Kurdish Newroz and The Story of Kawa the Blacksmith
There are theories on why the Kurds celebrate Newroz. Some say it is an old Zoroastrian tradition that stayed with them even after Islamisation. Some say it has been stolen from their Iranian neighbors. Others say that the myth below is the reason why the Kurds celebrate Newroz.
The Myth
The story occurs in a small corner on the Zagros mountains, above the intersection between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It tells of a great castle high up in the mountains, with kings who ruled over the smaller towns and villages below. The Kings were kind and just, giving everyone great feasts every other day. Festivities and gatherings to the sun god were common to gain his favor as he was considered the source of all that was good and happy in the world.
The Kings all acted nobly and were fair to their folk. This all began to change as the King Jamshid became king and held the power of the crown. He was an avid narcissist with a large ego and he thought himself greater than the sun god. This angered the people and he became considerably unpopular. A dark spirit, Ahriman the Evil took this opportunity and chose Zohak as his vessel to cut king Jamshid in two and take over the throne, and so he did.
Zohak was chosen by Ahriman the Evil for a reason. Ahriman knew the skewed morals of Zohak, he knew Zohak would do anything to stay in power. Ahriman, disguised as the royal chef, made meals for the king. What the king did not know is that he was eating the blood and the flesh of animals. Zohak was so pleased by these meals that he specifically called upon the chef to thank him for his astounding dishes. The chef then asked to kiss the shoulders of the King, as he approached the throne and kissed the King’s shoulders, two large snakes rose from the Zohak’s shoulders. These snakes caused a lot of pain and distress to Zohak for days, but finally, Ahriman disguised as a healer told the King that the only way to calm these beasts down was to feed them the brains of two children each day.
Knowing this the Zohak sought out the children of his kingdom and each day he sacrificed two of them to tame his curse. The sun god, angry at Zohak, decided to never shine his light on Zohak’s Kingdom ever again. And so his Kingdom withered, no crops grew and no cattle were able to survive anymore. All the people were taken by grief and agony and no more festivities were to be commenced anymore. With all of this, there lived, under the castle, a blacksmith named Kawa. He made swords and armor for the King’s army. But his family was stricken with grief as Zohak has already taken away 16 of their 17 children. One day the King’s soldiers came to Kawa’s house asking for his last child, his daughter. Kawa could not sleep that night, he could not handle any more sorrow and misery. Kawa’s, staring at the stars, had a bright idea that he thought might work in saving his daughter. The next morning Kawa rode his horse to the castle’s gate and delivered a bucket filled with what Kawa said were the brains of a human but were actually just that of a sheep. The night before Kawa snuck his daughter to the mountains and had slain a sheep to be in her place. Apparently this plan worked and Kawa’s daughter was saved. The village, hearing this news, all began to execute the same plan. Kawa one by one snuck all the saved children to the mountains, these children would be known as the first Kurds. their numbers grew from hundreds to thousands. Kawa then decided that the Kingdom would not waste away anymore under the rule of Zohak. Kawa with his hammer, made swords and armor for all of the children of the mountain, armoring each of them to the teeth. After much training and preparation, on the night before the first day of spring, on the vernal equinox. Kawa decided, with his army of thousands, to storm the castle and slay the king. Kawa stood in front of the castle’s gates with his army and pointed his large hammer at the castle’s gates. His army started storming it.The battle seemed to go into Kawa’s favor. Near the end of the battle, Kawa stormed the King’s chambers and smashed the King’s head with his hammer. The snakes began to wither and the battle came to an end. Kawa, breathless and overwhelmed with joy, hiked atop the highest peak of the Zagros mountains and lit a great fire to signal the winning of the battle and the victory against Evil. The people, all ecstatic, began lighting fires on top of their roofs to signal to the rest of the Kingdom the victory that had been achieved.
That day, the sun rose again and the people lived in renewed bliss under the rule of Kawa, the blacksmith.
The End
Newroz and Kawa the Blacksmith have always and are still being used as a symbol of hope and perseverance for the Kurds. From the Saddam era and the bulldozing of a newly built Kawa statue in the center of Slemani to modern-day Afrin and the toppling of the Kawa statue there by the Turkish forces. Their enemies have always tried to erase this symbol. But every year, on the 21st of March, Kurds from all four parts celebrate this symbol and look into the future with eyes full of tears, hoping to achieve the same victory Kawa achieved 7000 years ago.
