Chaldean Culture
Ever since he can remember, Fadi Babbie has had warm memories of his family’s New Year’s Eve traditions, celebrated in his birthplace of Baghdad, Iraq. Not surprisingly, many of his memories are related to the food that was served.
The topic of dating is highly debated and ever changing; this comes as no surprise because it is a universal experience. Most of us have dated, will date, or are currently dating. However, this idea of dating is rather new to the Chaldean community, when compared to the “courting” our parents experienced.
Chaldeans have lived and learned in Michigan for over 100 years. During that time, they have brought with them and transmitted their culture and traditions, including how knowledge is passed down and inherited. The defining characteristics of Chaldeans as it relates to education are family and community.
“Mommy’s Salad,” as it was named by her children, is not just a salad—it’s a meal. On most dinner menus, salads tend to play a supporting role, served in small portions at the start of a meal. However, West Bloomfield resident Aida Yousif has taken the concept of a salad to a new level by elevating it to a full meal. Among family and friends, “Mommy’s Salad” is a favorite and has been at the top of the request list for many years.
Martin Luther is credited with saying, “Whoever drinks beer, he is quick to sleep; whoever sleeps long, does not sin; whoever does not sin, enters Heaven. Thus, let us drink beer!” Beer is one of the oldest drinks known to man. Before Adolphus Busch, Arthur Amstel, and Samuel Adams – before Budweiser, Miller Lite, Coors, Michelob, the English Newcastle Brown Ale, the Irish Guinness, the Dutch Heineken, the Mexican Corona, the Belgian Stella Artois, and the Australian Fosters, there was Mesopotamian beer from Sumer.
Diya Butros Sliwa, a Chaldean political activist, lives in Erbil, Iraq, but he gives talks around the world on human rights. He visited North America recently where he gave talks and interviews in Michigan, in Canada, and he also plans to travel to Washington, DC. His goal is to bring awareness to the status of the rights of religious and national minorities in Iraq and Kurdistan.
The people sitting in the audience of the Niles Township High School board meeting focused all of their energy on the event that would take place in just a few minutes. They were adorned with joleh d’khomala, a traditional Assyrian outfit that shows off bright colors, embroidered patterns, and feathers coming out of the headdress.
In 2020, Nathan Pawl’s son, an honor-roll student, felt attacked because he wouldn’t wear a mask in school. This was in Walled Lake School District, and when Pawl, the father, tried to resolve the situation, he felt frustrated that he wasn’t being heard. Pawl then decided to act. He teamed up with Monica Yatooma, a former Oakland County Commissioner candidate, and Matthew Nelson, a Walled Lake parent, and they founded the Great Schools Initiative (GSI), a non-profit organization based in Michigan and dedicated to advocating for premium public education.
Michigan is such a beautiful state. We are surrounded on three sides by water – fresh, glorious water – and have the advantage of experiencing all four seasons of the year, sometimes in the same week! (You may have seen memes on social media that say, “Everyone: “You can’t have all four seasons in one week.” Michigan: “Hold my Faygo.”)
Born in Alqosh, Iraq, Raad Hakeem, 32, has been playing the tamboura since the age of eleven. Known in Turkish as saz, the tamboura is a musical stringed instrument with a long neck and round body. It belongs to the lute family and is known for its rich, resonant sound. It is commonly used in Indian classical music, although it has found its way into various genres of world music and fusion styles due to its unique tone and versatile nature.
Sometimes a career change can happen before a career even starts. Such was the case for Lamar Kashat, a would-be pediatrician who is now a police sergeant with aspirations to be the top cop in Sterling Heights.
Sally was born in Kirkuk, Iraq but spent most of her childhood in Baghdad before immigrating to the United States about 50 years ago. Going back a few generations, her family roots lie further east. Sally’s maternal grandmother, Rosa, grew up in an area that now falls within the borders of Iran, in a vibrant Chaldean community that remains to this day. It was from this region where Biryani, a long-time favorite Chaldean dish, first emerged.
The First-Time Filmmaker Sessions Online Film Festival is proud to present The Great American Family, a documentary that sheds light on the injustices of the American criminal justice system. Directed, written, and produced by Weam Namou, this film tells the story of Dawn Hanna, who was sentenced to six years in federal prison for having conspired to send telecom equipment to Iraq during the sanctions.
ALQOSH, Iraq — On 4 April, the Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian people of Alqosh, located in northern Nineveh Plains in Iraq, held the Alqosh Market Festival. The event was attended by residents from other regions and Alqosh residents who came from the diaspora.
On Saturday, March 18, Fr. Marcus Shammami and Fr. John Jaddou led a group of hikers to Saugatuck, Michigan for their annual Lenten hike. The day started off with Mass being celebrated at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Douglas, Michigan, before heading to Saugatuck Dunes State Park for a 4-hour, 6.2-mile hike along Lake Michigan. While the trails were cold and snowy, it did not stop the hikers from enjoying the peacefulness of the nature around them and soaking in Jesus every step of the way.
The Christians of Iraq are one of the oldest continuous Christian communities in the world. The vast majority are indigenous Aramaic-speaking people who descend from ancient Babylonia, Chaldea, and Assyria, and follow the Syriac Christian tradition.
Easter is a time for new beginnings and with that, why not try new family traditions this Easter season? While I am not suggesting replacing all your annual Easter traditions such as Easter Mass and family gatherings, there are ways to spice them up a bit with a new twist. You may even find yourself a new family Easter tradition!
CCF President Martin Manna had the great privilege of meeting with King Abdullah of Jordan at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC earlier this month. The King relayed that Iraq is a priority for him and invited Martin to meet with him in Amman to discuss long-term sustainability for Christians in Iraq.
When Genevieve Kashat was 3 years old, she watched with awe as her mother made a rich, delicious, and familiar banana bread for her family to enjoy. Years later, this moment would blossom into something much greater: a budding baking career and a shot at Food Network stardom. The road from mom’s banana bread to the Kids Baking Championship requires just the right mixture of talent, hard work, creativity, and inspiration.
In October 2022, Dr. Paulo Botta visited San Salvador de Jujuy and El Carmen, two towns of the Jujuy province in the north of Argentina. There he met with descendants of Chaldean Iranians who immigrated to Argentina between 1900 and 1930. Botta, a professor of Social Sciences affiliated with the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina, explained, “Nobody even knows about that group of Chaldean families who arrived here almost a century ago.”
culture & history
Clothes and costumes have tales; they are tales that have symbolic meanings deeply rooted in the collective thought of groups of people. These tales cross the boundaries of geography and the logic of history to form, in some of them, a part of the national identity.
For Mesopotamians, music was an intrinsic part of the world around them, rather than a form of entertainment. Music enabled Mesopotamians to have a direct and intimate relationship with their pantheon of Gods, whose own celestial essence was believed to be musical.
The Mandaeans are one of the world’s oldest and smallest religious communities. They are also known as Sabaeans (“conversion by submersion”) because of the importance of baptism to their teachings.
Hand gestures are such a part of everyday life that we often don’t even notice them. They have become a habit inherent in world culture and are an integral part of communication.
As we conclude this series of articles about Christian Genocide in the 21st century, we honor the victims so that the horrors of what took place is never lost to history.
Away from home, one comes to better understand what “home” is and what home means. One does not fully understand what it means be a citizen of the United States until they have seen it from a distance, from a completely different country.
Iraq is as complex and fascinating as its history. There is a strong link between the two. Iraq is home to many religions and many ethnic backgrounds. Unfortunately, it is also home to many conflicts, with and without the involvement of foreign parties.
In this article we shed light on the success story of another pioneer, a publisher, a calligrapher, a caricaturist who embarked on a creative venture with limited resources and minimal support.
The emergence of ISIS group in Iraq was the latest and at the same time one of the darkest episodes in the series of modern Iraq’s turbulent history. This bloody and horrible violent wave that embodied in the form of such terrorist organization, which committed all kinds of brutality against humanity, forced ordinary Iraqi people from all its heterogenic populations, together with experts to question the possibility of peaceful coexistence, stability, and continuance in living together within the border of an integrated Iraq.
Costumes are an important part of the history of our heritage. They express our traditions, reflect the nature of our environment, its diversity, and the beauty of its colors. Costume styles are associated with the development of life, agriculture, work, and the needs of the village.
Part II: The Nineveh Plains of northern Iraq are home to a diverse mix of minority ethnic and religious groups. Their roots, their heritage, their homes, and their most holy shrines are all right there in this brutal but beautiful land known as the “Cradle of Civilization.” It is located north-east of Mosul, and consists of three districts: Al-Hamdaniya, Al-Shekhan, and Telkaif. Most of its residents are Christians, Kurds, Yazidis and Shabak.
Chaldean, Syriac, and Assyrian Christians represent some of the oldest Christian communities in the world. Their culture and religious identity are rooted in Mesopotamia’s Sumer, Babylon, and Assyrian civilizations. In recent years, Christians in Iraq have been victimized by the Baath Party, the Islamic State, and Shiite-led governments in Baghdad.
In just a few decades of the 20th century, most of the Jewish communities - some with histories stretching back thousands of years - have been 'ethnically cleansed' from Arab countries. They fled not war, but systematic persecution.
In part two of this story, we continue our travels in the new world and cover the experiences, the challenges, the ups and down, special situations, the humor, the temper, and the characters that make it so colorful and memorable.
When you listen to journalist Fouad Manna, you hear the past come alive through the voices of colorful characters, contemporaries, clergy, and community members. For half a century, Fouad Manna has been recognized for his superiority in the publication business, in cultural preservation, and in defense of Iraqi memory.
By late 2004, the time had come to say “goodbye” to our beloved Southfield Manor building. Let’s take the time to celebrate and remember the incredible 25 years we spent in our original home. Buildings come and go but the community goes on, leaving with us something special, carved in our memory. Southfield Manor was a landmark of its time, having quickly become a hub for all major events and community functions and the center for the Chaldean Iraqi American Association of Michigan (CIAAM) activities.
Committees are the engine of success. Southfield Manor operated with several active committees. One of the most important committees was the board of directors, which consisted of nine elected members to represent the general membership. Their duties were always conducted in the best interest of the membership and in oversight of all club administrative policies and activities.
In this piece, the words and names come alive and speak to us about the golden days of Southfield Manor.
Entertainment and weddings were some of the main purposes to frequent the club. Group gatherings are an extraordinary way to bond with friends over food, beverages, and card games in the nighttime. Playing cards at the club was a huge attraction and an enjoyable social activity for our members.
The “Club,” another name for Southfield Manor, was created 45 years ago as a community center and a venue for entertainment; generally, to create social ties and an ongoing sense of cohesion.