Wefayî and the Building Stones of His Dîwan: Wisdom, Love, and Sadness
Abstract
Wefayî (1844-1902) is considered one of the significant figures in 19th-century Classical Kurdish poetry. Wefayî, particularly known for his Diwan, also authored another important work, Tuhfetu'l-Murîdîn, a hagiography in which he recounts the relationships between Sufi lodges and orders of his time. Wefayî's life and his relationships with the Sufi order—especially his relationship with the Nehri sheikhs—are given significant attention in his biography. In this study, we will focus on Wefayî’s Diwan, which is regarded as a significant literary work and one of the masterpieces of the Kurdish language. We will evaluate the aesthetic pleasure captured by this bilingual (Kurdish and Persian) work within the context of the traditions and canonical codes of Classical poetry, particularly through the dominant metaphors present in the Diwan. In Wefayî’s Diwan, well-known themes and metaphors such as love, wisdom, sorrow, and the portrayal of the beloved are expressed in a fresh style. We will examine Wefayî’s Diwan, a text of significant importance in this respect, through the metaphors in its ghazals and attempt to evaluate it within the framework of the classical poetry tradition.
Keywords
Thanks
References
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Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Kurdish Language, Literature and Culture
Journal Section
Research Article
Authors
Ayhan Tek
*
0000-0002-9862-6938
Türkiye
Publication Date
April 30, 2026
Submission Date
December 30, 2025
Acceptance Date
March 12, 2026
Published in Issue
Year 2026 Volume: 14 Number: 1