Jamshid: The Golden King Whose Fall Made Way for Zahhak
Jamshid is the golden king of Iranic myth whose long reign founded the arts of civilization and the first Newroz, until pride cost him the farr and raised Zahhak.
Read article →Kurdish History Journal
Kurdish Art and Culture
Articles filed under Kurdish Art and Culture.
Dewreshe Evdi: A Kurdish Epic of Love, War and Loyalty
Dewreshe Evdi is the Kurdish epic of the warrior Dewresh, his horse Hadban and a tragic love barred by faith, sung by the dengbej. Discover the legend.
Read article →Faridun: The King Who Chained the Serpent-Tyrant
Faridun is the Iranic hero-king who, with Kawa the Blacksmith, overthrew the tyrant Zahhak and chained him beneath Mount Damavand. Discover the legend.
Read article →Rostam: The Greatest Hero of the Shahnameh
Rostam is the mightiest hero of the Shahnameh: champion of the Seven Labours, the tragic father of Sohrab, saved and aided by the Simurgh. Discover Rostam.
Read article →Simurgh and Kurdish Sîmir: Epic Guardian, Folktale Helper and Mystical Bird
The Simurgh appears in Iranian religious writing, Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, Kurdish folktales and Attar’s mystical poetry. These sources give the bird different roles: foster parent, healer, traveller between worlds and the goal of a spiritual journey.
Read article →Dengbêj: Kurdish Singer-Poets, Kilam, Women’s Voices and Recorded Memory
Dengbêjî joins narrative, vocal skill and social memory. Fieldwork with performers and collectors shows how songs move between gatherings, homes, cassettes and public stages, with meanings shaped by each setting.
Read article →Beyta Dimdim: The Siege, the Singers and a Changing Kurdish Epic
The Dimdim epic transforms the siege of 1609–10 into sung narrative. Its surviving texts and recorded performances reveal different voices, religious language and ways of remembering resistance.
Read article →Siyabend and Xecê: A Kurdish Romance in Song, Print and Film
Siyabend û Xecê is a Kurdish love narrative associated with Sîpanê Xelatê, or Mount Süphan. Singers, collectors and writers have preserved different versions. A 1932 text, later literary adaptations and a film record reveal how the story changes as it moves between forms.
Read article →The Kalam-e Saranjam: The Sacred Book of the Yarsani Faith
The Kalam-e Saranjam is the sacred scripture of the Yarsani (Ahl-e Haqq): the revealed poems of Sultan Sahak, written in Gorani and sung at the jam. Discover it.
Read article →The Yarsani Jam: Sacred Assembly, Offerings and Tanbur Music
How the jam brings together ritual service, shared food, sacred songs and community knowledge, with distinctions drawn from published fieldwork.
Read article →Mustafa Dawan (Mustafa Daudani): Azrael, Sacred Verse and Yarsan Ritual
Mustafa Dawan, also called Mustafa Daudani, belongs to the sacred figures of Yarsan tradition. Early Iraqi fieldwork and a study of religious verse document his association with Azrael, divine judgement and communal offerings during bereavement.
Read article →Dawud in Yarsan: The Dalil, Gray Rider and Guran Traditions
Dawud’s role as dalil connects spiritual guidance with stories of rescue and sacred places. Scholarly accounts distinguish the pir–dalil relationship from regional narratives and varying identifications across cycles of manifestation.
Read article →Pir Musi: Sacred Scribe, Recorded Deeds and Yarsani Texts
Pir Musi, also written Pir Musa or Pîr Mûsî, is remembered in Yarsani tradition as a sacred scribe associated with Sultan Sahak. Accounts of his record of human deeds connect sacred authority with membership and moral responsibility. His place in the tradition also opens a window onto poetry, oral teaching and the varied history of written Yarsani collections.
Read article →Pir Benjamin (Binyamin): The Spiritual Guide in Yarsani Tradition
Pir Benjamin is a sacred companion associated with Sultan Sahak and the model of the Yarsani spiritual master. Scholarship connects his role with initiation, covenant and the transmission of religious knowledge.
Read article →Khatun-e Razbar: The Divine Mother of the Yarsani Faith
Khatun-e Razbar is the only female being of the Yarsani Haft Tan and the virgin mother of Sultan Sahak. Discover the divine mother of the Ahl-e Haqq faith.
Read article →Haft Tan: The Seven Companions in Yarsani Sacred Tradition
Haft Tan, also written Haftan, names a group of seven holy beings in Yarsani and Kaka‘i traditions. Their identities are understood through sacred narratives and recurring manifestations. Accounts vary, so the Seven Companions should be distinguished from other groups of seven and from a universally fixed list.
Read article →The Kurdish Tanbur: Instrument, Yarsan Devotion and Recorded Repertoires
The tanbur is a long-necked lute with a central place in Yarsan devotional music. Museum instruments, musicians’ accounts and recordings reveal its construction and several distinct repertoires.
Read article →Baba Yadgar: The Beloved Yarsani Saint and His Mountain Shrine
Baba Yadgar is one of the most revered Yarsani holy figures, and his mountain shrine near Dohab is a great Ahl-e Haqq pilgrimage site. Discover his story.
Read article →Sultan Sahak: Perdiwar, Yarsani Tradition and the Historical Evidence
Sultan Sahak, also called Sultan Ishaq, is a central figure of Yarsani sacred history and a manifestation of the divine in the faith. His shrine at Perdiwar, religious institutions and remembered teachings connect him to a living tradition whose early chronology remains uncertain.
Read article →Sheikh Shems: The Sun Angel of Yazidism
Sheikh Shems (Sex Sems) is the Yazidi sun angel, one of the Seven Holy Beings and the divine light of God. Discover the sun veneration at the heart of Yazidism.
Read article →The Seven Angels of Yazidism: Names, Hymns and Ritual at Lalish
The Seven Holy Beings, often called Heft Sur or Heft Sirr, belong to Yazidi accounts of creation and divine care for the world. Hymns, different lists of names and the lighting of lamps at Lalish show how this teaching is remembered and practised.
Read article →Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir: The Saint at the Heart of Yazidism
Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir, a 12th-century Sufi, became the central saint of Yazidism, revered as an avatar of the Peacock Angel. Discover his life and legacy.
Read article →Çarşema Sor: The Yezidi New Year, Creation Traditions and Local Practice
Çarşema Sor, Red Wednesday, is a Yezidi spring festival associated with creation and renewal. Its calendar, hymns, household customs and observance in different regions reveal a tradition richer than a single list of symbols.
Read article →Lalish: The Sacred Heart of the Yazidi Faith
Lalish, in northern Iraq, is the holiest sacred valley of the Yazidi faith and home to the tomb of Sheikh Adi. Discover the spiritual heart of Yazidism.
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