Svi Janjani – Gorica, Janj, BiH

Описание: Rista Vojinović – Lead voice/prvi glas
Rajka Vojinović, Petar Žiža – Bass/bas

Janj is a geographical, historical, and cultural area of the western part of Central Bosnia (Bosnia and Herzegovina). It is located between the Vrbas River, the Pliva River, and the Vitorog Mountain. The name of the area comes from the small but beautiful river Janj, the tributary of Pliva. It is inhabited primarily by the Orthodox Serbs.
The uniqueness of the Janj area lies in its strong roots in tradition. Many aspects of culture including folk costumes, craft, music, or traditional working methods (such as working with draft horses and cutting grass with a scythe to provide food for animals) are still cultivated and constitute the common identity of the Janjani. What particularly enchanted us was the unique singing with a very strong, deep emission.

“Svi Janjani” is a traditional ritual song (most probably sung during weddings). In the lyrics, we can find a very important element for the Janjani community – horses, as well as symbols representing the rite of passage such as river crossing and drinking from a fir trunk. This variant, sung by women, is very different from the song we recorded with men (   • Svi Janjani – Janj, BiH  ). It is a typical “na bas” form with only one lead voice, whereas in the version sung by men from Janj, the opening line is sung by one singer, then it is repeated by the second singer. Afterward, the rest of the stanza is sung just like in the regular “na bas” style.

Lyrics (ENG)

All the Janjani, my gold
All the Janjani, my love
All the Janjani ride on good horses
Oh, carry me, boat. Kiss me, Anđa
They ride on good horses

They ride on good horses, my gold
They ride on good horses, my love
They ride on good horses and drink from the bottle
Oh, carry me, boat. Kiss me, Anđa
And they drink from the bottle

When Anđa, my gold
When Anđa, my love
When Anđa crossed the Janj river
Oh, carry me, boat. Kiss me, Anđa
She crossed the river

She drank water, my gold
She drank water, my love
She drank water from the fir tree trunk
Oh, carry me, boat. Kiss me, Anđa
From the fir tree trunk

Lyrics (SRB)

Svi Janjani, zlato moje
Svi Janjani, oj, janje moje
Svi Janjani dobre konje jaše
Oj, vozi me, lađo. Ljubi me, Anđo
Dobre konje jaše

Konje jaše, zlato moje
Konje jaše, oj, janje moje
Konje jaše i piju iz flaše
Oj, vozi me, lađo. Ljubi me, Anđo
I piju iz flaše

Kad je Anđa, zlato moje
Kad je Anđa, oj, janje moje
Kad je Anđa prešla preko Janja
Oj, vozi me, lađo. Ljubi me, Anđo
Prešla preko Janja

Pila vodu, zlato moje
Pila vodu, oj, janje moje
Pila vodu iz jelova panja
Oj, vozi me, lađo. Ljubi me, Anđo
Iz jelova panja

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About us – Balkan Polyphony is a field research project that collects traditional music from the Balkan area. We are not interested in any ideologies, we don’t take sides in any historical conflicts. What interests us is traditional culture and its musical intricacies.