kurdish

Women's tricks

In a Kurdish village, there was a religious man, and often used to call God only a single one and that was: God prevent me from Devil. But his wife always insisted on him to change it and say to keep him away from women's tricks and mockery, but he ignored her advice and continued his usual one by saying what are women to fear of in his heart. Then wait and see, I will show you what great value we have which will make you change your call and attitude towards us.

One day she decided to go to the market and buy some fish. As her husband was a farmer, the next morning she took them there and put them under the sand on his way while plowing. When the man began to plow he found the fish and started gathering them. He put them in his bag. In the evening he returned home and gave them to his wife. From where did you get these fish?

Her husband told her that he came across as he was cultivating the ground. He added try to prepare them for lunch tomorrow and send for your brothers and mine to attend as guests to eat together. She said why not, the next morning she did so.

At lunch time, all arrived, the man ordered his wife to set up the meal. Instead of the fish, the wife had cooked soap for them and put those fish aside. To his surprise, when she served the lunch, it was only soap, and could not find fish there.

Where are the fish which I fetched ? Those which I found under my land while plowing yesterday. Why didn't you cook them for us?

His wife replied," what fish you mean, man!

The man said those I found while I was cultivating the land. His wife mockingly told him maybe you got mad. At that moment, he held his stick and ran after her to beat her, but her brothers prevented him from doing so, and they told him what kind of behavior , really you got insane, have you ever heard that fish live under the earth? The man was still resisting to hurt his wife for her disobedience. While this, the wife from time to time was showing him the tail of the fish to make him get more furious, and the was repeatedly saying those they are!

Which she held in her hand, but the wife hid them from the others eyes very quickly.

They all managed to tie him up to a post, and they left the house hungry and went home. The wife triumphantly, told him from now on you will add to your call from God to prevent and save you from women's tricks. The man promised to do so after he had seen with his bare eyes what he saw. She set him free and sent again for all to come and have lunch. She retold what she did for them to understand the lesson.

This anecdote is from Kurdish folklore

Written and translated by Ahmed Ali

The hidden treasure

A man in the seventy was strong, active and happy in his life. He was known among the people of his village that he had found a precious treasure and statues of gold and they thought that the treasure was the secret of his happiness and the man was not caring to what they say. You see him every morning walks on his way to work in the field. One day while he was with the villagers someone asked him to describe what a treasure of jewels he owned, he said: the treasure that God gave me the strength and happiness are not the silver and gold but they are hard work and integrity, self-confidence which is always prompted by hope and faith in God.

Go and look for the cook

In a Kurdish village, there was a man who had seven sons, young and mature, all the villagers feared them, because of their number and power, they owned hens, cocks, sheep, horses, cows and oxen.

One day, after the sunset, all their animals returned home safely except one cock, their mother announced it to them all, but they ignored as if they had not heard anything. After supper time, their father declared that one of the cocks was missed, tell me have you looked for or asked what had happened to it or not. But the answer was negative. Therefore; he insisted on them to do so immediately, make a sound in the village who had found or stolen it. Then, the father awaited a reply, at the moment one of them said: why did you make the matter so great, it is only a dock? The father kept silent and gave no respond.

The day after, after sunset, an ox was not in the stable one of the sons told his father about it. The father said," sons go and search for the cock." All of them laughed at his speech. Father we lost an ox, and you say look for the cock.

The cock was missed and the ox did not come back home. The horse, on the third day did not appear, one of them made known to all brothers, it was not tied outside as usual and not seen in the stable. While they were talking in such outrage to each other, their father heard their assault. Sons tell me what's wrong with you, why are you quarreling? Father, we have lost a horse. The father repeated his usual words, " go and look for the cock."

All of them started murmuring, either our father is talking nonsense or got insane. We are saying the horse is lost, he says asks about the cock, what kind of speech is this?

Only one day passed after these three continuous incidents, gossips spread in the village that one of the sons was killed, all other brothers were shocked and astonished to hear that, at that moment their father came out in front of them all and many people gathered there, he said," tell me, what's the matter, what had happened sons? Our brother was murdered over there, one of the sons replied. The father in a very cool way directed his message to all his sons, go for a search and ask about the stolen cock!!!

The elder son said," father maybe you are mad or you don't have any sense of fatherhood to say that, we lost a brother and you insist on the cock. With great pain and agony mixed with irony and reproach. My sons if you had showed your self and boasted before the villagers loudly when the cock was stolen, tonight your brother would not have been murdered coolly and you bend your heads down as women. To remind you of what the Kurdish wise man had said before," that who never gives ears to the old, surely horns of a goat will grow on his head."

Kurdish Folktale : written by Ahmed Ali

The gypsy and the child

"من دەیکا تەنا قاچولی"

A gypsy man went to a village to sell some of his handy made tools such as: knives, forks, spoons and pipes. He sat down awaiting people of the village to buy. Some children were playing nearby. One of them came nearer to him, he began to bother him by calling him bad names. The man got impatient with his repeated insults and got angry, so he beat him for his bad behavior. After a while, his mother came and started blaming the man for his mistreatment towards her son. How you dared to hit my little child so harshly. He told her, no you are quite wrong, your son is not small. But the mother insisted that he had no right to do so with her little child. On the other hand, the man also persisted that he was not a child because he had named his mother's private and sexy parts by name which was beyond his age and mentality.

Do you know what he said? So many times he repeated," I intercourse your mother. If he was small enough he would have said the opposite!

The mother nodded her head and went away without uttering any further words. She really understood the hidden directed message that her son was mature enough to say such things.

The Husband and his two Wives

It was said, long ago, the people of the village used to go to the mosque for the early morning prayer, before them all they saw a man there. This took many days as usual the same person arrived the place before all. A curious person asked him for the reason how and why he used to advance them in coming. Then, he replied," I have two wives, up to me it, is a grace from God, one of them awakes me, at the same time the other one fetch me hot water while the former quickly prepares my clothes and shoes. hence, I reach the mosque before all. It is so, I will do the same. I will marry another one. He did so, it didn't take a long time after his second marriage, his friend saw him there in the mosque before all. He questioned him mockingly, how things are going on with you nowadays? He answered him ironically, you know every thing well no need to say how. You see I used to sleep here instead

of my own home.

The governor

One of the governors gathered his three boys a day to choose one for the crown of his reign, he asked each, what is the best animal to him and why he loves ? The first replied: I love the dog because when he sees me comes close to me and wags his tail with joy, the second said I love the monkey because it plays and jumps, so it pleases me, and the third replied : I like the camel for its patience, conviction and the ability to work, the governor said :

If the first rules he will gather his entourage around him to hear from them what pleases him and they will keep him away from the right and if the second rules he will gather clowns around him wasting his time not doing a great job and if the third rules he will choose a company of efficiency and competence, therefore; he made him crown to his reign.

The tied cow

A person had a field near the village and there were untied cows and donkeys very close to it. One day, on his way to the field he saw that the animals have caused great damage to the farm. But at the time he did not see any animal there excepting one cow tied to the side of the field. His anger reached to a high point , he took a stick and hit the cow strongly. Some people blamed him and they said, so why you hit the tied one which has no guilt? He shouted at them what do you? The tied is most insidious of the loose, if opportunity has come to it will have done more than others !!!

The written livelihood

It is said that one day a man decided not to go after his daily bread to defy the saying that God is the one who provides that for all kinds of creatures. The man left the village and went to the mountain and there was a cave beside the mouth of the valley uttering to himself " let God supply me with food."

To God wish a caravan which has strayed their way wrongly came straight to the valley where the man had hid himself there before sunset. The head of the caravan ordered them to go inside the cave for shelter and pass the night there.

When the man noticed that they were coming towards the cave, he made his way to the end in order not be seen there and kept silent as if he was dead. Their head told some to go and have a look inside the cave lest there should be a beast in one of the corners. While searching they found a man lying there without movement in spite of their trying to make him awake, but in vein he remained still. Hence, they held him and brought him to their head telling that he was unconscious. He said perhaps you were hungry, but he kept silent. So, he asked someone to prepare some hot milk , and they did so and the man began to recover and started laughing. The whole caravan were puzzled to hear his story and his wrong attitude towards God.

Kurdish folktale : written by Ahmed

For nothing

One summer evening at the time of reaping, an old man was busy preparing his grape by putting it into baskets to sell them the next day in the market.

It happened a young g man passed by and saw the old man. He wished to have some, he stopped for a moment beside the fence and began to greet the owner by saying to him the usual Kurdish salute:

_ God help you and give you strength, uncle.

_ The old man replied in a very brief way: for nothing.

_ Uncle, why did you say that? You didn't give the right answer for mine.

_ Yes my dear, I should have said: mercy fall on your father and mother, then you would have said: What's that? My answer for it "It is grape" after that definitely and without any doubt you say: give me some grape fruit, my respond will be " NO" , later you will say: Why? The clear answer would be the same as the first one before which I uttered " For nothing". I shortened it for you to save time and effort, therefore leave you won't taste it because so many people pass by and whoever asks me and I give him a cluster of grape, at that time what will remain to your uncle.

Kurdish Folktale

An answer without words

A young married man was wondering why he was poor and did not get rich as others in spite of the hard work he did most of the time. His wealth did not increase at all, he wanted to know the reason behind his misfortune. One day, while he was passing a huge castle, he noticed the owner who was an average man about fifty standing in front of the gate. He stopped and saluted him. He told him that he wanted to ask him a question. The former accepted but he signed to follow him upstairs to his private room. Later, they both entered the room, it was a very big one, it was dark inside, because there was only one light on in the whole room.

Would you please tell me the truth behind how you got so rich?

The man without answering his question directly, he just told him to go first to switch that single light off and turn back to him. But the young man understood his message at once, without uttering a word he left the room, murmuring to himself, no need for your answer, I know how you gathered this big fortune. It was economy. One should show it in every item of expenditure in our daily life. At last, when he got out of the gate, he remembered the Kurdish proverb that says," Water springs out and flows, though you should economize."