Wafaei

Who was Wafaei?

Wafaei or Wefayî, was a Kurdish poet. His real name was Abdorrahim. He was born in Mahabad in present-day north-western Iran. He finished religious studies in Mahabad and became a cleric, and a teacher in the local school. He moved to Sulaimaniya in 1900 and stayed there for a while. He travelled to Mecca three times, the last one in 1902. He was accompanied by the Kurdish poet Piramerd. During his last pilgrimage, he became ill and died in the region between Iraq and Syria.