Aram Tigran ( hy, Արամ Տիգրան) or Aramê Dîkran (

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

rendering from

Western Armenian Western Armenian ( Classical spelling: , ) is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Eastern Armenian. It is based mainly on the Istanbul Armenian dialect, as opposed to Eastern Armenian, which is mainly based ...

), born Aram Melikyan ( hy, Արամ Մէլիքեան), (1934 – 8 August 2009) was a contemporary

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

singer who sang primarily in

. Among Assyrians in Qamishli he was known as Aram Dikran. Tigran was born in Qamishli in northeastern

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

to an

family originally from

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. Both of his parents were born in villages near the city Diyarbakır. His first Oud he received from his uncle at the age of six. After finishing ninth grade, he concentrated his efforts on learning music and playing Oud and in 1953 he gave his first public concert at the Newroz celebrations. By the age of twenty years, he was singing in four languages:

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

, Syriac and

.Interview with Aram Tigran
, (in Kurdish). In 1966 he moved to

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

, Armenia, at the time a part of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, where he was a employed for eighteen years at Radio Yerevan. He left Armenia in 1995 and settled in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. He is considered among the best of contemporary Kurdish singers and musicians. He recorded 230 songs in Kurdish, 150 in Arabic, 10 in Syriac, 8 in Greek. In 2009 he was able to visit the villages, where his parents grew up in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

(present day

), where he was welcomed in Diyarbakır and gave a concert at the

Newroz Newroz or Nawroz ( ku, نەورۆز, Newroz) is the Kurdish celebration of Nowruz; the arrival of spring and new year in Kurdish culture. The lighting of the fires at the beginning of the evening of March 21 is the main symbol of Newroz among the ...

celebrations in

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

. Tigran died in

on August 8, 2009, in the Evangelismos General Hospital. Tigran wanted to be buried in

, an aim supported by the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), but the Turkish Ministry of the Interior refused this request, on grounds that he was not a

Turkish citizen Turkish nationality law is based primarily on the principle of '' jus sanguinis''. Children who are born to a Turkish mother or a Turkish father (in or out of marriage) are Turkish citizens from birth. The intention to renounce Turkish citi ...

. Instead he was buried in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, Cimetery of

Jette Jette (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Ganshoren, Koekelberg, and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, as well as the Flemi ...

and some soil from Diyarbakır was poured into his grave. He was married and had three children.

Albums

*''Çîyayê Gebarê'', Aydın Müzik, 2004. *''Zîlan'', Aydın Müzik, 2004. *''Serxwebûn Xweş E'', Aydın Müzik, 2004. *''Kurdistan'', Aydın Müzik, 2004 *''Xazî Dîsa Zarbûma'' *''Rabin'' *''Evîna Feqiyê Teyran'' *''Keçê Dinê'' *''Ey Welato Em Heliyan'' *''Ay dilberê'' *''Daye min berde'' *''Diyarbekira serin'' *''Aydil'' *''Em hatin'' *''Heval Ferat''

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tigran, Aram 20th-century Armenian male singers Syrian people of Armenian descent 1934 births 2009 deaths Kurdish-language singers People from Qamishli