| Bı dengê Kazo awazên resen |
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Concert of Kurdish songs by Dengbej Kazo Tue 19 November, 7pm Pod Bia³ym Bocianem Synagogue, ul. Paw³a W³odkowica 5a Admission free Concert as part of Voicencounters, practical seminar Dengbej Kazo was born in 1950 in Van and now lives near Istanbul. He often gives concerts performing both popular Kurdish songs and his own compositions. He also improvises in keeping with the tradition of the dengbej (travelling Kurdish singers and storytellers). In 1960 the Turkish government officially banned the practice of the dengbej. In the 1980s many of the dengbej had to move to the cities in search of safety and work, and settled in their poorest sections. The dengbej tradition started to fade into oblivion. In 2003 a number of EU-funded projects were begun to protect this tradition. The memory of the dengbej is a rich fund of knowledge about Kurdish history and tradition. Documentation efforts are now underway to describe this extraordinary phenomenon of voices that embody the past.  Dengbej are Kurdish storytellers who collect and recite stories about life in Kurdish villages and cities. There are many comparisons that can be drawn between the dengbej of Kurdistan and the historical entertainers and epic poets of other cultures. France had their jongleurs and minstrels, and England had their bards. Though similar to these traditions, the dengbej differ in that they have traditionally been dependant on their voice alone rather than using instrumental accompaniments. The topics of a dengbej’s kilams (songs), which can last from hours to days, generally include: the heroic deeds of warriors (pêlewan), the adventures of wanderers, battles between Kurdish tribes, tragedies and delights of loves won and loves lost, and the struggle against disasters of nature and man. The criminalization of the Kurdish language after the military coup of 1980 finally silenced the storytellers, and many songs were lost.   |