WANA (May 14) – Imagine standing somewhere you can hear the sound of a flowing river, where the strange and traditional architecture of the houses leaves you in awe.

 

A place where homes are stacked like steps on the mountainside, where one roof is another’s courtyard. The crisp, cool air fills your lungs, and a soul-stirring, omnipresent music—born from the heart of the mountains and the people—plays with your spirit.

 

A Village on the Mountain’s Shoulder

This is Palangan—a stepped village nestled in the mountains of Kurdistan, western Iran, where even stone and wood speak the Kurdish language, and a clear river runs through the heart of the village like a lifeline.

Women playing dafs in Palangan’s Thousand Dafs Ceremony in Kurdistan. Social media/ WANA News Agency

But today, Palangan is more than just a village. Today, it is a living instrument—a great percussion of sound, faith, and feeling from thousands of dafs (an Iranian frame drum musical instrument also used in popular and classical music in Persian-influenced South and Central Asia), for the day of the “Thousand Dafs” ceremony has arrived.

 

The Rite of a Thousand Dafs: A Voice from the Heart of Faith

People have come from far and near — people of all genders and ages. Colorful traditional garments gleam in the sunlight, and one by one, the dafs emerge from their cloth cases.

 

A hand strokes the leather, eyes glance at the sky, and the first beat lands on the daf. Then, like a river, a wave of sound flows forth. One person plays, a hundred respond. A hundred play, and a thousand hearts beat in unison. If you’re drawn to the fusion of music and nature, this ceremony is for you.

 

The Thousand Dafs ceremony in Palangan, nourished by the soil and mysticism, is a day of remembrance, a day of unity. The daf — a spiritual instrument and long-time companion of the rituals of the Ahl-e Haqq and Sufi orders — reaches its peak of glory on this day.

A woman holding a daf in Palangan’s Thousand Dafs Ceremony in Kurdistan. Social media/ WANA News Agency

The local belief is that every daf has a soul. That’s why, if a daf tears or breaks amid the ecstatic rhythm and successive beats, they don’t say it’s damaged; they say it was “martyred.”

 

Palangan’s Thousand Dafs Timing and National Registration

The Thousand Dafs ceremony of Palangan is not just a local event but a cultural treasure that, in recent years, has attracted both domestic and international tourists. This ceremony is held annually in late April or early May.

 

This cultural event, held in the historic village of Palangan in Kamyaran County, plays an important role in the development of cultural tourism in the region. Its aim is to revive mystical music, strengthen local identity, and attract both domestic and foreign tourists.

 

According to the director of tourism in Kurdistan Province, the “Thousand Dafs of Palangan” ceremony was officially registered on May 13, 2025, in the national calendar of tourism events of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Palangan’s Thousand Dafs Ceremony in Kurdistan. Social media/ WANA News Agency

Structure and Manner of Palangan’s Thousand Dafs

The roots of this ritual go back to mystical traditions and collective chanting (dhikr), a ceremony in which music is not for entertainment, but for spiritual connection.

 

The Thousand Dafs ceremony of Palangan begins with the recitation of verses from the Qur’an to lend a spiritual and mystical atmosphere to the event. The daf players, both professional and local, perform in solo and group turns.

 

During the ceremony, daf-playing competitions are sometimes held. The climax is when all the players simultaneously sound their dafs, and a unified melody fills the air.

 

And if one day you wish to hear the sound of faith, go to Palangan on the Day of a Thousand Dafs — where the heartbeat and the rhythm of the dafs become one.