Aesthetic aspects in the poetry of Mala-ye Jaziri

International Journal of Kurdish Studies, Jan, 2002 by Farhad Shakely

Another important issue in the context of Jaziri's life and poetry lies in his relationship to The Red School, Madrasa-ya Sor, built by a Mir Sharaf, supposedly a contemporary of the poet. It is said that when Mir Sharaf II was on his way to capture Jazira, after being in exile for a long time, he prayed to God and promised to build a mosque on the spot from which he entered the city. Thus The Red School and a mosque were built. It is often asserted that Jaziri lived and taught in The Red School.

One of the important ancient structures still extant in the city of Jazira is the piebald tower built on the bank of the Tigris. Yashin, in his book on Jazira, states that the tower was built in 1596 by Mir Sharaf III. The name balak, piebald, derived from the Arabic ablaq, relates to the tower having been built of black basalt rocks and gypsum. Jaziri mentions the tower of honor, Burja Sharaf, in a panegyric poem supposedly addressed to Mir Sharaf III. The relationship between Mala-ye Jaziri and the princely family of Botan, the 'Azizan dynasty, is not recorded except in the poetry of Jaziri himself and in a great number of anecdotes about his life, most of which are completely unfounded. The nature of this relationship and the explanation for Jaziri's lofty position with that family, I believe, are related to the fact that Jaziri was a Sufi and a poet. We find in the diwan of Jaziri only two panegyrics for the Kurdish prince.

The entire body of Jaziri's poetry affords many possibilities to examine and to study the basic elements of representative classical Sufi poetry. He was greatly inspired by the classical Persian poets, Hafiz, Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Rumi and Jami, whom he considered masters. His spiritual affiliation with the Naqshbandi order of Sufism is also distinctly present in his work. His experiences as a Sufi are marvelously illustrated in almost all of his poems. The study of the formal and linguistic aspects of his poetry are also of utmost importance in aiming to present a comprehensive understanding of his work.

THE AESTHETIC ASPECTS: AN APPROACH

To study the aesthetic aspects of Mala-ye Jaziri's poetry one need not confine research to only one genre, topic or form. Elements are harmoniously interwoven with themes and ideas to create an intricate poetic structure. A close reading of the text is essential in order to explore the subtleties of the parts and their intricate interrelationship, and to grasp the meanings conveyed by the various metaphors and symbols.

One of the most important questions to be considered in examining the content of Jaziri's poetry is whether it represents an artistic expression of his life experiences, material and/or spiritual. A careful reading leaves the impression that the topics of Sufism were present, even dominant, in almost all of his work. This leads us to wonder if ever there was a time when Jaziri was a poet, but not a Sufi. The logical answer seems to be that his poetic talents sprouted and flourished as a result of his initiation to the path and his aquaintance with the legacy of Sufi poetry. The ghazal of Jaziri deal with his mystical and philosophical thoughts and beliefs. There are only a few ghazal in his diwan that can be interpreted as love poetry, the addressee a human. Even in such poems one is struck by the fact that they inevitably contain symbols, similes and expressions that connote the Sufi idea of love--divine love.