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Chapter 5. Songs and the Song
Antonije | Milan |
Čevljanin Rade is drinking wine | Čevljanin Rade is drinking wine |
In the midst of Cevo in the white tower. | In broad Cevo on the border. |
An adorned mountain woman is serving the wine, | An adorned mountain woman is serving the wine, {109|110} |
In her right hand a beaker and a golden cup. | |
When Rade had his fill of wine, | When they had their fill of wine, |
He began to talk of many things, | |
How many Turks he had cut down | |
Around Spuž the bloody town; | |
And the adorned mountain woman listened to him, | |
Listened and then said to him: | The adorned mountain woman asked him: |
“My lord, Čevljanin Rade, | “My lord, Čevljanin Rade, |
I know well that you are a good hero. | |
So, my dear lord, | So, by the true God, |
Are you afraid of any hero? | Are you afraid of any hero? |
If he call you tomorrow to combat, | If he call you tomorrow to combat,” |
Would you dare to go out to fight?” |
Parry 6695 (1935) | Lord 84 (1950) |
---|---|
Twelve days after his wedding, Marko receives a letter | Marko goes to fight the Arabs for the sultan. |
from the sultan telling him that the Arabs | |
have attacked and asking Marko to come to | |
his assistance. Marko prepares his horse | |
and himself, tells his mother that he is | |
going, says farewell to her and to his wife, | |
and sets out for Stambol. | |
In Stambol the sultan greets Marko, explains the | |
siluation to him, and then Marko goes to | |
Arabia where he fights with and overcomes | |
the Arabs. | |
The sultan recalls Marko to Stambol and gives him | |
gifts. Again the sultan sends him out to | |
fight with the Arabs. | |
During the battle Marko receives a letter from his | While Marko is away Nina captures his tower, steals |
mother telling him that Nina has captured | his wife, and treads upon his old mother. |
his tower, stolen his wife, and trodden | His mother writes a letter to Marko telling |
upon his mother. She asks him to come to | him what has happened. |
their help. | |
Marko goes to Stambol, tells the sultan about Nina, | Same |
and asks for help. | |
The sultan tells Marko that it is useless and that he | Same |
will not give him help, but Marko asks only | |
for Alilagha and 30 heroes. This the sultan grants. | |
Marko disguises himself and his men as monks and | Same, except that they go first to Prilip where Marko |
they proceed to Dabrica. | talks with his mother. Then they all go on |
to Dabrica. | |
At the spring of Zloglav they find 30 women washing | Same, except that there are 100 women instead of 30. |
clothes, among them Marko’s wife. When | |
she sees Marko’s horse, she asks the monk | |
where he got the horse. He explains that | |
Marko has died in a fight with the Turks (!) | |
and that Marko gave him his horse in | |
return for burying him. Marko’s wife weeps. {116|117} | |
They proceed to Koštim. Marko tells the guards that | Arrived at Koştun, Marko leaves his companions at the |
he is a monk who has come to marry Nina, | gate while he goes to talk with Nina. He |
and that he has 30 companions who will | tells Nina that Marko is dead. Nina asks him |
prune the vines. He is welcomed by Nina, | if he will marry him to Marko’s wife. Marko agrees. |
who asks him if he has ever been in the | |
Turkish army. Marko says that he has. | |
Nina asks Marko if he will sing and dance. Marko | At the wedding feast Marko asks Nina for permission |
dances and the tower trembles. Nina says | to dance a little. He dances and the tower |
that the monk must have learned to dance | trembles. Nina says that the monk must |
from Marko. As a gift he gives him Marko’s | have learned to dance from Marko. |
from its scabbard. | |
Marko reveals himself, draws the sword and cuts off | Marko reveals himself, draws the sword, and cuts off |
Nina’s head. A fight ensues. Marko sends | Nina’s head. Marko drives his enemies to |
Alilagha to the gate to prevent any of the | the gate where they are met by his companions. |
enemy from escaping. | |
Nina’s three brothers escape and Marko pursues them. | |
He kills Vidoje at Vidovo Polje; Stephen at | |
Stephen’s Cross; and Jasen at Jasena. | |
Marko gives Koštun to Alilagha and makes him a bey. | |
Then Marko returns with his wife to his | |
mother in Prilip. | |
Footnotes
The only actual text I know of made up in our presence in 1934 is a song, coaxed out of Salih Ugljanin, about Parry and Nikola and the collecting. It is in Parry Text 655, records 965–966. Actually the songs made up about collectors are not very good examples because collectors and collecting are not inspiring nor proper subjects of epic! I give the conversation which preceded Salih’s song:
Od kratkoga vakta i zemana, | Since a short time ago, | ||
Ima puno, tamo šes’ da … taman šes’ dana, | All of six da … exactly six days, | ||
Pa od dana ponedijonika, | Well, since Monday, | ||
Kako ođe smo na skupnicu. | We have been gathered here. | ||
5 | Ja i Nikola pesme iskazali, | 5 | Nikola and I have recited songs, |
Ja kazao, Nikola pisao, | I dictated and Nikola wrote, | ||
Od ob jutra do do noći ravne. | From morning until level night. | ||
Sve smo redom pesme ispisalji, | We have written out all songs one after another, | ||
I mene su pošteno platilji. | And they paid me honorably. | ||
10 | I ja sam svaki dan dolazijo, | 10 | And I came every day, |
Sve od jutra do većere ravno, | Ever from morning until evening straight, | ||
I sve po jednu smo pesmu ispje…ispisalji, | And ever a song each day we sa…wrote, | ||
I aćik smo je dokazalji, | And frankly we declared, | ||
Od koga smo pesmu taku ćulji, | From whom we heard such and such a song, | ||
15 | I svakome ime upisalji, | 15 | And we wrote the name of each, |
I Nikola redom upisao, | And Nikola recorded them one after another, | ||
I u grohot smo se osmijali, | And we laughed heartily, | ||
I ćajeve poćesto smo pilji, | And rather frequently we drank tea, | ||
A cigara preko hesapa gorjeli. | And we burned cigarettes beyond counting. | ||
20 | Tako je bilo za šes’ dana ravno. | 20 | So it was for six days straight. |
Danas šesti što smo uradilji. | Today is the sixth we have been working. | ||
Nekoljiko ćuda poprićalji. | We have related several wonders. | ||
Veljiki smo smijeh otvorilji. | We have started great laughter. | ||
Nekoljiko jada poprićalji, | We have related several sad tales, | ||
25 | Što su stari prićalji iftijari, | 25 | What the aged elders have related, |
To smo danas mi ponovilji. | That we have repeated today. |
For a song about Parry or in his honor, written by Milovan Vojičić and given to him, see Appendix VI.