Historiography of Osojane

(area of Istok)

The region of Prizren's Podgor includes villages that were mainly inhabited by Serbs, as evidenced by their names: Đurakovac, Srbovran, Suvi Lukavac, Žač, Osojane, Šaljinovica, Koš, and Tučepo. Most of them originated in the Middle Ages, during the rise of the Nemanjić state, so there are records of four with their names from that time. Đurakovac was called Đurbačiša, Koš was Kuš, Tučepo was Tučep, and the old name of Šaljinovica was Šajinovica.

The main occupation of the residents in the villages of Podgor is agriculture, supplemented by livestock. The villages are located "near water," next to springs or rivers, and divided into logors, hamlets. They bear names according to the founder of the hamlet.

The method of construction in this region is specific; houses in the villages of Podgor were built on floors, in the local language "na boj," and are called kule. On the first floor, there is a larger room with a fire, izba, and on the second floor are bedrooms and other rooms, izhene.

According to tales, dancing started from Easter, although today there is no specific dance performed then, nor is it remembered that there was. From this period began village feasts, krstas, then the celebration of Đurđevdan, Duhovi, church holidays, and large gatherings of which the most famous are Ilinje, held in the village of Koš, and the gathering on Preobraženje held in the village of Budisavci.

Social life in these villages is very lively, so residents of the villages where research was conducted still often gather on various occasions. Besides celebrations and feasts, people here also gathered for work, so mobas were common during sowing, harvesting, reaping, and distilling rakija, and singing and dancing accompanied the work. Mobas were usually announced by sending a child to invite to the moba. It was customary for the child to invite villagers with words: "My father sent me, hurry up, work has already started," or "the oxen are pulling the plow." The start of the moba was announced by the girls' song. If the moba was convened for harvesting, the song 'Poranilo milo moje' was sung:

Poranilo milo moje

Da pokosi žito moje.

Girls ready for marriage would sing:

Žito kosi, žito kosi

Dogodine da me prosi.

After the moba, whether it was harvesting, mowing, or sowing, everyone would come to the host's house, and with the toast of a prayer, in which heartfelt wishes were conveyed to the host, the celebration would begin. The beginning was marked by the men's song:

Domaćine ove kuće,

Daj rakoje, ladne, vruće!

Girls and women would respond: Domaćice, void red,

Neko pije, neko gleda.

Domaćine, jel’ ti milo,

Da se sada veselimo.

These last lines were a sign to start dancing.

The first information about folk dances of this area can be found in a survey of the Ministry of Education from 1948, conducted under the leadership of Olivera Mladenović. In the same district, thirty-two names of dances were recorded in eight villages at that time. The most popular dances that year were Montenegrin kolo oro and spinning dances tango, tanz, waltzer, volczerp. Along with them are mentioned Čačak, Vranjanka, Dvostranka, Cveto kalušo, Igra pred bunjem, Oj mori travo zelena, Marino kolo. This second group of dances represents the basic dance repertoire of the villages in Podgor. According to the survey, it is known that the dance is called oro and the spins tanz, and that it was most commonly danced at weddings, after performances, and during the celebration of state holidays. It was danced with the accompaniment of a song, def, which was called deft here, drums, duduk, bagpipes, music, i.e., a mouth harmonica and harmonica.

Research conducted in recent years, in which conversations were held with narrators, has determined that the dance repertoire in the villages of Podgor consists of dances like kolanje, Marino kolo, Čačak kolo, Jednoredna, Dvoredna, Žikino kolo, Vranjanka, and kolo Bela rada.

Dance at gatherings most often began with the accompaniment of a song, in separate kolos for male and female dancers. The dance pattern consisted of three two-fourths measures, and the form of the dance was a closed kolo.

Songs accompanying the dance were 'Oj, devojko,' 'Moja gara, čije li te oko vara,' and 'Oj, ljubavi, bog te kleo, ko te prvi započeo.' In recent years, dancing has started with Marino kolo in the same way. Boys would begin with the song 'Majka je Maru savetovala,' and after a dialogue between male and female kolos, dancing continued with instrumental accompaniment, together in the same kolo. According to narrations, until the middle of the century, dancing was accompanied by duduk or flute. After World War II, the accordion appeared, and with it the bass. Music was paid for, the kolo leader paid "for himself and his friends" with whom he leads the kolo. The holding in the kolo was by hands or shoulders for men when danced with the accompaniment of a song, and in other games, the hands were crossed behind the back when boys and girls danced, while women could hold the dancers around the waist.

In the villages of Podgor, men's dancing is different from girls' and women's dancing. Women dance calmly, modestly, giving the observer the impression of expressing some kind of sadness, contributed to by the long cries of 'I!' Men's dancing is livelier, stronger, but without decorative movements and without ecstasy. When they start dancing, long cries of 'S' can be heard.