International Journal of Kurdish Studies articles from January 1 2000

International Journal of Kurdish Studies archives from January 1 2000

Editor's note.(Editorial)
January 1, 2000... This issue of the journal touches on a topic quite as mysterious as the quest to map the human genome, a quest scientists now claim to have completed. Unfortunately, or fortunately, the topic at issue does not lend itself so readily to...

The proverbial brick wall.
January 1, 2000... One of my favorite books is Haim's Persian-English Proverbs. A reader can browse through it endlessly, and one of its peculiar qualities is that it doesn't simply translate the proverbs: it also provides standard, accepted English proverbs with...

Proverbial nationalism: proverbs in Kurdish nationalist discourse of the late Ottoman period.
January 1, 2000... Some Kurdish proverbs are probably very ancient, others quite recent in origin. Like any other part of a living language, new proverbs may emerge over time and old ones may take on fresh meanings when uttered in new historical contexts. The...

The character of the Kurds as illustrated by their proverbs and popular sayings.
January 1, 2000... Following are proverbs and commentary reprinted from an article written more than eighty years ago. It appeared in the Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, London Institution (Vol. I: 1917-20, pp. 79-90). The original includes proverbs...

Words washed by the waters of the Euphrates.(interpretation of Kurdish literature)
January 1, 2000... Proverbs always bring to mind the Euphrates--its awe, the sound of its running water, its snow white waves, its antiquity, and its murmur reminding man of his humanity. For me, the Euphrates is synonymous with ancestors' pure, condensed words....

Anger.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2000... He who gets angry has his share eaten by others. Anger destroys both persons. An angry heart doesn't achieve success. The rain falls, the land is refreshed, the jackal makes love, and the fox gets angry.

Authority.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2000... It is the lion's territory, but the foxes walk in it. The government is God of the land. Shepherd respect shepherds and a herd of cows respects a herd of cows. Until one crosses a narrow passage one must call the wolf uncle. ...

Charity.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2000... If a morsel of food falls from your lips, it should fall on your lap. (Charity begins at home.) If a tree makes no shade for itself, how can it provide shade for others? Feed the dog for the sake of its owner. Hands wash each...

Conflict.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2000... If you can't bite, don't bare your teeth. If a dog is mentioned, carry a stick. Fighting on the battlefield is good. Neither the ground swallowed men nor did the sky. Fighting is better than idleness. If the bull fights...

Courage and cowardice.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2000... A brave man's moustache is in his mouth. A brave man can make fire on the water. Bravery without wisdom is like fire without light. He who is brave must always be alert. If a man is brave, it matters not that his dagger is...

Cross-cultural observations.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... Arabs Arabs and vineyards, Dimili Kurds and animal herds do not go together. The Arab and joy do not go together. (Said of someone whose joy is short lived.) If they can benefit from it, people will even look upon Arabs as dads...

Death.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... One cannot die until one's time is up. Let there be death, but I wish there was no old age. Like grass, we will all die. Gentlemen prefer death to injustice. However long one may live, the end is death. The tongue has no...

Family matters.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... Parents The parents' sins are the sons' responsibility. The father bites into a lemon, the son feels the sour taste. (Sons suffer for the sins for fathers.) Mother walks towards sons and sons move towards the mountains. Mother...

Fate.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... One cannot die until one's time is up. Move away from the wall that is about to crumble. (Don't tempt fate) There is a time for the rose and a time for the primrose. Until they turn golden, wheat and barley cannot be harvested....

Financial matters.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... Money is like dirt on the hands; wash them and it goes away. Money doesn't open every door. Money makes more money. If you give money, you can take the mullah from the mosque. A fistful of ground is better than a fistful of...

Food.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2000... Bread and gratitude are eaten together. I have bread, I have no sorrow. It is best to have bread of barley and mood of wheat. Until you eat barley bread you won't eat wheat bread. He eats Rome's bread and pays taxes to Iran....

Freedom.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... Better to be a free man in Hell than a slave in Heaven. The flower of liberty requires blood to open. In his own home a man is free to say he will break the shah's neck. Live a short time as a lion but not a hundred years as a...

Friends and enemies.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... Worshipping foreigners brings heartbreak. Do not reveal your views to everyone; one doesn't know who is friend and who is foe. There are two kinds of friends: the friend of the soul, and the friend of bread. My friend's friend is...

Generosity.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... A generous hand doesn't become poor and the poor hand doesn't become generous. (Life is determined by fate.) The generous hand reaches all goals. His fist is full of millet and not a single morsel falls through his fingers. (Said of...

Gentlemen.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... A gentleman's house is a spring of gold. A gentleman is obliged to return the favor of another gentleman. A gentleman knows another gentleman and the saddle knows the ass of a donkey. Gentlemen are killed by wicked men. ...

God.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... Fear the person who fears no God. God gave to him and the people are the vehicles for the giving. Don't help the deaf to hear and the blind to see. (God has created everything for a purpose.) May God save one from going crazy. May...

Good and evil.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... Tomorrow comes, with it comes goodness. There is today, there is no tomorrow, so do good. What you see as right for yourself you must see as right for others. Do good so that good will come to you. Good deeds praise...

Gratitude and ingratitude.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... A father's efforts and mother's milk cannot be forgotten. Do not forget the favor of a loaf of bread and a glass of water for forty years. It is our dog but it guards our neighbor's door. Bread and gratitude are eaten together. ...

Greed.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... If you stuck a dagger into him, no blood would come out. The stingy man walks behind the snake; he thinks it's a rope. If you don't behead greed it will behead you. His one hand would not give dirt to the other. To gain a...

Habit.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... The worm acquired during early childhood remains with one until old age. (Bad childhood habits remain with one until old age.) Put a dog's tail in a straight mould; it will still be rolled up on his back. (Said of trying to do unnatural...

Health.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... Good health is a kingdom. Nobody moans in a healthy body. If the doctor were bald, he would treat his own baldness. Eat little and avoid the doctor. A sick man understands another's sickness. A hundred doctors know less...

"He who ...".(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... He who is not a good provider for his own household will not be a good provider for strangers. (Refers to those who have accepted forced assimilation.) He who goes fishing will get wet. He who doesn't eat garlic will not smell. He...

Homeland.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... Damascus is all sugar but one's homeland is sweeter. They put a nightingale in a golden cage and it said, "Oh, my country!" Be arrogant in exile and fart in the desert. If the axe's handle is not wooden, it will not cut the tree....

Honor and shame.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... Those with no honor have a higher tolerance for shame. The shameless will even find something to laugh about, even the holes in the walls. Stinginess brings shame. Generosity brings honor. Promises made in the evening fall through...

Hospitality.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... A guest is a gift from God. A guest with a gift is welcome. Empty-handed guests are neither welcome nor respected. Oh hand, do not eat alone. (Things go better with company.)

Hunger.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... Hunger is the root of violence. If Khalil becomes the head of my household, I will be eating leaves. A hungry man is not free. A father killed, a person can sleep; a mother dead, a person can sleep; but no one can sleep when he's...

Justice.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... There is law and order in the world when everyone is content with their own views. The word 'justice' will make even the water stop running. If it is justice, I have a right; if it is force, I have force. Gentlemen prefer death to...

Knowledge.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... However much you know, there is always someone who knows more. Ask the youth who has traveled and the old man for news. When you give news give evidence. Logical news need not be supported by an oath. If it be a road, let it be...

Lies.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... No one will believe a liar, even if his house is on fire. A liar is God's enemy. You can lie in this world, but not in the next. A liar is believed only once. The life of a lie is short. A lie is a shame with no boundary....

Love.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... Love knows no distance, large or small. The love and the lover become as bread and onion. (With the passage of time, love can become ordinary.) The pain of love is subtle, deep and far-reaching. I live by the wind that comes from...

Man and woman.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... The eyes are a vulture; no one can bind them. (Men can't help looking at beautiful women.) A crazed camel will kill her sister. One day as a rooster but not a thousand days as a hen. A good road, even if it's long, a virgin, even...

Marriage.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... See the mother, marry the girl. A good road, even if it's long, a virgin, even if she's old. Make the garden row straight, get water at its source, and marry a girl of good parents. Don't sacrifice your daughter to other people's...

Matters of the heart.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... A broken hand can work, but a broken heart cannot. The heart is a bottle; once broken it cannot be mended. The heart is like a fly that also lands on filth. The heart is not a tablecloth that you can spread for everyone. The...

Moderation.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... I neither sleep where it is not flat nor do I have nightmares. (I neither look for trouble nor does it keep me awake at night.) In summer do not sit in wet places; in autumn do not sit on a rock. Be not so dry they can break you nor so...

Neighbors.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... Don't rent a house until you know the neighbors. It is our dog but it guards our neighbor's door. Give spring yogurt to your neighbor and autumn yogurt to your sweetheart. Wish a mule for your neighbor so that God may give you a...

Obligations.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... The blanket of others gets worn out soonest. (Take special care of the property of others.) If you are a borrower, people will not visit you. Eat your bread with nothing but water and don't become obligated to others. Water runs...

Opportunity.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... If you've got it, don't let go of it; if you do let go of it, don't chase it. (Often said of opportunities.) A tree grows old, but the vulture perches on it only once. (Opportunity doesn't knock twice.) Opportunity is by turn not by...

Oppression.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... Don't trust the oppressor's smile. If the oppressor has intercourse with your wife, you must thank him. It is better to be in the desert with an oppressor than to spend the day with a fool. Everything breaks at its weakest point,...

Patience.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2000... The government will catch the rabbit with a wagon. (It takes patience and time to catch offenders.) He who is patient will become Egypt's ruler. God's house is built with nothing but patience. Don't expect anything from half-cooked...

Peace.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2000... Peace after war is sweeter than candy. A fighter will give up; a peacemaker will not. Blessings on the peacemaker. A peacemaker has a big heart. The wolves and the sheep are drinking water together. (It is a time of peace.)...

Poverty.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2000... Deprivation is the mother of trouble. When you hold the ladle, remember the poor. Ask from the trees; give to the needy and the poor. Poverty is human rust. The rich have aunts and uncles, the poor are all alone. Poverty...

Reciprocity.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2000... Peace for peace and meal for meal. Straight receives straight and crooked receives crooked. Die for someone who dies for you. Silk has come to lamb's wool, but lamb's wool will not come to silk.

Religion.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... The sword of the people is in the sheath of religion. The finger chopped off by Sharia (Islamic law) doesn't bleed. When the wheat is ready for harvesting, the mullah becomes a partner. (Islamic priests collect a small share of the...

Reputation.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2000... A single calf can ruin the reputation of a herd. Bulls die but their hides remain; gentlemen die but their reputation survives. Everyone eats meat but only the wolf gets a bad name.

Revenge.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... Take your blood revenge before the night passes. Revenge has patience but is very strong. What the wind does to the rain, the rain does to the snow. (An injured person will exact revenge.) He who pricks you with a needle, you...

Science.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... Science is like digging a well with a needle. Science is like a bottomless ocean.

Self-awareness.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... Youth is blind. Stand in front of a mirror, look at yourself and recognize yourself. Stretch your legs according to the length of your blanket. Criticize yourself before you criticize others. Praising oneself is like chewing...

Self-reliance.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... What your own hands do for you, your mother and father cannot do. Treat your own wound. If you knock on the doors of others, they will knock on yours. Wherever you go, build yourself a house. Get up and go with deliberation so...

Speech.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... What am I saying and what is my tembur saying? (Refers to inconsistency between speech and body language.) A dog doesn't bark for no reason. Beware of standing water and a silent man. Do not be afraid of running water; be afraid of...

Thieves.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... You can't catch a thief who is part of your family. If there is a thief in your home, doors are useless. A dishonest shepherd is worse than a wolf. The thief thinks everyone else is a thief. Thieves do not fear the darkness....

Troubles.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... Troubles turn men into troubadours. He who has many troubles talks a lot. Trouble breeds trouble. There is no answer for a heavy burden. I neither sleep where it is not flat nor do I have nightmares. (I neither look for...

Unity.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... A village cannot defeat a united household, a tribe cannot defeat a united village and a government cannot defeat a tribe that is united. Give up one eye and you will not see with the other as well as you do with both. One hand makes...

Wealth.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... Wealth makes more treasures for the wealthy. Wealth can do anything. While you have wealth, people are your brothers. Wealth is for enjoyment or for a time of adversity. If you are rich, no one asks whose son you are. The...

Wisdom and folly.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)(Fictional Work)
January 1, 2000... Speak to each according to his wisdom. Bravery without wisdom is like fire without light. Be a friend to the wise so that you will become wise. Wisdom is a golden crown; it is not on every head. The goldsmith knows the value of...

Work.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... No one has become a king by dreaming. Work is as worship. Work is work; get to it and it will be finished in no time. Man's work is his reflection. To be a gardener is better than sitting and waiting. Leave today's meal to...

Additional proverbs using nature as metaphor.(Proverbs of Kurdistan)
January 1, 2000... Animals The dog's leg is broken and they put a splint on his tail. A dog was asked, "Which is better--mourning or dancing?" He answered, "Whichever has more bones." While one dog was licking up flour, another was licking his...

Truth.(Book Review)
January 1, 2000... Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, Truth. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999. 256 pp. Preface ix-xiii. Notes 230-249; Index 251-255. Anyone worried about where 'truth' went has only to read this book to find out. "This is a book about truth in...

The Trouble with Principle.(Book Review)
January 1, 2000... Stanley Fish, The Trouble with Principle. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1999. 328 pp. Prologue 1-15; Epilogue 309-12; Notes 313-24. Index 326-28. So-called "neutral principles" are the demons behind the discomfort of Professor...

On the Emotions.(Book Review)
January 1, 2000... Richard Wollheim, On the Emotions. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1999. 269 pp. Preface ix-x; Introduction xi-xii. Notes 225-264; Index 265-269. According to the book's dust jacket, the author is a "leading philosopher" who...