Galeet Dardashti: Judeo-Hamedani Song about Military Service
Singer and anthropologist Galeet Dardashti sings a song in Judeo-Hamedani (Hamadani).
Note from Galeet Dardashti:
This is song about a family desperate to have their son exempted from the Iranian military draft. Sending their sons to military service was particularly traumatic for Jewish families in Hamadan because Jews lived in a closed community and suddenly in the army young men faced a different world and weren’t able to maintain their religious practices such as Sabbath observance and Kashrut.
The song really tells a story, so it inspired me to take out my guitar (which I don’t often do). Now it has become a Persian Jewish American folk song.
Even though the words are mournful, as is my rendition, Haideh Herbert shared with me that her father actually had very fond memories of his military service as a very exciting time in his life, and she remembers him always singing this song joyfully. So perhaps the prospect of army service was sometimes more difficult for families than for the Jewish soldiers.
This song was documented, transcribed, and translated by Haideh Herbert-Aynehchi with the HUR-JIR Jewish Language Project. Learn more about Judeo-Hamedani and other Jewish Iranian languages at https://www.jewishlanguages.org/judeo-iranian
History:
By Haideh Herbert
As I grew up, I heard my father sing this song often. He liked it because he could identify with it. The piece is not a party song, but more a poem about a young man trying to get out of military draft.
Compulsory military draft started with Reza Sh with the reign of Reza Shah who took office in 1925. Under his reign, all young male citizens were required to serve in the army including Jews and other minorities. Summons for military service was hard for Jews that had lived in closed up communities, and had their sons live at home until they got married. They did not like their sons leaving the community and experiencing the outside world. They were especially concerned that there would be no Kosher food in the barracks. I remember the source of history in my grandmother’s life was the date my father got drafted,
“This happened two years before Yadi’s service,” or “Oh, that was five months after Yadi’s drafting.”
I have made two translations of this poem, one literal translation to maintain accuracy, and one figurative translation to understand the poem in modern day language.
Lyrics:
Transcribed and translated by Haideh Herbert
Rouyéh charshabăt o Doe rou béh shay mud
On Wednesday, two days before the eve of Passover
Ajani booméh bă dăd o bidăd
A policeman came shouting and screaming
Béh dădăm béshvăt kéh pirét ki yéh
He asked my mother ‘who is your son?’
Zid ghăyom văbyăn bikhéh pass kiyéh
Quickly I hid at the back of the house
Ey nayéb ghorbănét mun dékhilun
O Nayeb (government official), may I die for you (I am begging you)!
Béshéh tahghigh békéh mun kefilăn
Do some research. I am a kefil (a term used for an only son that is exempt from military)
service in order to support his parents).
Tafréh kérid ăchi and dăchi
[oh] uncles and aunts go do what you can
Béshid kiyéh yeéh Hăji ăghăchi
Go to the home of Hajji Aghachi
Daout haym u béynid o ham hăji high
See Davud Hayim and also Hajji Hay
Akhéh Islraălim o ham pireh dăi
Because we are Jews and also cousins (son of uncle)
Ey nayéb ghorbănét mun dékhilun
Oh Nayeb, may I die for you (I am begging you)!
Béshéh tahghigh békéh mun kefilăn
Do some research. I am a kefil.
Sad tomaném heydăh béh Mirză Néjăt
I gave a hundred tomans to Mirza Nejat
Bémvă Ghorbănéh sér o déss o păt
I said may I die for your head, hand, and foot (terms of begging)
Béshă măffishă khom ărăn bérăt
He said I, myself will bring the exemption papers
Ey nayéb ghorbănét mun dékhilun
Oh Nayeb, may I die for you (I am begging you)!
Béshéh tahghigh békéh mun kefilăn
Do some research. I am a kefil.
Doe rou beydésht o hokmém bérouméh
Two days passed and my conviction came
Mun biăn o pireéh oon dăchi Sorméh
It was I and the son of that Mrs. Sormeh
Hămă ră beshăn beh ghaleyéh kohnéh
They took us to the old barracks
Goushtay gandăyeh, hamesh terifă
Rotten meat, all trayf (non-kosher)
Doshmantăn beynou bémăn périsă
May your enemies see this (May this happen to your enemies and not you.) We ate.
Ey nayéb ghorbănét mun dékhilun
Oh Nayeb, may I die for you (I am begging you)
Béshéh tahghigh békéh mun kefilăn
Do some research. I am a kefil.
روی چارشباتو دوررو به شی ماد
اجانی بومه با داد و بیداد
به دادام بشاد که پیرت کی یه
زید قایم وابیان بیخ پس کیه
ای نایب قربانت مان دخیلان
بشه تحقیق بکه مان کفیلان
بشید تفره کرید اچی و داچی
بشید کیه ی حاجی اقاچی
داوت حیم ا بینید و هم حاجی های
اخه ایسرالیم و هم پیر دای
ای نایب قربانت مان دخیلان
بشه تحقیق بکه مان کفیلان
صد تومنم هدا به میرزا نجات
بموا قربان سر و دس و پات
بشوا مافیشا خوم اران برات
دو رو بیدشت و حکمم برومه
ای نایب قربانت مان دخیلان
بشه تحقیق بکه مان کفیلان
مان بیان و پیر اون داچی سرمه
هاما را بشان به قله ی کهنه
گوشتای گندایه همش تریفا
دشمندان بینو بمان پریسا
ای نایب قربانت مان دخیلان
بشه تحقیق بکه مان کفیلان
Jewish Hamedani leaders in this poem:
By Haideh Herbert
What makes this poem interesting to me is that I know about all the community leaders in this poem. A lot of descendants of Hamedani Jews now live in Los Angeles, and I know many families.
Hajji Agha Chi is the ancestor of my daughter in law whom my son met in Los Angeles without any knowledge of her Hamedani background. The son of Hajji Aghachi, and the grandfather of our daughter-in-law finished his medical education at Tehran University and completed his residency in neurology in France. Currently, I go for daily walks with the grand daughter of Hajji Aghachi.
Davud Hayim was the husband of my father’s aunt. As a child I had been to their home, and remember him vividly. After our visit, my grandmother talked about Davud Hayim, her brother in law.
“He has always been a shrewd leader, and that is because as a baby they had passed him through the hollow skin of a lion.”
As a child, I found a lot of sense in this. The old guy had a big face, large eyes, and messed up curly white hair like a lion’s mane.
Hajji Hay was the uncle of my best friend, Dr. Minou Somekh, and their families along with all the other uncles and their families lived together in a mansion in Hamedan. He was the patron of the largest synagogue in Hamedan, and in that synagogue, he had created temporary living quarters for Jewish Russian immigrants to live in while waiting for their papers to move on to Israel. This part of the synagogue was called ‘gharib khaneh’, meaning the home for strangers. Hajji Hay’s father had purchased the summer house of the Iranian prime minister Zahir-ol-dollah, and lived there with all his sons and their families. with many rooms who housed all his 5 sons and their families. This house had several large rooms in the basement for storage purposes and Hajji Hay used these storage spaces to house more Jewish Russian Immigrants and their rabbis.
At the time, nearly a hundred years ago, Hamedan was a thriving city for Iranian Jews. Russian Jews who fled from Tsarist pogroms and later from Bolshevik limitations set on their religious practices, were fleeing with their rabbis to Iran. Even though they entered from eastern regions of Iran, they travelled across the country to travel to Hamedan located in the western region of Iran. Hajji Hay not only housed them, but through his connections with government authorities, he was also able to get them travel documents so they leave for Israel.
I have attached a photo of the home of Hajji Hay and his brothers in Hamedan.
Mirza Nejat has the title of Mirza, because of his ability to read and write. He was able to fill out the legal documents to apply for exemption. He charged a fee for this service. There was no guarantee that he could get exemptions each time.