A Review on the Soviet Kurdish Novel (the Examples From Hewarî, Gundê Mêrxasan and Hopo)

Abstract

Though seemingly unconnected conceptually, concepts concerning the land and the literature impact each other. From one point of view, the land determines the character of the literature. From another point of view, understanding the why and wherefore of distinctiveness or extensions of land is determined by the literary concept. Viewing the concept of the land our aim is to show that the land with a distinctive social group living on it, establishes a way of life and then after interaction with the culture occurs, builds on a specific, designated territory. We can consider Caucasian Kurdish territory as one original territory with its background of Serhed. Despite this originality, it differs in many ways within itself. Folklore, Yezidism, the Soviet System, and the Revolution are some of the concepts that take their meanings depending on this territory and its historical period. The literature produced by Caucasian writers and in particular the novels that have appeared are meaningful only within this reality; in each case, this literature guides us to a specific time and place. In this article, we will try to focus on three important novels of Caucasian Kurds that were published during the Soviet era. These three novels are: Erebê Şemo-Hopo (1969), Eliyê Evdilrehman-Gundê Mêrxasan (1968), Heciyê Cindî-Hewarî (1967). The reason why we chose these three novels is that all three of them were published at very close times to each other and appeared during the Soviet system. By analyzing and comparing the world of the novel, the characters, and the use of language in these three novels, we will try to give some general knowledge about the Soviet Kurdish novel.