The PKK&apos;s Newroz: Death and Moving Towards Freedom for Kurdistan

If you have found this article useful and you think it is important that researchers across the world have access, please consider donating, to ensure that this valuable collection remains Open Access.

Zanj is published by Pluto Journals, an Open AcZcess publisher. This means that everyone has free and unlimited access to the full-text of all articles from our international collection of social science journals. Furthermore Pluto Journals authors don’t pay article processing charges (APCs).

scite_

Zanj: The Journal of Critical Global South Studies

Volume 2, Issue 1

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

Is Open Access

The PKK's Newroz: Death and Moving Towards Freedom for Kurdistan

research-article

Author(s): Axel Rudi

Publication date (Print): 1 July 2018

Journal: Zanj: The Journal of Critical Global South Studies

Publisher: Pluto Journals

Keywords: PKK, Newroz, martyrdom, martyrs, cosmology, Kurdistan, Kurds

Bookmark

Abstract

The PKK's patronage of Newroz has changed its historical and contextual development. Previous studies have shown how the PKK made Newroz into a festival for Kurdish ‘counter hegemony', but have not paid sufficient attention to the performance of the celebration itself and its concurrent role in the PKK's political universe. This article presents an ethnographic study of how Newroz became a vehicle for disseminating the PKK's political ideology, and how it reveals cosmological ideas about agency, time, social formations, and the eventuality of freedom. The paper argues that through celebrating under the auspices of ‘the martyrs', who are incorporated in the figure of Abdullah Öcalan, the dead become re-animated and promise the potential for the arrival of a new, free time as well as illustrate the social organization and personal agency needed to achieve it. The paper uses this to expand on theories concerning the relation of death to social life, and argues that Newroz shows how the dead may go beyond being vessels for social reproduction, to becoming potentially radically transformative figures. The source material derives from participant observation at Newroz in the PKK-controlled Qandil Mountains in Iraq in 2017, and from interviews and secondary sources from the celebration in the Maxmur refugee camp.

Content

Author and article information

Contributors

Axel Rudi

Journal

Journal ID (doi): 10.2307/j50020143

Journal ID (jcode): zanjglobsoutstud

Title: Zanj: The Journal of Critical Global South Studies

Publisher: Pluto Journals

ISSN: 2515-2130

ISSN: 2515-2149

Publication date (Print): 1 July 2018

Volume: 2

Issue: 1 ( doiID: 10.13169/zanjglobsoutstud.2.issue-1 )

Pages: 92-114

Affiliations

University of Bergen

Article

Publisher ID: zanjglobsoutstud.2.1.0092

DOI: 10.13169/zanjglobsoutstud.2.1.0092

SO-VID: d44eb103-21a7-4c2c-9a6f-de99eac76473

License:

All content is freely available without charge to users or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission of the publisher or the author. Articles published in the journal are distributed under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

History

Custom metadata

lang eng

ScienceOpen disciplines: Political science,Political & Social philosophy,Movements,Epistemology,Cultural studies,Philosophy of culture

Keywords: Newroz,Kurdistan,martyrs,PKK,cosmology,martyrdom,Kurds

References

Albayrak, A. and J. Parkinson. “Five Turkish Police Killed in Clash with Kurdish Militants.” The Wall Street Journal, 2012 March 21. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304636404577295792267051820
Aydin, Delal. “Mobilizing the Kurds in Turkey: Newroz as a Myth.” MA Diss., Ankara: Middle East Technical University, 2005.
—–. “Mobilizing the Kurds in Turkey: Newroz as a Myth.” In The Kurdish Question in Turkey: New Perspectives on Violence and Reconciliation, edited by C. Gunes and W. Zeydanlioglu, 68–89. New York: Routledge, 2014.
Aykan, Bahar. “Whose Tradition, Whose Identity? The Politics of Constructing ‘Nevruz’ as Intangible Heritage in Turkey.” European Journal of Turkish Studies (19) (2014): 1–23.
Bajalan, Djene R. “Seref Xan's Sharafnama: Kurdish Ethno-politics in the Early Modern World, Its Meaning and Its Legacy.” Early Iranian Studies 45(6) (2012): 795–818.
Berxwedan. “Newroz: Danezana ciye?” Berxwedan (12) (1983a, April).
—–. Newroz bû pergala jiyane. Berxwedan (12) (1983b, May).
—–. Newroz. Berxwedan (40) (1984, February).
Bidlisi, Sheref Khan. The Sharafnamâ, or, The History of the Kurdish Nation, 1597 (1). New York: Mazda Pub., 2005.
Bloch, Maurice, and Jonathan Parry. “Introduction: Death and the Regeneration of Life.” In Death and the Regeneration of Life, edited by M. Bloch and J. Parry, 1–45. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1982.
Boyce, Mary. “NOWRUZ i. In the Pre-islamic Period.” In Encyclopædia Iranica (Online Edition), 2016. Retrieved from http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/nowruz-i
—–. Zproastrianism: Its Antiquity and Constant Vigour. New York: Mazda Publishers, 1992.
Bozarslan, Hamit. Violence in the Middle East: From Political Struggle to Self-Sacrifice. Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers, 2004.
Gunes, Cengiz. “Explaining the PKK's Mobilization of the Kurds in Turkey: Hegemony, Myth, and Violence.” Ethnopolitics 12(3) (2003): 247–267.
Christensen, Dorthe R., and Rane Willerslev. “Introduction.” In Taming Time, Timing Death: Social Technologies and Ritual, edited by D. Christensen and R. Willerslev, 1–17. New York: Routledge, 2016.
Cigerxwîn. “Kime Ez.” In Diwana III, 1973.
Cyet, Micheal L. “And a Thornbush Sprang up Between Them: Studies on Mem û Zîn, a Kurdish Romance.” (Volumes I and II). Ph.D. Dissertation. Berkeley: University of California Berkeley, 1991.
Dilberz, Gundî. Mamoste û sagirt: Cegerxwûn û Gundî. Berlin: Han Lekolîn, 2013.
Ferdowsi, Abu Al-Qasim. Shahname: The Persian Book of Kings. London: Penguin Books, 2016.
Eagleton, Terry. Radical Sacrifice. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2018.
Foltz, Richard. “Co-opting the Prophet: The Politics of Kurdish and Tajik Claims to Zarathustra and Zoroastrianism.” In The Zoroastrian Flame: Exploring Religion, History and Tradition, edited by A. Williams, S. Steward, and Hintze, 325–41. London: I.B Tauris, 2016.
Gunter, Michael. “The Continuing Kurdish Problem in Turkey after Öcalan's Capture.” Third World Quarterly 21(5) (2000): 849- 869.
Hirschler, Konrad. “Defining the Nation: Kurdish Historiography in Turkey in the 1990s.” Middle Eastern Studies 37(3) (2001): 145–166.
Jongerden, Joost. “Making Sense: Research as Active Engagement.” Kurdish Studies 4(1) (2016): 94–104.
Kapferer, Bruce. Legends of People, Myths of State: Violence, Intolerance and Political Culture in Sri Lanka and Australia. London: Berghan Books, 2011.
Öcalan, Abdullah. The Political Thought of Abdullah Öcalan: Kurdistan, Woman's Revolution and Democratic Confederalism. London: Pluto Press, 2017.
—–. Democratic Nation. Cologne: International Initiative Edition, 2016.
—–. şoreşa civakî û jiyana nû. Capxaneya Azadî, 2009. Retrieved from http://civakademokratik.com/kurd/pirtuken-reber-ocelan/soresa-civ<akai-u-jiyana-nu/
—–. Parastina gelekî. Wesanen PAJK, 2004. Retrieved from http://netewademokrat.net/ku/parastina-geleki/
Özsoy, Hişyar. “Between Gift and Taboo: Death and the Negotiation of National Identity and Sovereignty in the Kurdish Conflict in Turkey.” Ph.D. Dissertation. Austin: University of Texas Austin, 2010.
Perwer, Siwan. Ciroka Newroze. Sivan Production, 1990.
Pîreměrd. “Newroz.” In Dîwan I. Stockholm: Nefel, 2005.
Rudaw. “UNESCO'dan Newroz kararı.” Rudaw, 2016. Retrieved from http://www.rudaw.net/turkish/culture/30112016
Sahlins, Marshall and David Graeber. On Kings. Chicago: Hau Books, 2017.
Seremetakis, Nadia C. The Last Word: Women, Death and Divination in Inner Mani. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1991.
Shahbazi, Shapur. “NOWRUZ ii.” In The Islamic Period. Encyclopædia Iranica, Online Edition, 2016. Retrieved from http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/nowruz-ii
Teczur, Gunes M. When Democratization Radicalizes: The Kurdish Nationalist Movement in Turkey.” Journal of Peace Research 47(6) (2010) 775–789.
UNESCO. Decision of the Intergovernmental Committee: 11.COM 10.B., 2016. Retrieved http://ich.unesco.org/en/decisions/11.COM/10.B.1
Van Bruinessen, Martin. Turkey, Europe and the Kurds After the Capture of Abdullah, 2000.
“Öcalan.” In Kurdish Ethno-Nationalism versus Nation-Building States: Collected Articles, edited by M. Van Bruinessen, 277–288. Istanbul: The Isis Press.
—–. “Ehmedî Xanî's Mem û Zîn and its Role in the Emergence of Kurdish Nationalism. In Essays on the Origins of Kurdish Nationalism, edited by A. Vali, 40–57. Costa Mesa: Mazda Publishers, 2003.
Verdery, Kathrine. The Political Lives of Dead Bodies: Reburial and Post-Socialist Change. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999.
Xanî, Ehmede. Mem û Zîn. Istanbul: Avesta Yayınları, 2008.
Yarkin, Güllistan. “The Ideological Transformation of the PKK Regarding the Political Economy of the Kurdish Region in Turkey.” Kurdish Studies 3(1) (2015): 26–46.
Yarshater, Ehsan. “Now Ruz: The New Year Celebrations in Persia.” Iran Review 4(3) (1959): 12–15.

Comments

Comment on this article

[1] Albayrak, A. and J. Parkinson. “Five Turkish Police Killed in Clash with Kurdish Militants.” The Wall Street Journal, 2012 March 21. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304636404577295792267051820

[2] Aydin, Delal. “Mobilizing the Kurds in Turkey: Newroz as a Myth.” MA Diss., Ankara: Middle East Technical University, 2005.

[3] —–. “Mobilizing the Kurds in Turkey: Newroz as a Myth.” In The Kurdish Question in Turkey: New Perspectives on Violence and Reconciliation, edited by C. Gunes and W. Zeydanlioglu, 68–89. New York: Routledge, 2014.

[4] Aykan, Bahar. “Whose Tradition, Whose Identity? The Politics of Constructing ‘Nevruz’ as Intangible Heritage in Turkey.” European Journal of Turkish Studies (19) (2014): 1–23.

[5] Bajalan, Djene R. “Seref Xan's Sharafnama: Kurdish Ethno-politics in the Early Modern World, Its Meaning and Its Legacy.” Early Iranian Studies 45(6) (2012): 795–818.

[6] Berxwedan. “Newroz: Danezana ciye?” Berxwedan (12) (1983a, April).

[7] —–. Newroz bû pergala jiyane. Berxwedan (12) (1983b, May).

[8] —–. Newroz. Berxwedan (40) (1984, February).

[9] Bidlisi, Sheref Khan. The Sharafnamâ, or, The History of the Kurdish Nation, 1597 (1). New York: Mazda Pub., 2005.

[10] Bloch, Maurice, and Jonathan Parry. “Introduction: Death and the Regeneration of Life.” In Death and the Regeneration of Life, edited by M. Bloch and J. Parry, 1–45. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1982.

[11] Boyce, Mary. “NOWRUZ i. In the Pre-islamic Period.” In Encyclopædia Iranica (Online Edition), 2016. Retrieved from http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/nowruz-i

[12] —–. Zproastrianism: Its Antiquity and Constant Vigour. New York: Mazda Publishers, 1992.

[13] Bozarslan, Hamit. Violence in the Middle East: From Political Struggle to Self-Sacrifice. Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers, 2004.

[14] Gunes, Cengiz. “Explaining the PKK's Mobilization of the Kurds in Turkey: Hegemony, Myth, and Violence.” Ethnopolitics 12(3) (2003): 247–267.

[15] Christensen, Dorthe R., and Rane Willerslev. “Introduction.” In Taming Time, Timing Death: Social Technologies and Ritual, edited by D. Christensen and R. Willerslev, 1–17. New York: Routledge, 2016.

[16] Cigerxwîn. “Kime Ez.” In Diwana III, 1973.

[17] Cyet, Micheal L. “And a Thornbush Sprang up Between Them: Studies on Mem û Zîn, a Kurdish Romance.” (Volumes I and II). Ph.D. Dissertation. Berkeley: University of California Berkeley, 1991.

[18] Dilberz, Gundî. Mamoste û sagirt: Cegerxwûn û Gundî. Berlin: Han Lekolîn, 2013.

[19] Ferdowsi, Abu Al-Qasim. Shahname: The Persian Book of Kings. London: Penguin Books, 2016.

[20] Eagleton, Terry. Radical Sacrifice. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2018.

[21] Foltz, Richard. “Co-opting the Prophet: The Politics of Kurdish and Tajik Claims to Zarathustra and Zoroastrianism.” In The Zoroastrian Flame: Exploring Religion, History and Tradition, edited by A. Williams, S. Steward, and Hintze, 325–41. London: I.B Tauris, 2016.

[22] Gunter, Michael. “The Continuing Kurdish Problem in Turkey after Öcalan's Capture.” Third World Quarterly 21(5) (2000): 849- 869.

[23] Hirschler, Konrad. “Defining the Nation: Kurdish Historiography in Turkey in the 1990s.” Middle Eastern Studies 37(3) (2001): 145–166.

[24] Jongerden, Joost. “Making Sense: Research as Active Engagement.” Kurdish Studies 4(1) (2016): 94–104.

[25] Kapferer, Bruce. Legends of People, Myths of State: Violence, Intolerance and Political Culture in Sri Lanka and Australia. London: Berghan Books, 2011.

[26] Öcalan, Abdullah. The Political Thought of Abdullah Öcalan: Kurdistan, Woman's Revolution and Democratic Confederalism. London: Pluto Press, 2017.

[27] —–. Democratic Nation. Cologne: International Initiative Edition, 2016.

[28] —–. şoreşa civakî û jiyana nû. Capxaneya Azadî, 2009. Retrieved from http://civakademokratik.com/kurd/pirtuken-reber-ocelan/soresa-civ<akai-u-jiyana-nu/

[29] —–. Parastina gelekî. Wesanen PAJK, 2004. Retrieved from http://netewademokrat.net/ku/parastina-geleki/

[30] Özsoy, Hişyar. “Between Gift and Taboo: Death and the Negotiation of National Identity and Sovereignty in the Kurdish Conflict in Turkey.” Ph.D. Dissertation. Austin: University of Texas Austin, 2010.

[31] Perwer, Siwan. Ciroka Newroze. Sivan Production, 1990.

[32] Pîreměrd. “Newroz.” In Dîwan I. Stockholm: Nefel, 2005.

[33] Rudaw. “UNESCO'dan Newroz kararı.” Rudaw, 2016. Retrieved from http://www.rudaw.net/turkish/culture/30112016

[34] Sahlins, Marshall and David Graeber. On Kings. Chicago: Hau Books, 2017.

[35] Seremetakis, Nadia C. The Last Word: Women, Death and Divination in Inner Mani. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1991.

[36] Shahbazi, Shapur. “NOWRUZ ii.” In The Islamic Period. Encyclopædia Iranica, Online Edition, 2016. Retrieved from http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/nowruz-ii

[37] Teczur, Gunes M. When Democratization Radicalizes: The Kurdish Nationalist Movement in Turkey.” Journal of Peace Research 47(6) (2010) 775–789.

[38] UNESCO. Decision of the Intergovernmental Committee: 11.COM 10.B., 2016. Retrieved http://ich.unesco.org/en/decisions/11.COM/10.B.1

[39] Van Bruinessen, Martin. Turkey, Europe and the Kurds After the Capture of Abdullah, 2000.

[40] “Öcalan.” In Kurdish Ethno-Nationalism versus Nation-Building States: Collected Articles, edited by M. Van Bruinessen, 277–288. Istanbul: The Isis Press.

[41] —–. “Ehmedî Xanî's Mem û Zîn and its Role in the Emergence of Kurdish Nationalism. In Essays on the Origins of Kurdish Nationalism, edited by A. Vali, 40–57. Costa Mesa: Mazda Publishers, 2003.

[42] Verdery, Kathrine. The Political Lives of Dead Bodies: Reburial and Post-Socialist Change. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999.

[43] Xanî, Ehmede. Mem û Zîn. Istanbul: Avesta Yayınları, 2008.

[44] Yarkin, Güllistan. “The Ideological Transformation of the PKK Regarding the Political Economy of the Kurdish Region in Turkey.” Kurdish Studies 3(1) (2015): 26–46.

[45] Yarshater, Ehsan. “Now Ruz: The New Year Celebrations in Persia.” Iran Review 4(3) (1959): 12–15.