Mulberry Vodka with Pepper, or How Armenian Grigor Cured Azerbaijani Enlightener Mirza Jalil

Hamida Khanum – the wife of Azerbaijani enlightener and satirical writer Jalil Huseyngulu oglu Mammadguluzadeh (Mirza Jalil) – in her memoirs about the illness and the last years of her husband’s life writes how the impotence of doctors to cure the sick writer was overcome with Armenian mulberry vodka and pepper. This was reported by the Azerbaijani website Manera.az.

According to the story, in 1910, Mirza Jalil got very sick – he had back and left leg ache. The medicines prescribed by doctors and recommendations at some point became ineffective. Jalil would suffer a lot, lose weight, and age. Then, varpet (master) Grigor arrived in the village, bringing mulberry vodka with red pepper to cure Jalil.

“Twice a day, he smeared this solution on his aching foot and wrapped it in a cloth to keep it warm. A month later, he completely recovered,” Hamida Khanum wrote in her memoirs.

Jalil Huseyngulu oglu Mammadguluzadeh was an Azerbaijani journalist, educator, satirist, and the founder of critical realism in Azerbaijani literature. Armenians in his works occupied central roles, personifying all the positive, fundamental, and exemplary features that characterize the community, ethnicity, and people.

Mirza Jalil drew comparisons between Armenians and “Muslims” (current Azerbaijanis), demonstrating the civilizational difference between these two nations in such works as “Preaching of Akhund and Priest”, “Two Pillows Nearby”, “Master Zeynal”, and many others.

Panorama.am