Ayşe Şan

Ayşe Şan (Aysha Shan) (1938, in Diyarbakır – 18 December 1996, in İzmir) was a Kurdish singer. She was also known by the names Eyşana Kurd, Eyşe Xan, Eyşana Eli. She is considered as one of the most legendary voices in contemporary Kurdish music.[1][2]

Ayşe Şan
Born1938
Diyarbakır
Died18 December 1996
Izmir
NationalityTurkish, Kurdish
Other namesEyşana Kurd, Eyşe Xan, Eyşana Eli
OccupationSinger, dengbêj
Years active1956 - 1996
Known forSinging in Kurdish

Her father was a traditional Kurdish singer or dengbêj. Ayşe began singing at local events in 1958. After an unsuccessful marriage, she moved to Gaziantep, where she began recording Turkish songs for the local radio station. She moved to Istanbul in 1960 and recorded her first album in Kurdish. Due to pressure on artists performing in Kurdish, she emigrated to Germany in 1976.[3] While in Germany, her 18 month old daughter Shahnaz died,[4] and Şan wrote the song "Qederê" in memory of her daughter.[5]

In 1979, she paid a visit to Iraqi Kurdistan where she met with many Kurdish musicians and singers such as Mihemed Arif Cizîrî and Tahsin Taha. From the 1980s onwards, she settled in Izmir and worked in a local post office until her death in 1996 due to cancer. Despite her wishes to be buried in Diyarbakir, Şan's family reportedly could not afford the expense of doing so.[3]

Şan was known as 'the Queen without a crown'.[5]

Among her most famous songs is "Xerîbim Dayê". The song is about her mother's death, a sad episode in her life. Ayşê Şan lyrics can be found at the Kurdish Lyrics Archive at Bejebeje.com

References
  1. Biography of Eyse San Archived February 7, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  2. Diken, Şeyhmus (2007). Amidalılar: sürgündeki Diyarbekirliler (in Turkish). Istanbul: İletişim. p. 165. ISBN 978-975-05-0493-8.
  3. "Kürt müziğinin önemli seslerinden Ayşe Şan'". 2016-08-20. Archived from the original on 2016-08-20. Retrieved 2019-03-30.
  4. "Ayşe Şan Kimdir - Ayşe Şan Nerelidir - Ayşe Şan Hayatı - Ayşe Şan Biyografisi | KurtceBilgi.Com". 2016-08-10. Archived from the original on 2016-08-10. Retrieved 2019-03-30.
  5. Gazetesi, Evrensel (2016-12-18). "'Taçsız kraliçe': Ayşe Şan". Evrensel.net (in Turkish). Retrieved 2019-03-30.
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