BOTËT PARALELE NË BALADA DHE KËNGË POPULLORE
PARALLEL WORLDS IN BALLAD AND FOLK SONG
Contributor(s): Arbnora Dushi (Editor), Lumnije Kadriu (Editor), Thomas A. McKean (Editor), Marjetka Golež Kaučić (Editor), David Atkinson (Editor), Leontina Gega Musa (Editor), Visar Munishi (Editor)
Subject(s): Customs / Folklore, Music, Studies of Literature, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Culture and social structure
Published by: Instituti Albanologjik i Prishtinës
Keywords: folk songs; ballads; antrophology; literature; music;
Summary/Abstract: The Kommission für Volksdichtung was founded in 1966, in Freiburg, Germany, to bring together ballad and folk song researchers from around the world for the International Ballad Conference. Since then, at meetings throughout Europe, ballad and song scholars have met to present their work and to learn something of the host country’s traditions. The 45th such conference was held in Prishtina, Kosovo, in 2015.
This volume is a proceeding from the conference, with some of the materials published in Albanian and English. It is a collaborative publication of the Institute of Albanology in Prishtina, as the host institution of conference, and the Kommission für Volksdichtung.
- Page Count: 450
- Publication Year: 2017
- Language: English
“A HUMAN IS AN ANIMAL AND AN ANIMAL IS A HUMAN”: TRANSFORMATION FROM HUMAN TO ANIMAL IN SLOVENIAN BALLAD TRADITION
“A HUMAN IS AN ANIMAL AND AN ANIMAL IS A HUMAN”: TRANSFORMATION FROM HUMAN TO ANIMAL IN SLOVENIAN BALLAD TRADITION
(“A HUMAN IS AN ANIMAL AND AN ANIMAL IS A HUMAN”: TRANSFORMATION FROM HUMAN TO ANIMAL IN SLOVENIAN BALLAD TRADITION)
- Author(s):Marjetka Golež Kaučić
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Customs / Folklore, Slovenian Literature, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Psychoanalysis
- Page Range:91-110
- No. of Pages:20
- Keywords:Parallel World; Slovenian Mythological Ballads; Human and Animal; Metamorphoses; Ecocentrism;
- Summary/Abstract:The most famous authors on topic of transformation from human to animal in the tradition of European literature were Publius Ovidius Naso (Metamorphoses) and Franz Kafka (Metamorphoses), both of whom conceptualized the parallel worlds of reality and mythology. In the Slovenian ballad tradition we can trace several mythological ballads with thematic transformations from human to animal and back, as well of animal brides and grooms. This paper focuses on the question of the parallel worlds of animal and human and about the fluid boundaries between them as represented in ballad stories. By analyzing a number of ballads and incorporating theoretical perspectives from folkloristics, psychoanalysis, cultural anthropology, critical animal studies and zoofolkloristics, I will uncover the purpose of mythological transformations and their imagery. The underlying question is whether these mythological stories represent a notional duality of human versus animal and nature versus culture, or to what degree the stories may transcend this conceptual juxtaposition.
THE OATH BETWEEN TWO WORLDS IN THE ALBANIAN BALLAD OF RESURRECTION
THE OATH BETWEEN TWO WORLDS IN THE ALBANIAN BALLAD OF RESURRECTION
(THE OATH BETWEEN TWO WORLDS IN THE ALBANIAN BALLAD OF RESURRECTION)
- Author(s):Arben Hoxha, Memli Sh. Krasniqi
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Anthropology, Ethics / Practical Philosophy, Albanian Literature, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology
- Page Range:111-126
- No. of Pages:16
- Keywords:Albanian Oath; Ballad of Resurrection; The Code of Lek Dukagjini; Pantheism; Ethics; Spinoza;
- Summary/Abstract:In our article we will explore the Besa’s role in establishing the relationship between two worlds: the Immanent and the Transcendent world of human beings. In the resurrection ballad ‘Lula e shtatë vllazënve’ (Flower of the seven brothers), the Besa appears as an indispensable ethical and anthropological instrument, a tool that creates harmony between body and soul. Within the community (tribe, family), it also sets the social order, while in a cosmic context, it creates the balance between the order of the human world and that of other world. The Besa in the Albanian ballad of resurrection is a moral category that derives not from the viewpoint of utilitarian ethics, but from the worldview of monistic-pantheistic ethics, which are strictly deterministic. Through the discipline of philosophical anthropology, we will discuss the Besa in the Albanian resurrection ballad in the context of the pantheist viewpoint and ethical views of Spinoza from his work “Ethics”. We will also ground our study on the philosophical concept of pantheism, as espoused by author Michael P. Levine.
SUPERNATURAL ENCOUNTERS AND TRANSFORMATIONS IN TWO MEXICAN FOLK SONGS: THE WEEPING CHRIST STATUE AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF SOUL INTO DOVE
SUPERNATURAL ENCOUNTERS AND TRANSFORMATIONS IN TWO MEXICAN FOLK SONGS: THE WEEPING CHRIST STATUE AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF SOUL INTO DOVE
(SUPERNATURAL ENCOUNTERS AND TRANSFORMATIONS IN TWO MEXICAN FOLK SONGS: THE WEEPING CHRIST STATUE AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF SOUL INTO DOVE)
- Author(s):María Herrera Sobek
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Customs / Folklore, Other Language Literature, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, 19th Century
- Page Range:127-150
- No. of Pages:24
- Keywords:Mestizo; Corridos; Ballads; Mexican; Dove; “El crucifijo de piedra”; “Cu-cu-rru-cu-cu paloma”; Native Americans; Santísima Muerte;
- Summary/Abstract:In the article, ‘Mexican Legendry and the Rise of the Mestizo: A Survey,’ (1971), Américo Paredes posits the theory that Mexican legendry is characterized by realism as opposed to the fantastic due to the rise of the mestizo (mixed-race population) acquiring power in the nineteenth century. Nevertheless, the supernatural did not disappear completely and, in fact, in some folk genres such as the ‘aparecido’ or revenant legends, it is very much alive. Two examples of the supernatural appearing in Mexican popular songs are, ‘El crucifijo de piedra’ [The Stone Crucifix] and ‘Cu-cu-rru-cu-cu paloma’ [The Coocoo-rroo-coo-coo Dove]. In the first instance, a man loses his beloved-she leaves him and informs him of her departure in front of a stone crucifix which accompanies the man in his weeping. My study analyzes the two songs cited above with respect to the supernatural and the transformations exhibited therein. It incorporates Native American spiritual beliefs related to the links between the animate and the inanimate world. In my analysis, I highlight the Native American belief system that all matter in the universe is chemically ‘alive,’ and I underscore how the mestizo, although highly conscious of reality, nevertheless inherited belief systems from American Indians. In addition, I also explore the appearances in contemporary society of weeping sacred stone figures or painted images of deities; these underscore the human need for a connection to the sacred and the miraculous.
THE LAD WHO FIGHTS WITH DEATH: BOGDAN DAMIAN ŞI SÂLA SAMODIVA
THE LAD WHO FIGHTS WITH DEATH: BOGDAN DAMIAN ŞI SÂLA SAMODIVA
(THE LAD WHO FIGHTS WITH DEATH: BOGDAN DAMIAN ŞI SÂLA SAMODIVA)
- Author(s):Sabina Ispas
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Gender Studies, Customs / Folklore, Romanian Literature
- Page Range:151-180
- No. of Pages:30
- Keywords:Miraculous; Knight; Death; Confrontation; Male; Female; Ruling family; Blindness;
- Summary/Abstract:Within the corpus of Romanian narrative song, one grouping of texts all contains a fantastic, essentially “miraculous” series of events which are of overriding importance. At the core of these songs lies the idea of a search for a wife in order to set up a (monogamous) family. The heroes – the future couple – are antagonist personalities, and symbolize the struggle between two opposing elements. As characteristic of an ancient epic song, the conflict takes place only between the two protagonists: Bogdan Damian and Sâla Samodiva. The hero, Bogdan, shares his name with a one of the traditional hero-names found in the Romanian Royal Family, and possesses various values that make him a complex being. He goes to the border of Sâla’s land and provokes her to fight (Sâla Samodiva is a euphemistic name for death). The hero strikes her in the face, blinding her. Blindness is equivalent of castration. The hero becomes a master that the death must obey. Submission of the demon (woman) to the male power virility means mastering the femininity that is dominated by destructive love. The demonic image is humanized, gets a shape and turns into a female character because of the action space and the authority restriction of characters, diminishing her impulses and affective taming. Such characters – which are beyond human representation, such as the snake woman, Melusina, the raven woman, etc. – were meant to be founders of dynasties. Their nature enriched the human essence brought by the husband, the knight, the partner, with the special characteristics of motherhood. Most of the legends invented by ruling families to explain the genesis of their ancestors involved human and non-human mingling, which in turn gave the rulers rights over their subjects. In the Romanian folklore, the fight between man and Death also appears in tales and legends, some of them being spread all over Romanian territory.
TANA AND MIORITA: PARALLEL MOTIFS IN THE ALBANIAN AND ROMANIAN BALLAD
TANA AND MIORITA: PARALLEL MOTIFS IN THE ALBANIAN AND ROMANIAN BALLAD
(TANA AND MIORITA: PARALLEL MOTIFS IN THE ALBANIAN AND ROMANIAN BALLAD)
- Author(s):Olimbi Velaj
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Customs / Folklore, Albanian Literature, Romanian Literature
- Page Range:181-198
- No. of Pages:18
- Keywords:Albania; Romania; Folk Ballads; Tana; Mioritsa; Comparison;
- Summary/Abstract:In this treatment are examined the parallels between Romania’s most famous ballad, “Miorita”, and a common Albanian ballad with versions from both south and north. Communication through sound saves the Albanian shepherd, while Romanian shepherd requires the sound of his flute to persist even after his death. Referring to the similarities and differences, as well as previous interpretations of the respective ballads, this paper aims to shed light on the parallel worlds of the shepherds and their communications and perception of the world. The Romanian ballad, “Miorita”, is about two shepherds who come down from the mountains and make plans to kill their friend and to take his flock of sheep. One of the sheep, Miorita, which has a human attribute (she can speak), tells the shepherd how his friends are acting against him. The Albanian folk ballad, “Tanë, moj e zeza, Tanë” (“Tana, oh poor Tana”), shows similarities with “Miorita” in several elements: Tana’s boyfriend, who is bound by thieves, seeks to free his hands and play his flute. Through the sounds he will reveal what happened. Also another similar song is “Kajka e çobaneshës” (“The Song of Shepherdess”), recorded in Karaçevë e Epërme, Kosovo. Characters in the two songs are similar, and the scene is similar. In the Albanian song the shepherd resists and uses any possible means to counter the kidnapping. The Romanian shepherd accepts the warning of his death. The Albanian shepherd, however, does not accept death and uses the flute to sound a warning and to save himself. The coded language of sound saves the life of shepherd. We will consider the only published Albanian version, the work of Qemal Haxhihasani, while there are many published versions of the Romanian ballad. Referring to comparative studies of ballads by Ardian Fochi, Ion Taloş, Mircea Elliade, Nicolae Babuts, and Eqrem Çabej, we will try to build a theoretical framework for this paper.
ALTERNATIVE REALITIES IN FIRST WORLD WAR SONGS
ALTERNATIVE REALITIES IN FIRST WORLD WAR SONGS
(ALTERNATIVE REALITIES IN FIRST WORLD WAR SONGS)
- Author(s):Ylva Berglund Prytz, Gerald Porter
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Customs / Folklore, Music, Oral history, Pre-WW I & WW I (1900 -1919)
- Page Range:201-224
- No. of Pages:24
- Keywords:War Memories; Patriotic Songs; Soldiers; Farewell Songs; British Folk Songs;
- Summary/Abstract:Both literally and figuratively, war has always been an arena for encounters with the otherworld. From the interventions of the gods in the Trojan War to the Angels of Mons in the 1916, the mythology of conflict has offered resolution in the shape of alternative realities. As if war is too materialist, it must be endowed with magic. This might be from outside (the Angels of Mons) or through the appeal to internal anxieties implied by the famous question 'What did you do in the Great War, Daddy?' This paper examines the ways in which contemporary songs explored alternative representations of the First World War, asserted a critical consciousness of the paradoxes and ironies involved, and also, in many cases, asked whose interests the War served. The study is based on a huge international initiative to gather oral and written narratives from all the countries taking part in the 1914-18 War. It takes examples of songs from both ‘sides’ in a war in which the ideologies of each were, in fact, remarkably similar.
THE BALLAD, A TRADITIONAL SONG OF CONTEMPORARY PORTUGAL: A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION FOR THE MUSICIANS OF SALAZAR REGIME AND THE “REVOLUTION OF CARNATIONS”
THE BALLAD, A TRADITIONAL SONG OF CONTEMPORARY PORTUGAL: A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION FOR THE MUSICIANS OF SALAZAR REGIME AND THE “REVOLUTION OF CARNATIONS”
(THE BALLAD, A TRADITIONAL SONG OF CONTEMPORARY PORTUGAL: A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION FOR THE MUSICIANS OF SALAZAR REGIME AND THE “REVOLUTION OF CARNATIONS”)
- Author(s):Anne Caufriez
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Music, Recent History (1900 till today), Culture and social structure
- Page Range:225-240
- No. of Pages:16
- Keywords:Portugal Ballad; Fado; Salazar Era; Freedom Singer; José Alonso;
- Summary/Abstract:The romances (or ballads) are still rooted in communities of use in the rural areas of Portugal, even if they are intimately linked to a disappearing world (the agriculture made with manual techniques). The ballad is one of the very few types of traditional music which has been “popular” through the centuries until the present day and which has constantly been re-approached, playing many different roles in various periods. In the sixties and seventies, the period of the Salazar dictatorship, the opposition was transcontinental, because the dictatorship kept the country in poverty and non-literacy while also creating a colonial war in Africa (Mozambique, Angola, Cape Verde). Looking for a new cultural identity, the opposition tried to make a return to the traditional music of the countryside and to use this identity to protest against Salazar. It created an important stream of urban Portuguese song which coexists with Fado and Anglo-Saxon music today. The article is aims to show how the ballad, this traditional repertoire, became a national symbol of “popular” music in Portugal and to analyze the process of re-appropriation of that repertoire by composers and urban singers.
UNDERSTANDING PARALLEL WORLDS: THE MOCKING SONG ABOUT THE KAMNIK BURGHERS
UNDERSTANDING PARALLEL WORLDS: THE MOCKING SONG ABOUT THE KAMNIK BURGHERS
(UNDERSTANDING PARALLEL WORLDS: THE MOCKING SONG ABOUT THE KAMNIK BURGHERS)
- Author(s):Marija Klobčar
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Music, Regional Geography, Social history, WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), Sociology of Art
- Page Range:225-240
- No. of Pages:16
- Keywords:Mocking Songs; Social Oppositions; Steierisch; Identity; Stereotype;
- Summary/Abstract:The main topic of this article is the question how folk songs can help us understand social oppositions. The research is based on a case study in the central part of Slovenia, north-east from Ljubljana, in the Kamnik area. By analyzing major conflicts of the Slovene Civil War, which took place during the Second World War, the author tries to find the reasons for these oppositions. She points to the pre-War oppositions between the remote Tuhinj valley and between Kamnik, revealing the town versus countryside opposition. By studying mocking songs, many images of difference, of parallel worlds, and even of big social tensions, come to the foreground. Seeking parallel worlds in folk songs was an attempt to get an emic view. The most important key to revealing social processes was the mocking song about the Kamnik burghers. In the study of life practices in the Kamnik area, this mocking song provided an extremely informative testimony of the perception of the ‘other’. It explained oppositions not only during the time in which it was created, but also during the period when it has already become a part of tradition.
PARALLEL WORLDS IN THE ARBËRESH SONG ‘O E BUKURA MORE’ (OH, MY BEAUTIFUL MOREA)
PARALLEL WORLDS IN THE ARBËRESH SONG ‘O E BUKURA MORE’ (OH, MY BEAUTIFUL MOREA)
(PARALLEL WORLDS IN THE ARBËRESH SONG ‘O E BUKURA MORE’ (OH, MY BEAUTIFUL MOREA))
- Author(s):Ardian Ahmedaja
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Customs / Folklore, Music, 18th Century, Migration Studies
- Page Range:273-318
- No. of Pages:46
- Keywords:Albanian Diaspora; Arbëresh; Arbëresh Traditions; Siege of Coron; Migration; Music and Migration;
- Summary/Abstract:This is one of the best-known songs of the Albanian diaspora (the Arbëresh) in Italy. The song lyrics are replete with homesickness for a land which was left and is never to be seen again. Curiously enough, this land is Morea, in the south-west of the Peloponnese in Greece. The name Morea is connected with the exodus of the Arbëresh to southern Italy and Sicily after the fall of Koroni to the Ottomans during the Siege of Coron, 1532–34. The question is, why has this particular song become a symbol of the exodus for this diaspora? The answer lies in the visible and non-visible parallel worlds of the song as well as those projected into it. These will be the main focus of this article. The first mention of the song is in 1775, though the metric structure indicates an older origin. Arbëresh intellectuals and priests have provided important information about the customs and rites of which the song has been part and, despite their romantic view, they have helped scholars to recognize the magical-religious context from which the song originated and how it has been transformed to the “nostalgic hymn” known and performed today also among Albanians in the Balkans.
SINGING BACK: THE ROLE OF PARALLEL WORLDS IN CONSTRUCTING THE SELF-IDENTITY OF IRISH TRAVELLERS
SINGING BACK: THE ROLE OF PARALLEL WORLDS IN CONSTRUCTING THE SELF-IDENTITY OF IRISH TRAVELLERS
(SINGING BACK: THE ROLE OF PARALLEL WORLDS IN CONSTRUCTING THE SELF-IDENTITY OF IRISH TRAVELLERS)
- Author(s):Gerald Porter
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Music, Ethnohistory, Other Language Literature, Politics and society, Culture and social structure , 19th Century
- Page Range:319-340
- No. of Pages:22
- Keywords:Irish Travellers; “Tinker”; Ireland; Scottish Ballad; Tales;
- Summary/Abstract:Referring to the song culture of nomadic metal workers (Travellers or, negatively, “tinkers”) in Ireland, Mary Burke asserts that ‘the ballad tradition of Ireland is arguably a Traveller art form’.1 She does not back this bold claim, but the volume, diversity and distribution of their songs certainly supports this, at least for songs in English and macaroni songs featuring worlds in shelta (or cant). The Travellers were very long-established nomadic group whose main occupation was metal work. They later spread to Scotland and England. Since the ability to work with metals once seemed very close to magic, tinsmiths clearly had high status, which is seen today in the many songs of sexual prowess which feature them as heroes. By the end of the 19th century however, their status had declined as a result of poverty, lack of education and repeated exclusion by the settled population. It was not until 1988 that Travellers began to be described in legislation as an ethnic group with special requirements, and by 2000 they were recognised as a group with equal status, because of their shared history, culture and traditions, which included a nomadic way of life. In 2002 a separate volume of the Irish Census was devoted to them. These changes came about as a result of the rising awareness of the Irish Traveller community and of their distinct and positive role in Irish society. In particular, like the Roma (Gypsies), they were seen as social victims rather than petty criminals. Drawing on the work of Burke, and on songs collected both in Ireland and the Diaspora, this paper suggests ways in which the widespread and distinctive singing culture of the Travellers contributed to this politicization. Drawing on the work of Emily Lyle and others, this paper examines the construction of alternative, parallel or parodic worlds in songs, a practice which draws on the numerous folktales told by Travellers which show mortals flying, hearing ethereal music or encountering otherworld creatures like elves and change lings, but also relates to recent work in gender studies on resistance and identity.
AN ALBANIAN HISTORICAL BALLAD AND THE PARALLEL EXISTENCE IN PERFORMANCE
AN ALBANIAN HISTORICAL BALLAD AND THE PARALLEL EXISTENCE IN PERFORMANCE
(AN ALBANIAN HISTORICAL BALLAD AND THE PARALLEL EXISTENCE IN PERFORMANCE)
- Author(s):Arbnora Dushi
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Customs / Folklore, Music, Albanian Literature, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Culture and social structure
- Page Range:341-380
- No. of Pages:40
- Keywords:Ballad; Folk Song; Albanian Folklore; Pop Song; Poplore; Parallel Performance;
- Summary/Abstract:In Albanian-language folk tradition, The Ballad of Halit Gashi is categorized as historical because of its central figure and the historical event that it presents. The event occurred during the Ottoman occupation in the Balkan region, but the song itself has come down to us and continues to be actively performanced. This song is part of the folk repertoire, accompanied with vernacular stringed instruments such as çiftelia. But at the same time it has a public life in mass culture, performed as a genre of urban music. Both versions, the folk and the urban, continue to exist in parallel and represent different social and cultural dimensions that echo the different social and cultural communities of Albanian-speaking society in Kosovo and Albania. Is it the theme of the song, the text, sensitivity of the theme, music, singer, or the taste of the public that continues to keep The Ballad of Halit Gashi alive? Why does this song continue to have two parallel performance traditions: the folk and the pop? What conditions led to a modern version in the urban style? Parallel existence of both types signifies coexistence of tradition and modernity in Albanian-speaking society. While comparing versions of the song and their characteristic elements, we will examine the social and cultural of society, drawing on the work of Sadri Fetiu, Gene Bluestein, Marjetka Golež, Rory Archer, Mathew Gelbart, and others, and with the help of social anthropology, we will try to be able to find these answers.
MELO‐POETIC SYNTHESIS OF “THE SONG OF REXHA”
MELO‐POETIC SYNTHESIS OF “THE SONG OF REXHA”
(MELO‐POETIC SYNTHESIS OF “THE SONG OF REXHA”)
- Author(s):Visar Munishi
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Customs / Folklore, Music, Morphology
- Page Range:381-397
- No. of Pages:17
- Keywords:The Song of Rexha; Melody; Poetics; Sender-Receiver; Albanian Folk Song;
- Summary/Abstract:The Song of Rexha is a specific musical creation known not only to those who love Albanian folk music, but also to scholars of cultural and spiritual studies and related fields. Interest in this song has never ceased since its first appearance in sung form. The song attracts the attention of those interested to learn more about the event in the first place, to get to know the lyrics (in one of its many variants), to acquaint him/her with the text-melody synthesis, and eventually to learn about the way it was created and interpreted. Although we do not claim to have conclusive thoughts on any of its variants, the goal of this paper is to discuss various morphological components of “The Song of Rexha”, including the relationships between the interpreter and receiver in time and space.
UNAWAKENING FROM THE DREAM OF DEATH: PARALLEL WORLDS OF FOLK TRADITION IN MACUSHLA
UNAWAKENING FROM THE DREAM OF DEATH: PARALLEL WORLDS OF FOLK TRADITION IN MACUSHLA
(UNAWAKENING FROM THE DREAM OF DEATH: PARALLEL WORLDS OF FOLK TRADITION IN MACUSHLA)
- Author(s):James I. Deutsch
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Customs / Folklore, Music, Pre-WW I & WW I (1900 -1919)
- Page Range:401-420
- No. of Pages:20
- Keywords:Macushla; Irish Song; Lyrics; Million Dollar Baby; Motif of Resurrection;
- Summary/Abstract:The lyrics to the popular song ‘Macushla’ were written by Josephine V. Rowe, with music composed by Harold Robert White (writing under the pseudonym of Dermot MacMurrough) in 1910. The song became an immediate hit when the great Irish tenor John McCormack recorded it for the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1911. Although ‘Macushla’ is not a traditional ballad itself, it may be regarded as ballad-like in the story it tells, the imagery it evokes, and the traditional motifs it employs. The singer is calling out to someone who is either dead or in a deep dream-like sleep resembling death, which may be seen as a parallel world or alternate reality. Nearly ninety years later, elements of ‘Macushla’ reappeared in a short story, ‘Million $$$ Baby’ (2000), written by Jerry Boyd (using the nom de plume of F.X. Toole), which was adapted by screenwriter Paul Haggis for the Academy Award-winning film Million Dollar Baby (2004), directed by Clint Eastwood. Boxer Maggie Fitzgerald, the titular Million Dollar Baby, is nicknamed Macushla or Mo Cuishle before she enters a parallel world when paralyzed due to a severe spinal cord injury sustained in the ring. Although Irish folk tradition often invokes sorrow and the violation of expectations, popular Hollywood films rarely do so—preferring more upbeat endings that do not disturb the expectations of their audiences. The representations of alternate realities and parallel worlds in ‘Macushla,’ ‘Million $$$ Baby,’ and Million Dollar Baby tellingly demonstrate the continuing presence of a traditional past in popular film, song, and literature.
PARALLEL WORLDS IN THE SOUTH ALBANIAN BALLADS OF NIZAMS
PARALLEL WORLDS IN THE SOUTH ALBANIAN BALLADS OF NIZAMS
(PARALLEL WORLDS IN THE SOUTH ALBANIAN BALLADS OF NIZAMS)
- Author(s):Lumnije Kadriu
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Customs / Folklore, Music, Culture and social structure , 13th to 14th Centuries
- Page Range:421-450
- No. of Pages:30
- Keywords:Parallel Words; Ballad; Nizams; Intertextuality; Recontextualization;
- Summary/Abstract:Nizams were ordinary soldiers in the regular army of the Ottoman Empire who were taken from all places under its rule for mandatory service in distant countries, such as Yemen and Arabistan. As a result, a ballad subgenre was created: Ballads of Nizams. Since the Middle Ages, the Ottoman Empire conducted periodic battles with Yemen and so ballads were produced over a long time span. Because of the nature of their absence and the long distances involved, as well as difficult environmental conditions where they were sent, men often had little chance of returning alive. Thus, in these songs, mostly in the oldest versions, we find communication between Nizams and their loved ones realized metaphorically and supernaturally. Communication was not only between people in distant countries but also between different worlds, of the dead and the living. In this article, in addition to analysis of two quite popular Ballads of Nizams sung in polyphony, which is a characteristic of singing in south Albania, their re-creation and re-contextualization over time and space will also be analysed. Moreover, the analysis will include the reuse of one of the ballads by the prominent writer Ismail Kadare to interpret a painful contemporary phenomenon, that of women who in time of crisis in Albania were forced to leave the country and ended up as prostitutes abroad. Their “world” became very distant and difficult, and return was most probably impossible, both because of the social stigma and because they were considered to inhabit an “underworld”.
