performance

Bosnek 1

88 (a) po predì kòlko godìni bèše tùka pèexme i igràeme i č ìdeme

some years back. There we sang and danced, and we’d go –

89 (a) i po klàdnica ìdexme ə kadè li ne sè lùtaxme i igràeme

And we went to Kladnitsa – we went all over the place, and danced.

132 (a) u koprìvštica tàm ni aresàa za u xolàndija ta idòme

to Koprivshtitsa. The [Dutch] liked us there, and we went to Holland.

Petrov Dol 1

1 (a) i n’ìje

We too

3 (a) n’ì d’èt’ ìd’im nə žètvətə

whenever we go to the “harvest” (stage performances about traditional life),

4 (a) nə pɤ̀rvu m’àstu z’èami stò l’èə vìnəgi nə dàvət

we win first prize – a hundred levs. We always win,

6 (a) običèj

[since the performances are about] a custom ...

8 (a) štòd drùgiti selà ni dàwət ubičèi pɤk nì dàami

... and other villages don’t present a custom [in their performance]. But we do.

10 (a) i mìnələtə gudìnḁ inò bèbi pàk xvɤ̀rl’ən’i nə b’èb’i

And last year [we did] one [about] babies, about “throwing away” babies.

12 (a) dàdi n’ pàk kò stò lèə li kòlku b’àa pàk

And they awarded us again – a hundred levs, right? How much was it?

14 (a) dàwət nə zə ubičàit’ȅ dàwət štòt n’àma

[That’s what] they award for [presenting] customs. There weren’t any others.

15 (a) xvɤ̀rl’en’i nə b’èb’i nɤprìm’er’ xvɤ̀rl’emi kàzwət sià n’àkuj žinà

“Throwing out babies”. We do this when, for instance, there’s a woman

16 (a) kàktu umìrət’ i decàta i tɤ̀r ràždət sɤ už’uèj i umìrə

whose children die. She has one, it lives a while and then dies,

17 (a) tòru trètu vèči tùj èči kət sɤ rud’ì da k prìmer

and then a second and third, the same. So when for instance,

18 (a) ftòru li trètu li i wìkɤm’e dàj dɤ i xvɤ̀rlim nɤ ùlicə̥tȁ

the second or third is born, we say “Let’s throw it out on the street,

19 (a) nɤ krɤstupɤ̀t’a kòjtu nəmèri nəm’ɛ̀ri nɤ n’ɛgu kɤsm’èt’ vèči nɤ n’ègu j

at the crossroads, and whoever finds it has fortune, and it’s with them

20 (a) še ž’uv’ɛ̀i ut’ùəmi nəpràim slàgɤmi nɤ krɤstupɤ̀t’ə i

that the child will live. We do this – we put the child at the crossroads, and

21 (a) màjkata sa skrìva i sigà vèči n’àkuj kətu kòjtu minàə iz ùlicta

the mother hides. And now when someone comes along the street

22 (a) kɤt i nɤm’ɛ̀ri z’èmə i tùj d’it’è z’èmɤ i i ut’ùət u.kɤšti

and they find the child, they take it and go home [with it].

23 (a) sigà sigà sigà ši i na t ši i krɯ̀štɤmi

And now – now, now, it’s time – we’ll christen it.

24 (a) nɤ trì jim’enà slàgɤmi tùj d’it’èto ə žə v guràta

We’ll give this child three names. [One] will be from nature (“the forest”),

25 (a) i nə žil’àzoto i na krɤ̀snictȁ kòjtu i nam’ɛ̀rilə vèči̥

one from man-made life (“the iron”) and one from the godmother who found the child.

26 (a) trì jmenà i ə kətu sa vɤ̀rnim tàm wìkə inàtə ìkə

Three names. And when we return, the one [who found it] says

27 (a) n’èskə n’id’ɛ̀l’ə jà id’e id’ɛ̀ti j krɤštàvəjti tùj d’èt’i d’èt’i

“Today is Sunday. Let’s go. Go [now] and christen this child – the child –

28 (a) d’èt’i mu kàzvəli tùj d’èt’i id’ɛ̀te nɤ čèrkwəta i krɤ̀štajte štòt tò

they just called it “the child”. Go to the church and christen it, because it’s been

29 (a) čitìrijz dèna n’e sì j čùlu ìmitu i ut’ùɤt nɤ č’èrkvəta

forty days and the child hasn’t heard its name yet. So they go to the church,

30 (a) i krɤ̀štat vrɤ̀štat sa i sigà krɤ̀snictȁ d’èt b’èb’i d’èt i nəm’ɛ̀ri

christen it, and return. And now the godmother who found the baby –

31 (a) žinàta spìra sa vɤ̀nka bùlkata udvɤ̀tr’ɛ i nə prəgɤ̀

this woman is at the threshold, outside; while the “bride” (the real mother) is inside.

32 (a) nɤ vrɤtàta xem nɤ prəgɤ̀ slàgɤmi inò s’ìto sìt dɤrmòn’ d’èt sìtu

And right at the doorstep, on the threshold, we place a large sieve, a “darmon”,

33 (a) nɤlì znàjš i tɤrkàl’əmi t’à ìkɤ tɤ̀s ə d’èt i nɤm’ɛ̀ri žinàta

you know? And we roll the child around in it and she says – the woman who found it

34 (a) vìkɤ tì mi dàdi ə jɤvrèn’č’e às ti dàɤm xristijànči tɤrkàl’emi i

says, “You gave me a little Jew and I now give you a little Christian.” We roll it

35 (a) pu sìtutu i žinàta bu màjkɤtɤ i z’èmɤ pàk i dàvɤ

around in the sieve and the woman – the mother – takes it and then gives

36 (a) nɤ ə krɤ̀snictȁ pàk t’ì mi dàd’e evrèn’č’e às ti dàɤm xristijànče̟

it back to the godmother, and again: “You gave me a Jew, I give you a Christian”.

37 (a) na trì pɤ̀t’ɤ nɤ trètij pɤ̀t’ i nə dà t’ì mi dàd’i

Three times in all. And the third time, it’s “You gave it to me,”

38 (a) kàzɤ biz ìme̟ às ti dàam sɤs ìmi tudòrkɤ nɤprìmer

she says, “with no name; I give it to you with the name Tudorka.” For instance.

39 (CG) ɤhɤ̀

Uh huh.

40 (a) kàktu gu kàktu žinàta ìmetu i tudòrka li p’ènkə li ivànkə li

Some name like a woman has – Tudorka, or Penka, or Ivanka – something like that.

41 (a) tudòrka i t’à màjkətə i z’ìmə vèči i s’àdəmi u kɤ̀š

Say it’s Tudorka. So the mother takes it, and we all sit down in the hou–

42 (a) u vèči slàgəmi sufràta krɤ̀snictȁ ja dar’àva ə

We’ve already set the table. The godmother gifts the mother,

43 (a) màjkata dar’àva krɤ̀snicəta t’à vìka ma às cigà ə i nam’ɛ̀rix

the mother gifts the godmother. She says, “Now I’ve found it,

44 (a) əm a d’et’ètu əma n’àməm nìštu š’ə mu s ràzgele

this child, but I don’t have anything. I’ll – well, fortunately,”

45 (a) kàzvə ìmam inà pərà š’ə mu dàm enà parà pɤk drùk pɤ̀t’

she says, “I have some money. I’ll give it some money and then next time

46 (a) š’e mu nakùp’ə drèxi de i obl’àka t’à i d’it’ètu də ubličè

I’ll buy it some clothes to dress it.” And she dresses the child,

47 (a) dr’èxi mu kupùva pərì š’ə mu dàm i sigà v’èči š’ə snì

she buys it clothes. “I’ll give it money, and henceforth we’ll be

48 (a) inò c’àlu ròt ròt kət màjkə nàči màjka sə kàzvə v’èči

a family, I’ll be as a mother.” She’s now called a mother

49 (a) tɤ̀j nə d’it’ètu d’èt i nam’ìr’a i tàm ə ə gòsti dər’àvam

to this child that she found. So now – “I gift the guests,”

50 (a) pòčnuvəmi də id’èm àd’i sigà zə d’ət’ètu zə zdràv’i i t’à vìka

we start to eat. “Here’s to the child for its health,” she says,

51 (a) àjdi də si ut’ùəm či mnògu ustàna [cough]

“We’ll be off because I’ve already stayed a long time.” [cough]

53 (a) [cough] mnògu s’əd’àx àd’i vèč’i č’e duwìždən’i vìj š’ə ìdvət’i nìj š’ə ìdvəm’

[cough] “We’ve sat here a lot, so goodbye now, you’re off and so are we.

54 (a) wèč’e̟ kɤtu krɤ̀ sè jnò i sɤ̀štu nàše d’ət’è vèč’e̟

After all, it’s as if it’s our child now.

55 (a) mòja dɤšter’ә̀ wìkɤ tɤ̀ž žinà i i e tɤ̀j xvɤ̀rl’en’i̥ nə b’èb’i

She’s now my daughter,” says this woman. And that’s the “throwing of the baby”,

56 (a) i nə tùj ə zə ubičàj zìami pàk pu stò l’èa zìami

the custom that we once again got a hundred levs for presenting –

57 (a) stò l’èa nə dàət [laughter]

that they award us a hundred levs for! [laughter]

60 (a) ahà ubičàjə

Yes, [that’s] the custom.

61 (GK) ama tovà za da da bɤ̀de detètu žìvo li da da da

But [the purpose of] that is that the child should stay alive, that – that

68 (GK) da ni ì umìrat decàta

That her children shouldn’t die.

69 (a) dà də n’i umìrɤt d’əcàta na trèttu vèč’i

Yes, that her children shouldn’t die. And [it’s] after the third one –

70 (a) inò dv’è trì vèč’i sè i umìrɤt d’əcàta i t’è vèč’i rešàvət

one, two three children die [in a row] – that they decide

71 (a) də i xvɤ̀rl’ә̟t nə krɤstupɤ̀t’ə kòjtu i nəm’ɛ̀ri nə n’ègu kɤsmèt’

to throw one out at the crossroads, and whoever finds it has fortune

72 (a) v’èč’i nɤ nègu š’ə i ərìžet ar xərìzvət à kət sə vɤ̀rnət

and will give gifts on its behalf, will gift [the mother] when they return

73 (a) ut ə čèrkvəta pr’ekàrvət ə prez rìza tɤ̀s u žinà

from the church. They’ll pull it through the shift: this woman – [the one]

74 (a) dunàs’ə jnà rìza d’èt i namìrə pr’ekàrvət i du trì pɤ̀t’ə

who found it – brings a shift, and they pull it through the shift three times.

75 (a) xɤrìzvət sə kàzvə xɤrìzvən’i

That’s called “gifting”.

77 (a) du trì pɤ̀t’i i prikàrvət də e ž’ìvu i zdràu v’èč’i

Three times they pull it through, so it will be healthy and live

78 (a) dɤ n’i sè rəzbul’àwə i tɤ̀j

so that it won’t fall ill. That’s why.

79 (e) ako e georgi kàg gu krɤštàvət gàna tɤ̀j li

So if [the finder] is Georgi, how do they christen the child? Gana, right?

80 (a) e na mumìče əku è mumičinci gu krɤštɤd girgànə

Well, for a girl, if it’s a girl – they christen it Gergana.

81 (a) i kàktu gu tò nə trì iminà sə krɤštàət

since they christen it with three names.

85 (d) pɤ̀rvu nə mɤžɤ̀

If the first [one to find it is] a man.

86 (a) dà dà pək às kətu hvɤ̀rl’ə kətu pɤ̀rvi pɤ̀t

Yes. Yes, when I “threw” the baby – the first time

87 (a) kəd dàəmi tùj tòz ubičɛ̀j àz b’àw

that we performed this custom, I was the one –

89 (a) às ut’ùvam səs ə stòmnite zə vudà i ut’ìvəm vìždəm ednò d’it’è

I’m going along with water jugs to the well. I go along and I see a child

90 (a) à vìkəm kakò i tùj dit’è kòj i fɤ̀rlil tùkə bè

and I say, “What is this? A child? Who threw it here?

91 (a) bòže kùčettȁ kàk ne sɤ̀ i rəskɤ̀səli tò kùklə əmə t’è b’èb’i

My God, how is it that the dogs haven’t torn it apart?” It was a doll, but [acting as] a baby.

92 (a) vɤ̀ bòže vìkəm tùj b’èb’i kə kòj hwɤ̀rl’i tùkə kò

“God almighty,” I said, “it’s a baby! Who threw it here? Who?”

93 (a) i màjkətə iskàčə t’à sə skrìwə

And the mother jumps out – she’d been hiding.

95 (a) à àjd’e nə t’èb’i kəsm’èt’ zimì i zimì às i zèw

“Well, fortune to you – take it, take it!” So I took it.

96 (a) zèw b’èb’itu à sigà ši ìd’im u.kɤ̀šti ut’ìdim u nàx

I took the baby, and now we’re going home. We go to [them]

97 (a) u t’àx uš ut’ùəm tàm nə sc’ènətə tò əmə ut’ùəm u t’àx

– as if to them, this is on the stage you see – so I go to them

98 (a) i kàzvəm tàm v’èči i pək də bùl’ətə vìkə

and I speak to them, and the older sister [in the performance] says,

99 (a) è tò n’èskə ùbəwo nid’ɛ̀l’ə ìmə pòp čerkwətə utòrenə

“Well good - today is Sunday, there’s a priest and the church is open

100 (a) jà vìe id’èt’i krɤ̀štəjt’i tò tùj d’it’è čitirìjsi d’ènə nəbližàə

You go ahead and christen this child. It’s been nearly forty days

101 (a) pək ni sì j čùlu ìmito àjd’e ut’ùəmi krɤštàəmi vrɤ̀štəmi sə pàk

and it hasn’t heard its name yet.” So we go and christen it. Then we return and

102 (a) i tàm v’èči dər’àvəni pris sìtutu sə tərkàl’ə tàm na trì pɤ̀t’e

and there’s gifting, rolling the child three times in the sieve –

103 (a) əmi pràili sn’e às si pràjew i dubrìnə jè tɤ̀s ivànuvətə

Well, that’s how we performed it. I did it, and Ivan’s Dobrina

104 (a) i čàkəj kujà ženà tòs ubičàj gu dàvəmi b’èb’itu

and I don’t recall what other woman. This is the custom we performed – about the baby.

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Bosnek 1

Petrov Dol 1