The Assyrian Umbrella

When you think of an umbrella you think of something or someone taking cover underneath it, most likely from the rain, although i have seen some people using it as protection from the sun. Whatever makes you happy i guess.

This essay isnt about umbrellas, its about, yes what else, the Assyrian nation. Umbrella, or Metalta / Shamsiya, as its called in Assyrian, is only used in a metaphorical sense.

I would like to start by sharing with you an email my dear friend sent me the other day, this was my inspiration for this essay. The email read the following:

Dr. Bahnam Abu al-Soof, Professor of Archaeology in Baghdad University.

“All the inhabitants of the villages which are called Chaldean--TelKeif, Alqosh, Batnaya, Telesqoof,
Karamles, Qaraqoush, and others—no connection with the Chaldeans of antiquity. Today’s Chaldean term
is new to us, it came from the west, and from Rome precisely. You people, the inhabitants of the above
mentioned villages are originally Assyrians, descendants of the Assyrians of antiquity. I, for example, was
born in Mosul, and belong to the Chaldean Church, yet I am Assyrian and we all are Assyrians, being
Syrians, Chaldeans, or Maronites.”

Now i know most of you are thinking "Here we go again." Thats fine, but bare with me for a second. Here is the issue: Most Chaldeans think that Assyrians say "You're all Assyrian" out of pure arrogance and ignorance. This, fortunately isnt the case. The way i can prove it is by saying that 10 years ago there was none of this talk of what we should call ourselves or which village we're from etc. I had friends back in the day who were only known as 'Assyrian' who had different accents/dialects. Respect was all around cos we sat under the one umbrella.

These days im afraid to say, thanks to the recent situation in Iraq, all these specific villages have formed their own little political and social parties and associations and our Chaldean brothers have seperated from the Assyrian name to basically form their own nationality. We now have organisations such as Barwar Society, Camp Gelani and Habbaniya Society just to name a few. This automatically creates a sense of isolation for any one person who has not originated from that particular village.

Now this is where the history lesson begins. Historically and Biblically we were all born Assyrian. We had one language and one dialect until we thought we could put one over God so we decided to built a Hotel with a penthouse so we could climb into the clouds. Hence the creation of languages. God created all the other languages in that region so those people opposing him would be confused and not be able to communicate with each other. It seems that to this day we are still confused.

Being Tyaraya, Marbushnaya, Urmishnaya, Jilwaya, Tkhumnaya, Chaldaya or Nochiyaya, does not in any way mean that that is your nationality. It only stipulates the region of Assyria / Bet Nahrain you or your family are from. This same rule also applies to our Chaldean brothers and sisters and as the above quote mentions, it was a name given to those people by the Romans. Fair enough

Try explaining this to all the Assyrians and Chaldeans who are drowning in their own pride. When you meet another Assyrian person for the first time, how long does it take for them to ask you "Which milat are you from?" And when you answer "Im Assyrian" they get angry! Go figure. Its very simple, all you need to do is grab an ancient map of the Assyrian region. All the British maps are very well respected and accurate aswell. You can clearly see all the villages and towns of Assyrian, Chaldea to the south. Again, correct me if im wrong.

So if i apply this rule of origin which these people have created, I cannot say im from Sydney. Ill have to emphasis which suburb im from. I had someone last year forcefully tell me that all Tyarayeh are not actually Tyarayeh, this person told me with the utmost belief and arrogance that they are Ashetnayeh in denial, they are Ashetnayeh but "they just dont know it." Hmmm really? Thats interesting, cos the last i heard, Tyareh (which was divided into Upper Tyareh and Lower Tyareh) and Ashita were 2 different areas, but then again, im sure im wrong.

This is the arrogance which im talking about. People like this are the epitomy of why Assyrians to this day have not progressed. We are too involved and focussed on which tribe is the best. We are too worried about which tribe speaks the correct form of Assyrian, without realising that we have the most beautfiul language in the world simply due to the fact that we have so many dialects, not forgetting our brothers and sisters from the Tur Abdin / Midyat region, the Suryoyo Oomtanayeh. God bless them.

When i was in the company of a few people who spoke a different dialect of Assyrian to me, they actually laughed at me when i started speaking Assyrian. Literally laughed at me and told me i spoke "funny." I looked around the room for some respect, maybe it was there, on the wall or under the couch, but i couldnt find any. Surprise surprise! Now when you do your research, which i have, when you study your history and read credable and respected sources of Assyrian information, these particular people who lived in the mountains have been described as the most illiterate and uneducated Assyrians. (ref. The Assyrians of the Van District, During the Rule of the Ottoman Turks, M.Y.A. Lilian, 1914) This is because they were surrounded by the Turks and Kurds in northern Iraq and did not have schools until the early to mid 1900's when the ArchBishop of Canterbury's Mission to Assyria, built a few schools. So these specific people were taught their own language by the English! Even the Maliks, which these people held in such high regard to this day, were also illiterate and uneducated. Anyway, moving on.

Another issue i have with this type of Assyrian is the whole Qapala (Cane) and Khumala Wear(feather clothes). Im sorry, but this is NOT the clothing or tradition of Assyrians. The Assyrians of Baghdad and Urmi certainly didnt wear these clothes. They also didnt swing Qapaleh and Swords at weddings. Isnt it a coincidence that these feather clothes look very simliar to the Kurdish clothes? But yeh i guess they stole it from us. Its just another example of how the proud force their opinions and thoughts upon others. Even our music has now adopted the whole Tyareh wording and dialect.

For those who know me know that im not 'racist' and that i am totally 100% Assyrian focussed and educated. This is purely my opinion based on my own frustration and facts, from the deep love i have for my Assyrian nation, wanting it to grow and advance, not move backwards. We continue to shoot ourselves in the foot, wanting a piece of the pie, every suit wearing father wanting a larger slice than the next person.

A common excuse we hear is that "We dont have a country." Yes we dont, a 3 year old child can tell you that. Assyria doesnt appear on any world map. We're used to that. But again, where my issue stands is that we have formed communities in cities worldwide. Sydney, Melbourne, Chicago, Modesto, San Jose, just to name a few. These are our 'countries', or they should be considered as such. If we cannot make it work in these cities, how on Earth can we make it work in Iraq? To me, it just does not make sense. But im sure im wrong, again. With the thousands of Assyrians we have in these respective cities, we should have by now emerged as a respected and intelligent race, forming positive relations with each other and developing a powerful voice in the name of the Assyrian nation. Instead, in Sydney for example, we form over 22 different political associations. Now again, correct me im wrong, logically speaking we would be much stronger if we gathered 22 associations worth of strength and rolled it into one. But what do i know.

Let it also be highlighted that the majority of Assyrian literature was published and compiled in the city of Urmi, Iran (as well as Tehran). They had the resources and ability (and some say intellect) to complete such projects. However, the majority of the Assyrian Church of the East's books were put together in Baghdad, Iraq.

So to have someone who is of my own blood, laugh in my face when i speak my mother tongue, is the most disrespectful and hurtful thing to do. It is only within our own Assyrian community where you will find such a thing. Sitting eyes wide open jaw dropped listening to me speak a different accent of Assyrian as if i was from another planet, astounded, was a very awkward position to be in because it was purely unexpected. But thats fine. So how can we all live together if by some miraculous manner we are given land in Iraq.

This brings me to another point. We are 'fighting' for our rights in Iraq claiming we are the indigenous peoples of that land. Now again, if you have done your research and studies, and i mean proper deep studies of Assyriology, you would be aware of the Assyrian border and which areas it covered. So our political fathers are basically saying that as Assyrians we are entitled to rights and land in Iraq. Thats great. But on the other hand they are indirectly and unwittingly saying to Assyrians that only Assyrians of Iraq are welcome. So if you are an Assyrian from Iran, Syria, Lebanon or wherever else, its not your land. Assyria, in its original days, covered not only Iraq, but parts of Syria, Turkey and Persia. Again, correct me if im wrong.

On a brighter note however, i can say that there are young Assyrians striving to produce positive works for their nation. Nicholas Awde, Nineb Limassu and Nicholas Al Jeelo have released an outstanding book called Modern Aramaic Dictionary & Phrasebook (Assyrian/Syriac). As the title suggests, it is not just a dictionary, it is also a phrasebook. Basically if you travelled to an Assyrian language speaking country, this book would be an essential item to have in your possession. It is created by 3 respected young Assyrian men, educated and learned in the Assyrian language, most noteably Nineb Limassu, an Assyrian Lion from the UK. Job well done and may God bless all 3 of you.

So what am i trying to say? Basically im asking everyone to forget which village their parents are from. It means nothing and is totally irrelevant to ones life and especially their spiritual salvation. I would love to see the youth, who have the power, to come together and work together with no tribal pride. We should all look at the Assyrian youth of Denmark and Sweden as examples. Their interaction with each other and with the Assyrians of London, UK is something we should be proud of. Youth conferences and seminars are the norm, as well as 2 well developed websites and 24 hour online radio stations. The difference between them and the Assyrians of the west? Well in a nutshell, the European Assyrians only have pride in the Assyrian name, be it Urmishnaya, Nochiyaya, Syrianaya (Suryoyo), they all live under the one umbrella, the Assyrian flag.

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JI