The influence of local literary environment to the modern poetry and prose of the mountain Jews

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The influence of local literary environment to the modern poetry and prose of the mountain Jews

Alikhanova Ayna

Doctoral Student at the Literature Department

National Museum of Azerbaijan

Literature named after Nizami Ganjavi

Abstract

Fiction is the most understandable, clear and beautiful - valuable example of cultural dialogue. In response to our centuries-old features of hospitality, kindness, humanism (ungrateful, sad, different from the Armenian character), mountain Jews responded with the same love and affection they always received from the local population in different parts of Azerbaijan. They also expressed these feelings in poetry and prose.

The authors who study the culture, spiritual values, literature and poetry of Mountain Jews, of course, do it on the basis of historical periods and conditions. They also paid attention to the life and ethnography of Mountain Jews living in Azerbaijan. Ethnographer IS Anisimov, a mountain Jew by nationality, as a number of travelers and missionaries of the XIX century, said that the main factor in the preservation of Mountain Jews' existence was the preservation of “general jewish” traditions no matter how far away from their historical homeland, they show that they are reflected in literary-artistic examples. Indeed, as we study and read the examples of fiction created by Mountain Jews in different parts of Azerbaijan over the past centuries and before, it is impossible not to feel the “Jewish identity” that retains so many archaic features in the smallest piece of poetry. The history, language, literature, folklore, theater, dance, and music of Mountain Jews are extremely national in color, as well as a collection of works of art that have benefited from the local culture of ancient Azerbaijan, where they lived and had a close friendship and brotherhood relations.

One of the main points in the study of the literature of mountain Jews living in Azerbaijan in the XX century is that the representatives of this talented people living in our country, regardless of their work or profession, have a high poetic spirit, artistic thinking, devotion to poetry and art, and often write poems in this spirit.

It is rightly said that the greatest mission of a true poet and artist, as a believer, is to serve the development of friendship, communication, peace and mutual love between nations. Representatives of mountain Jews literature living in Azerbaijan turned to a great treasure to cope with this sacred mission with dignity, and managed to bring to the new generation of Jewish literature and poetry what they learned with love and respect from the rich, ancient literary school of the land they studied.

In that life, people live freely and peacefully, without war, without any discrimination.

Mountain Jews literature, which is a branch of modern Azerbaijani literature living in the second decade of the XXI century, also gives a wide place in its works to the motives corresponding to the existing historical conditions.

Key words: Azerbaijan, mountain Jews, tolerant, modern, literature, poetry, prose, humanism, culture, friendship.

Вплив місцевого літературного середовища на сучасну поезію та прозу гірських євреїв

Анотація

jewish literature poetry

Художня література - це найбільш зрозумілий, цінний приклад культурного діалогу. У відповідь на наші багатовікові риси гостинності, доброти, гуманізму (невдячного, сумного, відмінного від вірменського характеру) гірські євреї відповідали такою ж любов'ю та прихильністю, яку вони завжди отримували від місцевого населення в різних частинах Азербайджану. Вони також виражали ці почуття в поезії та прозі.

Автори, які вивчають культуру, духовні цінності, літературу та поезію гірських євреїв, звичайно, роблять це на основі історичних періодів та умов. Вони також звернули увагу на життя та етнографію гірських євреїв, які проживають в Азербайджані. Етнограф І.С. Анісімов, гірський єврей за національністю, як ряд мандрівників та місіонерів XIX століття, сказав, що головним фактором збереження існування гірських євреїв було збереження «загальноєврейських» традицій, незалежно від того, наскільки далеко від них свою історичну батьківщину, вони показують, що вони відображені на літературно-художніх прикладах. Дійсно, коли ми вивчаємо та читаємо приклади художньої літератури, створені гірськими євреями в різних частинах Азербайджану за минулі століття та раніше, неможливо не відчути «єврейської ідентичності», яка зберігає стільки архаїчних рис у найменшому вірші. Історія, мова, література, фольклор, театр, танці та музика гірських євреїв надзвичайно національні за кольором, а також колекція творів мистецтва, які отримали користь від місцевої культури стародавнього Азербайджану, де вони жили та мали тісні дружні та братські стосунки.

Одним із основних моментів у вивченні літератури гірських євреїв, які проживали в Азербайджані в XX столітті, є те, що представники цього талановитого народу, що мешкає в нашій країні, незалежно від своєї роботи чи професії мають високий поетичний дух, художнє мислення, відданість поезії та мистецтву і часто пишуть вірші в цьому дусі.

Слушно кажуть, що найбільшою місією справжнього поета і художника, як віруючого, є служіння розвитку дружби, спілкування, миру та взаємної любові між народами. Представники гірської єврейської літератури, що мешкають в Азербайджані, звернулись до великого скарбу, щоб гідно впоратися з цією священною місією, і зуміли донести до нового покоління єврейської літератури та поезії те, що вони з любов'ю та повагою дізналися від багатої, давньої літературної школи землі, яку вони вивчали.

У цьому житті люди живуть вільно і мирно, без війни, без будь-якої дискримінації.

Гірська єврейська література, яка є галуззю сучасної азербайджанської літератури, що жила у другому десятилітті XXI століття, також у своїх творах відводить широке місце мотивам, що відповідають існуючим історичним умовам.

Ключові слова: Азербайджан, гірські євреї, толерантний, сучасний, література, поезія, проза, гуманізм, культура, дружба.

Introduction

Mountain Jews got acquainted with Azerbaijani literature, read famous poets of Russian and world literature and benefited from their works. The poems of Pushkin and Lermontov touched our hearts. Who was not inspired by Nizami, Khagani, Nasimi, Fuzuli, Vahid ghazals, poems by Vagif, Zakir, Sabir, Samad Vurgun, Rasul Rza, Mikail Mushfig?

Fiction is the most understandable, clear and beautiful - valuable example of cultural dialogue. In response to our centuries-old features of hospitality, kindness, humanism (ungrateful, sad, different from the Armenian character), mountain Jews responded with the same love and affection they always received from the local population in different parts of Azerbaijan. They also expressed these feelings in poetry and prose.

The mountain Jewish poet Ibrahim Dagli, who grew up in Oguz, confirms what we said in his book “My Life Memories”. In this preface he makes four main recommendations to the reader and his children. Remembering God first and asking Him for mercy; The second is to be sober, patient, and discreet; The third desire is to be full, kind and sweet; And the fourth must be able to be grateful. “I am grateful to all the kind and compassionate people, especially to the people of Azerbaijan, where we have lived together, using our land, water, air, traditions, culture, educational institutions and other means of life, from our ancient grandparents” [1, p. 6].

The authors who study the culture, spiritual values, literature and poetry of Mountain Jews, of course, do it on the basis of historical periods and conditions. They also paid attention to the life and ethnography of Mountain Jews living in Azerbaijan. Ethnographer IS Anisimov, a mountain Jew by nationality, as a number of travelers and missionaries of the XIX century, said that the main factor in the preservation of Mountain Jews' existence was the preservation of “general jewish” traditions no matter how far away from their historical homeland, they show that they are reflected in literary-artistic examples. Indeed, as we study and read the examples of fiction created by Mountain Jews in different parts of Azerbaijan over the past centuries and before, it is impossible not to feel the “Jewish identity” that retains so many archaic features in the smallest piece of poetry. The history, language, literature, folklore, theater, dance, and music of Mountain Jews are extremely national in color, as well as a collection of works of art that have benefited from the local culture of ancient Azerbaijan, where they lived and had a close friendship and brotherhood relations.

Thanks to the intelligence and skills of Mountain Jews in Azerbaijan, not only the right to life in this country, the formation of brotherhood relations, but also closely involved in the cultural life of the Azerbaijani people and maintaining its identity, gaining the authority to represent part of its culture. As Master Shahriyar said:

Poet is the voice ofpeople, voice of century,

He is the white-haired commander of the homeland.

Mountain Jews have brought up poets, writers and artists who have created literary and artistic examples that have a place and trace in the history, words and art of the country where they have lived for centuries.

Special attention should be paid to the work of the poet Simakh Sheyda while speaking about the place, position of the mountain Jews living in Azerbaijan in the literature of the XX century, the use of the local literary environment. The poet, who writes mainly children's poems, attracts attention with his creativity, poems, misconceptions, fairy tales, instructiveness, writing in simple folk language and easy memorization. Simakh Sheyda was born in Ganja, the land of Nizami. His childhood years were spent in the fertile lands of Ganja, in the bosom of the beauties of Goygol, Kapaz and Hajikand. The local people often did not separate S. Sheyda, who knew his mother tongue as well and wrote beautiful poems in this poetic language, and did not feel that he was a representative of another nation.

Simakh Sheyda also addresses the reader in his book “We are the colors of one carpet” (anthology of the peoples living in Azerbaijan) published by the European publishing house in Baku in 2007: I thought that our mountain Jews should read Azerbaijani poets in their native languages. Let mountain Jews see how rich, meaningful and fluent Azerbaijani literature is” [2, p. 296].

As Simakh Sheyda is fluent in Azerbaijani, he has successfully translated classical and modern Azerbaijani poetry into the language of Mountain Jews. Nizami's “Sensiz” ghazal, Natavan's “Garanfil”, Vagif's “Durnalar”, “Bayram oldu”, Samad Vurgun's “Azerbaijan”, Mikayil Mushfig's “Love”, Ahmad Jamil's “Jan nene bir nagil de” and others selected poems have really found their value in translation and have become the memorization of languages in mountain Jews.

Our classical and modern poetry and literature had a great influence on the artistic creativity of Mountain Jews living in Azerbaijan. And there is a detailed analysis of this in a separate section of the scientific work.

One of the main points in the study of the literature of mountain Jews living in Azerbaijan in the XX century is that the representatives of this talented people living in our country, regardless of their work or profession, have a high poetic spirit, artistic thinking, devotion to poetry and art, and often write poems in this spirit.

Not only did the Azerbaijani language and literature translate into the language of ordinary people, the mountain Jews living in this land, but it also had a great influence on the artistic samples of writers and poets who lived and worked in this area for decades. It is no coincidence that Simakh Sheyda, a well-known poet and mountain Jew who has collected mountain Jews' literature and folklore, writes in the introduction to the anthology: The poems of Azerbaijan poets have played a role of school for all of use, they called us to look the future life with belief and approach to people with love and to feel the beauty of the world” [3, p. 297]

Analysis of recent research and publications

Period of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (1918-1920). This period occupies a very important place in the history of Azerbaijani Jews. According to the law on the establishment of the Azerbaijani parliament, the Jewish National Council has a seat in the legislature. Jews were given the position of ministers, deputy ministers, and other positions in government. The Jewish National Council was recognized as a body of all Jews, and so on. Period of the Azerbaijan SSR (1920-1991). At that time, the attitude towards Jews was based on the political course of the USSR, but the historical tradition of attitude towards Jews in Azerbaijan was accompanied by some positive references” [4, p. 158].

As the facts show, ethnic groups, especially Jews, have always been respected in Azerbaijan, regardless of their socio-political structures. Azerbaijani Jews, in turn, managed to value this high attitude, tried to gain an advantage in the economic, socio-cultural life of the country, and managed to create a respected elite. For decades, the same elite studied the pearls of Azerbaijan and the culture of the ancient East, read and studied with love, and tried to create a great literature covering acertainperiod, based onthispoetic spirit.

Indeed, the tolerant attitude to mountain Jews in Azerbaijan not only revived one nation, but gave impetus to the emergence of a great literature and culture. The poet said:

Oh great gardener of the garden of art,

Your “Khamsa” is a sun for the literature.

You have introduced Azerbaijan to the world:

You have been a father of our poetry,

Your “Khamsa” is a sun for the literature [5, p. 298].

Analysis of recent research and publications

Two well-known national poets of mountain Jews in Azerbaijan, member of the Writers' Union of Azerbaijan and Israel, poet, playwright, laureate of the former USSR “Labor Veteran” medal, awarded the badge of “Honorary Cultural Worker” of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan in 2009 - In an interview entitled “I know a poet” published in the literature newspaper in, we read in an interview with another compatriot, a mountain Jew Eldar Gurshumova:

- I have heard that new poems book titled “Poet's Thoughts” will be published soon. What are the poems in this book about?

Before answering your question, I would like to clarify one issue. In general, mountain Jews poetry is nourished by Azerbaijani poetry, we are captivated by its advanced traditions. Great poets such as Khagani, Nizami, Nasimi, Fuzuli, Vagif, Sabir, Samad Vurgun, Rasul Rza are a great school. Reading their poems takes a person to the world of dreams, creates new pleasant feelings in the hearts. I am a fan of the poetry of Samad Vurgun, Rasul Rza, Mikail Mushfig. It would be correct to say that our poets are the fruits ofAzerbaijani poetry. Nizami Ganjavi said beautifully:

The sanctuary of high skies is the love,

Oh world, what is your value without love?

If the soul of the creation is without love,

Liveliness would not cover all the world [6, p. 5].

It is rightly said that the greatest mission of a true poet and artist, as a believer, is to serve the development of friendship, communication, peace and mutual love between nations. Representatives of mountain Jews literature living in Azerbaijan turned to a great treasure to cope with this sacred mission with dignity, and managed to bring to the new generation of Jewish literature and poetry what they learned with love and respect from the rich, ancient literary school of the land they studied.

Ushvah Ifraim, known for his emotional poetry, poems and translations in Hebrew, Azerbaijani and Cuuri (mountain Jews), which we consider important to analyze in his article, is proud to highlight the points he has learned as a poet from the literary environment in Azerbaijan, both in his interviews and in his art. The poet's poem dedicated to master Shahriyar, as well as the poems he wrote to many famous people of Azerbaijan, is a great confession that he literally considers himself indebted to this literary school:

I was born from the language of small peoples,

I have read and learned who are you, Shahriyar!

I have lately known your pains,

Do you know how I worried, Shahriyar!

[7, p. 152, 153].

In the book of Elnora Ruvinova titled “Where the world is heading” which was published in Azerbaijan Press in 2016 in Baku, the young member of Azerbaijan Writers Union who is originally mountain Jew and has grown up Baku tries to answer to the questions related with the war with the language of prose:

“What is the world? The world is a time without war. The world is nature, people, animals. The world is a being that we can see, and consider it as the world. It is a being that surrounds us. We need to protect this world, especially our inner world. The world is the world within you.You create it yourself” [8, p. 107].

In that life, people live freely and peacefully, without war, without any discrimination. Didn't the same picture emerge in the real human society that the great Azerbaijani poet Sheikh Nizami, who became the ideal poet of almost all mountain Jews literature, dreamed of nine centuries ago? Of course, “Poems of genius Nizami, Nasimi, Sabir, Samad Vurgun, Mikail Mushfig, Rasul Rza, Abdulla Shaig, Abbas Sahat imitated our souls and instilled in us a love for humanity,” said the famous representative of mountain Jews literature. Not only the poetic spirit, but also the language of poets like Simakh Sheyda, who never gave up, is mixed with our language. And by the way, it is extremely important and necessary to protect this language from influences over time, to enrich it with new words and expressions. Like the once extinct Hebrew language, the language of Mountain Jews needs such saviors”. Of course, this will be the task of the new generation of writers.

Conclusions

Having been the homeland of different cultures, languages and religions for millennia, Azerbaijan has historically been a tolerant country where many peoples live with mutual respect and esteem. That is why, as the Albanian historian Moisey Kalankatuklu discovered as a result of his research, Mountain Jews, who settled in the Caucasus in the 1st century (descendants of the Israelites who were deported from Palestine to Media by the Assyrian and Babylonian rulers), came to Azerbaijan about 15 centuries ago and settled mainly in the border areas. Although the mountain Jews of the past centuries lived as brothers among the Azerbaijani people, they preserved their national traditions, religions, as well as many words and expressions of the ancient Hebrew language, which is almost dying in the world language family. This, of course, was made possible by the respect and tolerance of the minorities living in a country that has been open to intercultural dialogue in all ages, as the founder of the independent Azerbaijani state, National Leader Heydar Aliyev said. This has given the basis for the minority peoples living in this country to live and create in peace and security.

“Tolerance is a very broad concept. It means not only tolerance of religions, but also tolerance of each other's customs, morals and cultures. Azerbaijan, as an independent state based on the principles of democracy, gives all peoples and nations living in its territory the opportunity to freedom, regardless of language, religion, race or political affiliation”.

Mountain Jews literature, which is a branch of modern Azerbaijani literature living in the second decade of the XXI century, also gives a wide place in its works to the motives corresponding to the existing historical conditions. In these literary examples, along with the natural beauties of Azerbaijan, the epics of courage, the realities of the occupation and genocide, longing for the homeland, love of land, which fell at the end of the twentieth century, are the main carriers of ideas

By analyzing the artistic creativity of the mountain Jews who have taken part in domestic and foreign political and social life of Azerbaijan in the period of independence and have been able to be the friend of good and difficult days, I have presented the creativity of separate writers and poets who reflected the brotherhood and friendship in this literature...

References

1. “Life memories” Baku-Shirvan Press, 2007, 270 p.

2. “We are the colors of one carpet”... Literature anthology of peoples living in Azerbaijan. “Avropa” Press, Baku: 2007,296 p.

3. “Literature anthology of the minorities living in Azerbaijan”, “Avropa” Press, Baku: 2007, 297 p.

4. Shukurov Karim Karam “Azerbaijan History” (Text in 3 parts) Baku: 2006, 158 p.

5. “The Stars if mountain Jews” (Anthology) Israel: 2009, 398 p.

6. Literature newspaper. Baku: July 10, 2009, p. 5

7. Ushvan Ifraim “Jadval Shindler” Azerbaijan Press: 2011, p. 152, 153

8. “Where the world is heading” Elnora Ruvinova. Azerbaijan Press, Baku: 2016, p. 107.

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