ABOUT US
Kovara Bîr.
Look closely,
look deeply, and look far.
Introduction
Following an established custom, we too would like to begin by answering the question “Why a new journal, and why BÎR?” and to explain our reasons for publishing, our purpose, and our approach to this work. As social and historical beings, we undoubtedly have responsibilities and duties towards society and humanity. What are our responsibilities and duties today? When each of us compares our aims and heartfelt aspirations with the present situation and conditions, our task also becomes clear. Since the beginning of human history, the aim of changing existing circumstances—in other words, purposeful activity—has been the foundation and driving force of change. Wherever there is change, there is also a status quo. Just as we seek to bring about change, others seek to preserve and perpetuate the status quo. As a result, a continuing struggle and dynamic develops between us and others.
Purpose and approach
In the process of change, obtaining and establishing accurate and reliable knowledge is a fundamental requirement for transforming existing circumstances. The purpose of publishing Kovara BÎR is to obtain and bring to light accurate and reliable information and documents, particularly concerning Kurdish society, history, culture, and language, and more generally concerning the diversity and differences among the cultures of Mesopotamia and the Middle East.
The geography in which we live is one of the most ancient centres of human civilisation. If the banks of the Nile constitute one such centre, the Tigris and Euphrates constitute another. The oldest sources are archaeological sources. As is well known, Kurdistan is the earliest homeland of agriculture. Many peoples, civilisations, and states emerged on this land, lived here through the course of history, and left traces that remain among the Kurds. In this context, the Kurdish place and contribution within the civilisational heritage of Mesopotamia and the Middle East are no smaller than those of other peoples, even if they are not greater. The Kurds and Kurdistan have an important place and role in the formation and development of human culture and civilisation in general, and of Mesopotamian civilisation in particular. The domestication of wild animals, the beginnings of agriculture and food production, the making of textiles and metal goods, and activities in architecture and urban development took place on this land.
Through research and inquiry into Kurdish language, history, and culture, Kovara BÎR seeks to bring their distinctive and diverse aspects to light and present their historical and social reality to readers. In this field, it aims to renew your historical and social awareness and memory, to bring the reality of Kurdish society’s history and the products of its culture into view, and to recall their positive and negative, light and dark aspects. Alongside this, it will answer those who confuse minds by invoking “scientific objectivity” and “progressiveness” to accuse the Kurdish national and social movement of “traditionalism” and “nationalism (?)”, in the face of all the brutality and recklessness of the occupiers. Within this framework, our fundamental approaches and principles are as follows:
Guiding principles
Human history is the history of cultural production. Culture is the production and reproduction of all material and spiritual values throughout historical processes and social life.
For well-known reasons, states in the region and their constituent elements do not wish to acknowledge the Kurdish presence and influence in the formation of the civilisational heritage of Mesopotamia and the Middle East.
The existence of different cultures is part of humanity’s historical wealth. Preserving multiculturalism and cultural diversity in the region where we live is our responsibility towards humanity. Within this framework, one of our journal’s aims is to research Kurdish culture and history and establish the relationships and mutual influences between Kurdish culture and the cultures of other peoples—Arabs, Persians, Turks, Syriacs, Chaldeans, Armenians, Jews, and others. Different cultures have existed from the distant past to the present; there is no single, homogeneous culture standing above all others. Kurdish culture, likewise, is neither superior to the cultures of other peoples nor more backward or less valuable than theirs.
In the histories of peoples, there are undoubtedly successes and defeats, losses and betrayals, happiness and sorrow, good and bad, right and wrong. One of our journal’s aims is to illuminate the causes and consequences of these events, and to research, reconstruct, and interpret them anew.
The aim of our research into Kurdish language, history, and culture is for the Kurds, as a historical subject, to become conscious of their social and national existence. National aspirations are undoubtedly not limited to acquiring cultural rights; they also encompass political rights.
Conducting research and inquiry into Kurdish language—including all its dialects and local varieties—history, literature, and culture, and publishing a variety of writings and documents on these subjects, is the fundamental purpose behind the launch of Kovara BÎR. Work on the Kurdish language is particularly important. Language is a form of national existence: it reveals and defines the foundation of self-awareness and the distinction from others.
Every nation develops a shared spirit and a common possession. This spirit rests on two foundations: the past, namely a shared heritage of memories, and the present desire to live together. One of our research aims is to collect and reconstruct stories, songs, lavij, heyranok, metelok, accounts of lived experience, and similar works as products of that shared spirit. The common possession is the land; within the national heritage, land is the source of cultural objects and products.
The values and products of Kurdish culture have emerged throughout history as a result of the purposeful activity of the Kurdish people. Collecting, reconstructing, and interpreting cultural values forms the foundation of our work.
Giving importance to Kurdish culture does not mean that we confine nationhood to a purely cultural understanding. Nationhood also entails the right to political sovereignty.
Memory and continuity
By publishing research and inquiry into Kurdish language, history, and culture, Kovara BÎR seeks continually to renew your historical and social memory and to serve as your historical and national memory. Peoples whose historical and national memory is not strong, and who forget the historical events of the past, will undoubtedly experience many such events again. In other words, even when circumstances, conditions, and times change, their history will repeat itself. Moreover, for those who forget or do not know their past, the future also becomes uncertain.
Kovara BÎR is a hive of memory for our social and national culture and history. Its philosophy and approach are expressed in this memorable saying: Look closely, look deeply, and look far. Kovara BÎR has been published by Bîr Publishing House since Newroz 2005. Since November 2011, it has continued its publication digitally at www.kovarabir.com.