Zoya Yunoevna Semenduyeva (; ; 20 October 1929 – 9 April 2020) was a
Soviet
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
and
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
i poet. She wrote in a language of the
Mountain Jew
Mountain Jews are the Mizrahi Jewish subgroup of the eastern and northern Caucasus, mainly Azerbaijan, and various republics in the Russian Federation: Chechnya, Ingushetia, Dagestan, Karachay-Cherkessia, and Kabardino-Balkaria. Mountain Jew ...
(
Juhuri
Judeo-Tat or Juhuri (, , ) is a Judeo-Persian dialect and the traditional language spoken by the Mountain Jews in the eastern Caucasus Mountains, especially Azerbaijan, parts of Russia and today in Israel. It belongs to the southwestern group of ...
). She was a member of
Dagestan
Dagestan ( ; ; ), officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Fede ...
Writers' Union.
Biography
Zoya Semenduyeva was born Zoya Yunoevna Haimova to Naamo and Yuno Haimov in
Derbent
Derbent, also historically known as Darband, or Derbend, is the southernmost city in Russia. It is situated along the southeastern coast of the Dagestan, Republic of Dagestan, occupying the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucas ...
USSR
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. She moved with her parents to
Makhachkala
Makhachkala, previously known as Petrovskoye (1844–1857) and Port-Petrovsk (1857–1921), or by the local Kumyk language, Kumyk name of Anji, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Dagestan, Russia. ...
, where she studied accounting.Памяти поэтессы Зои Семендуевой STMEGI In 1950 in Makhachkala, she started to work for the company "Dagknigoizdat", where she met her husband-to-be, Akhom (Alexey) Eudovich Semenduyev, and who was the head of the Edition Department.Зоя Юноевна Семендуева – член Союза писателей Дагестана Isroil.info
Career
Zoya Semenduyeva was constantly in a creative environment, she once decided to try her hand at poetry. Her first experiments were approved by
Mountain Jews
Mountain Jews are the Mizrahi Jews, Mizrahi Jewish subgroup of the eastern and northern Caucasus, mainly Azerbaijan, and various republics in the Russian Federation: Chechnya, Ingushetia, Dagestan, Karachay-Cherkessia, and Kabardino-Balkaria. M ...
(
Juhuri
Judeo-Tat or Juhuri (, , ) is a Judeo-Persian dialect and the traditional language spoken by the Mountain Jews in the eastern Caucasus Mountains, especially Azerbaijan, parts of Russia and today in Israel. It belongs to the southwestern group of ...
) poets
Hizgil Avshalumov
Hizgil Davidovich Avshalumov (; 16 January 1913 – 17 September 2001) was a Soviet novelist, poet and playwright. He wrote in languages of the Mountain Jews ( Juhuri) and Russian. He was awarded the Suleyman Stalsky award. He was a USSR U ...
and
Sergey Izgiyaev
Sergey Davidovich Izgiyayev (; ; born 22 November 1922 – 27 July 1972) was a member of the Union of Soviet Writers, the author of nine books of poetry and five plays, the translator and creator of lyrics for more than thirty songs (nine of which ...
. on the pages of the almanac (
Juhuri
Judeo-Tat or Juhuri (, , ) is a Judeo-Persian dialect and the traditional language spoken by the Mountain Jews in the eastern Caucasus Mountains, especially Azerbaijan, parts of Russia and today in Israel. It belongs to the southwestern group of ...
: "Ватан Советиму") - "Soviet Motherland", published in the Mountain Jewish language. The first collection (Juhuri: "Войгей дуьл") - "Command of the heart" was published in 1967, and before her repatriation to Israel, Zoya Semenduev published 10 collections of poetry. She wrote about her people, about love, friendship, about war and peace. Her works have been published in Moscow literary magazines. Two of her collections were released in Russian - "The Winner People" and "Song, Dream and Love."
The composers Khizgil Khanukaev and
Yuno Avshalumov
Yuno Zakharyevich Avshalumov ( ; 1934–1981) was a Soviet composer, conductor, and teacher of Mountain Jewish descent. In recognition of his contributions to Soviet culture, he was honored with the titles of "Honored Worker of Culture of the Dage ...
wrote songs to the verses of Zoya Semenduyeva.
Aliyah
In December 1992, Zoya Semenduyeva immigrated to Israel. In Israel, her poems were published in the collection (
Juhuri
Judeo-Tat or Juhuri (, , ) is a Judeo-Persian dialect and the traditional language spoken by the Mountain Jews in the eastern Caucasus Mountains, especially Azerbaijan, parts of Russia and today in Israel. It belongs to the southwestern group of ...
: "Говлеи") - "Deliverance", and in 1998 she released a new collection of poems "At the Obelisk", which included works in Juhuri and translations of her poems into Russian. In 2007, the book (Juhuri: "Духдер эн дуь бебе") "Daughter of two fathers"Daughter of two fathers/Zoya Semenduev /ref> was published, which includes the play of the same name and fairy tales. Zoya Semenduyeva was also published in the Israeli literary and journalistic almanac (Juhuri: "Мирвори") - "Pearls". In 1999, Zoya Semenduyeva became a member of the Union of Writers - Natives of the Caucasus (
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
).
Since 2008 and until her death, Zoya Semenduyeva and her husband participated in the project of translating the
Kfar Yona
Kfar Yona () is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel. It is located between the cities Netanya and Tulkarm, about 8 km east of Netanya in the central junction between Highway 6 (Israel), Highway 6 and Highway 4 ...
. Her daughters Tamara and Svetlana also write poetry, and her grandson Daniel Semenduyev translates poetry from Hebrew into Russian and from Russian into Hebrew.
Death
Semenduyeva died on 9 April 2020, in
Netanya
Netanya () () or Natanya (), is a city in the "Planet Bekasi" Central District (Israel), Setanyahu of Israel, Israel BAB ih, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between the Poleg stre ...
,
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
Judeo-Tat literature
Judeo-Tat literature is the literature of the Mountain Jews in the Juhuri language.
History
Judeo-Tat literature is rich in folklore. The most popular narrators of folklore at the beginning of the 20th century were Mordecai ben Avshalom (1860 ...