Kurdish culture is a group of distinctive cultural traits practiced by Kurdish people. The Kurdish culture is a legacy from ancient peoples who shaped modern Kurds and their society.
Kurds are an ethnic group mainly in Turkey, Iraq, and Iran. They live in the north of the Middle East along the Zagros Mountains and the Taurus Mountains in the region that the Kurds call Greater Kurdistan. Today they are parts of north-eastern Iraq, north-west of Iran and North East of Syria and southeast Turkey.
A grandma and her grandchild watching the “Nowruz” ceremony.
There is a lot of controversy about the Kurdish people from their origins, their history, and even their political future. Kurds are one of the largest ethnic groups that do not have an independent state recognized universally.[1]
The Kurds have a rich folkloric tradition which is increasingly endangered as a result of modernization, urbanization, and cultural repression. Kurds celebrate the new year on Newroz, and its celebration was often banned by authorities in Turkey and Syria.[2][3] A well known Kurdish tale is Mem û Zîn.[4]
ZembilfroshEdit
Zembilfrosh (Kurdish for "basket seller") is a folktale popular in Turkish Kurdistan and Iraqi Kurdistan. Zembilfrosh was the son of a powerful Kurdish ruler who left his home and life behind to seek a spiritual life as a dervish. He wanders the countryside with his faithful wife, surviving by making and selling baskets. One day they arrive in the capital of a Kurdish emirate, where the prince's wife sees Zembilfrosh and falls in love with him. She summons him to the castle, where she declares her love for him and tries to seduce him. Zembilfrosh declines, but she presses, promising him many riches. Zembilfrosh is not persuaded and she locks him in a castle tower, from which he eventually escapes. The prince's wife then disguises herself and starts searching for Zembilfrosh, and eventually finds him. She then deceives Zembilfrosh's wife, convincing her to lend her her clothes and leave the house. When Zembilfrosh returns that night, it is dark and he does not recognize the prince's wife, who welcomes him into bed. However, a silver anklet gives her away, and he runs off, chased after by his would-be-lover. As Zembilfrosh sees that escape is impossible, he prays to God, supplicating to be released from a world of misery, and God complies. Reaching Zembilfrosh's lifeless body, the prince's wife is so heartbroken that she dies as well. They are then buried side by side. Their resting place is claimed to be located at the contemporary town of Batifa, a subdistrict of the district of Zakho, Duhok governorate, in Iraqi Kurdistan.[5]
Kurdish folk music is an important part of Kurdish culture and has traditionally been used to transmit stories about Kurdish history by Dengbêj (bards). According to thekurdishproject.org, 'The word ‘deng’ means voice and ‘bej’ means ‘to sing.’ Dengbej are best known for their “stran,” or song of mourning.'[6] Many popular Kurdish musicians of the 20th century like Hassan Zirak and Ahmet Kaya sang in Turkish or Persian as well as in Kurdish.
Food is widely recognized to be a fundamental part of what it means to be Kurdish. Foods such as Dolma (rice stuffed in grape leaves), kfta (spiced minced meat cased in thin layer of mashed pudding rice), Ser u pe (goats head, tongue and feet), shifta (meat patties),[7] are traditional Kurdish foods. Lamb and chicken have been stapled meats in Kurdish cuisine for centuries. Vegetables, pilaf, and dairy products also comprise a large portion of traditional Kurdish food.[8] Tea is also staple to a Kurdish diet. It is commonly drunk 2-3 times a day as a social activity. Kurds also drink Mastaw/Do'h/Ayran, a yogurt-based drink.[9]
The Kurdish people have different religions depending on the country in which they live in or they have cultural and ethnic links to that religion, the most common religion among Kurds is Sunni Islam, practiced by 98% of Kurds living in Iraqi Kurdistan. The Kurds of Turkey are 30% Alevi out of a population of approximately 15-22 million Kurds and 68% follow Sunni Islam.[10]
^"Who are the Kurds?". BBC News. 2019-10-15. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
^Aykan, Bahar (2014-12-17). "Whose Tradition, Whose Identity? The politics of constructing "Nevruz" as intangible heritage in Turkey". European Journal of Turkish Studies. Social Sciences on Contemporary Turkey (19). doi:10.4000/ejts.5000. ISSN 1773-0546.
^Arab, The New (17 March 2019). "Turkey bans Newroz celebrations for Syrian Kurds in Afrin". alaraby. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
^Lescot, Roger (1942). "Mame Alan" (PDF). Institute Kurde de Paris. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
^Christiane Bird, A Thousand Sighs, a Thousand Revolts: Journeys in Kurdistan, Ballantine Books, 2004, ISBN978-0345469397, ISBN0345469399 (see pp 149-150)
^"Kurdish Culture". thekurdishproject.org. The Kurdish Project. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
^"Learn About Kurdish Food | The Kurdish Project". The Kurdish Project. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
^. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
^(PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-11-09.
Further readingEdit
Folktale collections
Nikitine, B.; Soane, E. B. (1923). "The Tale of Suto and Tato: Kurdish Text with Translation and Notes". Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies. University of London. 3 (1): 69–106. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00000069. JSTOR 607166. S2CID 162669858. Accessed 14 May 2023.
Nikitine, Basile (1926). "Kurdish Stories from My Collection". Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies. University of London. 4 (1): 121–38. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00102642. JSTOR 607408. S2CID 176857434. Accessed 14 May 2023.
Lescot, Roger. Textes Kurdes - Première partie: Contes, proverbes et énigmes. Institut Français de Damas, Collections de Textes Orientaux. Tome I. Paris: Librarie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1940.
Курдские сказки [Kurdish Fairy Tales]. Запись текстов, пер. с курд. и предисл. Margarita Rudenko и И. Фаризова [I. Farizov]. Составитель [Compiler]: Е. Дружинина. Moskva: Гослитиздат, 1959. (In Russian)
Spies, Otto (1973). "Kurdische Märchen im Rahmen der orientalisch-vergleichenden Märchenkunde". Fabula (in German). 14 (2): 205–217. doi:10.1515/fabl.1973.14.2.205. S2CID 162302910.
Wentzel, Luise-Charlotte; Spies, Otto [in German] (1986). Kurdische Märchen (in German). Jena: Eugen Didierichs Verlag.
"Курдские сказки, легенды и предания" [Kurdish Fairy Tales, Legends and Traditions]. Ордихане Джалила, Джалиле Джалила и Зине Джалил. Moskva: Главная редакция восточной литературы издательства «Наука», 1989. ISBN5-02-016783-5. (in Russian)
Thackston, W. M. (1999). "Kurdish folklore". The International Journal of Kurdish Studies. 13 (2).
Edgecomb, Diane. A fire in my heart: Kurdish tales. Retold by Diane Edgecomb; with contributions by Mohammed M.A. Ahmed and Çeto Ozel. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2007.
Dehqan, Mustafa (2009). "Qisey Giranba: A Sôranî Folktale from Mukrî Kurdistan". Journal of Folklore Research. 46 (1): 101–11. doi:10.2979/JFR.2009.46.1.101. JSTOR 40206942. S2CID 144077762.
Lyavdansky, Alexei (2022). "Mîrza Mihemed / Mirza Pamat: The Tales of the Fabled Hero in Kurdish and Neo-Aramaic Oral Sources". Oral Tradition. 35 (2): 419–40..
Khan, Geoffrey; Mohammadirad, Masoud; Molin, Dorota; Noorlander, Paul M.; Hanna, Lourd Habeeb; Al-Zebari, Aziz Emmanuel Eliya; Abraham, Salim Abraham. Neo-Aramaic and Kurdish Folklore from Northern Iraq: A Comparative Anthology with a Sample of Glossed Texts Volume 1. Cambridge, UK: Open Book Publishers, 2022. ISSN 2632-6906 doi:10.11647/OBP.0306
Khan, Geoffrey; Mohammadirad, Masoud; Molin, Dorota; Noorlander, Paul M.; Hanna, Lourd Habeeb; Al-Zebari, Aziz Emmanuel Eliya; Abraham, Salim Abraham. Neo-Aramaic and Kurdish Folklore from Northern Iraq: A Comparative Anthology with a Sample of Glossed Texts Volume 2. Cambridge, UK: Open Book Publishers, 2022. ISSN 2632-6906 doi:10.11647/OBP.0307
Gulan – a UK registered charity promoting the culture of Kurdistan.
October 19, 2023
kurdish, culture, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, possibly, contains, original, research, please, improve, verifying, claims, made, addin. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed September 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Kurdish culture news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Kurdish culture is a group of distinctive cultural traits practiced by Kurdish people The Kurdish culture is a legacy from ancient peoples who shaped modern Kurds and their society Kurds are an ethnic group mainly in Turkey Iraq and Iran They live in the north of the Middle East along the Zagros Mountains and the Taurus Mountains in the region that the Kurds call Greater Kurdistan Today they are parts of north eastern Iraq north west of Iran and North East of Syria and southeast Turkey Contents 1 Miscellaneous 2 Language 3 Folklore 3 1 Zembilfrosh 4 Music 5 Cuisine 6 Religion 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External linksMiscellaneous Edit nbsp A grandma and her grandchild watching the Nowruz ceremony There is a lot of controversy about the Kurdish people from their origins their history and even their political future Kurds are one of the largest ethnic groups that do not have an independent state recognized universally 1 Language EditMain article Kurdish languages Kurdish Kurdi is part of the North Western division of the Iranian branch of the Indo European language family Folklore EditThe Kurds have a rich folkloric tradition which is increasingly endangered as a result of modernization urbanization and cultural repression Kurds celebrate the new year on Newroz and its celebration was often banned by authorities in Turkey and Syria 2 3 A well known Kurdish tale is Mem u Zin 4 Zembilfrosh Edit Zembilfrosh Kurdish for basket seller is a folktale popular in Turkish Kurdistan and Iraqi Kurdistan Zembilfrosh was the son of a powerful Kurdish ruler who left his home and life behind to seek a spiritual life as a dervish He wanders the countryside with his faithful wife surviving by making and selling baskets One day they arrive in the capital of a Kurdish emirate where the prince s wife sees Zembilfrosh and falls in love with him She summons him to the castle where she declares her love for him and tries to seduce him Zembilfrosh declines but she presses promising him many riches Zembilfrosh is not persuaded and she locks him in a castle tower from which he eventually escapes The prince s wife then disguises herself and starts searching for Zembilfrosh and eventually finds him She then deceives Zembilfrosh s wife convincing her to lend her her clothes and leave the house When Zembilfrosh returns that night it is dark and he does not recognize the prince s wife who welcomes him into bed However a silver anklet gives her away and he runs off chased after by his would be lover As Zembilfrosh sees that escape is impossible he prays to God supplicating to be released from a world of misery and God complies Reaching Zembilfrosh s lifeless body the prince s wife is so heartbroken that she dies as well They are then buried side by side Their resting place is claimed to be located at the contemporary town of Batifa a subdistrict of the district of Zakho Duhok governorate in Iraqi Kurdistan 5 Music EditMain article Kurdish music nbsp Tunar Rahmanoghly singing kurdish song Rinda Min Khari Bulbul Music FestivalKurdish folk music is an important part of Kurdish culture and has traditionally been used to transmit stories about Kurdish history by Dengbej bards According to thekurdishproject org The word deng means voice and bej means to sing Dengbej are best known for their stran or song of mourning 6 Many popular Kurdish musicians of the 20th century like Hassan Zirak and Ahmet Kaya sang in Turkish or Persian as well as in Kurdish Cuisine EditMain article Kurdish cuisine nbsp Traditional Kurdish foodFood is widely recognized to be a fundamental part of what it means to be Kurdish Foods such as Dolma rice stuffed in grape leaves kfta spiced minced meat cased in thin layer of mashed pudding rice Ser u pe goats head tongue and feet shifta meat patties 7 are traditional Kurdish foods Lamb and chicken have been stapled meats in Kurdish cuisine for centuries Vegetables pilaf and dairy products also comprise a large portion of traditional Kurdish food 8 Tea is also staple to a Kurdish diet It is commonly drunk 2 3 times a day as a social activity Kurds also drink Mastaw Do h Ayran a yogurt based drink 9 Religion EditMain articles Yazidism Yarsanism Yazdanism Zoroastrianism Kurdish Jews and Kurdish Christians The Kurdish people have different religions depending on the country in which they live in or they have cultural and ethnic links to that religion the most common religion among Kurds is Sunni Islam practiced by 98 of Kurds living in Iraqi Kurdistan The Kurds of Turkey are 30 Alevi out of a population of approximately 15 22 million Kurds and 68 follow Sunni Islam 10 See also EditKurdish cinema Kurdish dance Kurdish rugs Deq tattoo References Edit Who are the Kurds BBC News 2019 10 15 Retrieved 2020 09 08 Aykan Bahar 2014 12 17 Whose Tradition Whose Identity The politics of constructing Nevruz as intangible heritage in Turkey European Journal of Turkish Studies Social Sciences on Contemporary Turkey 19 doi 10 4000 ejts 5000 ISSN 1773 0546 Arab The New 17 March 2019 Turkey bans Newroz celebrations for Syrian Kurds in Afrin alaraby Retrieved 2021 04 16 Lescot Roger 1942 Mame Alan PDF Institute Kurde de Paris Retrieved 16 April 2021 Christiane Bird A Thousand Sighs a Thousand Revolts Journeys in Kurdistan Ballantine Books 2004 ISBN 978 0345469397 ISBN 0345469399 see pp 149 150 Kurdish Culture thekurdishproject org The Kurdish Project Retrieved 19 October 2016 Shfta Kurdish meat patties www adventuressheart com Retrieved 2016 10 16 Learn About Kurdish Food The Kurdish Project The Kurdish Project Retrieved 2016 10 16 Kurdistan s cuisine Archived from the original on 2017 12 01 Retrieved 2016 10 16 Religion of the Kurds PDF Archived from the original PDF on 2013 11 09 Further reading EditFolktale collectionsNikitine B Soane E B 1923 The Tale of Suto and Tato Kurdish Text with Translation and Notes Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies University of London 3 1 69 106 doi 10 1017 S0041977X00000069 JSTOR 607166 S2CID 162669858 Accessed 14 May 2023 Nikitine Basile 1926 Kurdish Stories from My Collection Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies University of London 4 1 121 38 doi 10 1017 S0041977X00102642 JSTOR 607408 S2CID 176857434 Accessed 14 May 2023 Lescot Roger Textes Kurdes Premiere partie Contes proverbes et enigmes Institut Francais de Damas Collections de Textes Orientaux Tome I Paris Librarie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner 1940 Kurdskie skazki Kurdish Fairy Tales Zapis tekstov per s kurd i predisl Margarita Rudenko i I Farizova I Farizov Sostavitel Compiler E Druzhinina Moskva Goslitizdat 1959 In Russian Spies Otto 1973 Kurdische Marchen im Rahmen der orientalisch vergleichenden Marchenkunde Fabula in German 14 2 205 217 doi 10 1515 fabl 1973 14 2 205 S2CID 162302910 Wentzel Luise Charlotte Spies Otto in German 1986 Kurdische Marchen in German Jena Eugen Didierichs Verlag Kurdskie skazki legendy i predaniya Kurdish Fairy Tales Legends and Traditions Ordihane Dzhalila Dzhalile Dzhalila i Zine Dzhalil Moskva Glavnaya redakciya vostochnoj literatury izdatelstva Nauka 1989 ISBN 5 02 016783 5 in Russian Thackston W M 1999 Kurdish folklore The International Journal of Kurdish Studies 13 2 Edgecomb Diane A fire in my heart Kurdish tales Retold by Diane Edgecomb with contributions by Mohammed M A Ahmed and Ceto Ozel Westport CT Libraries Unlimited 2007 Dehqan Mustafa 2009 Qisey Giranba A Sorani Folktale from Mukri Kurdistan Journal of Folklore Research 46 1 101 11 doi 10 2979 JFR 2009 46 1 101 JSTOR 40206942 S2CID 144077762 Lyavdansky Alexei 2022 Mirza Mihemed Mirza Pamat The Tales of the Fabled Hero in Kurdish and Neo Aramaic Oral Sources Oral Tradition 35 2 419 40 Khan Geoffrey Mohammadirad Masoud Molin Dorota Noorlander Paul M Hanna Lourd Habeeb Al Zebari Aziz Emmanuel Eliya Abraham Salim Abraham Neo Aramaic and Kurdish Folklore from Northern Iraq A Comparative Anthology with a Sample of Glossed Texts Volume 1 Cambridge UK Open Book Publishers 2022 ISSN 2632 6906 doi 10 11647 OBP 0306 Khan Geoffrey Mohammadirad Masoud Molin Dorota Noorlander Paul M Hanna Lourd Habeeb Al Zebari Aziz Emmanuel Eliya Abraham Salim Abraham Neo Aramaic and Kurdish Folklore from Northern Iraq A Comparative Anthology with a Sample of Glossed Texts Volume 2 Cambridge UK Open Book Publishers 2022 ISSN 2632 6906 doi 10 11647 OBP 0307External links EditA Brief Survey of the History of the Kurds by Kendal Nezan President of the Kurdish Institute of Paris Gulan a UK registered charity promoting the culture of Kurdistan Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kurdish culture amp oldid 1180599977, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
