At a Glance

• "Mam and Zin" concert held in Erbil.
• Hosted by musician Dana Muhyaddin.
• Organized with Goethe-Institut partnership.
• Previously performed in Sulaymaniyah.

The "Mam and Zin" evening concert was held in Erbil, bringing the classic Kurdish epic to audiences through the traditional art of Kurdish epic storytelling in song (Dangbezhy), organized under the auspices of the General Directorate of Culture and Arts in Erbil and in partnership with the German Goethe-Institut.

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Key Statements and Focus Area

• Musician and traditional singer Dana Muhyaddin hosted the concert.
• The event was organized by the General Directorate of Culture and Arts in Erbil in partnership with the German Goethe-Institut.
• Senior cultural officials and representatives of the Goethe-Institut attended the event.
• The performance presents Ahmadi Khani's Mam and Zin through the traditional art of Dangbezhy.

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Traditional Performance Held in Erbil

Musician and traditional singer Dana Muhyaddin hosted the "Mam and Zin" evening concert in Erbil.

The event was organized under the auspices of the General Directorate of Culture and Arts in Erbil in partnership with the German Goethe-Institut.

The concert took place at the Erbil Culture Hall. It was attended by several cultural figures, including Sirwan Osman, Director General of Culture and Arts in Erbil, and Thomas Lier, Director of the German Goethe-Institut.

The performance presents Mam and Zin, the celebrated Kurdish epic by Ahmadi Khani, through the traditional art of Dangbezhy, a form of storytelling through song.

The concert was first staged earlier this year in Sulaymaniyah before being presented to audiences in Erbil.

For You: Through Our Lens

Mam and Zin is the national epic of Kurdish literature, written in 1692 by the poet and philosopher Ahmadi Khani. Often called the Kurdish Romeo and Juliet, it tells the tragic story of two young lovers, Mam, a noble courtier, and Zin, the sister of the Prince of Botan, whose union is doomed by the intrigues of the treacherous court advisor Beko, leading to Man's death in a dungeon and Zin dying of grief at his grave.

Beyond its heartbreaking romantic narrative, Khani crafted the tale as both a Sufi spiritual allegory for divine love and a groundbreaking political call for Kurdish unity, independence, and the preservation of the Kurdish language.