Nawshirwan Mustafa Amin: ‘Along the Way Picking Flowers’ – book review

By Mufid Abdulla:

Over the course of his political life, beginning at an early age, Nawshirwan Mustafa has made a major contribution to our understanding of Kurdish politics and its historical basis.

‘Along the Way Picking Flowers’ is his latest book which, as he explains, accords with his original ambition. It is also a reflection of his charismatic leadership. This book, tracing the origins of Kurdish literature and poetry, shows the deep passion and the roots of this man who is not only interested in the Kurdish struggle for survival but also in how Kurdish literature and poetry has impacted on this struggle.

Why has the author chosen this title? What does the author want to discover from Kurdish literature? When you read it you inevitably come to a shock of recognition that we are looking at a kind of truth that other Kurdish leaders have never previously communicated. In an important preface for readers, the author states:

“Everyone has his own path in life and has chosen which career and professional path to follow but sometimes they might want to do some other work in their spare time apart from their main profession. Somebody might be interested in sport; somebody else perhaps interested in singing and dancing; somebody else interested in riding horses; somebody in hunting or somebody else interested in art and dining out late into the evenings, etc. I was busy with my political life in different aspects such as the organizational structure, the armed struggle and the media. The path I chose was difficult and complicated and was dominated by good and bad news; it was full of utopian ideas, of failure and victories. This path was uncertain; it didn’t give any certainties as to whether you could come back safely to the point where you started. But, on my career journey, if I had a chance after completing my main duties, I spent time with my main ambition which was to create a collection of flowers from the garden of Kurdish poetry. People who know me from a distance might be baffled by seeing me writing about this area of Kurdish poetry, considering that I am always writing about politics. This note is aimed at removing these doubts.”

The book consists of three main chapters. In the first chapter the author goes back to different points in ancient history and traces how Kurdish literature was initially developed and what environmental factors affected Kurdish poems and literature. The second chapter goes on to give an introduction on Mesopotamia’s literature and its connection to the Kurds. The final chapter gives an account of the author embarking on a journey to the old schools which supported our ancient poets, such as Abdulla Goran, Besarany, Wali Dywan, Talyi and Salm.

In the first chapter the author wants to discover how ancient Kurdish literature began and for this reason he tells us: “This land called Kurdistan, on one side it is surrounded by the chain of the Zagroz mountains and on the other side by Mesopotamia which is one of the most ancient dwellings for human inhabitants. Continually these places are being discovered with the remains of different ancient eras of civilization. Each era is significant for its own civilization, such as Somarian, Babli, Akadi, Ashur, Elami Hiti, Midi, Ashkani, Hakmanshi and Sasani, and in each there were important historical events taking place.” The author goes on to pose questions about “whether the land of Kurdistan was inherited from and whether this land belongs to people who left the place a long time ago and the Kurds came to it or whether the Kurd is the son of the Therese people who created and produced all of these civilizations?”

“However,”he continues, “some of the rulers believe that the civilizations belong to them. The Arabs in Iraq believe their civilizations are inherited from Adadi, Somari and Babli. The Persian in Iran thinks that their civilization originally came from Hakamanshi, Ashkani and Sasani. The Turks in Anadol think they belong to Hiti or Turkam. The Kurds too lived in these areas so what is their position among all these civilizations? What is their share in building these civilizations? Whether they came from outside these areas or originally came from them, the fact is they brought their culture to them as well. Because we have never had our own state, not only have we not been able to write our history but our history has been distorted; otherwise who is closer to the Mesopotamian civilizations – the Kurds or Arabs? With regards to the Kurds and Persians, who is closest to the civilizations of Sasani?

The book is printed by Arab Scientific Publishers in Beirut and has 477 pages. The language is very plain and goes straight to the point without any confusion. The publisher has not included an index in this book which is what most modern books in the south of Kurdistan contain to make it easier for the reader to track down the name they want to find.

Furthermore, the author gives recognition to the individual Kurds he is proud of in their elaborating of the development of civilizations by referring in his arguments and research to individuals in archaeology, ethnology, religious studies and other branches of social science. The book is more about the nature of early Kurdish society rather than the economic development at these early stages of civilization. The author wants to tell our new generation about the contribution of Kurds towards their own land, and to civilization generally and Mesopotamia specifically.

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