DELDĀR, YŪNES MELA RAʾŪF (b. in the sanjaq of Ḵoy in the Ottoman empire, 20 February 1918; d. Erbīl, Iraq, 12 October 1948), Kurdish poet and humanist. While a student of law in Baghdad he joined the Hiwā (Hope) party, the first legally recognized Kurdish organization to work for the unification of Kurdistan.
Many of his poems in the classical Kurdish style, characterized by quantitative rhythm and mono-rhyme, were first published in the influential Kurdish literary journals Ronākī (Erbīl, 1935-36) and Galawēz (Baghdad, 1939-49), which played major roles in the development of Kurdish language and literature in Iraq and Persia. He also introduced new romantic and realistic elements into Kurdish poetry, which up to then had followed purely classical patterns. Most of his poems have been set to music, and one of them, Ay raqīb (O enemy), is regarded by most Kurds as their national anthem.
Bibliography:
Y. M. R. Deldār, Dīvān, 2nd ed., Erbīl, 1971.
K.-M. Maʿrūf, “Deldār, šāʿer-ī šorešgar o pēškawtenḵuwāz,” Hēvī (Paris) 4, 1985, pp. 32-27.
ʿA.-M. Rasūl, al-Wāqeʿīya fi’l-adab al-kordī, Sidon, Lebanon, 1966.
(Joyce Blau)
Originally Published: December 15, 1994
Last Updated: November 21, 2011
This article is available in print.
Vol. VII, Fasc. 3, p. 238
