Believe it or not, we have such a strong folklore that we can now collect hundreds of stories, sayings, proverbs, tales, riddles, and legends in only one village. This folklore (although many have been lost) has been preserved by narrators/ storytellers to get to our time.
There was a singer named Miradi Kne, people called him Mirado. His tapes were listened to everywhere in the Tor area all day long, and of course, they still are. As my singer neighbor said, "Anyone who doesn't like Mirado has little faith." Mirado also collected many stories and proverbs from the surrounding areas and made them into songs at weddings and celebrations. Such as the battle of Ali Younis, Sharif Tamo, Teli, Ahmad Agha and Ayshe, Mirza Agha Rindki, Sayre and Ali Mamad. In this article, we focus on the story "Sayre and Ali Mamad".
Miradi Kne
Let's first get to know Mirado, who he is, where he comes from, and what kind of person he is, and then look at the story of Sayre and Ali Mamad. Miradi Kne, also known as Mirado or Miradko, was born on December 1, 1941, in the village of Gera Jahfara in Karjawsi Elhe. His father's name is Farho and his mother's name is Hadiya. His parents are cousins. Farho was the son of Ahmad Isa Kne. Miradi Kne had a brother named Khalil and a sister named Alya. Muradi Kne had seven stepmothers named Jamil, Nihad, Khalisa, Mukhlisa, Shafiqa, Darya, and Awnya, and two stepsisters and five stepbrothers. According to sayings, Farho moved to the western part of Kurdistan a hundred years ago and settled in Tora Haverkian. According to some information, the roots of the Kne family reached Shangal (Sinjar) and have settled here since many years ago. According to M. Sat Gazj, son of Miradi Kne, the Kne family migrated from Shangal about five hundred years ago and settled there.
Story of Sayre and Ali Mamad
The story of Sayre and Ali Mamad by Mirado's voice
Ms. Sayre is the daughter of the nobleman of Hasanan and Haydaran and a very beautiful girl. His parents died when she was young and she grew up with her cousins. One day, the guests of the three brothers of Sayre arrive, about 1500 horsemen. Finally, when the guests are at the table, Sayre's brother says, "Ali, go get some water. The food is left in our guests' throats. Ali is looking for a bowl in the room and suddenly enters Sayre's room. He did not say anything yet when he saw the beauty of Sayre. Sayre too, fell in love with him immediately. Then, Sayree tells her servant to call Ali. Ali went into the room shyly. He tells her the story. She says many people have come from other countries to marry me, but I will not marry anyone except you. Ali Mamad says OK, but I don't have money. He says let's run away. They eventually decide to run away. But where should they go? Sayre says there is a Yazidi warrior named Iskan Gulikhan, the owner of Komani Castle. Let's run there, he will solve our problem.
After seven days and nights, they reached the castle of Komani. Sayre went to the elders' room, and Ali went to the men's room. Ali Mamad told Iskan Gulikhan about the situation. Iskan said, “Welcome, the house is yours. Hundreds of people like you may come every year. When Iskan saw the beauty of Sayre, he was surprised and lost his mind.
He says there is nothing like it in the world. He thinks I kill Ali, and Sayre will be mine. Iskan Gulikhan gives Ali Mamad and Sayre a room. He killed Ali Mamad with his dagger while he was in a deep sleep. When Ali's blood spills over Sayre's eyes, she wakes up; Sayre goes out, tears her clothes, and runs away to the mountains.
On top of the mountains, she eats artichokes and green beans for seven days and nights. One day a jurist passed by and she told him about her situation. She says go to my brother, Qol Qasim, and give him this paper. The jurist reaches Hassanan and Hayderan and gives him the paper. She wrote what happened to her and where she was on the paper.
Qol Qasim went to Komani Castle with 1500 horsemen. Qol Qasim and the horsemen pitched their tents around the castle of Komani. He gave a paper to a horseman and told him to deliver it to Iskan Gulikhan. “You killed the guy who took my sister,” he wrote in the paper. "Come to give you a reward." Iskan Gulikhan believed he and Qol Qasim killed Iskan and took revenge. Qol Qasim then goes to the top of Mount Mahdia. He is looking for his sister.
A different narrative of Sayre and Ali Mamad
This story is very popular in the Tor region because of Mirado, but of course, this story was told before Mirado. There are three videos of Mirado on YouTube, all the same. In addition, there is a song by Husein Omari, and it is very likely that he also listened to Mirado, but Husein Omari's recording is about twenty minutes long (Mrado's is about an hour). Apart from Husein Omari, we have not found any other songs as far as we have heard from narrators and storytellers of the region.
Information about the story of Sayre and Ali Mamad
Unfortunately, the time is not mentioned in any of the versions. We have no information about the years in which this story happened, but Samra Damrel Kut wrote the story of Sayre and Ali Mamad under the name of Avina Rast (True Love). He says in an interview that this story took place in the 17th and 18th centuries, but we can’t verify this information at all.
The story never mentions the villages of Sayre and Ali Mamad; Mirado always says the land of Hasanan and Hayderan. This tribe is very large that we cannot say that Sayre and Ali are from there. In addition to the land of Hasanan and Hayderan, the village of Iskan Gulikhan, which means Komani Castle, is often mentioned. There is a village called Komaniya in Hawel, this village may be that village. Mirado does not say that this is a Yazidi village, but when he talks about Iskan Gulikhan, he says it is a Yezidi village. Now this village is not a Yazidi village. In addition, at minute 38:15, Mirado says: "Haspani Kupras Spring." Kupras is a village on the Karboran, and the Haspan spring is famous, so based on Komani and Kupras villages we can find the borders of Hasanan and Hayderan. I think the borders are small because when Sayre tells Ali to run, she immediately says that Iskan Gulkhan is the nobleman of the village of Komani Castle. Narrators, on the other hand, change a story when they tell it. It is possible that Mirado simulated the story with villages and mountains surrounding the "Tor region" because the place is not known as an era, it needs to be studied.
The story of Sayre and Ali Mamad is a folklore, sociological, and historical story. I hope that research will be done on this story and we will publish this more widely. A theatrical play will certainly emerge from this fascinating story. Our narrators have also prepared the dialogues, and now I think this story is in the hands of our playwrights.
Resources:
1. Information about his life is taken from the following source: Mehmet Amin Aslan, Hosta Rabbi Murad Kne, and the analysis of his battle called Ose Zeri, Van Yüzüncü Yıl University, unpublished master's thesis, 2019 p. 49
2. https://youtu.be/PaMsUmB4Wnw
3. https://youtu.be/nDbWxVZjtfc
4. https://artigercek.com/kultur-sanat/semire-demirel-kut-seyre-ve-eliye-memedin-hikayesini-kitaplastirdi-231063h
