Bangi, Kurmanji Mourning Songs: The Structure and Content of a Local Elegiac Genre
Document Type : پژوهشی اصیل
Authors
1
Associate Professor of Persian Language and Literature Department, .Faculty of Humanities, University of Bojnord, Bojnord, Iran
2
Researcher in the field of folk culture and literature of Kurmanj tribe, Bojnord, Iran.
3
Graduated in Persian Language and Literature from University of Bojnord, Bojnord, Iran.
10.48311/cfl.2026.86484.0
Abstract
Folk culture and literature reflect ancient rituals and customs. Taking into consideration the significance of national identity and history, one can access a deeper understanding of our longstanding cultural identity and its aesthetic richness through the study of the traditional customs of Iranian ethnic groups—elements of which are manifested among various communities, including the Kurmanj tribe in the Northern Khorasan. One such custom among the Kurmanj tribe is the recitation of an elegiac song known as Bangi, delivered extemporaneously by Kurmanj women. These songs have a free, syllabic, and accentual meter. In terms of rhetorical devices, they display a high frequency of metaphor, simile, personification,
metonymy, and allusion. Giving preeminence to the audience and a concrete mode of expression are two of their principal stylistic features. The present study aims to identify Kurmanji lamentation songs and to introduce the structure and content of this genre within Kurmanj folk literature by examining approximately forty examples gathered through a fieldwork methodology—specifically interviews with Bangi performers—alongside library-based research. The findings indicate that the Bangi is a type of oral folk literature composed and sung by Kurmanj women upon the death of a loved one, with particular attention to the personal characteristics of the deceased. These songs convey profound meanings and are accompanied by numerous Kurmanj rituals, such as scattering dust upon one’s head, cutting one’s hair, applying henna during the burial of an unmarried person, and refraining from combing the hair. The results of this study, based on an analysis of the semantic layers of these songs, show that Bangi embodies empathy, companionship and solidarity, and the purpose of composing and performing these songs is to share grief among the mourners and the bereaved family.
metonymy, and allusion. Giving preeminence to the audience and a concrete mode of expression are two of their principal stylistic features. The present study aims to identify Kurmanji lamentation songs and to introduce the structure and content of this genre within Kurmanj folk literature by examining approximately forty examples gathered through a fieldwork methodology—specifically interviews with Bangi performers—alongside library-based research. The findings indicate that the Bangi is a type of oral folk literature composed and sung by Kurmanj women upon the death of a loved one, with particular attention to the personal characteristics of the deceased. These songs convey profound meanings and are accompanied by numerous Kurmanj rituals, such as scattering dust upon one’s head, cutting one’s hair, applying henna during the burial of an unmarried person, and refraining from combing the hair. The results of this study, based on an analysis of the semantic layers of these songs, show that Bangi embodies empathy, companionship and solidarity, and the purpose of composing and performing these songs is to share grief among the mourners and the bereaved family.
Keywords
Subjects
Bakhshi, A., & Vandshoari, A. (2016). An analysis of the formal structure of design and motifs in authentic Kurdish carpets of Khorasan. Goljam, 29, 63–92. [in Persian]
Bruinessen, M. van. (2004). The sociology of the Kurdish people (translated by E. Younesi). Farhang Nab. [in Persian]
Dehkhoda, A. A. (1998). Dehkhoda dictionary (Vol. 3). Roozaneh. [in Persian]
Guilani, N., & Guilani, A. (2013). The mourning of Siavash and its similarities to local mourning rituals (Luri and Kurdish). Literature and Local Languages of Iran Zamin, 5, 182–203. [in Persian]
Herodotus. (1989). The histories (translated by V. Mazandarani). Ashna. [in Persian]
Jacob, B. (2007). Improvisation: Fourteen definitions (translated by M. Qarso). Mahoor Music Quarterly, 37, 5–9. [in Persian]
Javid, J. (2015). The music of North Khorasan. Soureh Mehr. [in Persian]
Khoshhali, B. (2008). Dictionary of words, terms, and idioms of Zhovan (Persian–Kurdish). Paniz. [in Persian]
Mansouri, M. (2011). The Kurmanji language and the causes of its persistence: Grammar, proverbs, vocabulary and the philosophy of Kurmanji songs. Shilan. [in Persian]
Mardani, A. (2021). Tracing intertextual and intersemiotic relations between the seh-kheshti songs and gilims of the Kurmanj people of North Khorasan using Gerard Genette’s intertextuality approach (Doctoral dissertation, University of Art, Isfahan). [in Persian]
Masih, H. (2007). Short songs of Kurmanj. Negah. [in Persian]
Mirnia, A. (1989). Kurdish tribes and nomadic clans of Iran. Homa. [in Persian]
Moien, M. (2006). Persian dictionary (Vol. 1). Milad. [in Persian]
Mostafavi Goru, H. (2007). A historical study of the phonological system of the Kurmanji dialect of Khorasan. Journal of the Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Mashhad, 159, 33–67. [in Persian]
Motavalli Haqiqi, Y. (2008). North Khorasan: A study of the political transformations of the cities of North Khorasan from the beginning to the Islamic Revolution. Ahang-e Qalam. [in Persian]
Pressing, J. (1998). Psychological constraints on improvisational expertise and communication, In In the course of performance, (eds) B. Nettl and M. Russell, University of Chicago Press. 47-67.
Rashid, Z. (2008). Nesqar dictionary (Persian–Kurdish). Tehran: Paniz. [in Persian]
Rostami, M. (2020). Qūshmeh, the instrument of flight. Bijan-Yord. [in Persian]
Rowshan, H. (2005). The collection of Jangal Jadal Qeichi. Sokhan Gostar. [in Persian]
Safizadeh, F. (1996). A study of Kurdish songs. Iran Jam. [in Persian]
Tabatabaei, H., Tabatabaei, H., & Rezaei, M. (2015). Mourning and celebration rituals in Sarkavir region of Damghan. Culture and Folk Literature, 5, 1–27. [in Persian]
Tavahodi, K. (1985). The historical movement of the Kurds to Khorasan in defense of Iran’s independence. Bonyad Ketab. [in Persian]
Yazdanpanah Lamouki, T. (2006). The history of ancient Mazandaran. Cheshm. [in Persian]
Zolfaghari, H. (2018). The language and folk literature of Iran. SAMT. [in Persian]
Interviewees
Amirpour, B. 65 years old. Resident of Qasr-e-Qajar village. Illiterate. Housewife.
Emami, M. 59 years old. Resident of Takmaran village. Cycle. Housewife.
Baghchaghi, H. 53 years old. Resident of Bojnourd. Diploma. Freelance.
Baghchaghi, Kh. 65 years old. Resident of Baghchaq village. Illiterate. Freelance.
Baghchaghi, S. 64 years old. Resident of Baghchaq village. Illiterate. Embroidery artist.
Javid, M. 50 years old. Resident of Naveh village. Cycle. Reciter of prayers.
Javid, H. 65 years old. Resident of Tehran. Bachelor's degree. Researcher of regional and ritual music of Iran.
Rostami, M. 63 years old. Resident of Bojnourd. Diploma. Researcher of the folk culture of the Kermanj people.
Latifi, F. 44 years old. Resident of Qasr-e-Qajar village. Cycle. Housewife.
