Letters
What the Jews chose to take
with them when they left Iraq
When the Jews left Baghdad in the 1950's they sold everything
at giveaway prices, and many of them just took their hawan
weighing 10 kilos with them, to beat the Friday meat and
rice Kubbah. Of course nowadays this can be done in a blender
in five minutes.
As for Dr. Naim Dangler he left all his properties behind
but took with him 1 kafkir and a few musical recordings,
for your benefit!
Jamal Atawi replies:
When The Babylonian Jews left Iraq, they left all their
properties: Gold, Money, Houses, Buildings, Lands, Factories,
Cars. They just left everything. The most important thing
that they left was the unrewarded precious love that they
planted here in our conscience.
I staged my musical researches from the time they came
over here in Iraq. They were here before 2709 years and
more....All the great Iraqi habits, attitudes, and most
of the Iraqi Art, Music, Architecture, Religion, was made
by them, we owe them a lot.
What I was doing before long years is to pay them back....
as my father had taught me.
My father was a great man. He was a famous Linguistic.
He was side by side with Dr. Mustafa Jawad and Sheikh Jalal
Al - Hanafi.
When my father passed a way, the late Sheikh Jalal Al- Hanafi
said: now I became an orphan. And he meant a sentence of
praise.
My father had a Scholar Council for poets (as he was one
of them), was established since 1940 in Baghdad and they
called it Tuesday Council.
Most of the great poets, linguists were attended there
in our house. Makki Al - Sayied Jasim (My father) was a
famous name among the Arabic Libraries, Poets, Writers and
Authors. He also established the first school of music and
ballet in the Middle East (Madrasat Al-Mosiqa Wal Baleh)
in Baghdad and assigned Mr. Aziz Ali the famous musician
and singer to be the headmaster in 1968.
My late father was opening a wide world for me to know
how much the Iraqi Babylonian Jews were great. I am teaching
my sons (Samer & Lulu) the Shbahoth songs of all the
records that Dr. Naim sent, Dr. Sera Manasseh, and Mr. Eli
Sawdayee, (Mr. Maurice Shohet had sent me a copy of Mr.
Kojaman's book with two CD's of Iraq maqaam too). It was
done by great people like Hagguli Shummel Darzi. (My father
was calling me Hagguli as I was singing all the time). Yesrael
Muallem Sason, Salim Dawood Kordi, Yeshaaq Marroudi and
others...
My junior son Lulu who plays on Qanoon is having practices
nowadays on Maqaam Segah for Salim Shibbath.
Thank you for your fabulous words which leaded me to this.
Warmest regards,
Jamal Al-Atawi
Iraqi Salaam and Babylonian Jewish Traditional musicologists
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