Pazooka (tribe)

Pazukî is a Kurdish tribe whose members live in different regions in Kurdistan as well as in and around Tehran, Iran. The tribe is mentioned in the 16th century Kurdish historical book Sharafnama by Sharaf Khan Bidlisi.[1] There are some variants of the name Pazuki and they are known under the various names, like Bazikî, Bozukan, Bazukan etc.[2] Pazukî was originally a tribal confederation like Rojiki Kurds. Some branches of them speak Kurmancî and the others speak Zazakî. But Henry Field (anthropologist) mentioned their Iranian branch also as a Turcophonic community almost a hundred years ago.[3]

The origin of the name Pazukî

There are two suggestions about the origin of the name Pazukî. The first one by Garnik Asatrian who thinks that it comes from Armenian botanical term pazuk which means beet. He shows some Kurdish tribal names which are originated from botanical terms, like Zilî, Sipkî, Mandikî and Pivazî.[4] But according to a recent research, there is one more possibility on its etymology. It is suggested by Aksoy that pazuk may be connected with another word, bazuk, which is the Armenian name for the Pleiades star cluster.[5] His reference is to a Bozukan (from Pazukan) tradition which mentioned by Mark Sykes in his article "The Kurdish Tribes of Ottoman Empire" (1908). Sykes writes that "their tradition is that they used to worship a sword thrust in the ground and the moon and the stars, and they lived under the government of a Christian King named Tavit, who dwelt in the castle of Boso".[6] Aksoy thinks that it is possible to find some cultural continuities between Scythian and Pazuki world, may be by original Armenian clan of Pazukis or directly by Kurdish clan(s).[7]

Placenames

There are some placenames in Turkish Kurdistan which refer to Pazukîs. For example, Bêskan (Erzurum) "Bozik Ușağı köyü" (Ovacık), "Bazikân" (Varto), "Bazikân" (Sasun), "Bazikî" (Urfa, Yaylak), "Bozik" (Urfa), "Bazük" (Adıyaman) etc.[8]

Famous Characters

The most famous person who belongs originally to Pazukî tribe, is former leader of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Abdullah Öcalan.[9]

References

1. Cheref-ou`ddîne, Chèref-Nâmeh, St. Pétersbourg, 1868, see http://bnk.institutkurde.org/catalogue/result.php?rech=liste
2. Gürdal Aksoy, Dersim: Alevilik, Ermenilik, Kürtlük, İstanbul, 2016, İletişim Yayınları, see http://www.iletisim.com.tr/kitap/dersim/9309#.V60RptSLT4Y
3. "The tribe was broken up in the latter part of the sixteenth century, some families of it migrating to Persia. About a thousand families reside in Veramin and Khar, south-east and east of Teheran. Some of them speak Kurdish, some Turkish." H. Field, Contributions to the Anthropology of Iran, Chicago, 1939, Field Museum Press, p. 112, see http://www.svetlost.org/podaci/contributions_to_the_anthropology_of_iran_by_henry_field.pdf
4. Garnik Asatrian, "Prolegomena to the Study of the Kurds", Iran and the Caucasus 13 (2009), p. 40, see http://www.kavehfarrokh.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/prolegomena-to-the-study-of-the-kurds.pdf
5. Gürdal Aksoy, "Bir Kürt Aşiretinin Uzak Geçmişi Hakkında Varsayımsal Sorular: PAZUKÎLER ve İSKİTLER", Ağustos 2016, see https://www.academia.edu/27635023/Bir_K%C3%BCrt_A%C5%9Firetinin_Uzak_Ge%C3%A7mi%C5%9Fi_Hakk%C4%B1nda_Varsay%C4%B1msal_Sorular_PAZUK%C3%8ELER_ve_%C4%B0SK%C4%B0TLER<
6. M. Sykes, "The Kurdish Tribes of Ottoman Empire", JRAIGBI. Vol. 38, Jul.-Dec. 1908, p. 465, see http://intersci.ss.uci.edu/wiki/eBooks/Articles/1908%20Kurdish%20Tribes%20Sykes.pdf Archived 2014-12-26 at the Wayback Machine
7. for more information, see Aksoy, Bir Kürt Aşiretinin Uzak Geçmişi Hakkında Varsayımsal Sorular: PAZUKÎLER ve İSKİTLER
8. Aksoy, "Dersim: Alevilik, Ermenilik, Kürtlük", İstanbul, 2016.
9. Fikret Yaşar, "Kürdistan Tarihinde Pazuki Aşireti ve Öcalan", see http://kurdistan-post.eu/tr/kurdistan/kurdistan-tarihinde-pazuki-asireti-ve-ocalan