History, especially religious ix Preface history, finds expression in current social structures; Yezidi identity is expressed in terms of religious purity and of difference from other groups. At such an early stage in Kurdish oral studies, this book will not venture to consider the religious dimensions of Yezidi oral culture in detail, but it will consider some of the most popular kinds of secular oral tradition, set them in the context of Yezidi discourse, and consider their position in Yezidi life in Iraqi Kurdistan at the close of the twentieth century. I have tried to understand some of the most important meanings which the Yezidis ascribe to their oral traditions by collecting some traditions myself, comparing them to the relatively few examples already published, and asking numerous Yezidis, in Northern Iraq and in Europe, about the meaning and significance of oral traditions in general and specific examples in particular. I have tried to avoid limiting individual Yezidi voices as Orientalists have been so wont to do in the past, though some factors have complicated this. Given the volatility of politics in Iraq, where association with Westerners can sometimes bring reprisals, acquaintances and friends still living there will remain anonymous in this book. Even for those Iraqis now living outside Iraq I think it best to use names sparingly. Thus I have sometimes referred to 'informants', though I have also tried to give some sense of individual identity and integrity by using such shorthand as 'Mr H.' etc. The reader can then gain some idea of the help given by each of these individuals, and I hope it will be clear that some gave a great deal of their time and patience. It will certainly be abundantly clear that this book has been written by an outsider, a non-native speaker, conditioned to think in Western academic terms, who has had to start from first principles in attempting to understand very complex forms of communication. In trying to find a framework in which Yezidi oral traditions could be analysed and discussed, I discovered that the three broad themes of war, love and death, apart from being readily understandable to outsiders, were also used by Yezidi performers themselves to categorise the lyrical songs which they sing. Analysis of the treatment of these three themes is the core of this book. However, thematic analysis is not enough without an understanding of genre and context. Thus a number of introductory chapters are also necessary; Chapter One sets the current work in its academic context, of studies of Kurdish 'folklore' and of orality and literacy. Chapter Two describes the fieldwork environment of the Northern Iraqi Yezidi community, including some important aspects of Yezidi identity. Chapter Three gives an overview of the most important generic and historical frameworks of the oral traditions. In Chapters Four, Five and Six, a number of Kurdish texts and translations are discussed; some of these are quite long and, if placed within the main part of the book, they would break up the argument. Instead I have opted to put them together at the end, though this admittedly incurs the risk that they will be 'lost', or that the reader will endlessly be trying to move between text and discussion. I X