Dengbêjs: Collective Storytelling Across Borders

This report summarizes the process and outcomes of a Generative Narrative Workshop (GNW) held in Van. The preparatory phase of the project took place between August and September 2025, during which the conceptual framework and participant collaboration were developed. The workshop brought together artists from different cultural backgrounds to explore shared narratives through music and oral storytelling.

As part of the workshop, a dengbêj and three Afghan musicians were invited to collaborate. Coming from different musical and cultural traditions, the participants engaged in a collective creative process centered on themes of migration, border crossing, and memory. The encounter created a space where oral narrative traditions and musical practices could intersect and inform one another.

Dengbêjî is a traditional Kurdish form of oral storytelling. Dengbêjs perform long, melodic narratives—often without instrumental accompaniment—that recount historical events, love stories, social struggles, migration experiences, and collective memories. This tradition plays an important role in preserving and transmitting communal history and cultural memory across generations.

The workshop focused on the lived experience of migration and border crossing. Participants reflected on personal and collective memories related to movement, displacement, and borders, transforming these reflections into musical and narrative expressions. Through dialogue, improvisation, and collaborative experimentation, these elements were developed into a shared creative output.

As a result of the GNW process, a short video was produced titled “Voices: The Memory of the Border.” The video combines music, oral narration, and atmospheric imagery to explore how border experiences are remembered and expressed. The preparation and filming of the video were carried out in collaboration with a local technical crew, ensuring that the production process was rooted in the local context and supported by regional expertise.

The video reflects the collaborative work of artists from different cultural backgrounds and presents a layered narrative of migration, memory, and the border.