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Village Lifestyle in Kurdistan

Village lifestyle embraces cultures among the Kurdish people. Kurdish men and women prefer the village lifestyle to the modern one.
Reading Time: 6 minutes

Introduction to Village Lifestyle

Kurdistan province is one of the Kurdish provinces in the west of Iran, composed of two words Kurd and suffix -stan means the land of the Kurds. In the province, there are various traditions, cultures, and Village Lifestyle among the Kurdish people. The villagers carry out their daily activities traditionally. Kurdish men and women prefer the Village lifestyle to the machine life. The villagers do most of their work and activities together, which is called Gal or Yari Bahari in Kurdish. The nature of this work is that people will not leave someone with a less workforce alone, everyone helped each other, and such a lifestyle was a common principle among them.

Labor Division in Village Lifestyle

The Village lifestyle have a regular schedule for each season; Kurdish women and girls go to the plains in the spring to prepare edible plants. Preparing local containers and drying medicinal plants is one of the spring activities of women. Men start farming and animal husbandry in this season. Every morning, Kurdish women bring the men food for one day since they do not return to the village until nightfall. Women also are responsible for the works inside the village. When the wheat is harvested, the wheat flour is milled and stored for a year in the summer. The art of baking bread is one of the key values ​​in Kurdistan, implemented with various customs, also nominates for world registration. Preparing half-grain wheat for cooking local winter food, drying summer fruits such as pears, apricots, and apples for winter consumption are the summer activities of rural life. With the arrival of autumn, the villagers prepare everything for a calm and pleasant winter life; most of the work is done by men and women, including taking care of the thatched roofs and thatched walls, storing wood for the stove and oven, and storing local food. With the onset of winter, spending the night with family and neighbors, preparing local food alongside oil and wood heaters, home games at night, and playing snow begins, the intimacy between the villagers warms the season.ر

The Language of Kurdish People

The language of the Kurdistan inhabitants is Kurdish, the root of Iranian languages, going back to Indian and European languages. The Kurdish language has rich and fruitful literature. Due to the large area of ​​Kurdish territories, this language has many main dialects and sub-dialects that led it to reach a high position in Kurdish poetry, literature, and music. The mothers’ lullabies in the area have caused children to grow up in the cradle with their culture’s sound. One of the most original music of Kurdistan is Siyah Chaman that is dedicated only to the Uramanat region.

Kurdish Outfit in Village Lifestyle

Kurdish garment is one of the most stunning types of Persian apparel as much as seeing them during ceremonies and rituals is considered the cultural attraction of Kurdistan province. Although Kurdish clothing looks the same at first glance, each region and area possesses its garments. The clothing type indicates the quarter that the person belongs to. Kurdish men’s clothing includes a bodice called a Chookh, a trouser called Ranak (loose pants with tight slippers), a Kalki (a collar without a collar), a shawl also called a Pashtun (a cloth that is tied around the waist), and a headband called Sarvin which they use instead of a hat.

Kurdish women’s local clothing is based on various popular beliefs among these people. The colour, shape, material, and ornaments show the social class and the wealth level of the family. Many parts of the Kurdish women’s clothing embellishments are rooted in common beliefs in their culture; the people of Kurdistan believe that maintaining the dress in its traditional form will play a significant role in preserving and transmitting Kurdish culture to future generations.

The fabrics used in Kurdish women’s local clothing are crepes or cotton adorned with sequins, silk embroidery, stone embroidery, tapestry embroidery, and bead embroidery, and the colours of these garments are bright and cheerful. Many of the costumes and ornaments used by Kurdish ladies were savings for the family and were used to solve problems when needed. Kurdish women’s clothing consists of three main parts: Kurdish headscarves, tunics, and ornaments, including Jafi (loose pants that are worn by women, especially rural ones, and other times, women wear loose pants made of silk), Kolanjeh (A torso worn over a shirt, called Sukhmeh in Uraman), Shawl (a pretty cloth tied around the waist), Klav (a hat adorned with coloured sequins), and a woolen black and white scarf made of long strings.

Rituals and Ceremonies

There are special rituals and ceremonies among the villagers, having a high cultural and spiritual value among the Kurds. The most important celebration that is common among the people of Kurdistan is Nowruz, which is accompanied by Kurdish dance ceremonies and the lighting of a fire. The Pir Shalyar festival, which is rooted in their beliefs, narrates back to the ancient legend of the old man in the village of Uraman in Kurdistan. The Pir Shalyar ritual is rooted in the Zoroastrian religion, but who was the  Pir Shalyar? He was a dignified Zoroastrian cleric who had his followers and lived before Islam. Actually, his dignity has become the basis of a narrative about the holding of such a ceremony. The locals call the ceremony his wedding, and they have been holding it for several thousand years.

People said that the king of Bukhara’s daughter was deaf-and-dumb; she was healed when she neared the residence of Pir Shalyar, and finally, according to the condition set by her father, she married the mystic. The Uraman’s inhabitants also celebrate the anniversary of Pir Shalyar every year for a few days. During the ceremony, the area is filled with people who get excited with the Daf instrument players, dancing in chains style as a sign of unity. The rain-seeking or Rainmaking ritual is another ceremony performed by young girls in the Kurdish region during the drought years by singing local songs. Also, local games are popular among the villagers, one of which is the local game with horses since the Kurdish horse is one of the noblest breeds of horses. Horses are one of the livestock that people use in their leisure time. In the following, we will deal with two historic and charming villages of Kurdistan to get more acquainted with their lifestyle:

Two villages of Kurdistan

Uraman Village

Uraman (Huraman) Takht village/Owraman Takht Kurdistan,  located in the heart of the Zagros Mountains, is the tangible cultural heritage of Iran due to its authentic texture and particular customs. The Huraman region has historical antiquity with ancient cultural backgrounds, rites, and unique cultural symbols, each of which illuminates the corners of the rich and prolific culture of the region. The history of settlement in the region dates back to prehistoric times, and its discovery documents confirm the existence of Assyrian, Median, Achaemenid, and Greek rule.

The oldest artifacts of human habitation have been found in archaeological excavations around the village of Hajij, belonging to the Paleolithic period, which according to archaeologists is more than 40,000 to about 12,000 years old. The village of Uraman is known as Uraman Takht, meaning the place of the sun. The village is also known as the Hezar Masouleh in Kurdistan due to its stepped style architecture. The stepped architecture of Uraman Takht and its spectacular houses have shaped the village into a pyramid, at the top of which is an ancient castle.

Lifestyle

Animal husbandry and gardening are the main occupations of the residents due to the geographical and environmental conditions of the region. Homes are mostly built on two floors, depending on the living standards of the people, the house spaces are different. The homes of gardeners, farmers, ranchers are somewhat distinctive.

Another prominent feature of the area is its original and pleasant music. On different occasions, you can see group dances with live music in the village.

One of the most attractive handicrafts in the region is Shawls that are woven using the fur of a goat called Mehriz, which has fine wool and is mostly used by men in Uraman. The Huraman (Uramanat) is the 26th World Heritage Site of Iran and the third cultural monument inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2021.

Palangan village

Palangan, a stunning village in Kurdistan province containing a pristine nature shines like a jewel on the mountains of the Javroud rural district and is about 3000 years old. The shining jewel is divided into two halves by crossing a river called Tangivar in the middle of it.

The stepped style architecture of the houses in Palangan village doubles the charm of such an astonishing village. The architecture of the buildings in Palangan is stepped so that each house’s roof is the yard of the neighboring house.

Other Information of Village lifestyle in Palangan village

There are two beliefs about the name Palangan; Some believe that Palangan originally meant the place where leopards (Palang in Persian) live, while others consider it to mean a place to lean on because Pal in Kurdish means to lean on. The language of the Palangan people is Kurdish, and their dialect is Urami. The tulip plains, like the rubies near Palangan, delight every viewer. In summer and spring, when the weather gets colder, the Kurdish nomads of the region come and create a particular atmosphere in Palangan by performing their traditional rituals such as Geryan music, chaplet (pistol), and Siah Chamaneh Hal.In such a village, to greet Nowruz, they light torches and a fire on the heights. The kind people of Palangan host you well, and talking to them will become a lasting memory for you.

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