Dr. Argun Çakır, Dr. Marlene Schäfers: Dengbêj Gazîn: Songs of a Kurdish Woman

Launch of an edition of the texts from Dengbêj Gazîn

11 February 2026, 19:00, Online
Language: English
Discussant: Dr. Farangis Ghaderi (University of Exter)
Moderation: Martin Greve

Dengbêjs are among the most prestigious Kurdish oral performers. Through melodised speech, they recount historical events, legendary narratives, and personal experiences. This online event presents the edition of the repertoire of Dengbêj Gazîn (1959–2018), a singer-poet from Tetwan (Tatvan) and one of the most renowned female Kurdish dengbêjs of her time. Dengbêjs have played a central role in the transmission of Kurdish history and have preserved the richness of the Kurdish language. This edition offers rare insight into the creative processes of a female dengbêj. Due to restrictive social norms, Kurdish women singers have often found it difficult to perform in public. Based on 210 sound recordings, the edition makes available the original audio recordings of Dengbêj Gazîn, alongside (Kurmanji) Kurdish transcriptions and Turkish translations, supplemented by critical editorial commentary.

Dr. Argun Çakır is an anthropologist and ethnomusicologist. He is the editor of the Dengbêj Gazîn project.
Dr. Marlene Schäfers is associate professor of Cultural Anthropology at Utrecht University
Dr. Farangis Ghaderi is Lecturer in Gender and Kurdish Studies, Principal Investigator of the Kurdish Digital Archives project, and Director of the Centre for Kurdish Studies at the University of Exeter.
Moderation: Dr. habil. Martin Greve, ethnomusicologist at Orient-Institute Istanbul and Orient-Institute Beirut. Coordinator of the Dengbêj Gazîn project

The event is online. The language of the event is English.
Participation is free of charge.

To join ONLINE please use this Zoom Link. No registration necessary
https://maxweberstiftung.zoom-x.de/j/61776133316?pwd=rLeWWFS9igDcgfrkDISFwzexy0J7aK.1

ID: 617 7613 3316
Password: 573374

The event will not be recorded.