Piramerd | |
---|---|
Native name | Pîremêrd |
Born |
Tawfeq Mahmoud Hamza 1867 Sulaymaniyah, Ottoman Empire |
Died | 19 June 1950 Sulaymaniyah, Iraq |
(aged 83)
Cause of death | Diabetes mellitus |
Resting place | Mameyare Hill in Sulaymaniyah |
Nationality | Kurd |
Occupation | Poet, writer, journalist |
Known for | Jîn Newspaper, Nawroz poem (look: Newroz as celebrated by Kurds) |
Notes | |
Tawfeq Mahmoud Hamza or Piramerd, (پیرەمێرد in Kurdish), (1867 – 19 June 1950), was a Kurdish poet, writer, novelist and journalist. He was born in the Gwêje neighborhood of Sulaimaniya city in Iraq. In 1926, he became the editor of the Kurdish newspaper Jîyan. He is also credited for the establishment of the first private Kurdish school in Kurdistan called Partukxane i Zanistî (Scientific School).
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. Then he went to Hajj pilgrimage and he was also 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 (Kurdish: Çolemêrg), Qeremursil, Balawa, Beytüşşebap (in Şırnak Province), Gumuskoy, Adapazarı and Amasya. 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 for the establishment of the first private Kurdish school in Kurdistan called Qutabxaney Zanistî (Scientific School).