حلوبي صغير، أو علكة، قرية سورية جميلة تتبع ناحية شران منطقة عفرين ريف حلب الشمالي. Hulubi Saghir, or Alkah, is a beautiful Syrian village belonging to the Sharran sub-district, Afrin district, in the northern countryside of Aleppo.
وهي تقع غرب جنوب شران بعشرة كيلومترات، وشمال غرب حلب بـ 60 كيلومتراً. It is located 10 kilometers southwest of Sharran, and 60 kilometers northwest of Aleppo.
إلى الشمال منها تقع قريتي حلوبي كبير وكوبلك، وإلى الجنوب منها تقع قرية قورت قلاق، To its north lie the villages of Hulubi Kabir and Kublak, and to its south is the village of Qurt Qalaq.
أما غرباً فقرية كفر روم، وشرقاً مدينة شران إضافة إلى قرية ماتنلي. To the west is the village of Kafr Rum, and to the east is the city of Sharran, in addition to the village of Matinli.
يمكن القول أن القرية حديثة التشكيل فعمرها لا يزيد عن مائتي عام، It can be said that the village is recently formed, as its age does not exceed two hundred years,
عندما جاءت عوائل كردية سورية من عشيرة شكيك واستوطنت فيها قبل حوالي 200 عام كما قلنا، when Syrian Kurdish families from the Shikak tribe came and settled there about 200 years ago, as we said.
ثم تبعهم عوائل عربية سورية من عشيرة العجيل واستوطنت فيها. Then they were followed by Syrian Arab families from the Al- Ajeel tribe, who also settled there.
يسكن في القرية الآن حوالي 240 عائلة من سكانها الأصليين The village is currently inhabited by about 240 families of its original residents,
إضافة إلى عوائل سورية مهجرة قسراً من حمص وأرياف إدلب وحماة وغيرها. in addition to Syrian families forcibly displaced from Homs, the countrysides of Idlib, Hama, and others.
يعتمد أهلها بشكل أساسي على الزراعة وتربية المواشي، Its people rely primarily on agriculture and livestock breeding,
وخاصة زراعة الزيتون والحبوب والخضراوات، especially the cultivation of olives, grains, and vegetables,
حيث يوجد في القرية أكثر من 33 ألف شجرة زيتون. as there are more than 33,000 olive trees in the village.
يتميز أهلها بالهدوء والتمسك بعاداتهم وتقاليدهم، Its people are characterized by their calmness and adherence to their customs and traditions,
كما يتميزون بالقدرة العالية على التأقلم وبالانفتاح على الآخرين. and they are also distinguished by their high ability to adapt and be open to others.
يتميز أهالي حلوبي صغير بالتمسك بعاداتهم وتقاليدهم والحفاظ عليها، The people of Hulubi Saghir are known for clinging to their customs and traditions and preserving them,
ومن هذه العادات والتقاليد طحن البرغل في طاحون القرية البدائية الحجرية الموجودة على البيدر. and among these customs and traditions is grinding bulgur in the village's primitive stone mill located on the threshing floor.
في هذه الفقرة القصيرة سنكون معكم في زيارة إلى بيت أبو عبدو لنتعرف منه ومن عائلته In this short segment, we will be with you on a visit to Abu Abdo's house to learn from him and his family
على الطقوس التي كانت تصاحب طحن البرغل على الطاحونة الحجرية الموجودة في البيدر وما كان يدور فيها من حفلات وأغاني. about the rituals that accompanied grinding bulgur on the stone mill located on the threshing floor, and the parties and songs that took place there.
تابعونا. Follow us.
السلام عليكم. Peace be upon you.
أبو عبدو شلونك؟ Abu Abdo, how are you?
أهلاً وسهلاً. Welcome.
أم عبدو شلونك؟ الله يعطيكم العافية. Umm Abdo, how are you? May God give you health.
هي الطاحون، خلينا نتعرف ممكن تشرحي لنا عنها شوي؟ This is the mill, let's get to know it, could you explain a bit about it?
احكوا لنا على هي الطاحون البدائية الأصلية الموجودة في الضيعة. قد ايش عمرها؟ Tell us about this original primitive mill in the village. How old is it?
والله عمرها أكثر من 100 سنة. Well, it's more than 100 years old.
100 سنة؟ 100 years?
100 سنة تقريباً إي. About 100 years, yes.
وإيمتى وقفت عن الشغل؟ And when did it stop working?
من 20 سنة وهيك شيء، أكتر، يعني أكتر من 20 سنة موقفة. Since 20 years or so, more, I mean it's been stopped for more than 20 years.
وقفت؟ ما بقى تشتغلوا فيها؟ صرتوا يعني تطحنوا في غير شيء، وين بتطحنوا؟ It stopped? You no longer work with it? You started grinding somewhere else, where do you grind?
بمطاحن بميدانكي... In mills in Midanki...
في مطاحن، يمكن في ميدانكي في مطحنة على المي. There are mills, maybe in Midanki there is a water mill.
إي، صارت تحت المي هلق، انغمرت بالسد. Yes, it's under water now, flooded by the dam.
طيب أم عبدو احكيلي كيف كان يتم الطحن هون؟ Okay, Umm Abdo, tell me how the grinding used to be done here?
كان أول شيء نجيب الـ شو اسمه؟ First, we would bring the, what's it called?
البرغل أو الحنطة؟ The bulgur or the wheat?
الحنطة. بنجيب الحنطة وبنمدها حوالين الحجرة. Wheat. We bring the wheat and spread it around the stone.
تحت الحجرة بالضبط؟ Exactly under the stone?
إيوا، ونحط عليها شوية مي، نجيب سطل مي. Yes, and put a little water on it, bring a bucket of water.
بترشوا شوي، إيوا. You sprinkle a little, yes.
بنرش عليها شوية مي. We sprinkle a little water on it.
بنجيب أول شيء، هادا هادا الحجر الحجر الأسود. We bring first, this, this is the stone, the black stone.
وهادا قوس، هادا القوس. And this is a bow, this bow.
يعني حاشاك بنجيب الحمار. So, with all due respect, we bring the donkey.
نعم. Yes.
بنربط الحمار. We tie the donkey.
حمار أو حصان. A donkey or a horse.
أول شيء حمار أو حصان. بنربط له عيونه. First a donkey or a horse. We blindfold its eyes.
بتغمضوا له عيونه؟ نعم. You blindfold its eyes? Yes.
بنغمض له إي. وأبو عبدو بيمسك راس الحمار، بيدور حوالين الدلوب. We blindfold it, yes. And Abu Abdo holds the donkey's head, turning around the dallub.
نعم، بيسحب الحجرة معه؟ Yes, he pulls the stone with him?
إي بيسحب الحجرة. Yes, he pulls the stone.
هادا اسمه الدلوب؟ This is called the dallub?
إي، هادا اسمه دلوب. Yes, this is called dallub.
يعني الطاحون كلها اسمها دلوب؟ So the whole mill is called dallub?
كله دلوب، اسمه دلوب، نحن بنقول له دلوب، بالكردي دلوب. All of it is dallub, it's called dallub, we call it dallub, in Kurdish dallub.
نعم. Yes.
وأنا بعد ما حطيت البرغل ورشيت عليها المي، الحمار يمشي حوالين الدلوب And after I put the bulgur and sprinkled water on it, the donkey walks around the dallub,
ويسحب الحجرة، وأنا كمان... and pulls the stone, and I also...
عم تقلبي البرغل؟ Are you turning the bulgur?
بقلب البرغل. I turn the bulgur.
مشان يصير تحت الحجرة؟ So it gets under the stone?
تحت الحجرة. إيوا. Under the stone. Yes.
بعدين بنجيب البرغل، بنمده على، بنجيب شي مداية Then we bring the bulgur, we spread it on, we bring a mat
وبنكت عليها البرغل لتنشف. and we pour the bulgur on it to dry.
بعدين بنجيب طشت كبير وبنغربله. Then we bring a big tub and sift it.
أه، بتغربلوه. شلون كانوا هون العوائل يعني الأسر أهل أهل حلوبي هون تجمعوا لما يطحنوا ويجوا النسوان ورجال، احكيلي شو كان يصير؟ Ah, you sift it. How did the families here, I mean the families, the people of Hulubi gather when they grind, and the women and men would come, tell me what would happen?
والله شيء يمكن خمسة ستة نسوان، شيء عشر رجال بيجوا Well, about maybe five or six women, about ten men would come
أوقات بيغنوا، بيفرحوا، للصبح. sometimes they sing, they rejoice, until the morning.
ليش بالليل بيشتغلوا ولا بالنهار؟ Why, do they work at night or during the day?
بالليل والنهار. Day and night.
ليل ونهار؟ Day and night?
ليل ونهار. بالنهار شمس، بالليل بنجي بنحط هون الضو، بنجيب يعني الكهربا وبنحط عليها الضو. Day and night. During the day there's the sun, at night we come and put a light here, we bring electricity and put a light on it.
وحوالين الدلوب يعني نسوان بيجوا، رجال، ولاد صغار، وحوالين الدلوب... And around the dallub, I mean, women come, men, small kids, and around the dallub...
بيفرحوا وبيغنوا وكذا، بتعرفي إيش كانوا يغنوا؟ They rejoice and sing and so on, do you know what they used to sing?
تتذكري شي غنية بس؟ Do you remember just one song?
بالكردي كانوا يغنوا. They used to sing in Kurdish.
إي بالكردي. Yes, in Kurdish.
والله ما بتذكر. I swear I don't remember.
يعني هيك كلمتين إذا حفظانة؟ I mean, just a couple of words if you memorized any?
والله مالي حفظانة. I swear I haven't memorized any.
ولا غنية هيك ولا كلمة؟ هو أغاني كردية يعني؟ Not even one song, not a word? They were Kurdish songs, right?
أغاني كردية يعني. Kurdish songs, yes.
أنتِ غني واحدة يا أبو عبدو؟ You sing one, Abu Abdo?
أنا ما بعرف غني. I don't know how to sing.
غني يا أبو عبدو، غني غني. Sing Abu Abdo, sing, sing.
أنا ما بعرف غني. I don't know how to sing.
أنت بتعرف تغني، والله حكياتكم يعني أغانيك كثير كويسة. You do know how to sing, honestly your stories, I mean your songs are very good.
يعني أنا بدي أقول الأجواء هون كانت أجواء فرح. So I want to say the atmosphere here was an atmosphere of joy.
فرح. Joy.
طيب خلينا نبرك هيك شوي على الطاولة عندكم ما شاء الله عندكم حديقة حلوة، ونحكي شوي كمان بدي تحكوا لي عن السليقة. Okay, let's sit a bit at your table, mashallah you have a beautiful garden, and talk a bit more. I want you to tell me about Sliqa (boiling wheat).
تحكوا لي عن السنونية، سنونية الطفل لما كنتم تساووها. شرفوا. Tell me about the Snouniyeh, the child's teething celebration when you used to make it. Please come in.
تفضلوا. Come in.
ما شاء الله بيتكم حلو، وحديقته حلوة، بسيط. Mashallah your house is beautiful, and its garden is beautiful and simple.
تفضل تفضل. Come in, come in.
احكوا لنا كيف كانت السليقة؟ السليقة هون كان بيدر، كمان كنتوا تساووا السليقة هون؟ Tell us how the Sliqa was? The Sliqa here was a threshing floor, did you also make the Sliqa here?
لكان. Of course.
يعني تحطوا الحلة هون وتشغلوا النار وهيك؟ So you would put the big pot here and light the fire and so on?
إذا بيتنا كان، أول شيء ما كان هون. كنا ببيوتنا، كنا نعمل. If our house was, at first it wasn't here. We were in our houses, we used to do it.
كنا في عنا بيت قديم، بيقولوا له، يعني غرفة، في بالنص بيقولوا له قواس، نحن بنقول لها قنطرمة. We had an old house, they call it, I mean a room, in the middle there are arches, we call it a Qantarma.
قنطرمة، بالكردي قنطرمة. تمام، كيف كنتوا تسلقوا؟ Qantarma, in Kurdish Qantarma. Alright, how did you boil it?
كان حماتي تجيب الغربال، أنا بحط بالغربال وهي بتغربل. My mother-in-law would bring the sieve, and I would put in the sieve and she would sift.
من الأخير بنخلص، بنحط، بنجيب الطشت كبير، وبنحط بالطشت، وكمان بالغربال، بنحط بالغربال، بنجيب الحلة. Finally we finish, we put, we bring a big tub, and put it in the tub, and also with the sieve, we put it in the sieve, we bring the big pot.
بتصوّلوا قصدك يعني كنتوا أول شيء تصوّلوا الحب، تصوّلوا البرغل قبل ما تسلقوه؟ You wash it, you mean, you would first wash the grains, wash the bulgur before boiling it?
قبل ما نسلقه. بنجيب بنحطها بالحلة. Before we boil it. We bring it and put it in the big pot.
وتقريباً شبر فوق البرغل، المي. And about a hand span above the bulgur, the water.
مي. إيوا. Water. Yes.
بنحط لها مي، وبعدين بنسلقه. We add water to it, and then we boil it.
بالأخير انسلق، بدنا نفضيه. أبو عبدو بيطلع فوق السطوح. At the end it's boiled, we want to empty it. Abu Abdo goes up to the roof.
أبو عبدو اجا دورك. تفضلي، إيوا. Abu Abdo, it's your turn. Go ahead, yes.
هو بيطلع فوق السطوح، بالحبل وسطل كبير. بنفضي بالسطل وأبو عبدو بيفضيه ع السطوح. He goes up to the roof, with a rope and a big bucket. We empty into the bucket and Abu Abdo empties it on the roof.
ع السطح، بتنشروه؟ On the roof, you spread it out?
بننشره. بننشره لتقريباً تلات أيام، وكل تلات أيام، صبح ومسا... We spread it. We spread it for about three days, and every three days, morning and evening...
صبح ومسا، الظهر. Morning and evening, at noon.
بنروح، بنقلبه. We go, we turn it.
لينشف. Until it dries.
لينشف. وبنحط بشوال كبير، بعدين يوم التاني بنجي بنطحنه. Until it dries. And we put it in a big sack, then the next day we come and grind it.
طيب احكيلي كمان بالسليقة كنتوا تسلقوا بالليل ولا بالنهار؟ Well, tell me also, during Sliqa, did you boil at night or during the day?
حسب، في ناس تقريباً الساعة ستة الصبح بيجوا بيسلقوا، في ناس خمسة العصر. بس العصر أحسن من الصبح. It depends, some people come and boil at around six in the morning, some people at five in the afternoon. But the afternoon is better than the morning.
هلا أنا اللي فهمته إنه كانت يعني مو كل عائلة لحالها بتسلق، كل عائلتين تلاتة أربعة حسب عددهم بيسلقوا مع بعض. Now, what I understood is that it wasn't, I mean, every family boiling alone, every two, three, or four families, depending on their number, would boil together.
احكيلي ايش كان يصير؟ سمعت كمان كان يصير حفلات، يشووا باذنجان، يشووا فراريج، إي شو يصير احكيلي كمان؟ Tell me what used to happen? I also heard there used to be parties, they'd grill eggplants, grill chickens, yeah, what happened, tell me more?
يعني كانت مناسبات للاحتفال. I mean, they were occasions for celebration.
يعني كل عائلتين تلاتة بيجتمعوا، بيجتمعوا لما بنسلق، بعد ما سلقنا ونشرنا، So every two or three families gather, they gather when we boil, after we've boiled and spread it out,
في جمر. بنجيب، بنجيب الفراريج، كله بنعمله، بنتبله، وبنحط بالأسياخ وبنشويه، باذنجان، بندورة، there are embers. We bring, we bring chickens, we prepare it all, we marinate it, and put it on skewers and grill it, eggplant, tomatoes,
بصل، كل شيء. onions, everything.
يعني وليمة، حفلة. So a feast, a party.
إي، بنشويه، وبنمدها هالسفرة، كل يعني اللي تعبوا كلياتهم بيجوا بياكلوا. Yes, we grill it, and we spread out this feast, all, I mean, everyone who worked hard, all of them come and eat.
يا ستي صحتين وهنا. كان أكيد يشتركوا يعني نسوان الضيعة ورجال الضيعة بـ، بسحب خلينا نقول، أو شيل الحنطة من السليقة من قلب الحلة للسطح. Bon appétit. They certainly shared, I mean the women of the village and the men of the village in, let's say pulling, or carrying the wheat of the Sliqa from the center of the pot to the roof.
في سؤال بس أسألكم ياه، السنونية لما يطلع للطفل سنون، كيف كنتوا تحتفلوا؟ There's just a question I want to ask you, the Snouniyeh, when a child gets teeth, how did you use to celebrate?
بنجيب كمان برغل، بنغليه، يعني إذا عمره صار... We also bring bulgur, we boil it, I mean if his age became...
...şeş meha. Dema tê ser diranan, ...six months. When it comes to teeth,
Ê. Yes.
Em tînin dikelînin, em datînin her sahn, em datînin serê drobes, û em belav dikin li ser cîranan. We bring it and boil it, we put it in every plate, we put candies on top of it, and we distribute it to the neighbors.
Lema me belav kir, fî nas vala dikin û vedigerînin ji me re sahn, When we distribute it, there are people who empty it and return the plate to us,
Ê. Yes.
Yanî niqûdo. Meaning its money.
Dixin tê de niqûd? They put money in it?
Niqûd. Money.
Ya selam helwe. Oh wow, nice.
Yanî ê pênc sed, datîne, ê hezar, elfên, yanî heseb. I mean the one with 500, puts 500, the one with 1000, 2000, I mean depending.
La bi weqtê berê, mît lîre, xemsîn lîre, xemsa w'işrîn lîre, heseb. No, in the past times, 100 lira, 50 lira, 25 lira, depending.
'Eş weqto, yanî min zeman, kan hîke, bes weqtna, xems mîye, elîf, yanî heseb. Back then, I mean from old times, it was like that, but in our time, five hundred, a thousand, I mean depending.
Hela ena semi'it şuxle, inno îza kana ba'atûlon sedîqa bi sahn min 'indkon, û 'eleyh zîne, Now I heard something, that if they sent you alms with a plate from your side, and it has decoration on it,
Yanî 'eleyh drobes, 'eleyh werd, 'eleyh keza, beddon yerca'ûlkon es-sahn û fîh niqûd. I mean it has candies, it has flowers, it has such and such, they have to return the plate to you with money in it.
Emma îza es-sahn min 'indon, But if the plate is from them,
La min 'indna nihne minhit. No, we put it from our side.
Îza min 'indon, If it's from them,
La ma byerci'û fîh şî. No, they don't return anything in it.
Ma byerci'û fîh şî. They don't return anything in it.
La. Ma fî. Weqtel bilxur, bîcû biya'xudû. No. There isn't. At the time of bulgur, they come and take it.
Şukran Yabû 'Ebdû, Alla ye'tîk el-'afye. Thank you Abu Abdo, may God give you health.
Alla yu'afîk. May God give you health.
Şukran Yabû 'Ebdû. Teba'an libasak huwe l-libas el-kurdî et- teqlîdî hon. Thank you Abu Abdo. Of course your clothing is the traditional Kurdish clothing here.
Ê. Yes.
Mû hîk? Alla ye'tîkum el-'afye. Şukran ilkon ktîr, inbesatna me'kon. Isn't that right? May God give you health. Thank you all very much, we enjoyed being with you.
Alla yu'afîk. Ehla wesehla. May God give you health. Welcome.
Mît es-selame, mît es-selame. A hundred welcomes, a hundred welcomes.
Mît es-selame, ehla wesehla. A hundred welcomes, welcome.
Qebel ekser min mîteyn 'am teqrîben, kanet mintaqet el- qarye, qaryet Hulûbî Sexîr, 'ibara 'an ahras kesîfe, Nearly more than two hundred years ago, the area of the village, the village of Hlubi Saghir, was dense forests,
mezrû'a bi-eşcar es-snawber we eşcar el-bellût we xeyriha. planted with pine trees, oak trees, and others.
We kan ehalî hazihî el-qarye mawcûdîn fî qaryet Xirbet Şerran, And the people of this village were present in the village of Xirbet Sherran,
wa aydan qaryet Hulûbî Sexîr qebel en ye'tû îla hazihî el- mintaqa, wa yestewtinû, and also the village of Hlubi Saghir before they came to this region, and settled down,
we yebde'û bi-ez-zira'a we terbiyet el-haywanat. and began farming and raising animals.
Lil-hadîs 'an tarîx qaryet Hulûbî Sexîr, seyekûn me'ena el-'amm, To talk about the history of the village of Hlubi Saghir, we will have Uncle,
Ehmed 'Ebdullah Bin Xemîs, ehed ekber er-rical el-mu'ammirîn fî el-qarye, wel-'arif bi tarîxiha. Ahmed Abdullah Bin Khamis, one of the oldest living men in the village, and the one knowledgeable about its history.
Alla ye'tîk el-'afye, 'Ammî Ehmed. May God give you health, Uncle Ahmed.
Ê walla. Mşan nihkî 'al-ewwaliyye... Yes, by God. So we can talk about the old days...
Şlonek? El-hemdulillah sihtek kweyse şlonek? How are you? Thank God your health is good, how are you?
El-hemdulillah. Thank God.
Şqad 'umrek? How old are you?
El-hemdulillah, 'umrî sîney seba' w seb'în. Thank God, I am seventy-seven years old.
Maşallah 'aleyk. Mashallah.
El-hemdulillah. Thank God.
El-'umr kullo in şa' Allah. May you live a long life, God willing.
El-hemdulillah. Thank God.
Hela hon qebel mîteyn sene kan fî ahras. So here, two hundred years ago, there were forests.
Hey qebel mîteyn sene, ahras. Yes, two hundred years ago, forests.
Ahras. Forests.
Ba'dên, mitil ma qultillek mbariha, Then, just as I told you yesterday,
Inno îca wahid kan bi-Xirbet Şerran, There was a man in Xirbet Sherran,
Ismo Hemko Lak. His name was Hamko Lak.
Huwe 'am ya'ric, bîqûlûlo lak bil-kurdî. He used to limp, they call a limp "lak" in Kurdish.
Ah, Hemko Lak? Ah, Hamko Lak?
Hemko Lak. Yanî li'anno ya'ric. Hamko Lak. Meaning because he limped.
Kolak bil-kurdî el-e'rec. "Kolak" in Kurdish means the limping one.
Êwa e'rec yanî. Yes, it means limping.
Êwa. I see.
Kan 'indo ecîr. Wel-eradî hî, He had a servant. And these lands,
Ahraciyye w fîha eradî şwey kweyse yanî. Erd, erd sehil yanî. Were forested and had some good land too. Land, flat land I mean.
Yiflehûn hon w yizre'ûn. Qallo xeyo şaf el-ecîr te'eblo ktîr, They would plow and farm here. So he told him, he saw the servant working a lot for him,
Qallo xeyo eşterî lek dewabb, He told him, "Brother, I'll buy you animals,
w fî mexara hnak ubrok bil-mexara. and there is a cave there, stay in the cave.
Û le-beyn ma n'emmirlek dar. Until we build you a house."
Hiyye el-mexara? Is this the cave?
Hiyye l-mexara mewcûde. This cave is still here.
Kanet ekber min hîk w inheddet şway. It was bigger than this, it collapsed a bit.
Ecîr Hemko Lak şû ismo? What was the name of Hamko Lak's servant?
Ismo 'Elo. His name was Elo.
'Elo illî sar, semmû ed-dey'a bi-ismo 'Elkê. Elo, who became... they named the village after him, Elkê.
Ewwel, kan ewwel wahid. First, he was the first one.
Semmû ed-dey'a bi-ismo 'Elo. They named the village after his name Elo.
'Elo. Hela bîqûlû Hlubî Sexîr ew 'Elkê. Elo. Now they call it Hlubi Saghir or Elkê.
Bil-kurdî 'Elkê. In Kurdish, Elkê.
Nisbeten ilo. Named after him.
Ba'dên xeyerû el-esamî sewwûha Hlubî Sexîr. Later they changed the names, they made it Hlubi Saghir.
Ne'em. Yes.
Hiyye bil-Kurdî 'Elkê. It is Elkê in Kurdish.
'Elkê, ne'em. Elkê, yes.
W lahaqet 'amarto, huwe 'ammar, Hemkolak bi-halo. And I lived to see its building, he built it, Hamko Lak himself.
Kanit hîn dar, min he-t-taraf let-teht. There was a house here, from this side down.
Tûla sitte'aş metir, xurfet dar wihde. It was sixteen meters long, one house room.
Ah! Yanî ba'd ma ba'at Hemkolak ecîro 'Elî la-hon wa sakan bi-hal-mexara w beda yefleh w yizra'... Ah! So after Hamko Lak sent his servant Ali here and he lived in this cave and started plowing and farming...
Ba'dên huwe îca 'ammar. Later he came and built.
Îca kaman huwe Hemkolak. Hamko Lak also came.
Hemkolak huwe illî 'ammar. Hamko Lak was the one who built it.
Şarraf. Yallah. He came. Alright.
'Ammar hon w he-l-'emara ana lahaqtuha, wlado kanû saknîn fîha. He built here, and I lived to see this building, his children were living in it.
Ne'em. Yes.
Ene lahaqet heş-şî haza. I caught up with this.
Kanû saknîn hon wê t-tehwîşe hî killa kanet, They were living here, and this whole courtyard was here.
Li-hed-dar hey, yanî t-tehwîşe m'emmera awwal ihwaş 'ammarûha haşer 'ala l-yabis. For this house, I mean the courtyard they built first, they built it with dry stones.
Min el-hinên el-hecera, şû xellef Hemkolak? From the stone walls... who did Hamko Lak father?
Şû xellef Hemkolak? Xellef weledên. Who did Hamko Lak father? He fathered two sons.
Ûsib, w Xelîl. Usib, and Khalil.
Ne'em. Yes.
Xelîl sakan hon, w Ûsib işterûlo Me'resket el-Xatîb ba'id Kefer Cennê. Khalil lived here, and for Usib they bought Ma'raskat al- Khatib, past Kafr Jannah.
Ûsib rah sakan hnak, w Xelîl dall sakan hon, el-kibîr rah sakan hnik. Usib went to live there, and Khalil stayed living here, the older one went to live there.
We es-sexîr Xelîl, sakan hon, dall sakan hon Xelîl. And the younger one, Khalil, lived here, Khalil kept living here.
W xellef. Xelîl xellef sitte wlad. And he had children. Khalil fathered six children.
Mmm. Mmm.
Xelîl xellef sitte. W Ûsib xellef xamse. Khalil fathered six. And Usib fathered five.
Hezole... a'rifhum kulliyaton yanî. These... I know them all.
Li-zelek hala ehil Me'resket el-Xatîb qeraybîn ehil Hlubî s-Sexîr. So that's why the people of Ma'raskat al-Khatib are relatives of the people of Hlubi Saghir.
Ixwe ixwe. Brothers, brothers.
Wlad 'amm. Cousins.
Eywa sarû wlad 'amm qallon sarû wlad 'amm yanî. Hinne kullon ixwe yanî. Yes, they became cousins, but originally they are all brothers.
Lîş 'am tqillî... Why are you telling me...
illî kanû hon, Xelîl muxellef sitte. Tlate rahû 'ala Me'reskê kaman, The ones who were here, Khalil fathered six. Three of them went to Ma'raskat as well,
we tlate dallû hon. We Ûsib (yqûlûlo el-Hec Ûsib kan rayih 'al-Hec) and three stayed here. And Usib (they called him Hajj Usib, he had gone on Hajj),
Ûsib xellef xamse, tnên îcû le-hon w tlate dallû b-Me'reskê. Usib fathered five, two came here and three stayed in Ma'raskat.
Teyyeb. Okay.
Teyyeb, Hemko Lak min eyy 'eşîre kurdiyye? Okay, which Kurdish tribe is Hamko Lak from?
Walla 'eşîre ma fî enqullo Kurdî û bes, ma a'rif. By God, there is no tribe, we just call him Kurdish, I don't know.
Şkak, şkak. Shikak, Shikak.
Şkakî... he-l-erd el-mintaqa killa Şkakî. Shikaki... this whole land, region is Shikaki.
Ê bîqûlû mintaqet Şkako. Yes, they say the region of Shikako.
Şkake hey. Mintaqa şkakiyye. This is Shikake. A Shikaki region.
Mu 'eşîre huwwe... bîqûlûlo min Şkake. Min Şkake, yanî mitil ma nqûl min 'Ezaz. He's not a tribe... they say he is from Shikake. From Shikake, just like we say from Azaz.
Mitil ma nqûl min 'Efrîn. Ha z-zileme min Şkake yanî. Just like we say from Afrin. This man is from Shikake.
Teyyeb. Entû? Entû 'Ereb hon kaman. Okay. And you? You are Arab here too.
'Ereb, eywa. Arab, yes.
Entû min beyt mîn? Which family are you from?
Nihne beyt Xemîs. We are the Khamis family.
Îmet cîtû le hon? When did you come here?
Lisse ceddî kan sakan hon, wiyyahon. Even my grandfather was living here with them.
Me' el-cema'e hazol min me-kanû? Zade? With these people wherever they were? Also?
Îca ba'don. He came after them.
Îca ba'd ma 'ammar ... He came after he built...
Îca ba'd Xelîl, el-yom 'ala dor Xelîl. He came after Khalil, nowadays in Khalil's time.
Xelîl ibin Hemkolak. Khalil the son of Hamkolak.
Ceddî cerrafa kalla hon sar me'hon. My grandfather drifted all the way here and joined them.
Min wên îca ciddek? Where did your grandfather come from?
Ceddî îca min Qal'at Ca'ber. My grandfather came from Qal'at Ja'bar.
Qal'at Ca'ber? Qal'at Ja'bar?
Eywa min ş-şarq. Yes, from the east.
Îca sahib xanem, w îca le-hon, w laqa mera'î kweyse. He came as a sheep owner, and came here, and found good pastures.
W dall şaf el-cema'e zade kwese yanî. And he saw the people were good too.
Dall ma'hon w dallîna nihne ma'hon kaman yanî. He stayed with them and we stayed with them too.
Yanî min hazak el-yom nihne ma'hon, min mîteyn sene. I mean since that day we've been with them, for two hundred years.
Entû min eyy 'eşîre? Which tribe are you from?
'Eşîret 'Ccêl. The 'Ajeel tribe.
Entû 'Ccêl? You are 'Ajeel?
'Ccêl, ne'em. 'Ajeel, yes.
Ba'dkon mîn îca 'ad-dey'a? Who came to the village after you?
Ba'dna îcû, bîqûlûlo, After us came, they call him,
'Elî Hemdoş. Ali Hamdosh.
Ne'em. Yes.
Yanî he-kaman kan maxid uxt Xelîl, He had also married Khalil's sister,
W m'etî uxto le-Xelîl. And had given his sister to Khalil.
W 'Elî Hemdoş min Kefer Cennê. And Ali Hamdosh is from Kafr Jannah.
Ne'em. Yes.
Îca sakan hon. Ba'd 'Elî Hemdoş, He came and lived here. After Ali Hamdosh,
Îcû e-Cebbûlî, beyt Cebbûlî, min şerq ed-dey'a sarû. The Jabbouli came, the Jabbouli family, they settled in the east of the village.
Min et-taraf eş-şarqî, kullon beyt Cebbûlî, hazol 'a'ile kbîre hnak. From the eastern side, they are all the Jabbouli family, they are a big family there.
We min ba'd e-Cebbûlîn 'ad, îce 'am enqullek lemmet el-'alem lemmet. And after the Jabboulis, I tell you, people gathered.
Yanî cab, beyt Reşîd Horî, bîqûlûlon, beyt yanî keza cem... I mean, they brought the Rashid Hori family, as they call them, and the family of such and such...
Beyt 'Osman El-Cano, hazol yanî killa ba'dên îcet yanî leffet ba'dên. The Osman Al-Jano family, all of these came later, they gathered later.
La-hatta ceddo le-haz, ceddo le-haz el-mixtar... biddî ahkîha sahîh ana... Even this one's grandfather, this Mukhtar's grandfather... I want to tell it true...
Ceddo axaz binithon, binit Xelîl... His grandfather married their daughter, Khalil's daughter...
W kaman îca sakan hon. And also came to live here.
Ceddo le-l-mixtar? The Mukhtar's grandfather?
Ceddo le-l-mixtar, yanî ceddo bi-halo. The Mukhtar's grandfather, I mean his grandfather himself.
Teyyeb. Okay.
Ena ma axbî şî ebeden. Kulla şî, waqi'î ebeden. I don't hide anything at all. Everything is completely real.
Sû'al. Entû sarilkon hon mît sene entû ke-'Ajeel. A question. You have been here for a hundred years as 'Ajeel.
Ê walla. Yes, by God.
Û hinne min mîteyn sene. And they have been here for two hundred years.
Ê walla. Yes, by God.
Şlon el-'elaqa bînatkon? How is the relationship between you?
'Elaqatna kweyse, kweyse, l-hadd el-an kweyse. Our relationship is good, good, until now it's good.
Kîf? Hkiyye. How? Tell me.
Ktîr kweyse. Ebeden, xassa el-Mixtar w cema'to w kullon, Very good. Never, especially the Mukhtar and his people and all of them,
Walla yqaddirûnî w b-he-l-'umur haza mhadda ysîh lî b-ismî. Illa 'Ammî. By God, they respect me, and at this age no one calls me by my name. Only "Uncle."
Yanî l-hadd el-an. I mean, up until now.
Sar fî musahara bînatkon? Has there been intermarriage between you?
Musaharat 'ala tûl ewwel kan. Bes hallaq musahara ma fî. Intermarriage used to happen all the time. But now there is no intermarriage.
La, musahara yanî exaztû w e'teytû minhon? No, intermarriage meaning did you take and give from them?
La, ma exazne w la a'teyne. Nswan. Nswan ma axazne w la a'teyne. La. No, we didn't take and we didn't give. Women. Women, we didn't take and we didn't give. No.
Ma tamminne nekzib hay ma sar beytenna şî yane, ma sar bînatna. Let's not lie, this didn't happen between our houses, I mean, it didn't happen between us.
Lakin me'îşe muştereke w mehabbe... But a shared life and love...
Me'îşe muştereke, mehabbe we kull şî, bes ma xazalna minhon w la xazalû minna, we la e'teynahon wala 'atûna. A shared life, love and everything, but we didn't take from them and they didn't take from us, and we didn't give them and they didn't give us.
Yanî t-telab ma tnteleb min ba'dna yumkin. I mean, a proposal wasn't made between us perhaps.
Enta btehkî Kurdî? Do you speak Kurdish?
Ehkî Kurdî 'al-mezbût. I speak Kurdish perfectly.
W smi'it inno btixennî bil-Kurdî kaman? And I heard that you sing in Kurdish too?
La ma ba'rif axennî bil-Kurdî ebeden. Xecîlane mnak. No, I don't know how to sing in Kurdish at all. I am shy of you.
Bta'rif txennî bes xecîlan? You know how to sing but you are shy?
La la la ebeden. No, no, no, not at all.
Teyyeb, beqî fî sû'al. Okay, there is a question remaining.
Izen hed-dey'a qebel mîteyn sene 'ebel ma yîcî la-hon 'Elo ew ellî sar ismo 'Elkê ellî huwe kan ecîr teba' Hemko Lak ma kanit mewcûde? So this village, two hundred years ago, before Elo came here, who was named Elkê, who was Hamko Lak's servant, didn't exist?
Ma kanit mewcûde, l-had ma fî hade mewcûd hon. It didn't exist, nobody was here.
Ma fî xêr el-erd, yanî xaliye, erd xaliye. There was nothing but the land, I mean it was empty, empty land.
El-yom şlona ed-dey'a el-yom? How is the village today?
El-yom selat 'al-Nebî te'ebbat ed-dey'a min kull şî w kulla tqaddir ba'dha w kullha kweyse me'a ba'dha. Today, prayers upon the Prophet, the village is full of everything, and everyone respects each other, and everyone is good with each other.
Kulla, hatta fî 'enna nazihîn, cema'at wallah kwesîn w zyade 'am nşûfon ba'dna et-tîb yanî. Everyone, we even have displaced people, groups of people who are, by God, good and very much, we see goodness in each other.
Carne ha-t-tawîl, beyt haz sakin bi-he-l-beyt haz. Our tall neighbor, his family lives in this house.
Yanî kaman sewwa ekle beddo yit'emîna, nahne nsewwî ekle nita'mîh, yanî l-had derace ma'a... la-kull l-'alem kwayysîn nihne, I mean, if he makes a dish he wants to feed us, and if we make a dish we feed him, I mean to this extent with... we are good with all people.
w kulla kwese me'ana. And everyone is good with us.
Entû kuntû xanname b-l-asl? Were you sheep herders originally?
Ene? Me?
Entû kuntû xanname? Were you sheep herders?
Ê ehlî ashabîn xenem bala. Yes, my family were sheep owners indeed.
Entû xanname û cema'it Hemko Lak kaman xanname? You were sheep herders and the people of Hamko Lak were also sheep herders?
La Hemko Lak kanû hon saknîn, l-felalîh ard el-ard le-hon. El-ard le-hon, nihne xanname. No, Hamko Lak were living here, farmers, the land was theirs. The land was theirs, we were sheep herders.
Btrûhû w btirci'û? You go and come back?
'Ereb mnrûh mnerce', yanî hey hiyye, li'anno lîş aqullek mbarha qultillek wel-yom e-xraybo a'îdo. Arabs, we go and come back. That's how it is. Because why should I tell you, yesterday I told you and today I'll repeat it.
Biş-şita nşettî hon. W b-beyt eş-şa'ar ekbîr. In the winter we winter here. And in a big goat-hair tent.
Tûlo erba'ta'aş metir, ma a'rif kam metir, ma şiftû ene. It was fourteen meters long, I don't know how many meters, I didn't see it.
Yedibbûn hatab endon. L-hatta yîcî 'aş-şite. They would stock up on firewood here. So that winter comes.
Bis-sêf 'ad yrûhû 'ala Me'reste kaman, Me'reste mo tab'e la- hazon? In the summer they would go to Ma'raste too, isn't Ma'raste belonging to them?
Ydallû dom, dom nihne ma' Me'reste û ma' hazon yanî. They would always, always be with Ma'raste and with these guys, I mean.
Ma' d-dey'a hay û ma' Me'reste. With this village and with Ma'raste.
Û ba'dên berektû hon. And then you settled here.
Bereknê hon 'adên. We settled here then.
Alla ya'tîk el-'afye 'Ammî Ehmed. May God give you health, Uncle Ahmed.
Alla yu'afîk yabo Hesen, mît es-selame. May God give you health Abu Hasan, a hundred welcomes.
'Ezzabnak. We troubled you.
La bîkum el-bereke w ene etşerref bi-heş-şixle hay. No, you are a blessing and I am honored by this thing.
Alla yukrimak 'Ammî. May God honor you, Uncle.
'Ezzabnak û ente sayim. We troubled you while you are fasting.
La la me'liş, sayim nruh 'al-hasada ana kunt sayim! No, no, it's fine, I go to the harvest while I am fasting!
Alla yuqawwîk. Emîn. May God give you strength. Amen.
Es-selamu aleykum. Mît es-selame, Allah ma'akum. Peace be upon you. A hundred welcomes, God be with you.
Es-selamu aleykum. Peace be upon you.
We aleykum es-selam wa rahmetullah. And upon you be peace and the mercy of God.
Heyyak Allah ya muxtar. May God keep you, Mukhtar.
Mît ehla wesehla. A hundred welcomes.
'Emmî 'am endewwir 'aleyk cît la-halek. Uncle, I am looking for you and you came on your own.
Mîtey ehla wesehla. A hundred welcomes.
Ehla wa b-Hennan. Welcome Abu Hannan.
B-'uyûnî. You are the light of my eyes.
Işkîlî 'an tabî'et en-nas hon bi-Hlubî Sexîr. Tell me about the nature of the people here in Hlubi Saghir.
Walla min nahiyet ehalî el-qarye, Well, regarding the people of the village,
Nihne fî 'enna el-ixwe n-nazihîn we el-muqîmîn, We have displaced brothers and residents,
Yanî yu'tebarû 'a'ile wihde. They are considered one family.
Wa tebî'et el-muqîmîn... And the nature of the residents...
Yanî betaqlemû... Is that they adapt...
Mû bi-sur'a. Ta'aqulum serî' ciddan ciddan. Not [just] fast. A very very fast adaptation.
Es-sebeb? The reason?
Es-sebeb inna nîhna ya'nî binhibb el-kul. W nihtarim el-kul, ya'nî mahma kan dînû w in kan mazhabo êş min kan. Nihtarim el-kul. W na'am. The reason is that we love everyone. And we respect everyone, I mean whatever their religion is and whatever their sect is, whoever it is. We respect everyone. And yes.
Fî nisbe minkun ya'nî bil-asil kanit meselen mughtariba, kanit bithacir, te'ewwedet tite'amel me'a en-nas bi-hay et- tarîqa. Îstefadtu meselen min ghurbetkun wela tebî'etkun bil-asil hêk? There's a proportion of you, originally, who were expatriates, who were migrating, who got used to dealing with people in this way. Did you benefit, for example, from your expatriation, or is your nature originally like this?
La tebî'etna bil-asil hêk, et-tebî'a bil-asil. La zal ya'nî nîhna 'îndna mughtaribîn bi-Almanya, bi-duwel Urupiyye, w in kan fî Turkiya wên min kan... ya'nî et-ta'aqulum serî'... No, our nature is originally like this. Our nature is originally like this. We still have expatriates in Germany, in European countries, and in Turkey, wherever it is... I mean, the adaptation is fast...
Serî' ciddan ciddan. Very very fast.
Temam. Exactly.
Ghêr hêk? Êş byitmayyazu en-nas keman ghêr inno serî'în et- ta'aqulum? What else? What do people distinguish themselves with, other than being fast in adapting?
Ya'nî... binhibb el-'alem killa... binhibb kul... kil şî mîn biyîcî la-'îndna binhibbu w bihibbuna ya'nî bîsîr te'aluf... I mean... we love all people... we love everyone... whoever comes to us, we love them and they love us, so there is harmony...
Temam. Temam. Okay. Okay.
Lahazt inno hon en-nas ya'nî ktîr basîtîn. Nas ma 'indun ta'qîd. Manun muteserri'în. I noticed that people here are very simple. People don't have complications. They are not hasty.
La la la la niha'iyen. Nîhna 'adeten nicî hadi'în ciddan. W tabî'atna ya'nî hadi'a, hadi'a ciddan ciddan et-tabî'a. No, no, no, absolutely not. We usually are very calm. And our nature is calm, very very calm, our nature.
Temam. Biddî is'alak 'en xedemat el-qarye hon, şlon wad'a? Okay. I want to ask you about the services of the village here, how is the situation?
Xedemat kwayse, ya'nî muxeddeme min kil şî. In kan heşa es- sami'în tab'an, Allah yi'izlaw bidna nitla' hêk 'en el-îtar şway... min nahîyet en-nezafe... fî traktoryat bititla' w 'alem min 'indun keman biyitberra'u. Fî traktoryat biyitberra'u w bitla'u... lillah el-hemd min han-nahiye, nahîyet en-nezafe temam. The services are good, I mean it's serviced with everything. Whether it's—with respect to the listeners, of course, may God honor you if we want to go out of the context a bit—in terms of cleanliness... there are tractors that go out... people from among themselves also volunteer. There are tractors that volunteer and go out... Thank God, from this aspect, the cleanliness aspect is fine.
Meyy, sarf sîhhî, xibiz? Water, sewage, bread?
Sarf sîhhî nîhna ma, bi'tibar min qabil ma kinna mindemmîn lîl-belediyyat, sarf sîhhî ma 'îndna. W el-xibiz 'amyîcî min 'îndna mid-dikkan, fî mendûb. Sewage, we don't have. Since we were not previously included in the municipalities, we don't have sewage. And the bread comes to us from the shop, there's a representative.
Mnên byicîbu? Where do they bring it from?
Byicîbu min 'Efrîn. Min afran 'Efrîn. They bring it from Afrin. From Afrin's bakeries.
Şo se'r er-rabta? What is the price of a bundle?
Hida'aş rghîf ya'nî biddek tqul bi lîrten u nuss turkî. 11 loaves, you could say for two and a half Turkish liras.
Lîrten u nuss turkî. Hellaq 'alaqatkun intu et-tîcariyye, el-iqtisadiyye, el-îdariyye ma' Şerran ya'nî intu btiqdu hawa'ickun bi-Şerran wela btiruha 'ala A'zaz wela 'Efrîn? Aktar şî irtibatkun wên? Two and a half Turkish liras. Now, your commercial, economic, and administrative relations with Sharran... do you fulfill your needs in Sharran or do you go to Azaz or Afrin? Where is your connection mostly?
Iqtisadiyen eyy 'Efrîn... bi-'Efrîn. Economically, yes, Afrin... in Afrin.
Hiye aqrab şî îlku. It's the closest to you.
Na'am aqrab min A'zaz. Yes, closer than Azaz.
Temam. W Şerran bas îdariyen? Okay. And Sharran is just administratively?
Îdariyen... Ewraq er-resmiyye min nahîyet el-meclis ma meclis haz huwe. Administratively... The official papers, in terms of the council and such, that's it.
Haz huwe. Allah ye'tîk el-'afye ya muxtar. That's it. May God give you health, Mukhtar.
Mît ehla w sehle. Baqiyuluk. Mît es-selame, ehla w sehle. Allah yisellmek. A hundred welcomes. I am keeping you. A hundred greetings, welcome. May God keep you safe.
Mîni market, ma rah annsa... A mini-market, I won't forget...
Es-selamu 'aleykum. Peace be upon you.
Wa 'aleykum es-selam w rehmetullah w berekatuh. And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Merhebe ya şebab. Hello guys.
Ehlen u sehlen. Welcome.
Şlonkun? How are you?
Mît ehla w sehle. A hundred welcomes.
Merhebe ya şebab. Hello guys.
Ya ehla bik. Welcome to you.
Nt'erref 'elêk? Can we get to know you?
Hennan Abu Ibrahîm. Hannan Abu Ibrahim.
Ehla w sehle fîk. Min ahel ed-day'a? Welcome. Are you from the village?
Ê min ahel ed-day'a. Yes, from the village.
Hal beqqaliyye îlak? Is this grocery store yours?
Ê. Yes.
Ya sîdî Allah hêk in şa' Allah yiktiblek er-ribih... Sir, may God write for you profit...
Allah yisellmek ya rabb. May God keep you safe, oh Lord.
Hkilî 'en wad' en-nas hon iqtisadiyen, ya'nî min en-nahiye el-iqtisadiyye, şlon wad'un el-me'îşî? Tell me about the economic situation of the people here, I mean from the economic aspect, how is their living situation?
Walla min en-nahiye el-iqtisadiyye wad' en-nas ya'nî... ta'îs, yurse lahu. By God, from the economic aspect, the situation of the people is... miserable, pitiable.
Yurse lahu. Pitiable.
Ya'nî aghlab el-'alem, en-nazih ya'nî... en-nazih wad'o ta'îs bil-murra. I mean most of the people, the displaced... the displaced person's situation is completely miserable.
Tayyeb w ahil ed-day'a? And the village people?
Ahil el-qarye ya'nî, illî 'indu kam şecrat zeytûn bidebbir umuro. W illî qiddamo şaghle, w illî barik keman wad'o kan mitlo mitl en-nazih. The village people, the one who has a few olive trees manages his affairs. And the one who has a job in front of him, and the one who is just sitting, his situation is just like the displaced person's.
Ya'nî ma'naha ahil ed-day'a w en-nazihîn, ya imma byiştighlu biz-zira'a, ya imma wad'un te'ban. So that means the village people and the displaced, either they work in agriculture, or their situation is bad.
Ma wad'un te'ban. Or their situation is bad.
Tayyeb illî ma byiştighil biz-zira'a, 'ayiş kîf 'ayiş? Okay, the one who doesn't work in agriculture, how is he living?
'Ala el-me'unat, 'ala el... On aid, on the...
Ma fî mihan hurre? Ma fî şighil? Are there no free professions? Is there no work?
Ma fî mihan bas ya'nî... ed-day'a zghîre, ma bista'wib inno ykûn fîha mihan. Byitla'u 'ala 'Efrîn. Illî baddo yitla' yitla' 'Efrîn w yinzil masrûf. There are no professions, just... the village is small, it doesn't accommodate having professions. They go up to Afrin. The one who wants to go up, goes up to Afrin, and spends money.
Sahîh. True.
'Umumen, êş fî 'îndak hon şî bitbî'o min intac ed-day'a? Meselen m'aqqul elban icban şî? In general, what do you have here that you sell from the village's production? For example, perhaps dairy, cheese, something?
Walla intac elban icban ma fî bid-day'a hon. By God, dairy and cheese production, there isn't any in the village here.
Êş fî intac, êş intac ed-day'a hon bitbî'o? What production is there, what production of the village do you sell here?
Întac ed-day'a halîyen ma fî şî b-hal-waqet haza ya'nî... Village production currently, there is nothing at this time, I mean...
Bil-mawasim? Êş fî mawasim btinba' hon? In the seasons? What seasons are sold here?
Ê mawasim btinba' hon, in kan 'inib aw lôz, haza huwe el- mawasim. Yes, seasons are sold here, whether it's grapes or almonds, these are the seasons.
Temam. En-nas hon mu'zama btaxud bin-naqdî wela bit-taqsît? Okay. Do most of the people here buy with cash or on credit?
Walla hêk u hêk. By God, both.
El-aktariyye? The majority?
En-nisbe el-kbîre bid-dên. The large proportion is in debt.
Bid-dên. In debt.
Bid-dên, bqa la tcihun ighase la-ybi'uha... aw la-ycihun ydabbiru umurhun... haza l-byicî hawale min berra... ya'nî... In debt, until aid comes for them to sell it... or until they manage their affairs... or someone gets a transfer from outside... you know...
Kam baqqaliyye fî mitl hal hal...? How many grocery stores are there like this...?
Fî tlate. There are three.
Tlate ghêr hay? Three besides this one?
La' tnên ghêr hay, nîhna tlate. No, two besides this one, we are three.
Ma'naha taqrîben ahil ed-day'a byaxdu ihtiyacatun killa mid- day'a ma biruhu ghêr mehel. That means approximately the people of the village get all their needs from the village, they don't go to another place.
Ê teqrîben. Yes, approximately.
Tayyeb xallînî şûf haş-şebb illî hon 'indak keman. Okay, let me see this young man who is here with you too.
Es-selamu 'aleykum. Peace be upon you.
Wa 'aleykum es-selam w rehmetullah w berekatuh. And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Allah ya'tîk el-'afye. May God give you health.
Allah y'afîk. May God give you health.
Nt'erref 'elêk? Can we get to know you?
Bedr Daştar. Abu Ibrahîm. Badr Dashtar. Abu Ibrahim.
Ehla w sehle, inte min hon wela min wên? Welcome, are you from here or from where?
Ene nazih min Hums. I am displaced from Homs.
Ehla w sehle fîk. Welcome.
Heyyak Allah. May God greet you.
Hkilî êş axbarkun intun en-nazihîn? Êş wad'kun hon? Tell me, what is your news, you displaced people? What is your situation here?
Walla wad'na ya'nî... 'al-ighase 'ayişîn. El-wad'... te'ban madiyen. Illî îlo hade berra bib'atlo hawale byistefîd minha. W şighil xefîf. 'Al-mawsim. Mawsim zeytûn niştighil 'ind ashab el-eradî. Mawsim waraq el-'inab, bniştighil nawatir... haza l-amir. By God, our situation... we are living on aid. The situation... is financially tired. The one who has someone outside who sends him a transfer, benefits from it. And light work. In the season. Olive season, we work for the landowners. Grape leaf season, we work as guards... that's the matter.
Nawatir? Guards?
Nawatir na'am. Guards, yes.
Ma bthawilu taxdu meselen tista'ciru aradi, tizra'uha şirake me' ahel ed-day'a? Ya'nî ene meselen lahazt halat ktîr bi- rîf 'Efrîn, el-muheccerîn... Do you not try to, for example, rent lands, plant them in partnership with the village people? I mean, I noticed many cases in the Afrin countryside of displaced people...
Fî ba'd en-nas iştighelit 'ala hal mabda' haz, w ba'd en-nas ma îla qudre tiştighil aw tidfa' ecarat aw hêk. Some people worked on this principle, and some people don't have the ability to work or pay rents or so.
Temam. Temam. Okay. Okay.
Ma fî 'îndkun aghnam mawaşî keza? Don't you have sheep, livestock, and such?
La walla. Ma fî. Ebeden. No, by God. There isn't. Not at all.
Kam 'êlî intu hon? How many families are you here?
Teqrîben ya'nî... Approximately...
Aktar min tilt ed-day'a? More than a third of the village?
Tilt ed-day'a killa muheccerîn. Na'am. A third of the village is all displaced people. Yes.
Min wên? From where?
Min Hums u min Idlib, el-aghlebiyye Hums u Idlib. From Homs and from Idlib, the majority are Homs and Idlib.
Hums u Idlib. Na'am. Homs and Idlib. Yes.
Allah ya'tîkum el-'afye. May God give you health.
Allah yqewwîkum ya rabb. May God give you strength, oh Lord.
Şukran îlak. Thank you.
Allah yiczakum xêr. May God reward you with good.
Es-selamu 'aleykum. Peace be upon you.
(indistinct) (indistinct)
Wênu zeleme ya ba? Where is the man, my child?
Ma ba'rif, 'ammî rah yişteghil. I don't know, my uncle went to work.
Es-selamu 'aleykum. Peace be upon you.
Selam w rehmetullah. Peace and mercy of Allah.
Allah ya'tîkum el-'afye. May God give you health.
Allah y'afîkun ya rabb. May God give you health, oh Lord.
Şlonkun? How are you?
Ehlen bîk ya hella. Welcome to you.
Naymîn? Sleeping?
Walla naymîn neşşob w cayîn. By God, we are sleeping due to the heat and coming...
Allah ya'tîkum el-'afye. May God give you health.
Allah y'afîk ya rabb. May God give you health, oh Lord.
Hellaq intun hon saknîn fî eradî Halubî Saghîr. Now, you are living here in the lands of Halubi Saghir.
Mazbût na'am. Correct, yes.
Şlon wad'kun? How is your situation?
Walla nîhna axî nazihîn w saknîn bhal mantiqa hon. By God, my brother, we are displaced and living in this area here.
Min wên nazihîn? Displaced from where?
Nîhna nazihîn min rîf Heleb el-Cenûbî. We are displaced from the southern countryside of Aleppo.
Ya ehla w sehle, min wên bid-dabt? Welcome, from where exactly?
Min qarye isma Mrêqis. From a village called Mriqis.
Ya ehla w sehle. Qedêş sarkun hon? Welcome. How long have you been here?
Sarlina şî sine w nuss. We have been here for about a year and a half.
Sine w nuss. W şlon wad'kun? A year and a half. And how is your situation?
Walla 'ayişîn nîhna l-hamdullah bhal mantiqa hon ya'nî. By God, we are living, thank God, in this area here, I mean.
Şû btiştighlu meselen, min bidabbirkun min wên? What do you work in, for example? Who provides for you, from where?
Ya'nî bniştighil fî 'ummal, fî ya'nî 'ummal tiştighil... I mean we work, there are workers, there are, I mean, workers working...
Ma 'îndkun aghnam te'a şway wela... Don't you have sheep, come a little closer, or...
Ma 'îndna la aghnam wela 'îndna cêcat ebeden. We don't have sheep, nor do we have chickens at all.
Ebeden. At all.
Kan ewwal 'îndna, w bi-han-nuzûh rahet killa. We used to have before, and with this displacement, they all went away.
Ê... w hellaq faqat 'am tiştighlu bil-a'mal? Yes... and now you only work in labor?
'Ummal... fî ya'nî a'mal... sa'iq mazot... sayyare... w fî fenni eşi'a axûy... muwezzef ya'nî. Workers... there are, I mean, jobs... diesel driver... a car... and there is my brother, an X-ray technician... an employee, I mean.
Kam 'êlî hon? How many families are here?
Hon nîhna arba' 'êlat. Here we are four families.
Arba' 'êlat. Four families.
Ya'nî xellîna nqûl tacemmu' 'aşwa'î. I mean, let's say, a random gathering.
Ê ma... munazzam nizamî keza, hade mtabi'kun my'ammin... Yes, not... organized formally, someone following up on you, securing you...
Kam fered hon fî? How many individuals are there here?
Walla şî tlêtîn. By God, about thirty.
Şî tlêtîn şexes. Bên zghar w kbîr... About thirty people. Between young and old...
Temam. Temam. Exactly. Exactly.
Bticyîkun haciyyatkun min... min Halubî Saghîr? Do your needs come to you from... from Halubi Saghir?
Min Halubî Saghîr aw min Şerran w Kfer Cenne, ya'nî hasab ma wahid rayih btrîqu yicîb. From Halubi Saghir, or from Sharran, and Kafr Jannah, I mean depending on where someone is going on their way to bring it.
Temam. Êş şû şikl m'anatkun hon? Okay. What is the form of your suffering here?
'A-telî inte furas el-'amal qalîle hon wela fî şighil? Did you say that job opportunities are few here, or is there work?
Walla qalîle. Ana bniştighil mi'mar ya'nî. Ê... ma... şighil mitl ewwal ma kan... ya'nî qalîl. By God, they are few. I work as a builder, I mean. Yes... not... work is not like it was before... I mean, few.
Bas fî şighil? But there is work?
Ya'nî hareke labas biha... ibin el-beled yicûz meselen byişteghil byisbet... bas nîhna fatra hon fatra kinna bi- Haram sirna hon, kinna bil-Mansûre, ya'nî ma... I mean, there is some movement... a local might, for example, work and settle... but us, a period here, a period we were in Haram, we became here, we were in Mansoura, I mean not...
Kam nuzûh haz? Which displacement is this?
Haz sar er-rabi' nuzûh. This is the fourth displacement.
Er-rabi'. The fourth.
Biddî minkun nemûzec ya'nî îcabî hêk... hade qidir yitfawwaq 'ala hal wad'... tcawezo li-n-nuzûh sawwa şî... qissit necah? I want from you an example, I mean a positive one... someone who was able to overcome this situation... surpassed the displacement and did something... a success story?
Walla ma ma... ma fî istiqrar la-tincah bi-şî mu'ayyan ya'nî. By God, there isn't... there is no stability to succeed in a specific thing, I mean.
Ma fî istiqrar. There is no stability.
Ma fî istiqrar ya'nî... There is no stability, I mean...
Tayyeb ahamm... ahamm awcuh l-i'aqa 'îndkun şû hiye hon... ghêr inno intun ma 'am tistaqirru, hellaq sarkun sine w nuss hon. Okay, the most important... the most important aspect of the hindrance for you, what is it here... besides the fact that you are not settling, now you've been here for a year and a half.
Ê... Yes...
Walla ma qultlek... ma nîhna ma tibnî hayatek min cdîd... ma fî istiqrar, el-istiqrar ma yxallîk tsawwî şî xalis. By God, I told you... we are not building our life from scratch... there is no stability, the stability doesn't let you do anything at all.
Temam. Temam. Haza l-hêkel lahazt hal xêma, êş mabniyye? Okay. Okay. This structure, I noticed this tent, what is it built from?
Hay el-xême... haza ismu zrub, minsammî nîhna. This tent... this is called a zrub, we call it.
Min wên bcîbu haz? Where do you get this from?
Haz binnezzilu 'awdan, binnezzilu. This we weave from sticks, we weave it.
Min wên ha-l-qisdi hon? From here, I mean, here?
La' haz qadîm 'îndna. No, this is old, we had it.
Mumkin nittalli' 'ala cûwa, fî hade şî? Is it possible to look inside, is there anyone inside?
Tfaddel. La' ma fî hade. Go ahead. No, there is no one.
Bas nşûf şiklha min cûwa. Şikla mumeyyiz lil xême. Just so we can see its shape from the inside. Its shape is distinctive for a tent.
Hay hiya met'ub 'alêha şway ya'nî... This one, it is worked on a bit, I mean...
Tfaddel, fûtu. Go ahead, enter.
Ya rabb. Oh Lord.
Ma şa' Allah wasi'e. Masha'Allah, it's spacious.
Ê hiye lî-l-'êlî biş-şitwiyye, birdaye bin-nuss, nas maselen bi-hal-matrah w nas b-hal-matrah w nas te'rif inte... bitsîr darên ya'nî. Yes, it is for the family in the winter, a curtain in the middle, people, for example, in this place and people in this place, and people, you know... it becomes two houses, I mean.
Haz n-nemat cdîd ya'nî li-byût el-muheccerîn en-nazihîn, haza huwa eş-şikil el-axîr, wela fî eştal ukhra lil-byût? Is this a new pattern, I mean, for the houses of the displaced people, is this the latest shape, or are there other shapes for the houses?
Walla hasab wên hasab ma wahid wislit taqtu, nîhna 'ereb ruhhal min qebil kan 'indna ghanam ebil ma tsîr hal maşakil ya'nî... 'am mitkeyyifîn bhal wad' inno nahnu nihsin nicaddid bis-seken w ma fî eşkal ya'nî mu... By God, it depends where... it depends where one's capacity reached. We are nomadic Arabs, from before we had sheep and camels before these problems happened, I mean... we are adapting to this situation, that we can renew the housing and there are no problems, I mean, not...
Şqad bitkellif? How much does it cost?
...تكلف شي صراحة. ...it costs something, honestly.
والله هي تكلف شي ألف دولار. By God, this costs around a thousand dollars.
ألف دولار. A thousand dollars.
إي. Yes.
الحديد، العوارض، مع الكسوة تبعيتها تكلف شي ألف... The iron, the beams, with its covering, it costs about a thousand...
هاد الزل شو اسمه سميتلي ياه؟ What did you say the name of this reed is?
هاد اسمه الزرب نحن نسميه. We call it zarb.
قصب الزرب هاد؟ This is zarb cane?
هاد من الزل بصير. This is made of reeds.
زل الزرب. Zarb reed.
الزرب إي. Zarb, yes.
هاد بيطلع بمجاري الأنهار، وين بيطلع؟ Does this grow in riverbeds, where does it grow?
أيوا، عحراف المياها. Yes, on the edges of the water.
أنتو بتجيبوه من هون؟ Do you bring it from here?
لا هاد جبناه قديم يعني. جبناه قديم. No, we brought this a long time ago. We brought it a long time ago.
شي حلو، هاد بكلف ألف دولار. It's nice, this costs a thousand dollars.
هالبراكية هي بتكلف ألف دولار. This shack costs a thousand dollars.
كلها، كاملاً. All of it, completely.
كامل إي. Completely?
كامل إي. Completely, yes.
الله يعطيك العافية. شكراً إلك. حياك الله. May God give you health. Thank you. God bless you.
أهلاً وسهلاً بك. You're welcome.
السلام عليكم. Peace be upon you.
مرحبا. إش عم تساوي طبخة للمسا اليوم للإفطار؟ Peace be upon you too, welcome.
مرحبا. إش عم تساوي طبخة للمسا اليوم للإفطار؟ Hello. What meal are you cooking for this evening's Iftar?
والله عم بفرم سلق للإفطار. By God, I am chopping chard for Iftar.
ممكن نحكي معك شوي؟ Can we talk to you for a bit?
أهلاً وسهلاً تفضلوا. Welcome, go ahead.
يا رب. Oh God.
السلام عليكم. Peace be upon you.
وعليكم السلام. Peace be upon you too.
نتعرف عليكي؟ May we know your name?
أم رستم. Um Rostom.
أم رستم. يا أهلاً وسهلاً بأم رستم. Um Rostom. A warm welcome to Um Rostom.
شلونك؟ Welcome to you.
شلونك؟ How are you?
الحمد لله. Praise be to God.
الحمد لله رب العالمين. إش عندك عيلة؟ إش في عندك أولاد احكيلي. Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds. What about your family? Tell me, how many children do you have?
في عندي خمس بنات، وشابين. I have five daughters, and two boys.
الله يخليهم يا رب. الله يخليهم يا رب. May God protect them. May God protect them.
ثلاثة متجوزين بنات، وشابين متجوزين، وعندي بنتين، وحدة صغيرة ووحدة صبية. Three of the daughters are married, and the two boys are married, and I have two girls left, one is young and one is a young woman.
يا ستي الله يخليهم، والله يديمكم فوق راسهم أنتي وأبوهم يا رب. May God protect them, ma'am, and may He keep you and their father watching over them.
شو الطابخة اليوم؟ What are you cooking today?
سلق. Chard.
سلق. السلق هي أكلة شعبية هون؟ Chard. Is chard a traditional dish here?
والله (تضحك) يعني حسب، مو نحن صايمين، إش إجا عبالنا يعني اشتهينا ناكل يعني.. Well (laughs) it depends, since we are fasting, whatever comes to mind, whatever we crave to eat...
إش الأكلات المشهورة بالضيعة هون؟ What are the famous dishes in the village here?
الأكلات المشهورة.. في لوف. The famous dishes... there is Arum.
لوف مشهورة؟ Arum is famous?
إي خاصة بالشتا، يعني قبل هالفترة بالشتا مشهورة بيطبخوها عنا. Yes, especially in winter, I mean before this period in winter, it's famous, they cook it here.
وغير اللوف؟ And other than Arum?
في أكلات كبة. في شيشبرك. There are Kibbeh dishes. There is Shish Barak.
في أكلات شعبية يعني قديمة كتير بيطبخوها عنا هون. There are very old traditional dishes that they cook here.
متل مثلاً سمبوسك، بورانية، كذا هدول. Like for example Samosas, Borani, things like that.
إي هدول بيطبخوها إي. مشهورة. Yes, they cook these. They are famous.
حكيتيلي عاللوف، احكيلي عاللوف، يمكن معظم المشاهدين السوريين ما بيعرفوا شو هو اللوف. You mentioned Arum, tell me about Arum, perhaps most Syrian viewers don't know what Arum is.
اللوف بتشبه سلق. بتشبه سلق وبيفرموها متل هي. Arum is similar to chard. It is similar to chard and they chop it like this.
ومن وين بتنجاب هيدي اللوف، وين يعني؟ And where do you get this Arum from, from where?
بالبرية، بين الشجر. In the wild, between the trees.
أيوا. بالجبل يعني. I see. In the mountain, I mean.
إي بالجبل تنزرع متل الـ... بتطلع متل الخبيزة. Yes, in the mountain, it grows like... it grows like mallow.
بنفرمها، وبنقلي البصل، بنحطه فوق البصل. We chop it, fry the onions, and put it on top of the onions.
فوق البصل وبنرشلها ملح ليمون وشوي لأنه ما بتتاكل هيك. On top of the onions and we sprinkle some citric acid on it because it can't be eaten just like that.
ليش ما بتتاكل بهي الطريقة؟ ليش؟ Why can't it be eaten like that? Why?
فيها نوع متل السم. It has something like a poison.
إي. Yes.
إي. بعد ما نرشلها ملح ليمون.. بنحطله مي. Yes. After we sprinkle citric acid... we add water to it.
كاسة كتيرة مي وبنقلي فيه لبين ما يخلص هالمي. A large cup of water, and we boil it in it until this water is gone.
ينشف نهائي. Until it dries up completely.
ينشف نهائي. أيوا. وبنرجع نحطله ملح ليمون تاني. It dries up completely. Yes. And we add citric acid to it again.
مرة تانية كمان. A second time too.
إي مرة تانية نحطله.. Yes, a second time we add it...
تقضوا عالسم يعني. To eliminate the poison.
إي. ومرة تانية بنحطله مي وينشف. Yes. And a second time we add water and let it dry.
تالت مرة بنحطله سماق. A third time we add sumac.
سماق. Sumac.
إي. مية السماق. بنحطله مية السماق وملح. Yes. Sumac water. We add sumac water and salt to it.
وبعد ما يروح هالسم منه بنرشله شوية برغل. And after this poison is gone from it, we sprinkle some bulgur on it.
بنرشله شوية برغل وفي منهم بيحطوله توم. We sprinkle some bulgur on it, and some people add garlic to it.
إي بتتاكل يعني متل الشوربة ولا بتصير مثلاً متل المجدرة؟ Does it get eaten like a soup or does it become like Mujaddara for example?
لا متل الشوربة. No, like a soup.
متل الشوربة. Like a soup.
وصحة وهنا عقلبكم. Yes.
وصحة وهنا عقلبكم. Bon appétit to you.
أهلاً وسهلاً. Welcome.
وبتتاكل سخنة طبعاً. And it's eaten hot, of course.
أهلاً وسهلاً. Welcome.
يا ستي الله يتقبل منكم، وإن شاء الله هيك إفطار شهي و... Ma'am, may God accept your fasting, and hopefully a delicious Iftar and...
أهلاً وسهلاً. Welcome.
إن شاء الله بنشوفكم في العام القادم يعني وضعكم أحسن من هيك بكتير. God willing, we will see you next year in a much better situation than this.
إن شاء الله. أهلاً وسهلاً. God willing. Welcome.
الله يعطيك العافية أم رستم. May God give you health, Um Rostom.
الله يعافيك. May God give you health.
شكراً إلك. Thank you.
عفواً. You're welcome.
للوصول لـ حلوبي صغير في طريقين، والطريقين بيبدأوا من طريق إعزاز عفرين. To reach Halubi Saghir, there are two roads, and both roads start from the Azaz-Afrin road.
الطريق الأول من مفرق كفرجنة. The first road is from the Kafr Jannah intersection.
فينا نجي عليها باتجاه الشمال، وبنوصل بشكل مباشر لقرية حلوبي صغير عن طريق الطريق المؤدي إلى سد ميدانكي. We can take it heading north, and we reach the village of Halubi Saghir directly via the road leading to the Meydanki Dam.
هلا أمامنا الآن ظهرت حلوبي صغير. Now, in front of us, Halubi Saghir has appeared.
بيفصلنا عنا بعد الحرش بيفصلنا عنا وادي. It is separated from us, after the woods, it is separated from us by a valley.
وادي صغير الآن ما فيه مياه. A small valley that currently has no water.
لاحظوا بساتين الزيتون المحيطة في القرية، القرية مبنية على هضبة. Notice the olive groves surrounding the village; the village is built on a hill.
على يسارنا الآن واضح تماماً سد ميدانكي. To our left now, the Meydanki Dam is completely clear.
وقرية ميدانكي الواقعة خلفه. And the village of Meydanki located behind it.
الآن صرنا في القرية. Now we are in the village.
هذه القرية لاحظوا قديش جميلة. Look how beautiful this village is.
على يميننا المقبرة وأيضاً طريق يؤدي إلى قلب القرية. To our right is the cemetery, and also a road leading into the heart of the village.
هاد الطريق الآن نحن ماشيين فيه بيخترق القرية وصولاً إلى الطرف الآخر المؤدي إلى كفرجنة. This road we are walking on right now cuts through the village, reaching the other side that leads to Kafr Jannah.
بقاليات قليلة جداً موجودة في القرية، في تلات بقاليات فقط. There are very few grocery stores in the village, only three grocery stores.
بسيطة. They are simple.
القرية بناء بيوتها من النمط القديم الارتجالي. The village, the construction of its houses is of the old, improvised style.
اللي.. يعني ما فينا نحكم على طابع خاص... Which... I mean, we can't judge it by a specific character...
لهادا البناء، ما في شكل خاص مميز لهادا البناء. For this construction, there is no distinct, special shape for this construction.
إنما هو بناء ارتجالي عفوي بتتحكم فيه تضاريس الطبيعة. Rather, it is a spontaneous, improvised construction governed by the terrain of nature.
تقريباً نحن وصلنا الآن... لآخر القرية من الجهة الشرقية. We have now almost reached... the end of the village from the eastern side.
الطريق منحدر بشكل كتير كبير، لكنه جميل. The road slopes down very steeply, but it is beautiful.
لهون بتكون انتهت جولتنا هالأسبوع اللي قدمناها إلكن من قرية حلوبي صغير اللي كنا فيها معكن. Here concludes our tour this week, which we presented to you from the village of Halubi Saghir, where we were with you.
رح نكون معكن إن شاء الله في الأسبوع القادم بقرية جديدة وجولة جديدة. We will be with you, God willing, next week in a new village and a new tour.
من هون للأسبوع القادم بدنا منكم تزودونا بأفكاركم وآرائكم وتعليقاتكم حول هالجولة. From now until next week, we want you to provide us with your thoughts, opinions, and comments about this tour.
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته. May the peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you.