Malaye Jaziri

Malaye Jaziri (Kurdish: Melayê Cizîrî‎), (1570-1640) was one of the most famous Kurdish writer, poet and mystic. His pen name was Nîşanî.

He was born in Jazira (Cizre), the capital of Bohtan principality. Here the first school of classical Kurdish poetry in the Kurmanji dialect was established. Malaye Jaziri was the leading representative of this school and, one can add, a fine representative of classical oriental poetry as a whole. His ties to this tradition are expressed through the strong sufi elements and through the concept of love in his poetry. In his universe there are no clear borderlines between human and divine love. Thus the reader is often lead to ask whether it was the love of God or the beautiful Selma (said to have been the daughter or the sister of the prince of Jazira which brought fire to the poet's heart). Apart from these traditional oriental elements, Jaziri's poetry is also deeply rooted in romantic patriotism, and the poems he wrote in tribute to the Kurdish princes differ from the poetry written at the courts of the mighty kings in the region. Kurdistan's name appears frequently and is always connected with great pride. Jaziri's main literary work is the collection of his poems called, "Dîwana Melayê Cizîrî".

Background

His name was Ahmad, but usually he is referred to as Shekh Ahmad-e Jaziri or Mala-ye Jaziri. His father's name was Mala Muhammad, according to some sources, Shekh Muhammad. It is not known where he was born, but it is assumed that his family belonged to the Bukhti, or Bohti tribe that dwelled in the region of Jazira. The pen names often used by Jaziri in his poems are Mala and Male. The latter is the colloquial form indicating izafa construction for masculine nouns in the Kurmanji dialect of Kurdish.

Works

His diwan (collection of poems) is the only literary work attributed to Malaye Jaziri. The poetry of Malaye Jaziri ranks among the most popular of literary works in Kurdistan. It is comparable to the epic of "Mam and Zin" by Ahmad Khani. Jaziri's diwan has always been one of the main subjects in the traditional education system. In addition, he belonged to the Naqshbandi sufi order of one of the most widespread orders throughout the Muslim world. But first and foremost the aesthetic and spiritual values in his poetry have made it a lasting work. The diwan was first printed in Berlin in 1904 by Martin Hartmann. There are to date seven editions of his diwan. One of the most reliable was published by Zivingi. His edition comprises 120 poems and 3 ruba'is, in alphabetical order according to the final letters of the rhymes, regardless of the form. Another edition that provides a reasonable basis for researchers was published by the late Kurdish poet Hejar. This edition contains 117 poems, ghazal and qasida, and 3 rubais.

Jaziri was greatly inspired by the classical Persian poets, Hafez, Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Rumi and Jami, whom he considered masters. His spiritual affiliation with the Naqshbandi order of Sufism is also distinctly present in his work.

References

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