Meme Alan

              Meme Alan: Overview

By Baroj Hashim

Meme Alan is the first Kurdish play written by the Kurdish writer Evdilrehim Rehmi Hekari

The play was published in Jin magazine in 1919. It is a short revolutionary play about a Kurdish patriot called Memo. The Mir of Colemerg gives an order to young Kurdish patriots to join Sultan Saladin Ayyubi in order to annihilate Christians and to liberate Jerusalem. Memo is fatherless, so he has to take permission from Cavrash, his mother, to join the Kurdish army, his mother allows him to fight against their enemies. Lawend, another revolutionary Kurdish fighter pays Memo a visit so that they two could fix a date for joining the Mir. Memo regales his friend with the thrilling news that he has been permitted by his mother to fight against their enemies, so his friend takes his leave and tells him to prepare himself for the next day. Khazal, Memo’s wife, appears with a stream of tears coming from her eyes; Memo helps her to wipe away her tears, and tells her to stay with his mother who would be alone when he joins the Kurdish fighters.

However, she seems to have no choice but to accept her bitter fate. After a year, Cavrash receives a news that Memo is alive and he is to come back home soon. Luckily, she informs her daughter-in-law that her husband is safe. Afterwards, Cavrash leaves the house, and a disguised guest knocks at the door, Khazal opens the door and welcomes him warmly. When Khazal serves him, he tries to approach her, but she reacts gallantly, and gives him a lesson that Kurds people are too polite and hospitable with their guest, and they can never accept any kind of immoral behavior. So, unexpectedly, the unknown guest reveals himself to her to be her husband. When she sees that her husband is before her, she could not believe her eyes, so all of a sudden; they embrace each other and fall into deep slumber.

When Cavrash comes back home she knocks at their door but nobody opens it, thus, she breaks the door and sees her daughter-in-law in bed with a stranger. So she brings a spear and hits Memo in the chest, he begins to mourn, and his wife wakes up and sees her husband covered in blood, so she shouts and condemns her mother-in-law for the heinous deed she has just done, after that, they two sing and wail together:

Herê, Memo, Mem Ebasi Ebasi

Brindaro Memo,Dayê Kore bit, nenasi