VIDEO: Kurdish Kakeis sing Hora in Dalahu area, Kermanshah Province, northwest of Iran.
It is a characteristic of the Kurdish Hore and Siyaw Chemane that the vocalist sings without any musical instruments, a tradition that goes back many centuries ago. Some have even traced it back to the era of Zoroastrianism, an ancient religion which predates both Islam and Christianity.
The religion of the Kakei Kurds’, also called Yarsans, has been kept largely secret to this day, and is different from Zoroastrianism. They say they have preserved the Zoroastrian songs along with the Hawrami speaking Kurds.
Zoroastrianism is an ancient religion which grew to popularity in present-day Iran and some parts of Iraq and then spread across of the world.
Many of its adherents in Kurdistan believe the founder of the religion, Zoroaster or Zardasht as it is called in Kurdish, was a Kurd and he spoke a variation of Kurdish language called Avesta.
Kurdish Zoroastrians believe that the Kurdish dialect of Hawrami, still widely spoken in Kurdish areas in Iran and Iraq, has many similarities to the ancient language.
The word Hore is believed to have originated from the Avestan word Ahura or Ahura Mazda, the only creator of the universe in Zoroastrianism.
Hore is more popular in the southern parts of the Iranian Kurdistan.
Siyaw Chemane, widely sung by the Hawrami speakers in the mountainous regions of Hawramn both in Iraq and Iran, is said to come from the Hawrami words Black and Eyes.
Black eyes is a trait which signifies beauty in Kurdish culture.
It may also come from Siyaw Camane, meaning black turban worn by men.
Many of the Kakei religious texts are in Hawrami, and some of their areas are located in Hawraman region.
They say the Hawramis are not the sole owner of Siyaw Chemane, but they too share this wealth of Kurdish songs, although different in form and language.
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