Dengbêj tradition and its comparison with minstrel literature

The folk artists who being in the position of transferring culture, play important roles in the transferring of folk culture to the next generations. As a result of rapid advancement of technology, oral traditions are in some ways continue to exist adapting to the times and in some ways degenerate and gradually disappearing. Today the number of bards and dengbêjes who being tranmitters of the oral culture in Turkey are gradually decreasing. The stages which the bards and dengbêjs who being the transmitters of the oral culture of Turks and Kurds -living in the same geographical area and having common denominator in every corner of life- faced during acquiring artistic personality and their products have been examined in terms of forms, content and style. The whole practices which occurring around of the two tradition have been compared in detail. As a result of comparisons done it had been obtained differences about varios commons like master-crafted manufacture, requesting of ability for extemporaneous, training of apprentice, storytelling traditions and getting pseudonym, playing reed, seeing dream, reporting date etc. It has been observed that the common aspects in the traditions are much more than differences. This is appeared as an evidence showing how societies pass into each other and has become an integral whole. Bards and dengbêjs are continue to arts under difficult conditions not breaking from the traditions and to establish cultural ties between the past and the future. Although it is claimed that by many people the tradition of minstrelsy and dengbêj have almost run out as a result of advancement of technology, it is observed that they are renewing themselves according to the new requirements. Key Words: Bard, Dengbêj, Oral Culture, Tradition, Narrative, Genre, Comparison