Old traditional Serbian folklore songs from around Pristina

The local population's neglect of tradition and the easy acceptance of less valuable elements from other regions are among the reasons why such diverse and interesting dances, like those from Kosovo, don't leave as strong an impression as they could if they were performed with more life and love. Therefore, these forms, which are in themselves very grateful elements for direction and choreography, in some Kosovo villages begin to look like extinct manifestations of past life.

In cities, however, it's different. The dances are performed expressively, and in Pristina, the men's circle dances are even done temperamentally. Some Pristina residents improvise while dancing and add extra steps to the dance as decoration.

In choreographic terms, Kosovo folk dances are very diverse and unusually interesting. Despite this, the way of dancing in the villages is almost lifeless, but in the cities, it's very lively.

The poetic elements are also varied and closely related to the social and religious life of the people. Their interpretation in the villages shows a tendency to present the textual content of the song more in a dramatic than a choreographic way. In cities, it's the opposite.

Melodically, the accompaniment to Kosovo rural dances is predominantly archaic with a melancholic Slavic hue. City melodies for dancing are more developed and varied, but also more susceptible to various influences. The way of singing in villages is primitive and accompanied by that drawn-out "I."

All things considered, Kosovo choreographic folklore is very old, but it's not possible to determine exactly from what time it originates.

Comparing Kosovo dances with dances from other Serbian regions and other peoples shows similarities in poetic elements with choral songs from Serbia, Srem, Boka, and Southern Serbia. In steps, movements, and beats, they are most similar to dances from Serbia, and in terms of structure, both to Serbian and South-Serbian dancing tradition. In form, they are similar to Serbian, Srem, Boka, and Belokranjska, as well as Russian ethnographic dance. Moreover, such similarity of Kosovo dances with dances of both Slavic and non-Slavic peoples suggests that the diverse and interesting forms of Kosovo choreographic tradition might once have expressed universal human symbols related to the mystical transmission of certain powers, the warlike or erotic nature of the dance, paths of redemption, threads of fate, abundance and fertility, the creative power of nature, and the eternal renewal of life.

All these facts clearly indicate the need to study folk dances not only in relation to folk life and inseparably from the national character but also in a comprehensive relation to the dances of other peoples. Such comparative research, which is yet to follow, would probably reveal entirely new perspectives in the unexplored area of traditional dance. This would open up the possibility for more reliable reasoning and more secure conclusions about the national character of our dance tradition. It would also pave the way for a deeper understanding of the origins, heritage, and symbolic meaning of our old ethnographic dances.

With the migrations of the Serbian population, specificities of speech, customs, traditions, certain songs, and dances were transferred from one locality to another, so that nowadays, songs with the same text but different performances can be heard in areas from northern Montenegro to Velika Hoča. The song "Što si setna nevesela" is one example of many, and there are many songs that are performed in areas from Vranje, through Bujanovac, all the way to Kriva Reka and Novo Brdo, such as "Sunce zađe među dve planine," "Sazdade se crni obla'," "Cveto kalušo," or dances like "Švrljig," "Lesnoto," "Svekrvino kolo," "Preševka." The population of the area from northern Montenegro, through the Ibar Kolašin, the left bank of the Ibar, Zvečan, Leposavić, has the same customs, culture, and manner of dressing, and they also share a common ijekavian dialect, despite the state borders that now exist between parts of this population.

On the right side of the Ibar, from Raška to Babin Most, the influence of Šumadija is felt in all manifestations of folk life.

Central Kosovo, from the river Ibar near Kosovska Mitrovica, all the way to Nerodimlje, has specific features that are lost in the Sirinić District, and from Brezovica and Sredačka District, Metohija begins with all its pronounced differences in urban and rural culture, recognizable all the way to Ibar Kolašin.

Central Kosovo, according to some researchers, was divided into Jerci and Kosovci. Jerci stretched from Babin Most, through Gojbulja to Kosovska Mitrovica. Between them, there was a kind of antagonism in all matters of tradition and customs. Among the Kosovci, there were divisions between natives and newcomers from Montenegro, Lika, and Herzegovina. All this had the character of diversity and richness of folk life and creativity, as small differences were mutually respected, but by the end of the 1980s, they were misused for political purposes.

One manifestation of this antagonism was the dance competition between the people of Kosovo Polje, mostly descendants of newcomers, and the natives of Priluzje. At the dances, they would compete for hours in the House of Culture of Kosovo Polje on Saturdays and in Priluzje on Sundays. The men's circle dances continued until one of the dancers literally fell from exhaustion, and whoever lasted the longest in the circle was considered the winner. Most often, these were the people from Kosovo Polje.

The oldest recordings of songs from this region were made by Stevan St. Mokranjac and are compiled in the book "Recordings of Folk Melodies" published by the Musicological Institute of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Kosta Manojlović recorded 16 melodies in Pristina in 1924. The recording of songs from this region was also undertaken by other researchers - the Janković sisters, Miodrag A. Vasiljević, Vladimir R. Đorđević. For the first five songs in the collection they published between the two World Wars, the Janković sisters selected songs from this region. In the records of Miloje Milojević, these are examples 22, 23, 24b, 46b ("Cveto, mori Cveto"), 47b, 59v, 70a, 70b, 71, 74b, 75, 76, 79b, 80, 82, 83, 88, 109, 115, 124, 141, 142, 146, 147, 155, 159, 162, 163b, 177, 182, 192, 193, 195, 199a, 201, 204a, 208a, 216, and 217.

In the mentioned part of Miodrag Vasiljević's work, songs from central Kosovo can be found under numbers 7, 26, 30, 57, 62a, 63, 66 ("Devojče, devojče"), 68, 80a, 87b, 97, 126a, 156, 184a, 229, 236, 249b, 298b, 321, 327, 329, 358, 364a, 364b, 367, 373, 387, and 398.

The musical content of the songs recorded by these collectors indicates the richness of the melody, especially in the slower songs where the singer can demonstrate improvisation skills, leading to numerous variants of the same songs. In fast songs, there are not many ornaments, as these songs were primarily intended as accompaniment to dances, leading to their more uniform metric and rhythm regularity. The differentiation between urban and rural songs can be defined through the range of melody. While rural songs are predominantly narrow in scope, based on four or five tones, urban songs are characterized by a wider range. Urban melodies for dance are more developed and varied, as well as more susceptible to various influences. The melodic flows, especially of rural songs, are based on a predominantly gradual movement, moderation of melodic movement, with rare jumps between tones. Compared to other regions of Kosovo, songs from the Pristina area can be characterized as measured, which is also reflected in the way of dancing. This measured quality can also be found in the Prizren area.

Instruments used as accompaniment to singing and dancing include the svirajka, duduk, bagpipes, zurla, and drums.

Musical instruments used in the Kosovo and Metohija region are a mix of those of local origin, such as the svirala, double flute, and gusle, and instruments of oriental origin, such as bagpipes, zurla, duduk, goch or drum, timpani, darabuka, daira, and def. They are most often combined as instrumental accompaniment to folk dances, and individually, shepherds (svirala and double flute) use them, or they accompany the singing of epic songs (gusle).

Нотографија и текст:

1. Пођох по горе, џанум, Ју варош – Малу.  Варошке моме, џанум, 
2. Све су џивлеџике,
3. Марије шише од ракије мезе по ракије
4. Пођох по горе џанум, Ју варош – малу
5. Варошке моме, џанум, никог не гледају, Марије шише од ракије мезе по ракије
6.  Ај сутко, лутко, џанум, бела гугутко,
7. Ај, доле, доле, џанум, чифте пиштоље
8. Марије шише од ракије мезе по ракије
9. Ај, насто, насто, џанум, вечаревах красно Ај, Мицо, Мицо, чанум, бела Пчелицо, 
10. Марије шише од ракије мезе по ракије.

Демко, мори, Демко

1. демко, мори, демко, парнија демко, дири, дири, дим...,
2. Ајде, мори, демко, у Горњу малу, да видимо демко, лепе девојке, 
3. Те лепе девојке, широке хаљине да пијемо демко, љута ракија. дири, дири, дим...,

Ој ти Досто бела гуско

1. Ој, ти, досто, бела гуско, дођи да те ја пољубим,
2. Трај-лај, тра-ла-ла-ла
3. Ја би дошла, али не смем, Јер ми мајка ваздан кући, 
4. Трај-лај, тра-ла-ла-лај