One of the first stories I was told for this project was the story of Fatima's Children. I was chatting with Tamadour and she just told it right off the top of her head - and I didn't have my recording kit with me! Fatima is a Snow White / Cinderella type character, who turns up in a few stories (including the final story we will be sharing this week) In Tamadour's story, she leaves her children at home while she goes out to work.
Some weeks later, Ilona, Alison and I visited Rouzine to talk about Kurdish traditions and folklore - much of which had been suppressed in Syria. Mostly we talked about the Newroz tradition and the King under the hill - but then Roijin spoke to us about Shengay and Pengay, which features two sheep left at home by their mother while she goes out for food.
Both are "wolf at the door" stories featuring a dangerous male character attempting to gain entry to a house. And of course we are perhaps more familiar with the version in which a wolf tries to get into the houses of the Three Little Pigs.
Our version of the story of Shengay and Pengay can be heard below, and there's a Kurdish version on youtube.
Thankfully, I did eventually manage to get Tamadour to record her Fatima's Children story too, which you can also hear below.
