Dances and songs long forgotten

Dancing of traditional dances, which people believe date back to the time of the Nemanjić dynasty, starts on the first day of Easter. Around three in the afternoon, people gather at the cross where, according to inherited belief, there once was a pine tree – King Milutin's landmark. There, a communal snack takes place. Each household brings some food, and a ceremonial cake is cut. The honor of cutting the cake has long belonged to the oldest and largest household in the region, the renowned hospitable Dajić family. As told, this is the only family in Kosovo that has the ancestral vow to cut, besides this one, five more cakes annually. It's said, of course, that this custom dates back to the time of the Nemanjić dynasty. At this legendary place near the cross, after the snack, men join in a circle dance and begin to circle the table with regular steps, singing, "Christ is Risen!" Then they play knightly games of jumping, stone throwing from the shoulder, and others. Finally, young men are chosen to carry the procession at the church of Tsar Uroš the next day.

Meanwhile, girls join in a dance. While two by two they sing an invitation to the dance, all move with regular steps, very slowly, always in the right direction. Their song, which will be repeated on St. George's Day and Trinity Sunday, begins: "Ote, druge da igramo!," the first part of their song refers to King Milutin's landmark pine: "Oj bore,bore, sabore!" Other female festive dances follow: "Ore, Kojo, Kostadine," the scenic-mimic game: "I'te, I'te dva junaka," in the evening: "Kroš, krošnjica, viš, višnjica," and towards the end: "Razvijaj se gorom cvet." The final assembly game with its song "Sunce mi je na zadatak" reminds the dancers that it's time to leave.

On the second day of Easter, after gathering at the church of Tsar Uroš, people process through several villages, followed by men's games. Among others, the playful men's game "Hoće ježo da se ženi!" is played.

On the third day of Easter, the same games that were played on the first day are performed.

In Gornje Nerodimlje, the church celebrates Eastern Friday (the first Friday after Easter). The dance is like on Easter. On St. George's Day, May 6th, the dance "Đurđevo leto proleto!" is performed.

From the melodies of rural Kosovo dances, something truly archaic resonates. They are of small range, undeveloped, simple, sometimes with repeating triplets, very similar to each other: "The exclamation 'I!'", drawn out and subdued, may appear at the beginning, middle, and end of a verse. Especially the mountain songs in Nerodimlje have these characteristics. But even from other villages, melodies of dances related to holidays and weddings bear this hallmark.

City melodies are more diverse, developed, and beautiful than rural ones, which are, despite everything, more interesting and undoubtedly purer in folk and Slavic character than those from towns. Out of nearly thirty dance melodies we have selected from the Kosovo region so far, the majority have the color of Nerodimlje songs that express more melancholy than cheerful feelings.

The beginning of the movement in the circle is always to the right.

The greatest interest in Kosovo dances undoubtedly lies in the diversity and richness of their choreographic forms.

It is usually believed that the circle dance is the typical and almost the only form of our choreographic tradition. However, Kosovo, along with our other regions, provides convincing evidence that our traditional dances contain a whole range of other forms that are neither a circle nor a chain. These forms are interesting in themselves and in comparison with chain dances, all the more so because in this one choreographic area of Kosovo, we can find almost all the basic forms of dances that exist, even certain combinations of them.

In Gornje Nerodimlje, when playing an invitation to dance or any women's dance, and during the performance of the women's circle dance around the church, women and girls hold each other under the arm. Each dancer grabs the right dancer under her left arm with her right hand. The leader of the dance with her free right hand grabs the left hand of the dancer next to her. All hold a crumpled handkerchief in their left hand.

Dances and songs that I have chosen for this choreography:

1.       Aj! će ti kupim al’kanariče

2.       Said ružu

3.       Popadija pile peče

4.       Oj bore, sabore

5.       Oj, Stameno Stameno

6.       Tamo dole selo Javorovo

7.       Igraj mi igraj Lazare