Şakir Deniz, also known as Şakiro (

December 25 Events Pre-1600 * 36 – Forces of Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han, under the command of Wu Han, conquer the separatist Chengjia empire, reuniting China. * 274 – A temple to Sol Invictus is dedicated in Rome by Emperor Aurelian. ...

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

Eleşkirt Eleşkirt () is a town of Ağrı Province in Turkey. It is the seat of Eleşkirt District.İl ...

Ağrı Ağrı (; ) is a city in eastern Turkey, near the border with Iran. It is the seat of Ağrı Province and Ağrı District.

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June 5 Events Pre-1600 * 830 – Theodora is crowned Byzantine empress and marries then emperor Theophilos in the Hagia Sophia. She is credited with restoring orthodoxy and the icons. * 1086 – Tutush, brother of Seljuk sultan Malik Sh ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

), was a

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

Dengbêj Dengbêj () is a Kurdish music genre sung by Dengbêj. Dengbêjs are singing storytellers. There have been many terms to describe Dengbêjs throughout history, but today Dengbêj is the best known, and also several singing storytellers use Dengb ...

singer.

Life

The family of Şakiro, who were from the Zilan tribe, lived in the village of Qerqa near

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Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

before fleeing to the village of Kela Topraqqalê in present-day Eleşkirt district of Turkey, due to the conflict between the Russian and Ottoman empires. Şakiro was born officially in

Eleşkirt Eleşkirt () is a town of Ağrı Province in Turkey. It is the seat of Eleşkirt District.İl ...

in 1936 (however it is also possible that he was born in 1931) while he spent most of his youth in nearby Cemalverdî village where he was exposed to Dengbêj songs from an early age. He died in 1996 in

. He is the uncle of music artist Özcan Deniz.

Work

His songs were often recorded on cassettes and distributed illegally, when the Kurdish language faced limitations in cultural expression in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. He is one of the most prominent figures for Dengbêj in recent times. His and the recordings of other Dengbêjs such as Karapetê Xaço are considered a resource for the ones who also want to become Denbêj singers. He once met such an apprentice and foresaw that he will be seen as a Dengbej who sings in the Şakiro style.Hamelink, Wendelmoet (2016), pp. 216–217

References

Kurds in Turkey Kurdish singers People from Ağrı 1936 births 1996 deaths {{Turkey-bio-stub