Hozan Diyar

Hozan Diyar — Biography

Hozan Diyar, credited on some releases simply as Diyar or as Diyar Dêrsim, is a Kurdish singer who works between the ozan (bard) tradition and pop arrangement. He was born on 1 December 1966 in the village of Ayvatlı, in the Mazgirt district of Tunceli province; only the German-language account goes down to the village, while Wikidata and DBpedia stop at Mazgirt and Tunceli.

His legal name is contested. The German, English, Arabic and Persian encyclopaedia entries all name him Diyar Yıldırım, whereas the Turkish entry gives Veli Yaşar; the agreement of four independent language versions makes Yıldırım the likelier form. Persian-language coverage adds that his family comes from the Zaza Kurds. His catalogue is carried on Spotify and Discogs.

He publicly backed the pro-Kurdish HDP at the 2015 Turkish general election and recorded a campaign song with the party's co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş, a collaboration reported at length by outlets including Bianet and Gazete Duvar. In later years he spoke to Kurdish-language media such as Rudaw, ANF and Kurdistan24 about Kurdish politics and the role music plays in it.