Shamdinani Stories I : Kurdish Writings on the History and Culture of Central Kurdistan During World War I by Mullah Sa’id Shamdinani / edited by Ergin Öpengin, David MacKenzie.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Opengîn, Ergîn, editor.

MacKenzie, David, editor.

Series:

Middle East and Islamic Studies E-Books Online, Collection 2026.

Brill Kurdish Studies ; 3

Middle East and Islamic Studies E-Books Online, Collection 2026

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Middle East and Islamic Studies.

Literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (455 pages) : illustrations.

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Kurdish Writings on the History and Culture of Central Kurdistan During World War I by Mullah Sa’id Shamdinani

Place of Publication:

Leiden ; Boston : BRILL, 2026.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

During World War I, in the city of Urmia, Iran, the Russian consul Basil Nikitin recruited the Kurdish Mullah Sa'id of Shamdinan to assist him in the study of the Kurdish language. Their collaboration produced a rich body of cultural and historical texts. This volume presents 62 Kurdish texts with parallel English translations, accompanied by an introduction that outlines the historical and literary context, a Kurdish-English glossary, a map of relevant locations, and indices of personal and place names. Concluding a century of Orientalist scholarship, the volume offers a vivid portrayal of Kurdish culture and oral tradition in a highly refined literary form. Funded by the European Union (ERC, ALHOME, 1121183).

Contents:

Acknowledgements

List of Tables and Illustrations

Part I

Introduction:

Mullah Sa’id Shamdinani and a century of Kurdological work on his texts

Mullah Sa’id Shamdinani’s trajectory

Mullah Sa’id and Basile Nikitine cooperation

2th century Kurdological work on Mullah Sa’id’s texts

Re-discovering Mullah Sa’id’s texts

Manuscripts and texts

David N. MacKenzie’s edition

The present updated edition: The Shamdinan dialect and the principles of transcription Arabic and Persian quotations Symbols and punctuation Transcription of proper names

Arabic and Persian quotations: transcription and translation

Annotations and commentary

Thematic organization of the texts

Part II: Texts and Translations

I. The mouse, the snake, the scorpion, the magpie and the kite

II. The snake and the fox

III. The pigeon and the fox

IV. A fox who went one night to eat chickens

V. The wolf and the lamb

VI. A lion and a wolf and a fox

VII. How the lion killed a wolf and the fox learnt sense

VIII. The gardener and the owners of a horse, a mule and a donkey

IX. (How) the trickster stole the fool’s donkey

X. The huntsman and the bear

XI. The people of Begalta detest donkeys

XII. Sofi Shaikh of the settled Harki

XIII. The Story of Ali ‘Brawler’

XIV. The muezzin of Akre

XV. The man from Akre and the woman of Kalet

XVI. Mam Bapir and the village imam

XVII. Sofi Badin of Hasnakan

XVIII. Shaikh Sulaiman ‘Tinkle-toes’

XIX. A story of the strange stupidity of the Telis in former times, which has come down to us, generation by generation, from our ancestors

XX. Another story of the Telis

XXI. The tale of Sile Shamfata

XXII. Muhammad Agha Barwari and the travelling minstrel

XXIII. Mam Tal the Barwari

XXIV. Ismail Pasha and Isa Dalani

XXV. Ismail Pasha’s henchmen and Isa Dalani

XXVI. Ismail Pasha said to Isa Dalani, ‘Which kind of woman is best?’

XXVII. The Mir of the Hakaris and the good news of the bird of spring

XXVIII. The story of Darwesh Beg of Albak

XXIX. The story of Kamo the honey-stealer

XXX. Ismail the Ox-eater

XXXI. The Artushi nomad and the merchant of Mosul

XXXII. The Prophet of the donkeys

XXXIII. The story of Pawa

XXXIV. The blind Koran-reciter from Pawa

XXXV.The blind man and the two students

XXXVI. The tale of a man of the Motki tribe

XXXVII. Razgin the highwayman, the cowardly youth and the brave old man

XXXVIII. The story of the muezzin of Karbala

XXXIX. The Kurd and the Mujtahid of Karbala

XL. Ali Beg Dasini, the mullahs of the ‘Husainis’ and the kochaks of the Dasinis

XLI. The story of Sadiq Beg and the Jews of Amadiya

XLII. A Mizuri will not eat a kid’s tail

XLIII. Abdi and Aziz

XLIV. ‘Possession follows the sword.’

XLV. The Story of Abdal Beg, the Mir of Shamdinan, and his wife Pari Khan

XLVI. Oso, son of Haji Qaso, and Jindi Agha

XLVII. The Walnut of the Caps

XLVIII. The Story of Muhammad Pasha of Rawandiz

XLIX. The Story of Maulana Khalid

L. Shaikh Nabi Mawili

LI. Shaikh Abdussalam I

LII. Shaikh Muhammad Barzani

LIII. Shaikh Abdussalam II

LIV. The Story of Shaikh Muhammad of Bijil

LV. The Tale of Suto and Tato

LVI. Simko says, ‘I am the first Emperor, Wilhelm the second.’

LVII. The Story of Mirza Hasan Sinai and Musayyib Beg Ilyasof Ganjei

LVIII. The Story of the killing of Rizvan Pasha at the hands of Ali Shamil Pasha’s men

LIX. The story of the abolition of the journal ‘Hatawi Kurd’ (Kurdish Sun)

LX. A Statement of the Kurds’ distress on account of the Turks

LXIa. Well-meaning advice for the whole Kurdish nation

LXIb. Well-meaning advice for all Kurds

Part III: Kurdish-English Glossary

Appendices

Appendix 1: Map of locations mentioned in the texts

Appendix 2: Figures

Appendix 3: Sample manuscripts

Index of places, people and person names.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9789004754430

OCLC:

1603130967

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789004754430 DOI