06.Illustrations/ Play
The Cultural Heritage Archive: Voice of Women from Anatolia
Digital Archive Project, 2023
I grew up with my grandmother singing to me. Manis, folk songs, and lullabies that were never written down, just passed on by ear, voice to voice.
This is an ongoing archival initiative focused on documenting and preserving the oral culture of women in Anatolia, especially lullabies, manis (rhymed sayings), laments, and ritual songs that are traditionally passed from voice to voice.
I designed this project to create a public, accessible archive for these disappearing traditions, many of which were never written down. It involves field recordings, collaboration with municipalities and NGOs, and a user-friendly digital database for open access.
Anatolia’s oral heritage holds centuries of cultural memory, identity, and resistance, especially through the voices of women. These songs are more than music; they’re expressions of emotion, survival, and shared history.
But oral culture is fragile. Once a voice is lost, so is the knowledge it carries. That’s why we’re recording now before it’s too late.
This archive aims to:
-
Preserve a vanishing form of intangible heritage
-
Create a learning resource for future generations
- Uplift and honor the role of women in cultural memory
Some recordings from my grandmother:
“Kestane gomdum ocaga”
Poem
Mani
These samples are included to show how personal histories/memories shape collective memory.
Pages from the prototype!
This project was developed with a focus on Türkiye, and includes groundwork for potential partnerships, sponsorships, and strategic models. For more information, feel free to get in touch.