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Dengbej

Dengbej is a combination of two words: deng (voice) and bej (sing). Dengbej is used to describe a traveling orator, someone who ensures that stories are told in harmony. Dengbejs often travelled from village to village, entertaining local residents by singing epics, poems, hymns and stories. The romances, natural events, wars and heroic acts of this culture, with a history dating from antiquity, are recited by dengbejs. In the past, lovers from different villages sent messages to each other through the kilams recited by dengbejs. Today, this tradition is continued in the Cizre dengbej house.