Hemn, the National Poet

Hemn's real name was "Sayid Mohammad Amin son of Sayid Hassan Sheikhaleslami Mokri" and was born in the family of Mullah Jami Chori. His mother's name was Zeinab, the daughter of Sheikh Burhan, who is now a large family in Mukriyan. Hemn was born in 1300 AH (1921) in Lachin village of Mahabad city.

During childhood, he listened to the stories of Daya Mrot, an old woman who was experienced and learned many valuable things from her. He studied the alphabet with Saied Nakam. Before teaching him the alphabet, he read him the story "Bznoke u Maroke" by Hussein Huzni Mukriyani, and Hemn memorized it. He also learned the poems of classical poets and many other things. His father sent him to Mahabad to continue his studies, and he started his education at the Saadat School in Mahabad.

Hemn passed his studies successfully that year and returned to the village in the summer to study with the mullah of the village and his father and practice calligraphy. When his father learned that he was good at calligraphy, he stopped studying and told him to study Religion and sent him to the monastery of Sheikh Burhan. There Hemn met Hazhar and studied at the monastery of Sheikh Burhan for four years, but to no avail because he did not take the four years seriously. There are eight or nine friends in Sheikh Burhan's monastery. All the others except Hazhar are Hemn's cousins and grandchildren of Sheikh Burhan, so nobody could force them to study.

Character Designer: Hemn Qaramani

Then, he went to Mamosta Fawzi and studied with him for a year and a half. Fawzi opened the door of knowledge to Hemn, showed him the way of life, and told him that he was a Kurdish child and the Kurds are a deprived and oppressed nation. He taught him how to love his country, how to write, and, how to recite poetry. He taught that Kurds have a rich language and have great writers in the world.

Hemn was born at a time when Reza Khan, who imitated Ataturk, was in power. Kurdish clothes are completely banned and he insulted people as much as he could and brought modern fashioned clothes into the market. Hemn grows up in this situation, where he feels human slavery in the brain, nerves, bones, and skin.

Hemn's name dates back to the time when he became a member of the Society for the Revival of Kurdistan (JK), published poetry in the magazine of the Kurdistan Republic, read poetry on occasion, and received the title of the national poet from Peshawa Qazi Mohammad.

Seated from right: Hazhar - Peshawa Qazi Mohammad - Hemn

On August 16, 1942, the JK was founded in Mahabad by Rahman Zabihi and a few others. Hemn became a member of the society and every day he thought about what he could do for the society that was working for the liberation of Kurdistan. He became the editor of the magazine Nishtiman and later Awat magazine. In 1945, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) was founded under the leadership of Qazi Mohammad, Hemn read poetry in front of people for the first time in the Red Mosque of Mahabad and became the secretary of the Democratic National Executive Committee and later joined the party's propaganda commission. In the republic, he worked to write Kurdish books in Kurdistan schools. He published poems and articles in magazines such as Kurdistan, Hawari Kurd, Hawari Nishtiman, Grugali Mandalan, and Halala.

On August 16, 1953, a meeting was held in Mahabad and Hemn read the poem “Go, traitorous king, let Baghdad behalf of your way”. In the coup of August 19 that year, Hemn was smuggled into hiding for a long time. A few years later, he moved to the southern part of Kurdistan and joined the Peshmergas of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (PDKI). He joined the September Revolution for a while, where he met his friend, Hazhar, after many years.

Hemn was elected as an honorary member of the central committee of the Democratic Party at several congresses. However, Hemn's fame is due to his poems written for the Kurdish people and his sorrows and wishes.

Mamosta Hemn in Shilanawe village - 1981

Hemn is one of the pioneers of contemporary Kurdish classical poetry in the field of updating poetry and using various forms besides Ghazal and Masnavi. He is one of the leaders in both the field of language and the use of the language of the villagers in poetry. According to him, the poet Saifulquzat was the inventor of this style and the teacher of Mukriyan poets.

As for the content of his poetry, Hemn was one of the poets who paid more attention to the social issues of the Kurdish people, and political and historical events than his predecessors and most of his contemporaries. The concerns and aspirations of the Kurdish people, women's issues, and women's rights in society have been reflected in Hemn's poetry.

After the Iranian People's Revolution, Hemn left the Democratic Party and established the Salahaddin Ayubi Publishing House in Urmia, which published Kurdish books and a magazine called Sirwa, of which Hemn was the editor-in-chief of only four issues.

Hemn passed away on April 18, 1986, in Urmia and was buried in the Budagh Sultan Cemetery in Mahabad.