Curses and Prayers Among Kurdish Women of Kobane - Part 2 (Final part)

Fatma Atto

Read the first part of this article here

Curses about income:

I hope you always look at the sea, and your meals be on your back. (it means I hope you never reach your meals)

I hope you get destroyed.

I hope God would leave you penniless.

I hope you never reach wealth.

I hope while you seek to earn money, you starve to death.

I hope God would never bless you.

Curses about sickness:

I hope your flesh melts down and there is no one to help you stand up.

I wish they would carry him until he dies (it means I hope that person never be able to walk again).

I hope your dead body is passed by.

I hope God would blind you.

I would like to make my breast milk to be Haram for you (usually mothers say this to their children).

Boy! I wish you were hanged.

I hope you never feel relaxed.

I hope God's arrow would hit you in the eye.

When we pay attention to these kinds of curses, we see that the target person will not be left with any hope to live normally. Economically, socially, religiously, psychologically, and naturally, all the ways will be blocked by such a person.

As it is clear in these curses, they are said in a way that would leave the targeted person helpless and hopeless. Even if half of these curses come true, there is no salvation for the targeted person. Kurdish mothers have never cursed their close relatives or family members, they have mostly cursed their children however not for real; all of the mothers confess that. When we look at the content of these curses, they are very rich and full of Kurdish words. They also show the rich properties of Kurdish culture and language.

There are various types and uses for curses:

There are curses that a mother wishes for her son, sister, or brother or a curse that a girl wishes for her lover, a mother wishes it for her daughter, a person wishes it for their enemies, a father wishes it for their offspring or a man wishes it for his wife and vice versa.

The prayers that are said by women:

I wish you have a happy household.

I wish you see your children happy.

I wish God would put you on the right path.

I wish God would never make you feel ashamed.

I hope wherever you go, the path would be free for you.

I wish God helps you find a spouse.

I hope whatever you touch becomes gold.

I wish God would bless you with wealth.

I hope God would help you achieve your goals.

As you can see, most of the prayers start with God's name. They ask God to accept their wishes and they are said to help others avoid any harm. It is necessary to pray so that blessings and strength would be granted by God. People pray in their homes, in their rooms, over the mountain peaks, in the mountains, late at night, early in the morning, before every meal, and after a war.

Effects of prayers on them:

As it is clear, most of the prayers are said for a positive purpose so that they would affect people's lives positively, bring happiness to their hearts, and create endless joy. These prayers let those who are subject to the prayers feel calm and relaxed because prayers carry positive properties and bring blessings to people.

Every person can pray, mothers and fathers, boys and girls, sisters and brothers, people for their friends, grandparents for their grandchildren, and even children can pray so that they could avoid bad words and bad people.

Conclusion:

Finally, one can see that prayers and curses are two related parts of Kurdish folklore that are mostly used by women. When women curse their children, it is not real however, it still has a negative impact on their lifestyle. When we pay attention to these prayers that carry blessings and have positive impacts, we see they have a great influence on children's spirits.

 

Sources:

An interview with some women from Kobane

"Folklorenama" magazine, Ashraf Kaydani

KURDŞOP
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