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The relationship of Kurdish women with their surrounding nature has always been a special theme in Kurdish culture that also finds its roots in ancient mythology of the Mesopotamia region.
In the Yüksekova (Gever) district of Hakkari (Colêmerg) in eastern Turkey, women’s labour can be seen in all aspects of life, especially in rural life.
On Orşe plateau, known as one of the most beautiful plateaus of the region, livestock breeding is the basic livelihood source of the Kurdish families.
The relationship with nature and animals is so important in the lives of the Kurds that it has given birth to various words in the Kurdish language. Women who milk the animals are given a special name in Kurdish: “Berivan”.
The ‘berivan’ women of Orşe do not only take care of their animals, but they also produce the ancient cultural art of “dengbej”, the singing traditional Kurdish songs known as “klam”, according to Jinha.
Sitting on the edges of the high mountains, these women who are both dengbej and berivan sit down all together and relieve the tiredness of the long working day singing traditional Kurdish songs handed down through history.
