Qewls: The Sacred Hymns of the Yazidi Faith
Qewls are the sacred hymns of the Yazidi faith, sung by hereditary qewwals and carrying its oldest teachings. Discover the Yazidi tradition of the holy word.
Read article →Kurdish History Journal
Kurdish Art and Culture
Articles filed under Kurdish Art and Culture.
Tawûsî Melek: The Peacock Angel, Light and Yazidi Religious Life
Tawûsî Melek is central to Yazidi devotion. Community explanations, sacred hymn research and accounts of light at Lalish show how belief is transmitted and lived, beyond a single creation-story retelling.
Read article →Memê Alan: Oral Storytelling, Variant Endings and the Journey to Mem û Zîn
Memê Alan is a Kurdish romance carried through the voices of storytellers. Its lovers, journeys and supernatural encounters survive in different regional tellings, closely associated with Kurmanji-speaking communities.
Read article →Mem u Zin: The Greatest Kurdish Love Epic Explained
Mem u Zin, Ehmede Xani's 17th-century epic, is the great Kurdish love story and national allegory. Discover the tale of the lovers parted even in death.
Read article →Shahmaran: Serpent Stories, Kurdish Interpretations and Mardin Glass Art
Shahmaran is a human–serpent figure whose stories connect secrecy, betrayal and knowledge. Recorded versions differ, while Mardin’s glass painters and Kurdish cultural interpretations give the figure continuing significance.
Read article →Zahhak: The Serpent-Tyrant in Kurdish and Iranic Mythology
Zahhak, the snake-shouldered tyrant of Kurdish and Iranic myth, fed human brains to the serpents on his shoulders until Kawa and Fereydun overthrew him.
Read article →Newroz and Kurdish Mythology: Kawa, Fire and Changing Traditions
Newroz brings the Kurdish new year together with stories of liberation. Its Kawa legend, classical literary parallels and public celebrations reveal a tradition whose meanings have developed across generations.
Read article →Kawa the Blacksmith: The Shahnameh Story and Kurdish Newroz
Kawa is a legendary opponent of Zahhak whose story has been retold in Persian epic, oral traditions and Kurdish Newroz literature. The refused declaration, apron-banner and changing accounts of liberation explain his enduring importance.
Read article →Kurdistan: The Mountain That Fed the World
The Kurdish mountains (Taurus and Zagros) are at the centre of the Fertile Crescent — the origin zone of wheat, olive, fig, grape, and the pistachio genus. 151 articles documenting the Kurdish kitchen: the oldest continuous food culture in the Fertile Crescent zone. The mountain that fed the world.
Read article →The Kurdish Table at the End of the World: Food, Memory, and the Kitchen That Cannot Be Erased
The Kurdish kitchen survived suppression, displacement, and exile because food cannot be confiscated. One hundred and fifty articles document what the Kurdish mountains gave the world and how the Kurdish people carried their table into every exile. The Kurdish table does not empty.
Read article →Kellep aça: The Amed Dawn Soup and the Last Part of the Lamb
Kellep aça (kelle paça) is the Kurdish lamb’s head and trotter soup of Amed (Diyarbakır) — cooked overnight for 6–7 hours and served before sunrise to laborers and workers. Listed as a traditional Diyarbakır dish. The humblest expression of the Kurdish nose-to-tail tradition: büryan glorifies the carcass; kellep aça honours the head.
Read article →Karpûz: Amed Watermelon, Growers and the Tigris Gardens
Amed’s watermelon is more than an oversized festival exhibit. Its history brings together local growing methods, named plant populations, the Tigris landscape and the farmers who maintain them. The registered Diyarbakır product and the wider province’s watermelon crop should be distinguished.
Read article →Wild Grapes in the Zagros: Habitats, Conservation and Origins
Wild grapevines in the Zagros are documented plant populations with value for conservation and crop research. Their history connects regional habitats with the wider development of viticulture; archaeological wine residues and genetic models answer different questions about that development.
Read article →Wild Grapevines in the Zagros: Genetic Diversity, Conservation and Early Wine Evidence
Wild-grape research in Baneh, Piranshahr and Sardasht documents valuable regional diversity. Genetic sampling, cultivated varieties and ancient wine residues answer different questions and should be read with their specific locations, dates and limits.
Read article →Giya: Kurdish Mountain Herbs, Food Uses and Drying
Mountain plants enter Kurdish kitchens in several forms: fresh greens, brined cheese ingredients and dried leaves for winter dishes. Field research helps distinguish those uses, while food-preservation guidance explains how culinary herbs can be dried.
Read article →Şekirklo: The Kurdish Sugar Candy and the Sweetness That Opens Every Door
Şekirklo (klo) is the Kurdish homemade sugar candy — caramelised sugar cut into cubes, often with sesame or walnuts, served with tea as the opening gesture of Kurdish welcome. In Kurdish hospitality, sweet things come first. Şekirklo is the first taste every guest receives, the smallest and most direct expression of Kurdish hospitality.
Read article →Helise: The Kurdish Wedding Wheat and the Cauldron That Takes All Night
Helise (keşkek) is the Kurdish wedding wheat — whole wheat berries and lamb cooked overnight in huge cauldrons, then beaten with wooden mallets at dawn until silky. UNESCO-recognised, specifically documented from Ağrı (Kurdish Agiri, Mount Ararat) and across Bakur. The final article in the Kurdish wheat trilogy.
Read article →Firik (Freekeh): Green Wheat, Roasting and Regional Pilafs
Firik is wheat harvested before full maturity and processed for its smoky character. A production specification, two pilaf methods and a cook’s Antakya memories explain the ingredient without inventing a precise ancient origin.
Read article →Saqez: Wild Pistachio Resin, Kurdish Livelihoods and Forest Care
Saqez is wild-pistachio resin with a documented place in Kurdish forest livelihoods. Historical trade, manufactured gum, regeneration studies and grafting explain different parts of its story.
Read article →Rob-e Hînar: Kurdish Pomegranate Molasses, Harvest Work and Cooking
Rob-e hînar is concentrated pomegranate juice used for a sharp, fruity sweetness in cooking. Reports from Akre, Daquq and Halabja show how its production connects family labour, autumn harvests and the economic pressures facing orchard growers.
Read article →Mîvanperwerî: The Kurdish Art of Hospitality and the Table That Never Empties
Mîvanperwerî is the Kurdish art of hospitality — guest-nurturing — expressed through food, time, and the table that never empties. It is the ethical foundation of the Kurdish kitchen: a guest must be fed, and it is shameful not to serve them well. The central principle of Kurdish food culture.
Read article →Pepper Paste in Diyarbakır: Biber Salçası and Regional Food Traditions
Local production, a registered meftune recipe and a cook’s account explain how red pepper paste belongs to Diyarbakır and a wider food region. Drying methods, cooking uses and storage require separate attention.
Read article →Wild Mushrooms in Kurdistan: Names, Habitats and Food Traditions
Ethnographic interviews and fungal surveys document different local names, woodland and open habitats, and distinct mushroom and desert-truffle traditions.
Read article →Bih: The Kurdish Quince and the Fruit from Heaven
Bih (beh) is the Kurdish quince — known as the ‘fruit from heaven’ in Rojhelat, with its name meaning goodness. Used in Kurdish lamb stew (khoresh-e bih), prized quince reçel, and quince paste. The last orchard fruit of the Kurdish autumn, transforming under heat from sour to amber-gold.
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