The Kurds, one of the indigenous peoples of the Middle East, possess a rich history and culture, including a sophisticated musical tradition.
Traditional Kurdish music primarily means folk music, with the most significant oral tradition being the "dengbej" culture. In Kurdish, "deng" means "voice," and "bej" means "to say." Hence, a dengbej is someone who "says the voice" or "conveys the voice." Dengbejs are carriers of oral culture. Just as dengbejs exist in Kurdish music, other cultures have their carriers of oral tradition. Examples include "ozan" ("bard") and "aşık" ("ministrel") in Turkish culture, "kıssahan" ("storyteller") and "shahnama-han" in Persian culture, homerides and rhapsodoi in ancient Greek culture, and troubadours in French culture. Nations or peoples living close to each other often have more cultural similarities and parallels than commonly believed.
Dengbejs have embraced almost everything arising from society, including all epic products, heroism, love, war laments, historical events, legends, fairy tales, stories and deeply impactful societal events. Writing was seen as the work of scholars for dengbejs. They did not engage with written culture but served as the collective memory of Kurdish history and culture. Possessing good memories and strong voices, dengbejs are cultural guardians ensuring the faithful transmission of songs, tales, epics and stories from generation to generation.
Through cultural and literary works, individuals maintain contact with their roots. Until the early 20th century, oral culture was more dominant and widespread than written culture. Dengbejs were trained through a master-apprentice system. This relationship was a primary learning method for preserving and revitalizing societal memory. A dengbej would learn from another dengbej and add their interpretation before passing it on. This process allowed their society to maintain a connection with the past. Oral communication, lacking concrete evidence, had to be constantly repeated to avoid being forgotten, necessitating its intensive use in daily life. Dengbejs have kept Kurdish literature alive with their stories for centuries and continue to promote Kurdish culture.
In Kurdish society, dengbejs are generally respected wherever they go. They are usually hosted by the local "bey" ("chief") and receive material compensation for their performances.
Dengbejs grow up in the diwan, knowing its etiquette. The diwan is a gathering place for people. A dengbej knows how to properly sit, stand and listen, bearing a responsibility toward their audience. They must record new things in their minds daily. A dengbej who loses their verbal weight is not valued and falls from grace. They typically do not use instruments in their performances, often holding their hands to their ears and performing their works loudly and sometimes rhythmically or freely.
The melodic narration of dengbejs is called "kılam." A dengbej expresses specific emotions through melismas while singing kılam, always incorporating improvisation. They narrate what they know, hear and experience. Like travelers, dengbejs continuously wander, playing an active role as folk poets in forming a national Kurdish culture. The fundamental difference between dengbejs and the aşık of Anatolia is that each dengbej is patronized by a mir, while aşık are not.
One of the first things that comes to mind when thinking of the dengbej culture is Radio Yerevan. Located in Armenia's capital, Yerevan, Radio Yerevan became a platform during the Soviet era for many dengbejs from the Middle East to make their voices heard for various reasons. Radio Yerevan was as renowned as Radio Moscow. From the late 1950s to the early 1980s, tribalism still shaped daily life and relationships.
Tribal leadership was in the hands of aghas in small settlements and mirs (beys) in larger ones. Those who could afford radios were usually aghas and mirs, and radios were typically only found in their homes. During the period of intense repression against the Kurdish language in Türkiye until the 1990s, Radio Yerevan played a crucial role in the development of Kurdish literature and the preservation of linguistic and cultural unity among Kurds in Türkiye.
They could listen to Kurdish, which they couldn't hear on their national radios, on Radio Yerevan. Many Kurdish mirs and aghas sent their patronized dengbejs to Radio Yerevan, leading to a dengbej competition through the mirs and aghas. The public participated in this competition by listening to the radio in groups at the homes of the mirs and aghas. This also facilitated the recording of oral culture.
Without Yerevan Radio, we would not have been able to hear the voices and narrations of dozens of male and female dengbejs today.
