Mela Huseynê Bateyî (born Hussein, , ) was a

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

. He laid the foundations for Kurdish ''mawlid'' literary genre since almost all Kurdish mawlids are influenced by him.

Biography

Not much is known about the life of Bateyî; most information stems from Alexandre Jaba and Mahmud Bayazidi, which is considered unreliable. Recent studies have indicated that he was born in the 17th century and lived until the mid-18th century, not in the 15th century as Bayazidi stated. He belonged to the Ertuşi tribe and was born in the village of Batê in Elkî.

Works

His main work is called ''Mewluda kurmancî'' (Kurdish ''mawlid'') or ''Mewlûdu'n-Nebî'' (''Mawlid'' of the Prophet), written in

Kurmanji Kurmanji (, ), also termed Northern Kurdish, is the northernmost of the Kurdish languages, spoken predominantly in southeast Turkey, northwest and northeast Iran, northern Iraq, northern Syria and the Caucasus and Khorasan regions. It is the ...

. A ''mawlid'' in this context is a work on the birth and life of the Prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

. The poem contains 19 chapters. It was used as a textbook for teaching Kurdish in the past and was also very popular among Muslim Kurds in northern

Kurdistan Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo- cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. G ...

who could recite its poems by heart. Its poems are also recited at other occasions such as in charity. This book was published for the first time in 1905 in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. It was published for the second time in 1919 in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. One of his poems, which is about morality, has become a part of the oral tradition of

Yazidis Yazidis, also spelled Yezidis (; ), are a Kurdish languages, Kurdish-speaking Endogamy, endogamous religious group indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran. The major ...

. He also has

ghazals ''Ghazal'' is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry that often deals with topics of spiritual and romantic love. It may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss, or separation from the beloved, and t ...

Bateyî school

Because Bateyî became so influential in subsequent Kurdish mawlid poetry, one can talk of a ''Bateyî school''. These poems all start with ''basmala'' and ''hamdala'''','' all of them mention the birthday of Muhammad melodically. It is recommended to recite their ''salawat'' with chorus and prosody to escape eternal hell fire.

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

''Mewlûda Kurmancî'', Pencinar Publishers for Kurdish Culture, Sweden, in Kurdish
#Melê Bateyî, Mewlûda Kurmancî, kurdî/kurmancî, Roja Nu Publishers, Sverige/Stockholm, 1987, 64 rûpel, . 1417 births 1495 deaths Kurdish poets Kurdish people from the Ottoman Empire Yazidi culture People from Şırnak Province 15th-century Kurdish people {{Kurd-poet-stub