Cigerxwîn

Cigerxwîn
Born	1903 Batman, Ottoman Empire
Died	October 22, 1984 (80–81)
Occupation	poet, writer, journalist, historian, lexicographer
Nationality	Kurdish
Literary movement	Nationalism, romanticism

Cigerxwîn or Cegerxwîn (pronounced Jigar Khwin; 1903 – October 22, 1984) was a renowned Kurdish polymath and nationalist. He is known to be one of the most influential Kurdish writers and poets in the Kurdistan region of the Middle East, and his work has been renewed for the creation of hundreds of songs and played a crucial role in the preservation of Kurdish cultural heritage.

Cigerxwîn's real name was Sheikhmous Hasan. His pen name, Cigerxwîn, means "bleeding liver" in the Kurdish language. He was born to a Yazidi mother in the Kurdish village of Hesar close to the city of Batman, within the then-Ottoman Empire, now in south-east Turkey. The year of his birth is known, but no documentation exists to indicate the day and month. In 1914, at the beginning of World War I, his family became refugees and fled to Amude near the city of Qamishli in present-day north-eastern Syria.

Cigerxwîn studied theology and became a cleric in 1921. He and his compatriots established a Kurdish association in Amude. In 1946 he moved to Qamishli and became involved in politics. In the same year, he became the secretary of "Civata Azadî û Yekîtiya Kurd" (Kurdish Freedom and Union Front). In 1948 he joined the Communist Party of Syria and became the Party's candidate for the Syrian Parliament in 1954. He left the Communist Party in 1957 to create the "Azadî" (Freedom) organization. After a period of time, this new party was united with the Kurdish Democratic Party of Syria.

Cigerxwîn was arrested and jailed in Damascus in 1963 and was eventually exiled to the city of Suwayda. In 1969 he moved to Iraqi Kurdistan, where he became involved in the Kurdish uprising led by Mustafa Barzani. In 1973 he went to Lebanon where he published his widely publicized poetry collection Kîme Ez? (Who Am I?). In 1976, he returned to Syria, but three years later, at the age of 75 or 76, he again fled to Sweden. He was able to publish several collections of poetry in Sweden.

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