Vildan Atmaca / JINHA

WAN- Dengbêj is the oldest and the most efficient oral art of Kurdistan. Women try to hand this art to the next generations.

The main source of Dengbêj, which is oral literature of Kurdish culture, is love, war and migrations. Dengbêj (traditional Kurdish singer) is called also storytellers or reciters of epics. Dengbêj tradition began in Serhat area of North Kurdistan and then it has spreaded all around Kurdistan. Dengbêj (traditional Kurdish singers) are travelling the villages by reciting the stories and epics. Women Dengbêj have an important role to bring Dengbêj art to these days. Meryam Tunce, is one of the Dengbêj women in Van, said that the main source of the Dengbêj is telling the "suffering". "Indeed, Kurdish women are the women of suffering. Women were prevented to be Dengbêj. I came here thanks to our leadership [refer to Abdullah Öcalan, the leader of the PKK], our martyrs and our party.

"We were raised with the songs of our mothers and the old stories of Kurds. However, our children have been assimilated by the state's policies. When I tell the stories and tales, which I was listened when I was child, to my children, they ask me "Mother, Whose story is this?" I call on all mothers; tell the culture of Kurds to your children. We are killed just for our language and identity.

"There is war in Cizre, Silopi and Sur now. We tell this war with our songs. We, as women, will continue to keep our culture alive despite the assimilation policies."

(dc/gd)