International Journal of Kurdish Studies

Abstract

Among the folk literature products, the epic genre stands out the most as the representation of social and cultural identity. Because the epic is very related to the history of the society and the important events they experienced and it represents the common feelings and emotions of the society from which it emerged towards these history and events. The most striking aspects of epics, in addition to their formal features, are their themes and topics. These themes and topics include the society's general ideas, their readings of past events, as well as their hopes and dreams for the future. In connection with the Dengbêj tradition, this genre has continued to exist in a very rich form within the Kurdish society and still continues. In this review, we will examine the main epics of the Kurdish society, such as Memê Alan, Siyabend û Xecê, Kela Dimdim, Kerr û Kulik, Zembilfıroş, Derwêşê Evdi û Edûlê and Cembeli û Binevş, in the context of their themes and topics. There is a lot of debate regarding the genre of epic, especially from the definitional point of view, and depending on the context of these debates, some of these narratives can be removed and others can be added. Since both the formal aspects and thematic and subject aspects have been indicated in the definition of epic, this has created confusion in the definition of the genre. Some narratives have been defined only according to formal criteria and some according to thematic and subject criteria. In this study, we try to answer this question in terms of themes and subjects and to contribute to the field by evaluating some narratives, whose formal epicness is beyond doubt, in terms of their themes and subjects.