Piramerd

Tawfeq Mahmoud Hamza or Piramerd ( ku, پیرەمێرد) (1867 – 19 June 1950) was a Kurdish poet, writer, novelist and journalist. He was born in the ''Goija'' neighborhood of Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region. In 1926, he became the editor of the Kurdish newspaper ''Jîyan''. He also established a private Kurdish school in Kurdistan, called ''Partukxane i Zanistî'' (Scientific School).

Life

Tawfeq Mahmoud Hamza was born in the ''Goyje'' neighborhood of Sulaymaniyah, Iraq in 1867.

He studied Arabic and Islamic Fiqh in Sulaimaniya, and Baneh in Iran. From 1882 to 1895, he worked as an employee for different local government offices in Sulaimaniya, Halabja, Sharbazher (''Şarbajêr''). In 1898, he was invited by the Ottoman Sultan Abd-ul-Hamid II to Istanbul where he stayed for one year. He went on Hajj pilgrimage and was given the title of ''Bey'' by the Sultan. After this, his title became ''Haji Tawfeq Bey''. He met Wafaei, Kurdish poet, during the pilgrimage. In 1899, he was appointed as a member of the ''High Majlis of Istanbul''. Within the same period, he was admitted to the faculty of law in Istanbul.

In 1907, he became a member of the Kurdish organization ''Kurd Teavun ve Terakki Cemiyeti'' in Istanbul and was head writer for the organisation's journal. From 1909 to 1923, he served as the governor of several districts in Turkey and Kurdistan, among them Hakkari ( ku, Çolemêrg), ''Qeremursil'', ''Balawa'', '' Beytüşşebap'' (in Şırnak Province), ''Gumuskoy'', Adapazarı and ''Amasya''.

He wrote poetry under the pen name of Pîremêrd (Kurdish), meaning Old-man (English).

In 1925, he returned to Sulaimaniya via Baghdad. In 1926, he became the editor of the Kurdish newspaper ''Jîyan'' and in 1932 he was promoted to the post of Manager. In 1938, he changed the name of the newspaper to ''Jîn'', and continued publishing it until 1950. He is also credited with the establishment of the first private Kurdish school in Kurdistan called ''Qutabxaney Zanistî'' (Scientific School).Piramird, Victor Hugo of Kurdish Literature and Santa Claus of the Kurds
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He died on 19 June 1950.

Literary works

* Editing and Translation of Poems of ''Mawlawi Kurd'' from Hawrami dialect to Sorani, 1935.
* The Tragedy of Mam and Zin, Play, 1935. (This book is different from the well-known work of Ahmad Khani)
* The Story of the Twelve Knights of Mariwan, 1935.
* The Story of Mahmoud Agha Shiwakal, 1942.
* Galte û Gep, A collection of Kurdish Folklore, 1947.
* Kemançejen, Translation of a novel from Turkish, 1942.
* Editing of the collection of poems of ''Mawlana Khalid Naqshbandi''(The Kurdish sufi).
* Editing and Translation of Poems of ''Besarani'' from Hawrami dialect to Sorani.
* Articles about Kurdish history, the history of Baban principality and Jaf tribes.
* Collection of Poems
* ''Encamî Pîyawî Bengkêş'' (The fate of an addict), short story, Gelawêj Journal, 1941.
* ''Zoremilî Milşikanî le dûwaye'' (Aggression leads to defeat), short story, Gelawêj Journal, 1942.
* ''Felsefey Kiçe Kurdêk'' (The philosophy of a Kurdish girl), short story, Gelawêj Journal, 1942.
* ''Xiramî, Kay kon'', short story, Jîyan newspaper, no.483, 1936.

References

Pîremêrd û Pêdaçûneweyekî Nwêyî Jîyan û Berhemekanî
(Piramerd: A review of his life and his contributions), Hewler (Arbil), Araz Publishers, 2001.

Further reading

PÎREMÊRD Iraq profile: Famous Iraqi people

A Kurdish poem about the end of time

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piramerd
Iraqi Kurdistan
Kurdish-language writers
1867 births
1950 deaths
People from Sulaymaniyah
Kurdish journalists
Kurdish people
Iraqi Kurdish people
Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni
19th-century poets of Ottoman Iraq
20th-century Iraqi poets