Theatre and Cultural Nationalism: Kurdish Theatre under the Baath, 1975-1991 Mahroo Rashidirostami Submitted to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Kurdish Studies September 2015 This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. (Signature) ……………… 1 Abstract This dissertation explores the role played by Kurdish theatre in the Kurdish national struggle in Iraq especially between 1975 and 1991. First, it traces the development of Kurdish theatre, within the socio-political context in Iraqi Kurdistan, from its emergence in the 1920s to the defeat of the Kurdish nationalist movement and the fall of the Kurdistan region under the direct Baath rule in 1975. It will then explore the Kurdish resistance theatre during the Baath rule and will analyse the representation of Kurdish nationalist identity in four dramas produced during the Baath rule between 1975 and 1991. By analysing the nationalist themes in the works of Ehmed Salar and Telet Saman, two prominent playwrights and directors of the late 1970s and the duration of the 1980s, I will argue that despite strict censorship during most of this period, theatre played a critical role in the Kurdish national struggle by staging Kurdish history, mythology, folklore, and re-enacting oppressed histories. Along with the thematic analysis of representative dramatic texts from the period and interviews with Kurdish theatre artists, this research draws on Kurdish theatre histories, historical documents, and journalistic accounts, to reveal how theatre participated in the Kurdish national struggle and how it responded to political changes in different historical periods. 2 Table of Contents Translation and Transliteration....................................................................................... 6 Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................... 7 1.1 Introductory Remarks ............................................................................................... 7 1.2 Research Questions ................................................................................................. 9 1.3 What is Meant by Kurdish Theatre? ........................................................................ 10 1.4 Which Kurdish Speech Variety? ............................................................................. 12 1.5 Why Study Kurdish Theatre? .................................................................................. 14 1.6 Previous Research on Kurdish Theatre .................................................................. 15 1.7 The Significance of This Study ............................................................................... 21 1.8 Theoretical Overview .............................................................................................. 21 1.9 Methodological Overview........................................................................................ 23 1.9.1 Thematic Analysis ....................................................................................... 25 1.9.2 Interviews .................................................................................................... 27 1.10 Overview of Chapters ........................................................................................... 29 Chapter 2: Culture and Nationalism ............................................................................. 33 2.1 Theories of Cultural Nationalism ............................................................................. 33 2.2 Cultural Nationalism and Theatre ........................................................................... 37 2.3 Kurdish Culture and Nationalism ............................................................................ 40 2.4 Cultural Nationalism and Kurdish Theatre .............................................................. 45 2.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 48 Chapter 3: Performance Traditions of Kurdistan......................................................... 50 3.1 Dance-Drama ......................................................................................................... 54 3.2 Newroz Carnival Performances .............................................................................. 55 3.3 Seasonal Festivals and Work Songs ...................................................................... 59 3.4 Rain Rituals ............................................................................................................ 62 3.5 Ta’zieh and Kurdish Lamentation ........................................................................... 64 3.6 The Mosque Performances .................................................................................... 67 3.7 Storytelling ............................................................................................................. 68 3.8 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 72 Chapter 4: The Development of Kurdish Theatre in Iraq, 1926-1975 ......................... 74 4.1 Socio-political Dvelopments Leading to the Emergence of Theatre ....................... 74 4.1.1 Sulaymaniyah under the Baban Rule .......................................................... 74 4.1.2 Sulaymaniyah after the First World War ...................................................... 78 3 4.1.3 Şêx Mehmûd’s Rebellion in 1919 ................................................................ 79 4.1.4 Sulaymaniyah under Major Soane ............................................................... 81 4.1.5 The Return of Şêx Mehmûd ........................................................................ 81 4.1.6 The Events Following the Treaty of Lousanne (1925) .................................. 82 4.1.7 The Creation of Iraq and its Consequences for Kurdistan ............................ 83 4.1.8 The Return of the Elite to Sulaymaniyah ...................................................... 86 4.1.9 Tofîq Mehmûd Hemze, Pîremêrd (1867-1950) ............................................ 87 4.1.10 Komeley Zanistî Kurdan (Kurds’ Literary Society) ...................................... 92 4.2 The Emergence of Kurdish Theatre ........................................................................ 94 4.3 Theatre between the 1930s and 1960s ................................................................... 98 4.4 Early Kurdish Theatre and National Identity-Building .............................................100 4.5 Pîremêrd’s Mem û Zîn and the Beginning of a Distinct Kurdish Theatre ...............104 4.6 Early Kurdish Theatre and Education for Women .................................................107 4.7 Theatre as a National Fundraising Tool .................................................................111 4.8 Theatre after the Second World War .....................................................................113 4.9 Theatre and the Rise of Leftist Nationalist Sentiments ...........................................114 4.10 Kurdish Society for Fine Arts (1957-1963) and the First Female Actors ..............120 4.11 14 July Revolution and Kurdish Theatre after Qasim ..........................................125 4.12 Kurdish Theatre during the Autonomous Era, 1970-1974 ...................................130 4.12 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................137 Chapter 5: Kurdish Theatre and Resistance, 1975-1991 ............................................140 5.1 The Collapse of the Kurdish National Movement ...................................................142 5.2 Cultural Suppression under the Baath Regime ......................................................144 5.3 Kurdish Theatre and the Defeat of 1975 ................................................................146 5.4 The Resumption of the Kurdish National Struggle .................................................148 5.5 The Influence of the Arab Theatre on Kurdish Theatre ..........................................150 5.6 Iraq in the 1980s ....................................................................................................156 5.7 Kurdish Theatre in the Cities of Erbil and Sulaymaniyah in the 1980s ...................158 5.8 Guerrilla Theatre of the 1970s and 1980s ..............................................................165 5.9 Theatre in Refugee Camps ....................................................................................175 5.10 Post-raperîn Kurdistan .........................................................................................178 5.11 Conclusion...........................................................................................................180 Chapter 6: The Construction of Leftist-Nationalist Identity in Telet Saman’s Theatre .......................................................................................................................................183 6.1 Telet Saman ..........................................................................................................183