DİYARBAKIR- Celebrated for thousands of years in Mesopotamia, Newroz means resurrection for Kurds.

 

Celebrated by many peoples with different meanings, Newroz is a tradition that has lasted for centuries. Even though it is celebrated with different meanings, the unchanging date of Newroz is March 21. Almost all historians agree that it originated from Kurdistan-Iran, Newroz is celebrated by the Kurds as a tradition of resistance and resurrection without interruption. Ultimately, the founding myth of Newroz in Kurdish mythology, shaped around a rebellion, preserved its same content for centuries.

 

Except for minor etymological differences, Newroz means "new day" in all dialects of Kurdish, and in some cultures it is described as "Rebirth", "Spring", "First day of the year" and "Resurrection". Spreading from Kurdistan, it is celebrated in a wide geography such as Iran, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Balochistan, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo, Macedonia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Tatarstan, Gagauzia and Yakutia.

 

EPIC AND MYTHOLOGY OF NEWROZ 

 

So, when did Newroz, which has been alive for centuries in such a wide geography, come about? According to historical sources, there are also arguments that Newroz dates back before this date, based on the struggle between the cruel king Dehaq and Demirci (Hesinkar) Kawa in 612 BC. According to Kurdish mythology, King Dehaq lives in Nineveh (today's Mosul and its environs) of the Assyrian Empire, which continues to exist in Mesopotamia, where today's Kurdistan is located. King Dehaq falls ill with a disease and two snake-like wounds appear on both his shoulders. As this disease, which the physicians under Dehaq's command do not know how to diagnose and treat, progresses day by day, Dehaq threatens to kill the physicians under his command if they do not find a cure for the disease. The doctors tell Dehaq that he has to rub the brains of two teenagers into his wounds every day. Upon this offer, King Dehaq gives orders to his soldiers and every day he rubs the brains of two young people into their wounds in order to continue his life.

 

ORGANIZER OF A RIOT: KAWA

 

According to some written sources, Kurdish cooks living in Dehaq's palace send the brains of goats to Dehaq instead of one of the two young people sent every day, and young people who are slaughtered are sent to the mountains. In some sources, families take refuge in the mountains to protect their children's lives. The number of those fleeing Dehaq's persecution is now in a position to initiate a rebellion. The leader of the rebellion has now been revealed: the Kurdish blacksmith named Demirci Kawa, who lost his children for the treatment of cruel Dehaq. Kawa embarks on a quest to protect both his own children and the children of other Kurds. Under Kawa's leadership, many organized and prepared for the uprising. Kawa makes a plan and waits for an opportunity. One day, the soldiers of King Dehaq came to take the children of Kawayê Hesinkar. Kawa says to the soldiers, "You go, I will bring my children with my own hands and sacrifice my king." So the soldiers return in shock and tell the story to King Dehaq. King Dehaq is also surprised and they wait for Kawa. Kawa takes his children by the hand, raises his hammer, and goes to King Dehaq's palace.

 

THE DAY THE FIRE OF A RIOT WAS LIT

 

King Dehaq is delighted to see Kawa Hesinkar walking towards them with his children. Kawa brings his children to King Dehaq's feet. To kill his children, he raises his hammer and at close range strikes King Dehaq on the head, killing him. He then goes to the roof of the palace and sets it on fire. Awaiting Kawa Hesinkar's fire, the resisters attack and capture the palace. Seeing that Kawa has succeeded, the Kurds celebrate it with the fires they light in the mountains they are in. The Kurds, who see getting rid of Dehaq as a "new day", that is, "Newroz", celebrate every anniversary of this event by lighting fires.

 

CONTEMPORARY KAWAS

 

Taking place in the works of many writers and intellectuals such as Baba Tahir Hemedani, Melaye Ciziri, Ahmed Xani, Celadet Ali Bedirxan, Ağrı Rebellion Leader İhsan Nuri Pasha, Pîremêrd and Cegerxwîn, Newroz took on different political meanings after the 1980s. "Contemporary Kawas" emerged against the "New Dehaqs". During the military coup of September 12, 1980, thousands of Kurds were subjected to severe torture and inhumane practices in Diyarbakır Prison. Many people died in these tortures. However, Mazlum Doğan, described as the "Contemporary Kawa" of the age, gives Newroz the spirit of the new era with the three matchsticks he lit on March 21, 1982, a Newroz day against Turkification and torture. The fire of Doğan once again became hope for the Kurdish people. Zekiye Alkan in 1990, Rahşan Demirel in 1992, Ronahi and Berivan in 1994 increased this hope by setting their bodies on fire against the oppression.