Heritage and culture can be rooted in physical spaces, so when these come under threat or are permanently altered by conflict or climate change, this can have an impact on those intangible rituals and practices which can define communities and secure their survival. In this final blog, part of our work collecting and documenting oral heritage in Iraq and Syria, Mahir Hussein Ali from the University of Mosul, describes how the customs and heritage of his community are rooted in the landscape, and which both shapes and is shaped by the way his people interact with it through their heritage practices.
Heritage practices which are rooted in places can come under threat through conflict and climate change. These can result in turbulent displacements – physical and existential – as people are forced to move from their homes and the landscapes which has once situated their identities and belonging are changed, as has been the case for Iraq’s religious minorities, who were and still are targeted by Daesh. While new traditions and ways of living can emerge, the process of remembering can also be a way of re-establishing connections to places and people. As part of the IDS-led Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development (CREID), we’ve been working with religious minority communities in Iraq and Syria to pluralise heritage voices, undertaking oral histories that document the heritage that they deem valuable.
In the final blog in our series bringing voices from in and around Mosul, Mahir Husseim Ali one of the participants in the project who will be working with young people from religious minorities to collect and document their heritage, takes us to Tal Moussa, a village 70 km northwest of the ancient Iraqi city of Mosul. He described how the customs and heritage of his community are rooted in the landscape and features such as the local water source Ein Maa which gives life to the people there in all its different forms. [Introduction written by Sofya Shahab, leading the CREID Heritage Work in Iraq and Syria.]
One water source touching many lives in myriad ways –
by Mahir Hussein Ali, Department of Translation, University of Mosul.
I have always remembered Ein Maa. I still visit it every day when I return the village of Tal Moussa where I was born in 1980.
The source is a spring that flows through white marble rocks and emerges into a pool that is three meters deep, forming a natural swimming spot. As children, we would visit the water source every afternoon as, after lunch, it was common for many of the village’s young men and children to gather there. From the age of about seven, I would often go with the other children to fish. The water source had a lot of fish and dozens of crabs hiding between the rocks. Or, we would play a game in which we would throw a black rock into the bottom of the pool and would compete to see who was the first to remove the rock using just their mouth. Or we would see who could hold their breath the longest underwater.
As well as a source of fun, the water was a vital resource for the infrastructure of our village. Several canals derived from the spring and branched into different irrigation channels to water the trees and crops. The village was famous for its grapes, pomegranate, figs, and apricots in addition to all kinds of vegetables throughout the seasons. Shepherds would also bring their sheep and their huge dogs to drink from the spring, the ram ringing the bell from his neck as he walked and led the way for the others, their ‘baa’ing a backdrop to our play.
Life was simple there. People had furniture such as carpets, cushions to sit on and bed covers made from wool. After the men had sheared the sheep, the women would take the wool to the spring to wash it. All the women would go and work together using thick wooden sticks with handles to hit the wool repeatedly while continuing to spin it in water. After this they would wash the fibres with soap and spread them on the ground for the sun to dry. Whenever the women would go to the spring to wash the wool, the men of the village would stay away as a way of respecting the town’s traditions and the women’s space. Women would also travel from other villages with their wool and rugs as their villages either had no water networks, or else they would dry through the summer months.
As I grew older, I would go with the other young people from the village, during the summer evenings. We would light a fire next to the spring and play popular games like Jijam in Kurdish. This entails standing on one foot while trying to knock your competitor in water. Sometimes the youth would challenge each other to go for a swim as the adults had forbidden us from swimming there at night claiming that this was the time for the ghosts to swim. I was never one of those brave enough to swim at night because of this superstition.
Remembering Ein Maa, the games we played and stories that are told about it connects me to my heritage, my family and my village, even though I no longer live there. Should more youth move away from the village and the way of life change, it is these memories of our culture that will still serve to bring us together and to transport us there, keeping our heritage alive for generations to come.
This piece was originally published by the Institute of Development Studies
Urithi na utamaduni unaweza kuwa na mizizi katika nafasi za kimwili, kwa hivyo wakati hizi zinapotishwa au kubadilishwa kwa kudumu na mgogoro au mabadiliko ya hali ya hewa, hii inaweza kuwa na athari kwa desturi hizo zisizo za kawaida na mazoea ambayo yanaweza kufafanua jamii na kuhakikisha uhifadhi wao. Katika blogi hii ya mwisho, sehemu ya kazi yetu ya kukusanya na kuhariri urithi wa mdomo nchini Iraq na Syria, Mahir Hussein Ali kutoka Chuo Kikuu cha Mosul, anaelezea jinsi desturi na urithi wa jamii yake unavyotegemea mandhari, na ambayo huunda na huundwa na njia ambayo watu wake wanaingiliana nayo kupitia mazoea yao ya urithi. Mazoea ya urithi ambayo yamejikita katika maeneo yanaweza kutishwa na migogoro na mabadiliko ya hali ya hewa. "Hizi zinaweza kusababisha uhamisho wa ghasia, ""kiasili na ya kiumbe,"" kwani watu wanalazimika kuhamia kutoka nyumba zao na mandhari ambayo wakati mmoja ilikuwa na utambulisho wao na utajiri wao hubadilishwa, kama ilivyokuwa na wachache wa kidini wa Iraq, ambao walikuwa na bado ni lengo la Daesh." Ingawa desturi mpya na njia za kuishi zinaweza kutokea, mchakato wa kukumbuka pia unaweza kuwa njia ya kuanzisha tena uhusiano na maeneo na watu. Kama sehemu ya IDS-kuongozwa Coalition kwa ajili ya Uhuru wa Kidini na Maendeleo Inclusive (CRED), tumekuwa kufanya kazi na jamii za dini wachache katika Iraq na Syria kwa pluralise sauti urithi, kufanya historia ya mdomo kwamba kumbukumbu urithi kwamba wao kuhesabiwa thamani. Mahir Hussain Ali, mmoja wa washiriki wa mradi huo, ambaye atafanya kazi na vijana kutoka madaraka ya kidini kukusanya na kurekodi urithi wao, anatupeleka Tal Moussa, kijiji cha kilomita 70 kaskazini magharibi mwa mji wa kale wa Iraq wa Mosul. "Amesema, ""Adabu na urithi wa jamii yake unategemea mazingira na sifa kama vile chanzo cha maji cha Ein Maa ambacho huwapa watu maisha katika aina zake zote.""" "Sofia Shahab, kiongozi wa ""CREED Heritage Work"" nchini Iraq na Syria." Chanzo kimoja cha maji kinachogusa maisha mengi kwa njia nyingi <unk> na Mahir Hussein Ali, Idara ya Tafsiri, Chuo Kikuu cha Mosul. Sikuzote nimekumbuka Ein Maa. "Hata hivyo, bado ninaendelea kuitembelea kila siku ninaporudi kijijini Tal Moussa, ambapo nilizaliwa mwaka wa 1980.""" Chanzo cha maji ni chemchemi inayotiririka kupitia miamba nyeupe ya marumaru na kutokea katika dimbwi lenye kina cha mita tatu, na kufanyiza mahali pa kuogelea. Tulipokuwa watoto, tulitembelea chanzo cha maji kila alasiri, kwa kuwa baada ya chakula cha mchana, ilikuwa kawaida kwa vijana wengi wa kijiji na watoto kukusanyika huko. Tangu nilipokuwa na umri wa miaka saba hivi, mara nyingi nilienda kuvua samaki pamoja na watoto wengine. Chanzo cha maji kilikuwa na samaki wengi na makundi mengi ya kaa yaliyojificha kati ya miamba. "Kama vile tunavyofanya, tunacheza mchezo wa ""kuingiza jiwe nyeusi ndani ya dimbwi la maji"" na ""kucheza mashindano ya kuona ni nani atakayekuwa wa kwanza kuondoa jiwe hilo kwa kutumia mdomo wake tu.""" Pia, utaona ni nani anayeweza kushikilia pumzi yake kwa muda mrefu zaidi chini ya maji. Mbali na kuwa chanzo cha tafrija, maji yalikuwa rasilimali muhimu kwa ajili ya miundombinu ya kijiji chetu. Mito kadhaa ilitoka kwenye chemchemi hiyo na kugawanyika katika mifereji tofauti ya umwagiliaji maji ili kunyunyizia miti na mazao maji. Kijiji hicho kilikuwa maarufu kwa zabibu, matunda ya mdalasini, tini, na aprikoti pamoja na aina zote za mboga wakati wa majira. Wachungaji pia walileta kondoo wao na mbwa wao wakubwa kunywa maji ya chemchemi, kondoo-dume akipiga kengele shingoni mwake alipokuwa akitembea na kuwaongoza wengine, 'baa' yao ikitokea kama mandhari ya mchezo wetu. Maisha yalikuwa sahili huko. Watu walikuwa na fanicha kama vile mazulia, mto wa kuketi juu yake na vitambaa vya kitanda vilivyotengenezwa kwa sufu. Baada ya wanaume kukata manyoya ya kondoo, wanawake walichukua sufu hiyo hadi chemchemi ili kuifua. Wanawake wote walienda na kufanya kazi pamoja kwa kutumia vijiti vikubwa vya mbao vyenye mikono ili kupiga sufu mara kwa mara huku wakiendelea kuizungusha ndani ya maji. Baada ya hapo walisafisha nyuzi hizo kwa sabuni na kuzipanua ardhini ili jua liweze kuuka. Wakati wowote wanawake walipoenda kwenye chemchemi kuosha sufu, wanaume wa kijiji hicho walikaa mbali kama njia ya kuheshimu mila za mji na nafasi ya wanawake. Wanawake pia walisafiri kutoka vijiji vingine wakiwa na sufu na mazulia yao kwani vijiji vyao havikuwa na mifumo ya maji, au vinginevyo wangekauka katika miezi ya majira ya joto. Nilipokuwa nikikua, nilienda pamoja na vijana wengine wa kijiji hicho, wakati wa jioni za kiangazi. Tulikuwa tukifungua moto karibu na chemchemi na kucheza michezo maarufu kama vile Jijam katika Kikurdi. Hii inahusisha kusimama juu ya mguu mmoja wakati kujaribu knock mshindani wako katika maji. Wakati mwingine vijana walipigana ili waende kuogelea, kwa kuwa watu wazima walikuwa wametukataza kuogelea huko usiku, wakisema kwamba wakati huo ni wakati wa roho kuogelea. Sikuwa mmoja wa wale wenye ujasiri wa kuogelea usiku kwa sababu ya ushirikina huu. "Kukumbuka Ein Maa, michezo tuliyocheza na hadithi zinazosimuliwa juu yake, hunihusisha na urithi wangu, familia yangu na kijiji changu, hata ingawa siishi huko tena. """ """Ikiwa vijana wengi watahama vijijini na njia ya maisha kubadilika, ni kumbukumbu hizi za utamaduni wetu ambazo bado zitatumika kutufanya tuunganike na kutupeleka huko, kuhifadhi urithi wetu hai kwa vizazi vijavyo." Kipande hiki kilichapishwa awali na Taasisi ya Mafunzo ya Maendeleo