Hijri Dede

Who was Hijri Dede?

Hijri Dede was a poet from Kirkuk, Iraq. He wrote primarily in Turkmen, but also wrote in Persian and Kurdish. He was believed to belong Kirkurk's Gurani-Kurdish, however the poet's ethnicity and religious beliefs are still a source of controversy, reflecting the ethnic nature of Kirkuk. Some Turkmen nationalists consider him as one of their own.

The poet, as almost all of the other Gurani, was usually quite secretive about his religious beliefs and practices: when asked by outsiders, he would often claim to be Orthodox Sunni or, sometimes, Twelver Shi'a. According to some sources, Hijri Dede died in December 1952.