Gusle
Template:Short description Template:For Template:Expand German Template:Infobox Instrument
The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Template:Lang-sh-Cyrl) or lahuta (Template:Langx; related to English lute) is a bowed single-stringed musical instrument (and musical style) traditionally used in the Dinarides region of Southeastern Europe (in the Balkans). The instrument is always accompanied by singing; musical folklore, specifically epic poetry. The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} player (Template:Lang-sh-Cyrl; Template:Langx) holds the instrument vertically between the knees, with the left hand fingers on the string. The string is never pressed to the neck, giving a harmonic and unique sound.
Singing to the accompaniment of the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} as a part of Serbia's intangible cultural heritage was inscribed in 2018 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO.
Etymology
The Old Slavic root morpheme gǫdsli (Template:ConferRussian gúsli, Template:Langx, Template:Langx, Template:Langx) is associated with guditi/gósti, or gudalo/godalo, related to onomatopoeia for a low resonating sound; Template:Confer gu(n)delj/гу(н)дељ = cockchafer, which makes such sound when flying.
The exact origin of the nominations of the related concepts {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, gadulka, gudok and gudalo, the latter as the name for the bow of the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} could also illuminate a more accurate assignment in the history of the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} after Walther Wünsch.
In the parlance of the South Slavs, in addition to the feminine plurale tantum {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} that has prevailed as a lexeme, even the older "gusli", which is found in the area of the middle Drina River region to Arilje and throughout Montenegro. The use of the phonemes {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} is in the same language as the same speaker, or it can be used in lyrics or everyday speech.
The singular form {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is found only in Eastern Serbia, west of the Timok, around Niš, Ivanjica, as well as in the area of Zlatibor. On Korčula only {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is in use.
The term {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} by Alberto Fortis has been introduced into European literature. {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is in Serbian linguistic usage, however, a feminine plurale tantum (Template:Langx or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, Template:Langx or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}).
Origin
There is no consensus about the origin of the instrument.Template:Sfn 7th-century Byzantine Greek historian Theophylact Simocatta (Template:Floruit Template:Circa) wrote about "small lyres" brought by the Slavs who settled in the Balkans; some researchers believe that this might have been the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.Template:Sfn Others, such as F. Sachs, believe that the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} has an Oriental origin, brought to Europe in the 10th century via the Islamic cultural wave.Template:Sfn Arab travellers report evidence that the Slavs used the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in the 10th century.<ref name="Koljević1980">Template:Cite book</ref> Teodosije the Hilandarian (1246–1328) wrote that Stefan Nemanjić (Template:Reign) often entertained the Serbian nobility with musicians with drums and "{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}".Template:Sfn Reliable written records about the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} appear only in the 15th century.Template:Sfn 16th-century travel memoirs mention the instrument in Bosnia and Serbia.Template:Sfn In the 19th and 20th centuries the instrument was mentioned in Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Albania (where it is called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, "lute").Template:Sfn
Construction and use
The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} consists of a wooden sound box, the maple being considered as the best material (therefore often the instrument is referred to as "{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}" - maple {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), covered with an animal skin and a neck with an intricately carved head. A bow is pulled over the string/s (made of horsetail), creating a dramatic and sharp sound, expressive and difficult to master. The string is made of thirty horsehairs.
The instrument is held vertically between the player's knees, with the left hand fingers on the neck.Template:Sfn The strings are never pressed to the neck, giving a harmonic and unique sound.Template:Sfn The most common and traditional version is single-stringed, while a much less-common version is the two-stringed found in Bosanska Krajina and in Lika.
The varieties of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} music are based on cultural basis; the content of the stories of each ethnic group is different, as different epic poems are used to accompany the instrument. There is minor differing characteristics of vocality in the regions of Southeast Europe. The design of the instrument is identical; only the design of the neck and head varies with ethnic or national motif.
The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} instrumentally accompanies heroic songs (epic poetry) in the Balkans.Template:Sfn
Serbs
Template:See also Template:Infobox intangible heritage
The Serbian {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is a one-stringed instrument that is usually made of maple wood. Template:AnchorA {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Template:Lang-sr-Cyrl) is an individual capable of reproducing and composing poems about heroes and historical events to the accompaniment of this instrument, usually in the decasyllable meter. There are records of an instrument named {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) being played at the court of the 13th-century Serbian King Stefan Nemanjić, but it is not certain whether the term was used in its present-day meaning or it denoted some other kind of string instrument. Polish poets of the 17th century mentioned the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in their works. In a poem published in 1612, Kasper Miaskowski wrote that "the Serbian {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and gaidas will overwhelm Shrove Tuesday" (Serbskie skrzypki i dudy ostatek zagluszą).<ref name=georgijevic>Krešimir Georgijević (2003). Српскохрватска народна песма у пољској књижевности (in Serbian). Project Rastko.</ref> In the idyll named Śpiewacy, published in 1663, Józef Bartłomiej Zimorowic used the phrase "to sing to the Serbian {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}" ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}).<ref name=georgijevic/><ref>Józef Bartłomiej Zimorowic (1857). "Śpiewacy" (in Polish). Kazimierz Józef Turowski, ed. Sielanki Józefa Bartłomieja i Syzmona Zimorowiczów. The Internet Archive. p.39</ref> In some older Serbian books on literature it was stated that a Serbian {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} performed at the court of Władysław II Jagiełło in 1415.<ref name=georgijevic/> The earliest known Serbian {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is referred to in 1551 by Hungarian historian Sebastian Tinody, saying, "There are many {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} players here in Hungary, but none is better at the Serbian style than Dimitrije Karaman". In addition Sebastian describes the performance, explaining that the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} would hold the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} between the knees and goes into a highly emotional artistic performance with a sad and dedicated expression on their face.<ref>Else Mundal (2008). Oral Art Forms and Their Passage into Writing.</ref>
The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} has played a significant role in the history of Serbian epic poetry because of its association with the centuries-old patriotic oral legacy. Most of the epics are about the era of the Ottoman occupation and the struggle for the liberation from it. With the efforts of ethnographer Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, many of these epics have been collected and published in books in the first half of the 19th century. Serbian folk poetry was given a marvelous reception, as it appeared in Europe when Romanticism was in full bloom. This poetry, which appeared in Karadžić's anthological collections, met the "expectations" of the sophisticated European audience, becoming a living confirmation of Herder's and Grimm's ideas about the oral tradition. Jacob Grimm began to learn Serbian so that he could read the poems in the original. He wrote minute analyses of each new volume of Serbian folk songs. He ranked them as being equal to the Song of Songs, as did Goethe somewhat later. Thanks to Grimm, moreover to the initiatives of Slovene Jernej Kopitar (the censor for Slavonic books in Vienna, Karadžić's counselor and protector), Serbian folk literature found its place in the literature of the world.<ref>Nada Milošević-Đorđević, "The history of Serbian Culture", Porthill Publishers, Edgware, Middiesex, 1995.</ref>
Vuk Karadžić divided the epic songs he collected from {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}s like Filip Višnjić and Tešan Podrugović into three cycles.
The first cycle includes songs from the earliest era of the medieval Serbian state and the era of the Serbian Empire. Some of the most well-known poems from this cycle include The Wedding of Emperor Dušan (Ženidba cara Dušana), The Building of Skadar (Ženidba Dušanova) and Uroš and Mrnjavčevići (Uroš i Mrnjavčevići)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The next cycle includes songs about the Battle of Kosovo (1389) and the events related to it. The most famous song is the Prince's Curse (Kneževa kletva),<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in which Miloš Obilić and Prince Lazar are main characters. The Kosovo Battle is probably the most important event in Serbian epic poetry. Singing songs about the Battle of Kosovo to {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} significantly influenced the birth of the Kosovo Myth.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The last cycle includes songs about the events after the Battle of Kosovo. They sing about the first battles against the Ottomans and conflicts between Serbian nobles. A famous poem from that era is the poem about Strahinja Banović. The greatest hero of this cycle is Marko Kraljević. Poems about the chivalry of hajduks and uskos who resisted the Ottomans also belong to that cycle.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some of them are Starina Novak, Stanoje Glavaš, Starac Vujadin, Janković Stojan, Ilija Smiljanić, Bajo Pivljanin and Hajduk Veljko. Battles between Montenegrins and the Ottomans (Battle of Vučij Do, Battle of Grahovo, Battle of Fundina) were also sung, as well as the Serbian Revolution and its heroes: Karađorđe, Hajduk Veljko, Aleksa Nenadović, Ilija Birčanin, Tanasko Rajić, Vasa Čarapić and Miloš Obrenović.
More recent poems sing about recent battles and wars for the liberation of Serbia and Montenegro, such as the Serbian–Ottoman Wars of 1876–1878, the Herzegovina Uprising, the Balkan Wars, the Siege of Skadar, the First World War, and the Battle of Mojkovac. One of the participants in the Battle of Mojkovac, Radovan Bećirović Trebješki, would become the most famous modern writer of Serbian epic poems.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Multiple image
Although the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} was played throughout the entire former territory of the Serbian Empire, and later in the areas to the north and west - in Vojvodina and in the Military Frontier, today the tradition of playing {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is strongest in Herzegovina and Montenegro, where Serbian medieval culture has been best preserved.<ref name="guslarvujovic">Template:Cite AV media</ref><ref name="User">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> That is why {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} today are mostly decorated with details that remind of the heroic past of these areas. Many {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} are decorated with carved motifs depicting scenes from battles (Battle of Vučji Do, Nevesinjska Puška), characters of famous Serbs (Saint Sava, Petar Petrović Njegoš, Karađorđe, Nicholas I of Montenegro) or famous places (Ostrog Monastery, Cetinje Monastery and Lovćen Chapel).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In all major cities, such as Belgrade, Podgorica, East Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Cetinje, Pljevlja, Užice, Novi Sad, Niš, Nikšić and Kraljevo, there are {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} societies that organize concerts and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} evenings (Template:Langx). {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Society "Vuk Karadžić" is the oldest existing {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} society in Belgrade. The societies are organized into three {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} federations - in Serbia, Montenegro and the Republic of Srpska. {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} competitions called festivals are organized regularly. There are numerous youth competitions and festivals for seniors, but the biggest competition being the Federal Festival of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Template:Langx). Competitors are the highest-ranked {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}s at festivals in Serbia,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Montenegro<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Republika Srpska.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The champion is considered the best Serbian {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} that year.<ref name="guslarvujovic"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Most famous modern Serbian {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}s are Branko Perović, Boško Vujačić, Đorđije Đoko Koprivica, Milomir Miljanić Miljan, Saša Laketić and Maksim Vojvodić.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
Singing to the accompaniment of the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} as a part of Serbia's tradition was inscribed in 2018 on the Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists of UNESCO after years of Serbian {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}s' efforts.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Bosniaks
There are few active Bosniak {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} today, but there were many examples in history. {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} were always guests at the Bosniak beg's courtyards, and it was with {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} they performed Bosniak heroic songs about prominent figures or events. In these songs were Đerzelez Alija, Mujo Hrnjica, Mustay-Bey of Lika<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Battle of Banja Luka or the Battle at Očakov.
Avdo Međedović was the most versatile and skillful {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} encountered by Milman Parry and Albert Lord during their research in the oral epic tradition of Bosnia, Herzegovina and Montenegro in the 1930s.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> At Parry's request, Avdo sang songs he already knew and some songs he heard in front of Parry, convincing him that someone Homer-like could produce a poem so long. Avdo dictated, over five days, a version of the well-known theme The Wedding of Meho Smailagić that was 12,323 lines long, saying on the fifth day to Nikola (Parry's assistant on the journey) that he knew even longer songs. On another occasion, he sang over several days an epic of 13,331 lines. He said he had several others of similar length in his repertoire. In Parry's first tour, over 80,000 lines were transcribed.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
Albanians
Template:See alsoTemplate:Multiple image
The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is used by Gheg Albanians of Kosovo, northern Albania and Montenegro (Malësia<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>), for the singing of epic songs, in particular the Kângë Kreshnikësh. In Albanian types, the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}'s head is often carved after a goat's, a ram's, or a horse's head, or a hawk, the latter representing the Albanian flag.
Template:AnchorIt is played by a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, the Albanian equivalent to a rhapsode or bard. The songs are octosyllable, in relation to the decasyllable Serbian.
The use of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is traditionally mastered in the Highlands and Malësi e Madhe District. Gjergj Fishta, the Albanian national poet and priest, wrote the book {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} which is often played with a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. The famous Albanian song about Gjergj Elez Alia, the Albanian mythological hero who slays a beast that rises from the sea, is also played with a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.
A good number of Albanian epic singers (Template:Langx or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) can be found today in Kosovo and northern Albania, and some also in Montenegro.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Albanian traditional singing of epic verse from memory is one of the last survivors of its kind in modern Europe,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and the last survivor of the Balkan traditions.<ref>Di Lellio, Anna; Dushi, Arbnora (2024). "Gender Performance and Gendered Warriors in Albanian Epic Poetry". In Lothspeich, Pamela (ed.). The Epic World. Routledge Worlds. Taylor & Francis. Template:ISBN.</ref>
See also
References
Sources
Further reading
- Template:Cite journal
- Milošević-Đorđević, Nada, The History of Serbian Culture. Porthill Publishers, Edgware, Middiesex, 1995.
- Kos, Koraljka, Das Volksinstrument “gusle” in der bildenden Kunst des 19. Jahrhundert. Zum Wandel eines ikonographischen Motivs, Glazba, ideje i društvo / Music, Ideas, and Society. Svečani zbornik za Ivana Supičića / Essays in Honour of Ivan Supičić, ur. S. Tuksar, HMD, Zagreb 1993, 113–124.
- Kos, Koraljka, Representations of the Gusle in Nineteenth-Century Visual Arts, RidIM/RCMI Newsletter XX/2 (New York 1995) 13–18.
- Milne Holton and Vasa D. Mihailovich. Serbian Poetry from the Beginnings to the Present. New Haven: Yale Center for International and Area Studies, 1988.
- Beatrice L. Stevenson, The Gusle Singer and His Songs. (with "Heroic Ballads of Serbia"), American Anthropologist 1915 Vol.17:58-68.
External links
Template:Sister project Template:EB1911 poster
- The History of Serbian Culture, translated by Randall A. Major
- Guslarskepesme.com, repository of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} song texts Template:In lang
- Peter Boro performing Croatian music on the gusle and misnice, 1939, US Library of Congress
Template:List of intangible cultural heritage of Serbia Template:Kosovo Myth Template:Authority control