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Research Article

Jorabin, a Sport or a Battle (from the Past to the Present)

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Received 26 Sep 2023, Accepted 13 Jun 2024, Published online: 15 Jul 2024
 

Abstract

The Kurds are a nation residing in the region of Kurdistan, which extends to five distinct countries, namely Iran, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Armenia. The Kurds, due to their marginalisation inside their own countries and their settlement in strategically significant cross-border areas, have consistently faced challenges in preserving their national identity, as well as their cultural heritage. However, the Kurds have successfully maintained and safeguarded their cultural heritage and its various components throughout several centuries. They have preserved Jorabin as a ‘traditional sport’ within Kurdish communities. The aim of this study is to examine the historical development of Jorabin, investigating its interrelations with various cultural aspects and its socio-cultural significance for the Kurdish community.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

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6 Alan Tomlinson, Sport and Leisure Cultures (Minneapolis: Minnesota University Press, 2005).

7 Interview with Hossein Moradi. Hossein Moradi, in discussion with the author, July 12, 2022.

8 Interview with Jalal Nilofari. Jalal Nilofari, in discussion with the author, July 12, 2022.

9 Interview with Simko Mastani. Simko Mastani, in discussion with the author, April 12, 2022.

10 Interview with Hossein Moradi.

11 Mokriani Give, Farhang Kordi [Kurdish Dictionary] (Iraq: Aras, 1999).

12 Hazhar, Farhang Hanbaneh Borineh [Hanbaneh Borineh Dictionary] (Tehran: Soroush Publication, 1990).

13 Interview with Simko Mastani.

14 Interview with Azad Azadi. Azad Azadi, in discussion with the author, June 17, 2022.

15 Ravesh Hassan, Zagrous Va Darstan [Zagros and Arboretum] (Mahabad, Iran: Razhah, 2021).

16 Martin A. Beek and D. R. Welsh, Atlas of Mesopotamia. A Survey of the History and Civilization of Mesopotamia from the Stone Age to the Fall of Babylon (Amsterdam: Atlas van Het Tweestromenland, 1964).

17 Interview with Massoud Rihani. Massoud Rihani, in discussion with the author, July 12, 2022.

18 Interview with Halow Irani. Halow Irani, in discussion with the author, April 14, 2022.

19 Phillip Chao, ‘A People without Their Nation: Lingual and Dialectal Roots of Kurdish Nationalism and Its Failure’, The Journal of Cornell University 9, no. 1 (2023): 1–3.

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22 Helge Chr Pedersen, ‘A Sporting Nation: Creating Sámi Identity through Sport’, The International Journal of the History of Sport 38, no. 12 (2021): 1210–27.

23 Allan Downey, ‘The Creator’s Game: Lacrosse, Identity, and Indigenous Nationhood’, Journal of American Review of Canadian Studies 50, no. 2 (2018): 255–65.

24 Bartosz Prabucki, ‘Small Nation, Big Sport: Basque Ball–Its Past and Present Cultural Meanings for the Basques’, The International Journal of the History of Sport 34, no. 10 (2017): 943–56.

25 Kevin Smets and Ali Fuat Sengul, ‘Kurds and Their Cultural Crossroads: Kurdish Identity, Media and Cultural Production’, Middle East Journal of Culture Communication 9, no. 3 (2016): 247–56.

26 Interview with Hiwa Mamle. Hiwa Mamle, in discussion with the author, April 8, 2022.

27 Interview with Idris MehrParvar. Idris MehrParvar, in discussion with the author, June 12, 2022.

28 Interview with Shwan Fahimi. Shwan Fahimi, in discussion with the author, June 8, 2022.

29 Interview with Kaveh Kari. Kaveh Kari, in discussion with the author, April 2, 2022.

30 Interview with Kamyar Tossi. Kamyar Tossi, in discussion with the author, July 19, 2022.

31 Interview with Kaveh Kari.

32 Mukriyani Hymin, Nalay Jodaei [Laments of Separation] (Mahabad, Iran: Saray Hemin, 2018).

33 Interview with Morad Rasouli. Morad Rasouli, in discussion with the author, April 12, 2022.

34 Interview with Hossein Moradi.

35 Interview with Kamal Arban. Kamal Arban, in discussion with the author, June 10, 2022.

36 Interview with Aga Morady. Aga Morady, in discussion with the author, April 16, 2022.

37 Interview with Kaveh Kari.

38 Interview with Aga Morady.

39 Interview with Kaveh Kari.

40 Interview with Saiad Ramazani. Saiad Ramazani, in discussion with the author, July 4, 2022.

41 Interview with Hossein Moradi.

42 Interview with Kaveh Kari.

43 Interview with Kamal Arban.

44 Provincial Jorabin Board in West Azerbaijan Province, Gavanin Va Mogararat Jorabin [Jorabin Rules and Regulations] (Mahabad: Saray Hymen, 2005).

45 Setare, ‘Mazo Chist Va Wizhgihay an Chist?’ [What is Mazo plant and what are its properties?], Setare, April 9, 2016, https://setare.com/fa/news/15331 (accessed September 14, 2021).

46 Yousefi-nejad Yousef, Farhang Halala, Gull, Gia, Pnj, Dawan, Dar [Halala Dictionary, a Dictionary of Trees, Shrubs, and Plants] (Mahabad, Iran: Saray Himen, 2021).

47 Interview with Kamal Arban.

48 Interview with Hiresh Kafi. Hiresh Kafi, in discussion with the author, July 9, 2022.

49 M. Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (New York: Harper & Row Publication, 1990).

50 Michael Groll, Malgorzata Bronikowska, and Jorma Savola, ‘Cultural Aspects of Traditional Sports and Games’, International Journal of Physical Education 52, no. 3 (2015): 25–36.

51 Dryaz and Eccarius, The Kurds in the Middle East: Enduring Problems and New Dynamics (New York: Lexington Books, 2020).

52 David McDowall, A Modern History of the Kurds (London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021).

53 Boris James, The Rise and Fall of the Kurdish Emirates Fifteenth to Nineteenth Centuries (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021).

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55 Jenna Krajeski, ‘The War with Isis inside Kurdistan’, pulitzercenter, April 9, 2014, https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/war-isis-inside-kurdistan (accessed April 8, 2015).

56 Interview with Mamand Madi. Mamand Madi, in discussion with the author, April 11, 2022.

57 Interview with Kaveh Kari.

58 Interview with Simko Mastani.

59 Interview with Hossein Moradi.

60 Paddy Woodworth, The Basque Country: A Cultural History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007).

61 Özlem Belçim Galip, Imagining Kurdistan: Identity, Culture and Society (London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015).

62 Interview with Kamyar Bazidi. Kamyar Bazidi, in discussion with the author, July 15, 2022.

63 Interview with Sarkavet Salimi. Sarkavet Salimi, in discussion with the author, June 8, 2022.

64 Interview with Mamand Madi.

65 Irana, ‘Jorabin Be Onvan Miras Namalmos Farhangi Dar Iran Sabt Shod ‘ [Jorabin was registered in the list of intangible cultural heritage in Iran], Irna, July 12, 2015, https://www.irna.ir/news/83374844/ (accessed June 30, 2019).

66 Interview with Hossein Moradi.

67 Interview with Jalal Nilofari.

68 Interview with Fouad Bani. Fouad Bani, in discussion with the author, April 3, 2022.

69 Interview with Kamal Arban.

70 Repairer Etuk, ‘Sports Betting around the World: A Systematic Review’, Journal of Behavioral Addictions 11, no. 3 (2022): 689–715.

71 Interview with Zaniar Sardi. Zaniar Sardi, in discussion with the author, July 20, 2022.

72 Interview with Morad Rasouli.

73 Interview with Kamal Arban.

74 Interview with Massoud Rihani.

75 Interview with Hiwa Mamle.

76 Interview with Amanj Pasto. Amanj Pasto, in discussion with the author, June 30, 2022.

77 Interview with Zhilvan Salemi. Zhilvan Salemi, in discussion with the author, July 10, 2022.

78 Interview with Bazid Bina. Bazid Bina, in discussion with the author, April 23, 2022.

79 Interview with Saro Koktapah. Saro Koktapah, in discussion with the author, June 9, 2022.

80 Interview with Hiresh Kafi.

81 Sahar Shakiba, Omid Ghaderzadeh, and Valentine M. Moghadam, ‘Women in Iranian Kurdistan: Patriarchy and the Quest for Empowerment’, Gender Society Journal 35, no. 4 (2021): 616–42.

82 Hashim Ahmadzadeh, ‘Women of a Non-State Nation: The Kurds’, Journal of Iranian Studies 39, no. 2 (2001).

83 Interview with Kazhal Mansori. Kazhal Mansori, in discussion with the author, April 4, 2022.

84 Interview with Arash Shahidi. Arash Shahidi, in discussion with the author, July 5, 2022.

85 Interview with Aga Morady.

86 Interview with Idris MehrParvar.

87 Ibid.

88 Interview with Hiresh Kafi.

89 Interview with Kazhal Mansori.

90 Pierre Parlebas, ‘The Universals of Games and Sports’, Frontiers in Psychology Journal 11, no. 2 (2020).

91 Interview with Shakhavan Sarian. Shakhavan Sarian, in discussion with the author, July 19, 2022.

92 Interview with Aga Morady.

93 Interview with Morad Rasouli.

94 Interview with Zakaria Zarodi. Zakaria Zarodi, in discussion with the author, April 4, 2022.

95 Interview with Mana Kamalian. Mana Kamalian, in discussion with the author, April 8, 2022.

96 Interview with Aga Morady.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jalal Zhakati

Jalal Zhakati is a PhD student at University of Tabriz in Iran. He is a member of the network of researchers and teachers of traditional sports and games worldwide.

Mohammad Rasoul Khodadadi

Dr Mohammad Rasoul Khodadadi is an associate professor in sport management at University of Tabriz in Iran. In 2010 he published his book titled: Traditional Games and Sports in the North-West of Iran.

Kazimierz Waluch

Dr Kazimierz Waluch is the Vice President of the Association Européenne des Jeux et Sports Traditionnels (AEJST) and the President of the Institute for the Development of Sport and Education.

Yaghob Badriazarin

Dr Yaghob Badri Azarin is a professor in sport management at University of Tabriz in Iran. He is interested in Iranian traditional sports and games.

Bartosz Prabucki

Dr Bartosz Prabucki, PhD is a cultural anthropologist, lecturer at the Poznan University of Physical Education in Poland, and an expert in traditional sports at the Institute for the Development of Sport and Education.

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