THE PLACE OF WOMAN POETS IN YARSAN LITERATURE YARSAN EDEBİYATINDA KADIN ŞAİRLERİN YERİ

The deep-rooted and extensive literature of the Yarsans can be assumed as the forerunner of Kurdish literature. This literature, which started orally, has been passed down from generation to generation for centuries. They are not well known outside of their own society as they forced to live their culture and beliefs in secret for social, political, ethnic and religious reasons. The poems called kalam in the Yarsans were written down in the 15th century and mainly focused on themes such as social life, belief and ritual. There are many poets who have words in Yarsan literature and women have an important place among these poets, at the same time the words of women are seen as sacred. Reincarnation (dûnadûn) is the basis of this belief, so there is equality between men and women since the gender of a person in the previous period is not known. These women not only speak words, they have a sitting place in Cem and they also have a share of food. Moreover, the tanbûr, which is considered sacred by the Yarsans, is also played by women and has an important place in this culture. Another important subject of the Yarsan tradition is the symbolic mothers of the Gods, in other words, women who gave birth to their children as virgins like Mary. The problems that these women experienced during pregnancy were expressed in the words and the dialogues they had with the angels who helped them form an important part of this literature.
Keywords: Yarsan, Yarsan Literature, Yarsan Women, Kalam, Reincarnation.