The Sacred Tribe and Betrayal

Dear Readers,

I can almost hear the automatic association echoing in the minds of some of my readers when they read the word "tribe":

"Feudal remnant, reactionary, primitive, enemy of the republic (Turkish fanatic nationalists), the biggest obstacle to the establishment of a Kurdish state (Kurdish fanatic nationalists), a social structure that must be destroyed and disbanded."

Let's examine the reality of the tribe with full clarity:

The etymology of the word "aşiret" comes from the Arabic word "عشيرة", meaning "ashira". It refers to a community of relatives. Therefore, instead of "aşiret," it is possible to use words like clan, sept, horde, or nomadic group. While Kurds have internalized the word "êşîr" (aşiret), Turks have preferred "boy or oymak," Arabs "kabile," and other peoples have chosen different names. For example, "clan" has become a common term for Japanese Samurai.

Instead of writing a scientific article bogged down in footnotes, I want to convey to you, as a Kurd, the changes in my heart and mind regarding the word "aşiret" from my childhood to today.

THE JALALI (Celalî) AND GELOYLU (Gêloî) TRIBES

My father, Mecit Hun, was the leader of the Geloylu Tribe. He assumed this duty at the age of 19 in the spring of 1944, following the decision of the Tribal Council (rûspî) after the death of his father, Ahmed Şemo, and continued it uninterrupted until his death in 1998. Between 1950 and 1955, Mecit Hun was involved in politics while also launching Iğdır's first and most important newspapers. My father became the CHP Iğdır District Chairman starting in the autumn of 1958.

My father was not a leader who gave orders or oppressed. In fact, no tribal leader in the Iğdır region was like that. All of them were educated, cultured, aware of what was happening in the world and the country, and idealistic and self-sacrificing people who strived to solve the problems of their tribes. They did not distance themselves from the people; they lived among them. Our house was always full of relatives from mountain villages.

During the summer pasture season, we would stay in the encampment (zoma) of our own tribe or other tribes. Tribe members were respectful and understanding of each other. No tribe considered itself superior to another. Even if there were historical enmities between them, we children did not know or understand them. We would quickly bond, and our spirits would become one.

Since the overarching identity of the Geloylu Tribe was the "Jalali Tribe," we embraced this name and were proud of it. Especially my grandmother, Fatma Hanım's, sincere and loving way of speaking with tribe members deeply affected me.

MY UNIVERSITY YEARS

Until my university years (1976), I was proud of my tribe and accepted the fact that I was a part of it without question. During my university years, I found myself involved in both the Kurdish and Turkish left-wing movements... Turkish leftists viewed the tribe as a remnant of feudalism, proclaiming that this primitive (!) structure should be razed to the ground in a socialist revolution.

In those years, I mostly read Kurdish magazines like Özgürlük Yolu and Rızgari. Both of them took these discourses, inherited from the Turkish left, even further, with every article ending with the slogan, "Down with Agha, Bey, Sheikh, Madrasa." As a result, I gradually became alienated from my own values. To be honest, at first, I was torn: on the one hand, the humanist and benevolent characters of the personalities defined as aghas, beys, sheikhs, and leaders in Iğdır came to mind, and on the other hand, I considered the ruthless and dogmatic expressions put forward as an unquestionable principle by scientific (!) socialism. Soon enough, I too began to regard the tribe as "a primitive and insignificant social structure that needed to be eliminated."

This thought and understanding did not leave me until I left Turkey (1984).

MY YEARS IN FRANCE

Those were the days I worked in Paris. I was in a French circle. I was with them and invited to activities. Soon I realized the truth: tribalism continued in France in another form.

I had thought that titles and privileges from France's feudal period, such as Baron, Duke, Duchess, Marquis, Count, etc., had been completely abolished with the French Revolution of 1789. But no! Many families in French society were considered "noble or aristocratic" and respected. Genealogies circulated, and "aristocratic" pasts were a source of pride. I remember experiencing a great "shock" when I realized that these elite aristocratic families shaped France's economy, media, and politics. While the remnants of feudalism were blessed and honored in modern and civilized (!) France, I had rejected and become alienated from my own values. What a paradox!

MY YEARS IN GERMANY

I started my economics doctoral program at the University of Freiburg in Germany. Freiburg is a peaceful city surrounded by mountains and forests, where wealthy Germans buy homes and settle after retirement. I made friends among the wealthy Germans. Soon, just as in France, I witnessed that titles from the feudal period, such as Herzog, Graf, Adel, Hochadel, provided prestige to people in Germany. A little research revealed that those with "Von" in their surnames were, in a sense, sending the message, "I am from a noble German family." The most important players in Germany's economy, media, and politics came from among those who held this title. In Germany, too, genealogies circulated, and everyone knew who was "noble" accordingly.

MY YEARS IN JAPAN

My interest in Japanese increased during my years in Paris. I attended courses organized by the France-Japan Association. When I came first in my class, they sent me to Japan for a 2-month period in the summer of 1987.

I stayed at the home of a retired Japanese doctor in Tokyo and commuted to school. He lived alone with his wife. In the evenings, after dinner, we would chat. My host had been a soldier during World War II. He didn't like to talk about his memories from that period, but sometimes he couldn't resist my persistence and would abandon his reticent demeanor.

It was one such day. The retired doctor placed a roll of papyrus in front of me. He slowly unrolled the cylindrical scroll. It was the genealogy of a Samurai clan named "Fujiwara." The Fujiwara clan was established in the 6th-7th centuries. Since feudalism in Japan began in the 12th-13th centuries, it was clear that the Fujiwara clan was not a remnant of feudalism. My host proudly placed his hand on the Fujiwara clan's genealogy and said, "I am also a member of the Fujiwara clan."

The retired doctor then began to list important Japanese personalities who belonged to the Fujiwara clan. The most prominent figures in Japan's economy, media, and politics came from this clan. Once again, I thought about my tribe and questioned myself.

In later years, I frequently visited Japan for work. Each time, I witnessed how Samurai culture determined the main values of society, and I couldn't hide my astonishment.

(Note: As you know, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was tragically assassinated on July 8, 2022. Shinzo Abe was also a member of a well-known Samurai clan (the Abe clan). He had taken the name of the "clan" as his surname. However, no one was bothered by this.)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

This time, my path led me to the USA. I went to the USA for education in 1991, and later I got married and started working there. I remember telling myself, "The USA is the pinnacle of capitalism. There are definitely no noble families or tribe-like structures here. In this country where individualism is celebrated, everyone is a tribe unto themselves."

No, I was wrong!

First of all, there were 500 Native American tribal nations in the USA. Each of their reservations (lands) was legally protected. Every Native American was known by the name of their tribe and was proud of it. Initially, I thought, "This situation only exists among Native Americans."

One day, while chatting with professors at Berkeley University in a restaurant, one of them said, "My family goes back to the Mayflower." I had never heard the name Mayflower before.

The story goes like this: Before the USA existed as a state, these lands were an English colony. A community of 102 people belonging to the "Puritan" sect, unable to endure the religious oppression and discrimination of the government and church in England, set sail from England in 1620 on a ship named Mayflower towards what is now the USA. In November, they settled in a region called Plymouth, 65 km south of today's Boston. As those who know are aware, winters in this region are very cold. With the help of Native Americans, the Puritans survived the winter. (Thanksgiving is attributed to this winter month.)

In later years, those who came on the Mayflower kept a genealogy. A bond, just like a tribe, formed among them. They supported each other. Today, having a Mayflower genealogy is a privilege in the USA. Today, the economy, politics, and media of the USA are largely in the hands of this group. (The population of the Mayflower descendants is estimated to be 30 million.)

Soon I would encounter other "tribal" structures in American society.

On February 28, 1993, a conflict broke out between the Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventist Church, led by David Koresh, and Texas State security forces 14 km northeast of Waco, Texas, resulting in the deaths of 76 cult members, including 21 children. It was then that I became interested in cults in the USA, and I read about them. Roughly 50% of the US population is Protestant, 23% Catholic, and 2% Mormon. The rest consists of people adhering to Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, etc., religious beliefs.

Catholics are subordinate to the Pope in Rome. However, the situation is different for Protestants. Protestants are not governed from a single center. The USA is divided into regions called "Parish." Each Parish is under the authority of a Protestant pastor. This pastor determines his own rules without asking anyone or taking orders from anyone. As a result, there are hundreds, even thousands, of cults or "Parishes" in the USA. The solidarity among members of a "Parish" church is as strict and widespread as among tribe members. They support each other and are proud of their identity.

It is possible to list other sects and denominations: Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Amish, Nation of Islam...

Likewise, private membership organizations were not much different from tribal structures: Lions Clubs, Free Masons, Grand Masons...

Note: I am leaving mafia organizations aside for now. Mafia organizations survive by using codes that have matured and gained value within the tribe.

SOCIALIST COUNTRIES

The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. For the first time, as an employee of an American oil company, I had the chance to visit former Soviet Republics in 1997. I was very surprised to see that tribal structures in countries like Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Mongolia continued without disruption. This meant that 70 years of socialism had not been able to destroy tribes. Especially the Kurds in the Caucasus knew and embraced themselves with their tribal identity.

Considering all these realities in my mind, it was clear that there was a systematic and planned attack against Kurdish tribes in Turkey.

After gaining all these experiences, I began to look at the history of Kurdish Tribes with a different perspective. My research led me to very different information. I would like to address these in order:

1. KURDISH HISTORY IS THE HISTORY OF KURDISH TRIBES

2. A STATE MIND IS HIDDEN IN EVERY TRIBE

3. THE TRIBE IS NOT A REMNANT OF FEUDALISM

The Median Empire was established during the Slave Society period. We know that Kurdish tribes existed during this period. The roots of today's Kurdish tribes extend to pre-feudal times. Therefore, the oft-repeated phrase, "The tribe is a feudal remnant," has no value.

4. THE TRIBE HAS A STRONG SPIRITUAL FABRIC AND INTERNAL CULTURE

Each tribe has its own unique internal culture. The common general values in all of them are:

• Respect for elders
• Spirit of hospitality
• Tribal honor
• Sense of belonging
• Sense of trust
• Sense of solidarity
• Love for nature and animals (Even if a tribe member lives in the city, they carry a pastoral value in their soul)
• Oral tradition and socialization skills
• Individuals with common sense (The strongest aspect of tribes is that they raise generations with common sense. Young people who adhere to true tribal values do not seek adventure)

When US Governments struggled to destroy the identity of Native American tribes through religious or linguistic assimilation, they resorted to another method: they condoned the opening of casinos and gambling houses on reservations, i.e., on lands belonging to Native American tribes. Today, prostitution, gambling, and alcohol are the biggest enemies of Native American identity in the USA.

A similar situation has occurred for Kurdish tribes. The state, unable to find a solution by killing or exiling Kurdish leaders, has followed two different paths to marginalize Kurdish tribes and, in a sense, destroy Kurdish identity:

1. ALIENATING KURDISH YOUTH FROM THEIR OWN SPIRITUAL VALUES

2. THE LOSS OF THE TRIBE'S INTERNAL CHANGE AND DYNAMIC POWER DUE TO PRESSURES THAT PREVENTED IT FROM RECOVERING

• Blood money
• Bride price
• Milk money (a payment to the bride's mother)
• Abduction of girls
• Forced marriage
• Child marriage
• Exchange marriage (berdel)
• Close-relative marriage
• Domestic violence

Certain circles deliberately use these two concepts interchangeably.

"Tribe" is a social structure. It has continued its existence since Primitive Communal Society. Every tribe carries a state mind within itself; it is sacred.

"Tribalism" is using the power of the tribe to gain political and economic advantage.

Unfortunately, today some tribal associations are either extensions of political parties and religious sects or are under their control. The goal is the same: to internally fragment and corrupt Kurdish tribes, and to alienate the Kurdish people from tribal associations and tribal identity through abuse and fraud. A Kurdish people who lose or become alienated from their tribal identity are already dead.

KURDISH MADRASAS

One of the issues that evil forces have seized upon to alienate Kurdish youth from Kurdish values is Kurdish madrasas. Much effort has been made to portray madrasas as "reactionary" and "outdated." However, today we understand that we owe a great deal to madrasas for the survival of Kurdish history, language, and literature.

FINAL WORD

I especially want to address Kurdish intellectuals and Kurdish youth:

Let's admit that we have "betrayed" the sacred tribe. It is not the tribal structure that is "reactionary and primitive," but our minds and our worldview.