Народна Музика

Sometimes when I go to Bitola, we have a Жежо (Žežo) night.  Жежо is a kafana, or classic Macedonian restaurant, that caters mainly to Macedonian men.  Thus, frequenting this kafana is equivalent to a men’s night out, with rakija, salads, and kebabs.  Luckily, many weekend nights also feature a duo that plays Macedonian folk music on a keyboard and sometimes saxophone, which completes the whole experience.

One of the main cultural reflections of any people or country is its music, and yet many PC volunteers fail to write a substantial account of the local music.  I assume that the reason for this is that Macedonian folk music is not their cup of tea, or at least they do not take the necessary legwork to download and create a playlist for these songs.  For the longest time, I have urged my counterparts and Macedonian friends to send me a list of Macedonian songs so that I can listen to them and become acquainted with the music.  However, the Macedonian folk music never really sunk in until I attended these two recent weddings, despite my general proclivity towards Macedonian folk music.

Background of Balkan Music

According to P. Manuel’s Popular Musics of the Non-Western World, Balkan music from most of former Yugoslavia (especially that from Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia, since these countries were ruled much longer by the Ottomans than Croatia) share similar characteristics adapted from the Ottoman culture.  Popular instruments used in Ottoman, and thus Balkan, folk music include the gajda (similar to a bagpipe), a large drum carried at one’s side, and a clarinet-like instrument.  Of course, folk bands have adapted to more modern instruments, including the clarinet, the accordion, and the saxophone.  Singing is often vibrato, and the rhythm of a song can either be free-flow, or 2+2+2+3, similar to many popular Turkish folk songs.

Besides being played in kafanas, Macedonian folk songs are also played at weddings and larger cultural events, including slavas.  In regards to the themes of the songs, they are not often very complicated, but instead appeal to the core of anyone’s soul.  For example, lyrics often lament one’s hometown/ land, a love that was lost or that is longed for.  Therefore, these songs make for excellent drinking songs, and many Macedonians belt their voices in unison when they sing them.

According to my host brother, Macedonian folk music is recently experiencing resurgence, since many young people in the Balkans previously turned to Turbo Folk, or basically a Balkan version of electronic pop music.  Supposedly Turbo Folk (which is said with much disgust on people’s faces nowadays) became popular during the civil war in the 1990s because soldiers wanted something simple and easy to listen to.  Although many Macedonian folk songs have deep historical roots, many modern singers are making a name for themselves by adopting them and singing them professionally.

Provided below are a list of a few Macedonian folk songs and Youtube links with their modern performance. 

Odi Zvezdo (Naum Petreski) 

Ete Majko Resiv da se Zenam (Vojo Stojanovski)

Leno Mori (Aneta I Mollika) 

Ti Samo Ti (Marjan Kocev I Drim Tim)  (During this song, us PCVs usually point at each other when we sing, “Ti, ti, ti, samo ti”, which means “You, you, you, only you”)

Finally, I am providing the Youtube link and the lyrics for my favorite Macedonian folk song, Tugja si bez Krajno (Efto Pupinovski) 

Нашата света куќа
Нашето огниште
Тука си бевме среќни
Тука си растевме

И нашето дрво расте
На старото скришно место
Кај што се љубевме
И наеднаш се' ќе згасне
И летото ќе се смири
Кавал ќе засвири

[REFRAINX2]
Ааа...за една судбина
Оној што силно љуби мора да губи
Туѓа си бескрајно

Оној што сега молчи
Ќе биде осамен
Оној што сега плаче
Вечно ќе тагува

Исплачи се сега мила
Исплачи се така сама
На мојте рамена
И наеднаш се' ќе згасне
И летото ќе се смири
Кавал ќе засвири

[REFRAINX2]

TRANSLATION (roughly by me)

Our sacred home

Our hearth

There we were happy

There we grew

And our tree grew

By that secret place

Where we made love

And suddenly everything will end

And summer will wind down

The kaval (flute) will begin to play

[REFRAINX2]

Aaa… For one fate

He who loves strongly must lose

When you are away (another’s) it seems like eternity

He who is silent

Will be alone

He who now cries

Will eternally mourn

So cry yourself out, darling

Cry as you do

Into my shoulders

And suddenly everything will end

And summer will wind down

The kaval (flute) will begin to play

[REFRAINX2]