Newroz in 71 Songs

* Photograph: Murat Bayram / bianet (Diyarbakır - 2016)

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

When one thinks about Newroz and songs (strans) sung about Newroz, it is usually the famous song of Newroz by Hesen Zîrek, which comes to mind first. Composed based on a poem by Kurdish poet Pîremêrd, this song has come to be sung and listened in Newroz for years.

There are, of course, several other songs composed and sung about Newroz. When I set out to compile the songs about Newroz, I thought that I could find around 20 songs, though I was not sure about the exact number. However, when I compiled all the songs that I could find, I realized that there were more than 70 strans. Only a very few of them are different versions of the same song sung by different people.

Almost all of these musicians underline national, cultural and political statements in their songs on Newroz. However, Ciwan Haco can be considered an exception. In his song Bida that he sang in his album Dûri in 1994, Haco has combined the theme of love with Newroz.

Though the song Newroz by Hesen Zîrek comes to mind first, I would like to place another song on the top of my list: The song Newroz by Kurdish rapper Xem that he sings in his brand new album Biyan.

Newroz in 71 Songs

Ferid Demirel