Hearing government authorities label musicians as ‘subversive’ evokes stereotypical images of uptight conservatives railing against disaffected youth pumped up on punk rock nihilism; it doesn’t automatically call to mind this gaggle of seniors singing a cappella. But, in the Republic of Turkey, one thing in particular pushed these musicians into outlaw territory: the fact that they sang in Kurdish. For decades, state policy in Turkey aimed to impose cultural, linguistic, and ethnic homogeneity; Kurdish identity was to be suppressed. The Republic long insisted on denying the very existence of Kurds, referring to them in official discourses as ‘mountain Turks’. To acknowledge diversity was to imperil the integrity of the state, and accordingly, these dengbêj (‘deng’ meaning ‘voice’ in Kurdish) – bards who memorised repertoires of legends, lore, and epic tales, and served as links to venerable Kurdish culture – were seen as being especially dangerous.
Posted on: Mon, 09 Jun 2014 20:34:06 +0000
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