NISHTIMAN

Meaing "Motherland," this was the title of Komala's journal published in the mid-1940s inMahabad,Iran. It was received with great enthusiasm by the Kurds and enjoyed a relatively wide distribution. The first issue contained poems, prose, Komala's constitution, and articles on Kurdish history. In all, 12 issues appeared. The journal's motto "Long live greater Kurdistan" illustrated Komala's pan-Kurdish aspirations.

In March 1945, Komala staged a dramatic Kurdishnationalistopera calledDaiki Nishtiman. It featured a woman called Daiki Nishtiman, who was the personification of the Kurdish nation. She was abused by three villains representingIran,Iraq, andTurkey. Eventually she was rescued by her brave Kurdish sons. The opera played for several months in Mahabad and other surrounding towns and made a very profound and emotionalnationalistimpression on the Kurds. The very termNishtimanbecame almost synonymous with that ofKurdistan.

See alsoJ.K.