The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1930-08-15


and from others by the later arriving
Turks
Some Recent Revolts.
Even the fairly recent regime of
Renal Pasha has had several Kurdish
revots on it's hands. There was a
sporadic uprising in 1929; and in 1925
the tribesmen made an unsuccessful
effort to set up their own government.
The scrapping of the caliphate at Con-
stantinople aroused them and nearly
every change in old Moslem customs
has irritated them. Revolt after re-
volt has been quelled but as soon as
the Kurd replenishes his forces and
supplies, he is ready TO attack again.
The Kurd farmers of the Iraq plains
are more prosperous than the tribes
men of the hill country. Travellers
climb the trails of Kurdistan for miles
without seeing a village. When one
does appear. ii is usually situated in
a well protected spot. Houses are
placed without regard to building line
and a bird's-eye view of village re-
veals a tumble of mud and stone
structures.
The peasants house is a one-room
structure which might be mistaken for
stable. The tribesmen reserves one
side of his abode for his animals while
his family occupies the other side.
Kurds sit on the floor when they rest
or eat, therefore they do not need
tables or chairs.
The tribal chief or headman fares
better. He has a house for his family
and a guest house where he lives and
entertains guests. He is offended If
traveller does not stay with him. Once
the traveller has stopped, he must re-
main for dinner The food is placed
on the floor in the center of the din
ers. Should a guest stretch his legs
toward another person. convey food
to his mouth with his left hand. or
fondle the dog, his host is offended.
No knives and forks are to be found
in the Kurd silver chest but if guest
has difficulty in feeding himself with
his hands, spoon will be handed to
him. Few meals are served that do
not include mast (curdled milky the
favorite dish of the Kurd. A little
water mixed with the mast makes
mastao, the Kurd national" drink.
The tribesmen like vegetables but sell
dom serve meat.
They Buy Their Wives.
Under Moslem law, the Kurd may
take four wives. Wives are bought,
so the peasant usually has only one.
The chiefs take the full quota. Wives
are priced according to their rank.
The tribesman can get wife in eX-
change for pony or goat, or one
may cost the equivalent of $500. The
wedding entails season of merry
making in which the whole tribe joins,
but it takes less than minute to dis
solve a union. The man simply says
st divorce you" three times and the
parties are free.
To the foreigner. the Kurds seem to
know little else than the "art" Of high
way robbery. Many Of the mountain
tribesmen are adept thieves, but in
the hills as well as the plains many
Kurds earn honest livings by farming
and cattle raising. Kurds are pastoral
people, seldom moving from their viii
lagos except to migrate to higher alti-
tudes during the summer for new pas
turage. Now and then a whole tribe
will move from a village The tribes
man takes his roof. the only valuable
part of his hut.
Life is hard in the mountains but
the family has time to play. In the
summer camp the young tribesmen
spend their leisure moments playing
touch-last on horseback. Children play
a sort of hockey, with crooked sticks
and wood balls. Now and then the
traveller will see a deck Of cards in a
tent hut they are usually used by the
children. Gambling is not INDUCED
in by the tribesmen, who. after hard
days work. enjoy sitting outside their
tents smoking cigarettes.
In spite Of exciting events I'm the
fighting history of the Kurds, the
tribesmen were almost unknown out
side the Near East before the World
war. WHEN d ucicSdtlOu VI NuiuS dp-
peared at the peace conferences in
1919 newspaper men did not know who
the sunburnt tribesmen might be-
When their identity was revealed the
Kurds went on the front pages and
frequently have been there since.
The presence of Kurds in the Mosul
region of what is now northern Iraq
was hard diplomatic problem for the
treaty drafters to solve after the
World war. Except in M0sul City. the
population of this region is almost
solidly Kurdish. It is the odor and
power of petroleum that in some ways
dominate all else In this region. What
promises to become one Of the major
oil fields Of the world centers about
Mosul.