Erdewan Zaxoyî (, Erdewan Zaxoyî) (July 1957 – January 1986) was a celebrated

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

songwriter-singer and composer from

Zakho Zakho, also spelled Zaxo (, , , , ) is a city in the Kurdistan Region, at the centre of the Zakho District of the Dohuk Governorate, located a few kilometers from the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing. Zakho is known for its celebrations of Newr ...

. Erdewan Zaxoyî was born in 1957 as Erdewan Elî in Zaxo (

Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan () refers to the Kurds, Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of Greater Kurdistan in West Asia, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdist ...

). He was one of a total of six children and grew up in his hometown and spent his youth there as well. In 1978, he released his first recorded tape, singing on

political texts, even though it was banned at the time. He later secretly supported the Kurdish

Peshmerga The Peshmerga () are the internal security forces of Kurdistan Region. According to the Constitution of Iraq, regional governments are responsible for "the establishment and organization of the internal security forces for the region such as p ...

soldiers with his songs and folk songs, such as with Peşmergekê çelengêm. His songs were mostly about justice and freedom. He also wrote songs about his hometown Zaxo and

Kurdistan Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo- cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. G ...

. In 1982, he fled to the Kurdish region of Iran following persecution by

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

's regime. He lived there until the end of 1985 and wrote more songs. The content of these was in addition to the love of home, his homesickness and the yearning for his family, especially his mother, to whom he also sent his entire recorded tapes. In January 1986, he finally returned and was reportedly abducted in the same year at a concert for the

Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

living in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

by agents of the Secret Service of Iraq and probably murdered. To this day he has not been found. After his disappearance, a monument was erected for him in Zaxo. It is located near the historic Delal Bridge, which he often mentioned in his texts. In addition, in February 2006, a celebration in memory of him and Eyaz Zaxoyi, a well-known singer, aligned in

Duhok Duhok (; ; , ) is a city in Kurdistan Region, Iraq. It is the capital city of Duhok Governorate. Name The city of Duhok received its name from the Kurdish words ’du’ (two) and ’hok’ (lump) as a tax payment of two lumps from the baske ...

. At the ceremony, former Dahuk Governor Tamar Kuchar gave a speech on the lives and works of the two artists. His wife and children live in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

today.

References

1957 births 1986 deaths 20th-century Iraqi male singers Kurdish-language singers People from Zakho {{Asia-singer-stub