JOURNAL OF KURDISH LITERATURE
Year:2024 | Volume:9 | Issue:2|Papers Count:12

The epic has a special place in Kurdish literature; in such a way that many manuscripts of Kurdish epopee (epic poems) have been preserved today, which deserve to be introduced so that epic researchers can easily find these copies. Among different types of Kurdish epics (heroic, religious, and historical) religious epics have been less discussed; the epopees that often report the campaigns and wars of the time of the Prophet (PBUH) or the fictional battles of the renowned Islamic figures such as Hazrat Ali (PBUH), Hamzah Sheid al-Shahda, Muhammad Hanafiyah, Khaled Ibn Walid, Zarir Khazai and… have been turned into verse. In this research, the authors try to first provide information about the epic and its types in Kurdish literature and then introduce the Goran religious-epic epopees kept in the libraries of Iran and the world, along with the codicology.

Zinwe Betem is a historical novel that narrates the events of a specific historical period of Kurdish society. The purpose of this research is to present a  Lukacsian reading of this work to understand that historical period through the lens of how hegemonic forces intervened in the life-world of the Kurdish subjects. The theoretical foundations are based on Lukacs' themes of dialectics, totality, mediation, and realism. The applied method is Lukacsian reading, and Zinwe Betem was selected with a purposeful sampling criterion, which means that this novel contains rich images and narratives of an epoch in which the three aspects of "master-servant relations", "royalty-centered authoritarian modernism" and "left-wing idealism" play fundamental roles in shaping the life of ordinary people in a dialectic of complicity and opposition. The results show that this novel, relying on some thematic arrangements (such as fatalism, myth-making, romantic naturalism, and symbolism) taken from the life-world of ordinary people in that historical epoch, tries to provide a critical understanding of the role of dominant structures in the construction of the Kurdish subjects’ life-world. However, due to non-adherence to the realist rules governing the historical novel genre, it sometimes falls into the trap of reductionism, and by simplifying social antagonisms in the form of the dualism of good and evil, it becomes a captive of the same myths that it seeks to criticize. The novel helps to reproduce the myths that cover up the contradictory historical situation.

Culture encompasses various topics, especially when we examine a story with multiple narrators from a cultural perspective. This is because the geographical position and environmental culture of the narrator, as well as the cultural background of the first storyteller, whether unknown or known, play a fundamental role in shaping the structure of the story in both popular and classical literature. The objective of this study is to compare two narrations of Sheikh San'an in Kurdish and Persian from a cultural standpoint. The analysis is conducted using two distinct and thought-provoking sources, namely popular and classical literature. The study employs a descriptive-comparative approach to examine the cultural similarities and differences between the two narratives. By presenting a comprehensive statistical population and data, the study aims to provide a scientific comparison and draw meaningful conclusions. Both narrators of these two narratives have been Iranian, one being a Persian speaker in the 6th century AH (Islamic calendar) and the other being a Kurdish speaker from 80 years ago. According to researchers, the mentioned story had a prevalence with an Islamic mysticism tone even before Attar, and its source can be traced back to folk traditions after the advent of Islam. When discussing the combination of popular literature and traditional music, it becomes necessary to determine its origins through the study of ethnomusicology. Therefore, further extensive research will be required to delve deeper into this subject. The cultural elements within the structure of the mentioned story serve to express the lofty mystical purposes. Another aspect is the preservation of the narrative's allure through the storytelling techniques employed by the narrators and the influence of the narrator's contemporary culture on the story. These factors contribute to the unique categorizations in understanding the cultural aspects of the story.

Nowruz Ali Sorani (1220-1290 AH) is considered one of the prominent figures in the Yarestani tradition. He has a divan of a religious nature, written in Gorani Kurdish, in which he explores various issues such as theology, anthropology, philosophical and religious matters, and more. As no independent research has been conducted on this poet and the subject of ontology in his words, the present study focuses on the Mystic ontology in the writings of Nowruz Ali Sorani. The discussion of being and ontology is one of the important issues in Islamic mysticism, which is reflected as the richest idea in the works of mystical writers and poets. Ontology is a term that is mentioned in recent works with the titles of anthropology, epistemology, cognition of the world, etc. Therefore, one of the main objectives of this research is to introduce the capabilities of this poet to non-Kurdish speakers and to explore his thoughts and ideas. The statistical population includes the book of Nowruz Ali Sorani, which has been analyzed in a library method, using the content analysis technique. The research results indicate that Sorani discusses topics such as theology, human beings, creation, the afterlife, the Day of Judgment, manifestation of the essence and attributes, divine secrets, belief in the Day of Resurrection, and more throughout his writings, indicating the aspects of ontology in his divan.

"Patricide" is one of the myths that has been focused on in Freud's psychoanalytic knowledge and subsequently by Lacan, particularly referred to as the "Oedipus Complex." Because writers of fiction have also paid special attention to various myths, we see their reflection in literary works. In this study, using qualitative and quantitative analysis methods and relying on Lacanian psychoanalytic principles, we first aim to show the superiority of the signifier over the signified through examples from the stories Dry Oak Wood and My Father's Yard and Dogs. And then, we demonstrate the presence of a stronger symbolic father figure than the physical and natural father in these stories. The findings indicate 1. Teke is a pervert subject because of protecting his father's name, and Pirbaba's children are obsessive subjects because of their desire to destroy and abandon their father. Also, the eldest son of the family is the first pervert subject due to the murder of the father, and the father is the first pervert subject due to the protection of the law or the desire of the father; 2. The children of Pirbaba and the eldest son of the family are believed to be freed when the father is killed, unaware of the fact that when the sign is broken, another sign replaces the father and protects the father's name; 3. The members inside the yard had experienced freedom as "juissance" only when, according to the narrator, they had transgressed the desire of a great other in a "sneaky" way i.e., bypassing the gaze and deviating from another grand desire.

Literature has perpetually accompanied humanity through the tumultuous tides of history, inherently serving as a vessel for grappling with societal issues. In our contemporary era, this enduring tradition remains deeply rooted, with poets playing a pivotal role in addressing these concerns. Among them, Mullah Maruf Kokeei and Maruf al-Rosafi, eminent Kurdish poets from regions as diverse as Mokrian and Iraq, exemplify a profound commitment to social matters. Their literary creations serve as poignant reflections of societal struggles, arousing collective consciousness and spotlighting prevailing issues. Both poets manifest a resolute dedication to articulating society's tribulations, delving into the intricacies of these challenges to unearth potential solutions. Employing a descriptive-analytical approach influenced by the American school of comparative literature, this study meticulously examines their verses through a social lens. The findings reveal recurring themes that encompass patriotism, resistance against tyranny, the pursuit of freedom, a relentless battle against hypocrisy and deception, calls to revolt, condemnation of ignorance and neglect, and the exaltation of virtuous qualities. Furthermore, these poets champion national rights, advocate for the acquisition of knowledge, and vociferously condemn oppression and duplicity. Their poetic oeuvre resounds with a clarion call for justice, freedom, anti-tyranny, courage, fervent patriotism, unwavering perseverance, and the ceaseless struggle against ignorance and superstition. These prevailing motifs underscore the enduring relevance of their work, providing an evocative testament to the enduring power of literature in addressing the multifaceted challenges of contemporary society.

The Last Pomegranate of the World, is a novel by Bakhtiar Ali, a Kurdish writer, which incorporates many philosophical aspects through the theme of "war". It is evident that in the context of war, artists often convey a message of peace through their works.  The author of this novel appears to in addition to present a message of peace along with a critique of the content of war, within one of the most comprehensive philosophical structures of war: Hegel's discourse on "Lordship and Bondage" and its logical consequence, self-awareness, and freedom. This research, employing an analytical-descriptive approach, examines the dialectic of "Lordship and Bondage" in this novel during the encounters and dialogues between two main characters, Ya'qub Sanobar, and Mozaffar Sobhdam, in three stages. The results of the analysis indicate that while this dialectic ultimately progresses for the story's protagonist as a "bondage" towards mental freedom and reaches its conclusion without any tangible realization, this tragic freedom ultimately leads to a tragic insight and action in terms of seeking meaning, escapism, and resistance to external achievement and appearance, which can be referred to as "tragic freedom."

This study aims to investigate language attitudes among Kurdish speakers in the western part of Iran. A questionnaire was adopted for collecting the data. Then the final version of the questionnaire was distributed among people in target cities. 450 people participated in this part and answered the questionnaires voluntarily. The results of language attitude showed that the Kurdish language has a very high social status among people in Sene (Sanandaj) and Kermashan (Kermanshah) and a high social status among people in Ilam. Regarding its institutional support, people believe that the Kurdish language, though vital and widely used with a positive attitude among its native speakers, requires more institutional support. Regarding Kurdish vitality, the results showed that, unlike Sene, the Kurdish language may die out in the future in Kermanshah and Ilam. Finally, the results showed that there was no significant difference between males and females in their attitude to the Kurdish language in Kermashan and Sene, but there was an obviously significant difference between males' and females` language attitudes in Ilam. Finally, some suggestions for further research were proposed by the researcher.

Kalehri Kurdish folk poems are among the valuable parts of the folk literature of Kurdish-speaking people in different regions of Kermanshah and Ilam. In these poems, many words have complex structures based on various lexical and musical considerations, and they are coined through different word formation processes that can be either hierarchical (step by step) or non-hierarchical (instantaneous), and undoubtedly each of these words has a particular part of speech. The study of complex word structures in these poems, from the mentioned perspectives, can provide a clear understanding of the word formation process in them. In this research, relying on descriptive-comparative and case study methods, efforts have been made to examine the word formation process, grammatical categories, and hierarchical and non-hierarchical nature of words used in Kalehri Kurdish folk poems, collected in the book Ganjinehay-e Bar Bad-e Yad by Ibrahim Rahimi Zanganeh and colleagues, based on the thirteen word formation processes of Shaghaghi (2007). The findings of this research indicate that the word formation process in complex words of these poems is carried out through five word formation processes: combination, derivation, combination-derivation, repetition, and truncation, which have grammatical categories of the noun, adjective, adverb, and infinitive, and the word formation process is hierarchical in all cases.

Kurdology is a Western institutional discourse that represents Western culture and power. It is a product of the modern era. It emerged at the end of the 18th century and was mostly used at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Right after the Second World War, it was used in the discourseof Oriental studies. After a period of silence, at the end of the 20th  century, it reappeared in Western universities in the context of Kurdish studies. Kurdology emerged in philology, the writings of Western religious institutions, travelogues, and ethnographic studies. The Kurdish language quickly became the medium of communication between East and West but at the service of Western religious institutions. The term Kurdology first appeared in Kurdish culture in 1913, but until after the 1970s, we have no prominent Kurdish research in this area. In Kurdish sources, Kurdology is seen as a discourse in the service of Kurdish language and culture, which is a mistake due to inexperience and problems with Kurdish vision. Kurdology has always been a Western discourse and has represented a Western view, not Kurdish or Eastern.

The presence of a dominant and central theme in a nation's poetry signifies the historical progression of an idea through various stages and levels. These stages encompass diverse semantics and artistic expressions, highlighting the dynamic nature of ideas. In the context of Kurdish poetry, the idea of nationalism and patriotism can be observed to evolve through three distinct stages: the emerging stage, the evolutionary stage, and the peaking stage. At each stage, the idea of nationalism and patriotism in Kurdish poetry unfolds with distinct levels of functional-semantic and artistic-literary elements. Through the application of an analytical approach, this study aims to investigate the level at which nationalism and patriotism appear in each of these stages. According to the findings of the study, during the emerging stage, the functional-semantic aspect of the idea of nationalism and patriotism in Kurdish poetry is characterized by declarative elements, while the artistic-literary aspect maintains a level of simplicity and directness. As the idea progresses into the evolutionary stage, the artistic-literary aspect largely remains consistent with the previous stage in terms of simplicity and directness, while the functional-semantic aspect begins to shift towards centrality. Finally, in the peaking stage, the functional-semantic aspect of the idea reaches the level of discourse and centrality, accompanied by an artistic-literary aspect that showcases a higher level of artistic expression.

In contrast to previous centuries, where children and their literature were not considered important, they are now recognized as significant. Meanwhile, literature, as one of the contexts that connect children to the world around them, is now more intertwined with their childish feelings, pleasure, and desires. In literature, poetry holds a special place, and when it comes to children's poetry, it requires a delicate approach due to its specific standards.  The present study aims to analyze children and childhood stages in two poetic works for children, while evaluating their poetic characteristics according to the theoretical standards of children's poetry. The research method employed in this study is analytical, and data is collected through library research. The findings of the study suggest that the analyzed works do not take into account children's feelings and desires. Instead, adult themes are imposed upon children's texts. The works also disregard the standards of children's poetry, lacking in children's poetic language and imagination in both content and form. Additionally, the use of multiple symbols, ironies, and didactic language are among the characteristics observed in the two poetic works published in Southern Kurdistan.