Music, Oral Culture, and the Reproduction of Collective Memory among the Kurds of the South Caucasus

This study examines the function of music in the oral culture of Kurdish communities living in the South Caucasus in preserving collective memory and reproducing cultural identity. While research on Kurdish oral culture has generally been limited to one of the fields of language, folklore, history, or music, the impact of Soviet-era Yerevan Radio recordings on the oral musical tradition and the formation of collective memory has not been sufficiently addressed in the context of the South Caucasus. This research aims to evaluate this gap within the framework of music, oral culture, and memory studies. A qualitative research method was adopted in the study. During the data collection process, Soviet-era Yerevan Radio archival recordings were examined; dengbêj narratives, historical documents, and the literature on ethnomusicology and Kurdish studies were evaluated through document analysis. The data obtained were analyzed through an interpretive analysis method based on oral culture theory, the collective memory approach, and an ethnomusicological perspective. The findings indicate that music in the oral culture of South Caucasus Kurds plays a fundamental role in transmitting historical experiences, preserving collective memory, and reproducing cultural identity across generations. The findings also reveal that Soviet-era Yerevan Radio broadcasts played an important role in recording, circulating, and supporting the cultural continuity of the Kurdish oral repertoire. Modal structures, rhythmic organization, improvisational techniques, and instrumental diversity point to a multilayered musical structure shaped by Azerbaijani, Armenian, and Georgian musical traditions, as well as Soviet cultural policies. Consequently, the study demonstrates that South Caucasian Kurdish music is a dynamic cultural system through which historical memory, cultural identity, and social memory are reproduced through performance.