The Kurds live in an area sometimes called Kurdistan, including parts of Iraq, Armenia, Syria, Turkey and Iran. The people have long been oppressed by a string of governments, and their literature and poetry suppressed. Memorized music has thus arisen as the primary means of communicating cultural traditions.

Traditionally, there are three types of Kurdish performers -- storytellers (chirokbej), minstrels (stranbej) and bards (dengbej). Many songs are epic in nature, recounting the tales of Kurdish heroes like Saladin. Love songs , dance music, wedding and other celebratory songs, erotic poetry and work songs are also popular. Musical instruments include the bloor (flute), ghol (drum), duduk (oboe), tenbur (saz), kamanche (spike fiddle ) and zurna (wooden shawm).

The most frequently used song form has two verses with ten syllable lines. Kurdish music is characterized by simple melodies, with a range of only three or four notes, and strophic songs, in which an identical line of poetry and music occur at the end of each stanza. Music is modal, with its maqam (or mode in Arabic music) is called Kurdi and is known throughout the Arab world.

Iran

In Iran, Kurdish language radio stations and newspapers have generally been allowed, but music has long been carefully scrutinized for political references. One of the leading Kurdish musicians of recent decades was Hassan Kamkar , a Kurdish-Iranian whose family has remained at the forefront of the music scene. Several Kurds have also been influential in classical Arab music, including Said Asghar Kurdistani and Sharam Nazeri .

Iraq

Until Saddam Hussein rose to power later in the 20th century, Kurds in Iraq were allowed to perform as they wished, so longer as music did not encroach on politics. Ali Mardan , a well known musician and composer, arose during this period. Restrictions on recording grew slowly, and censors banned anything with a hint of subversion. A black market flourished, and some of the Kurds' most popular musicians were executed,including Tasin Taha and Karim Kaban . 1974 saw a degree of autonomy being achieved for the Kurds, but it was short-lived. After siding with Iran during a war, many Kurds were murdered with chemical weapons by Hussein's government, and Kurds became highly repressed until the US invasion of Iraq.

Turkey

For most of the 20th century, Kurdish language songs were banned in Turkey. Some singers, ike Ibrahim Tatlises, sang in Turkish, while others violated the ban and were imprisoned, executed or fled to various countries, especially France. A black market, however, has long existed in Turkey, and pirate radio stations and underground recordings have always been available. Sivan Perwer, the most famous Kurdish musician, came from the Kurdish-Turk community. He came to fame in 1972 during a Kurdish revolt in Iraq, and became a superstar before fleeing to Germany in 1976.

Further reading

• Skalla, Eva and Jemima Amiri. "Songs of the Stateless". In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp 378-384. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0