The song lyric "Zambil Firosh" written by the great Kurdish artist, Shivan Perver, is very similar to the lyric of an opera due to its unique form. Just like opera where the characters play their roles while singing their lines, in this lyric, too, two narrators of the text play their roles. In addition to this, some other important features point out Kurdish people's beliefs about women's characters, beauty, virtue, and family.
If we begin with the concept of "Woman", we can see the reflection of Existential Feminism in this song. Simone De Beauvoir, the great philosopher of the twentieth century, in her book, "The Second Gender", discusses that humans in an existential concept are free and they should choose their own fate to develop their abilities while no one else can make them do something in the society that they would not want to do. Considering the fact that women, like men, are humans, De Beauvoir concludes that women like men have the ability to progress and we cannot say they are closed souls.
In the text of the "Zambil Firosh" song, we can exactly see the same thing in Kurdish society. In this song, we see that the old stereotype of "a man always being the active party of a romance and a woman always being the receiver of that love" and not being able to actively fall in love, is cast aside in this song and the audience sees that the girl talks about her feelings and ideas freely and fearlessly; she also talks about her beauty and her feminine physical features, her love for the man who is a Zambil Firosh (a vendor who sells matting products). She has an active role and repeatedly asks him but when she sees her beauty is not enough for him, she begins to tell him about her financial independence and her emotional ability (I'll give you a Harir flower) and at the end of each couplet, she repeats "I am a lover" which shows her respect for her love.
Another important point we see in this song about the woman's love is a plot twist. For example, in Western and Eastern folklore literature, we can see many stories that have a theme like Cinderella story. It means that we can see a Cinderella in Western literature who falls in love and finally marries and achieves a lot of wealth and in Eastern literature like the Kurdish story of "Danka Hanar" (pomegranate piece) we can witness the same fate in which a woman can only achieve satisfying financial situation via marriage. Thus, a folklore theme that narrates the same thing in different societies is the plot of the story but if we see that things change in a reverse form and change an artistic work is called a "plot twist". In the lyrics of this song, we can see that the Cinderella plot which ends with the man's help to enhance the woman's financial and social statue is reversed and it is the lady of this story who is proud of her financial power and wants to use it to convince the man, her lover, who is Zambil Firosh. She also claims that she can change a man's life through her love and marriage to enhance his statue. She refuses to be a Cinderella who is the receiver of such indulgence. In other words, we can see a Kurdish woman who feels free to help her poor lover to gain a higher rank through her power and wealth although this power and wealth came from her father or brother who were Emirs.
On the other end of the story is the man, Zambil Firosh, and his behavior towards the lady. We can see that Zambil Firosh as a Kurdish man is not affected by the lady's wealth or beauty, he refuses the lady's love but at the same time, he does not disrespect her and her lovely request. He talks to her respectfully and at the end of each couplet he repeats this: "My lady with olive eyes, my lady with pearl neck…"
Although it is not mentioned directly, this part of the story clearly shows that in Kurdish culture it was considered an obscene action to disrespect a woman's love. If a man does not wish to accept such a love, they must not disrespect it either. They must answer the lady in love with dignity and respect.
At first, Zambil Firosh declines the lady's love because he is a man who has taken an oath to God not to fall for such actions. Later in the story, he says: "I have taken a vow to my Zarathustra god" which reveals his ancient belief in the Zarathustra religion.
Zarathustra who is the ancient intellectual figure of the Kurdish geography has introduced three criteria for human redemption in this world: "Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds".
In the Kurdish and Iranian cultures and even the world of thoughts and concepts, Zarathustra is the symbol of good deeds and behavior to such a degree that his personality influenced a character like Nietzsche, the famous German philosopher. In his book, "Thus Spoke Zarathustra", Nietzsche expresses his own attitudes and beliefs via Zarathustra's words. Thus, it can be said that Zarathustra's religion and beliefs do not belong to the ancient times only and it can influence the modern times too; even in the highest levels of philosophy and close and far eras.
In the text of Zambil Firosh, although a beautiful woman with great love comes the way of an abstemious man, unlike San'an Sheikh, he does not give up his beliefs and although he praises her beauty and accepts her high social rank as the Emir's daughter, he does not break his vow with Ahura (God) and believes that he must choose his virtue, not the love offered to him. When he is convinced that the lady is not going to give up on him and insists on her love, Zambil Firosh remembers his family and social responsibility and tells the lady that he has a poor family, his wife and children, and a lady like her should not support such a poor family. This shows the man's awareness of the cultural traditions and their regard towards family life and loyalty.
Finally, Zambil Firosh chooses his Ahura and family duties. Because in the Zarathustra religion which was a common way of life among Kurds for centuries, family is a holy concept and if there were no children in a house, the husband and wife were not allowed to have fire inside it so they were called "Wajakh Kwer" (blinded fire). It means that a family without children was deprived of Ahura fire. Family is regarded sacred in Zarathustra religion and it was a part of Zambil Firosh's duty to support them. Even a new and beautiful love could not wreck its virtue. Thus, Zambil Firosh is loyal to preserving it, and in the end, despite his respect for the beauty and social statue of the lady and her feelings, he does not break her heart but rather tries to convince her and explains his reasons for refusing her love. Although he is fond of the olive like eyes of the lady with a pearl necklace around her neck, he does not break his vow to Ahura and stays loyal to his religious and cultural beliefs. He preserves his truth without breaking the lady in love's heart.
