4. The ritual lament for gods and heroes The close connection between ritual and lamentation analysed in Part I suggests that the traditional lament for the dead fulfils a dual function: objectively, it is designed to honour and appease the dead, while subjectively, it gives expression to a wide range of conflicting emotions. But the lament for the dead should not be viewed in isolation from two… Read more
5. The historical lament for the fall or destruction of cities Laments for cities are inspired initially by historical events. They do not belong essentially to the same group of ritual, functional songs as the laments for the dead or for gods which have been discussed so far. It would therefore be outside the scope of the present book to make an exhaustive study of all the… Read more
6. The classification of ancient and modern laments and songs to the dead The difficulties involved in making a satisfactory classification of ancient types of lament arise from the conflicting nature of the evidence. Classical and post-classical poetic usage tended to treat the various terms as synonymous, with few real distinctions. In an attempt to impose order, Alexandrian and later scholars neatly divided and defined, but with… Read more
7. Antiphonal structure and antithetical thought So far we have considered the lament for the dead both in relation to the funeral ritual of which it is still an integral part, and in relation to other kinds of ritual laments and songs to the dead. The similarities between the ancient and modern material may be explained partly in terms of the common cultural basis of all such… Read more
8. Conventions, themes and formulae We have seen in the last chapter that the structure of the ancient thrênos had much in common with the structure of the hýmnos, enkómion and epitáphios. The same is true of many of the ideas. [1] The similarities between these ancient forms arise from their common ritual basis: since the dead were not infrequently men who… Read more
Basic Biographical Information about Singers Dilić, Haska Born in early 1890s in Plana59 songs in the Parry Collection; 1 included here Dizdarević, Đula Born in mid 1860s in Mulji338 songs in the Parry Collection; 13 included here Hrustanović, Hasnija Born in late 1860s/early 70s in Kula Fazlagića 466 songs in the Parry Collection; 30 included here Ovčina, Hata Born in 1884 in Prijevor6 songs in the… Read more
Conversations Hasnija Hrustanović’s biography and family background as told by her son Ibrahim Hrustanović Interview conducted by Nikola Ivanov Vujnović in Gacko, 1935. Hard cover notebook no. 11Text 6314, phonograph records 2999-3002 Nikola: You wrote down songs by Hasnija Hrustanović? Ibrahim: Yes, she is my mother. (…) Nikola: How old is she? Ibrahim: Well, she is about seventy. She is an old woman who, as perhaps no other woman… Read more
Songs [Go to Song 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32,… Read more
Glossary Agha – honorary title for a respected male citizen who did not belong to the Ottoman nobility. It was customarily added after the first name. Also used for commanders of the Ottoman-paid military forces. abdest – ritual washing of one’s face, neck, ears, arms up to the elbows, and feet which Muslims are obligated to perform before prayer. alaybey – military governor of a province. This word appears also… Read more
Selected Bibliography Aarne, Antti and Stith Thompson. The Types of the Folk-Tale. A Classification and Bibliography. Helsinki: Academia Scientiarum Fennica, 1928. Reprint in FF Communications no. 74. Andersen, Flemming G. “Technique, Text, and Context: Formulaic Narrative Mode and the Question of Genre.” In The Ballad and Oral Literature, edited by Joseph Harris. Harvard English Studies 17. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1991. Andrić, Nikola, ed. Hrvatske narodne pjesme. Vol. 5, Ženske… Read more
