Humans of East - Humans of Kurdistan

“I have been playing Daf for 14 years now. As soon as I started attending the university in Yazd city, I felt Daf was in my blood. So, while there, I went to a teacher, they knew I was Kurdish, and so they respected me very well. Additionally, I met a group of musicians, and we used to go to the hills and the mountains and play music there during the night, and some among us used to sing to our playing. I also joined a theater group and helped them for a couple of days while we had a play showing in the city. During my time playing Daf, I played along with many other instruments at different mosques, Khanaqa (Islamic abbeys), and cities of East, South, and North Kurdistan, as well as Iranian cities. I have worked for Kurdish, Persian, and Turkish singers and have participated in many Pir Shalyar ceremonies. I believe music is appropriate for every anytime, anywhere, whether you are sad, happy, or reminding yourself of God. Music is a road leading to another world.” ...

Mar 02 2023

january 26, 2023

“My name is Frishta Husseini from Meyvan village in Paveh city. It is nearing 20 years that I have been working in making Kalash. Kalash shoes are white in color in all of Hawraman; thus, we didn’t have that many customers, so I started mixing colors into it. Our village receives many tourists; I started with one colorful Kalash; the tourists loved it! Back then, Kalash used to be worn only by men, but with this new design, women now wear it even more. At first, only 35 people made Kalash in the village, but now women and girls in every household are occupied with the craft. The village is dubbed Kalash Village in Iran.” ...

Mar 02 2023

January 15, 2023

“My name is Habiba, and I’m from Palani village in the Kamyaran area. I’m 53 years old and got married at 12. My husband had four sisters and one brother, all of whom were disabled. I lived with them and took care of them one by one. I was really young when my father died in the village flood; they never found his body. My mother taught me how to make bread; it was so important for her that she always said, “Let your breadbasket always be full of bread; when you have guests over, bread is more important than the food.” So, this is why I have taught all my daughters and the girls in my in-law family how to make bread.” ...

Jan 15 2023

December 1, 2023

“My name is Sharbat Ramzaniy, and I’m from Palangan village in Kamyaran. My mother has been a strong and artistic woman; she has taught me many crafts and arts since 15. Today, only my mother and I can knit chenille blankets. Anyone who wants to learn how to do it must come to my mother to teach them. Thank goodness, I make a living on it, it makes me busy, and I also feel proud to know an old style of Kurdish art that is about to be forgotten. I know so many art crafts that if there’s one new to me, I just observe it, and then I’ll start doing it and learn right away. This has made me known as a strong and artistic woman.” ...

Nov 13 2022

November 13, 2022

“Twelve years ago, I became disabled because of an accident. It makes me proud that through my will and the support of my family and friends, the disability could not hold me from working and living. Even though the situation is dreadful now, but life is all about struggling. Since my teenage years, I became interested in my mother tongue, and later I became more invested in language through the writings of Hazhar and Hemn. Through reading their literature, I mastered writing and speaking in the Kurdish language fluently. Furthermore, I bought Kurdish language books and eventually became an instructor for the Kurdish language. For now, I am a volunteer lecturer in our village. I teach Kurdish language to the children who are the hope of our future. They come to me after the end of their school day, they come to my home, and I teach them their mother tongue.” ...

Oct 23 2022

October 23, 2022

“Because of my father’s occupation, I was born in Bandarabbas and grew up in the Arab city of Khorramshahr. Still, because of my love for Kurds and Kurdistan, I preserved my mother tongue in the best way possible, and I speak it fluently. I love the people of Kurdistan so much that I visit a couple of times during Newroz and Pir Shalyar and observe its beauty. Its people, nature, and everything else is exceptional and unique to me and put my emotions and soul at peace. My favorite memories are always those spent in Kurdistan.” ...

Oct 10 2022

October 10, 2022

“I'm not sure how old I am; I have four girls and three boys. I’m from Palangan village in Kamyaran. When my husband and I got married, we were soon able to buy a house and had livestock too. But now, my husband has fallen ill and staying with our youngest son; I’m too attached to the countryside lifestyle and cannot live in the city with them. This loneliness is difficult for me. The most unpleasant memory I have with my husband is when one of our daughters, who wasn’t even too young, got sick, and he took her to the doctor. I stayed in the village with our other children. My husband returned a few days later, and I saw he was alone. Sadly, our daughter passed away, and he buried her on the way home”. ...

Oct 04 2022

August 28, 2022

“Years ago, the first stork came to our village. The villagers were so kind to it that the year after, many more storks returned with it, and this continued until their numbers neared 800 in the Zrebar area. Everyone in the village is aware of the site specified for them, and every year, before their return, we fix the nests for them. These birds have made the village a tourist destination, which is a reason for cheerfulness. Like everyone else in the village, I, too, water the trees in this area, and all the people who have farms here have given up the land for the storks”. ...

Sep 16 2022

September 11, 2022

“The worst day of my life was when a mass-scale avalanche occurred, and the entireness of the village was affected by it. My daughter was seven years old and drowned with seven other people in the current. We couldn’t retrieve their body, and my girl disappeared. In the year 1384 (Solar Calendar), my husband passed away in our garden, and I was left alone. I have no one now; it’s just me and a photo of my husband”. ...

Aug 18 2022

August 18, 2022

“I’m 55 years old, and I’m from Palangan village. Since childhood, I have been involved in traditional women’s works, making duvets, tambourines, and cotton ropes. My uncle bought a sewing machine for the family, and when he noticed how much I liked it, he gifted it to me, and I became the family's seamstress. In the old days, it was a common practice for people who needed sewing work to call the seamstress over to their home once a year and sew their cloth there. Previously, we only had a few men who worked as seamsters. When they came over and worked on their manual treadle sewing machines, I observed their way of work and learned their techniques. Thus, I became the only seamstress in the village. I got married in the solar year 1363 (1984-5 Gregorian calendar), and my husband died a year later. I was pregnant at that time. Since then, I have covered the family’s expenses by working as a seamstress; half of the people of the village come to me for their sewing needs as they’re satisfied with my work. Personally, I wear the old style of Kurdish clothes, and now people want to wear those styles too and revive them”. ...

Aug 13 2022

April 3, 2022