THE BATTLE OF KOSOVO 1389 AN ALBAN IAN EPLC Anna Di Lellio Translations by Robert Elsie T 1.1s.7fi§YJ il’{sTl _ W f___ __ 1T=»»u~-Nzwvnnw In ¢zs;oci1¢:i/211 with T XE. (lrm xu; FOR Ausawxm S YUDIE5 Published in Z009 by lrB.'l‘.1uris 5L Co. Ltd, 6 Salsrn Road, London \V2 4BU 175 Fiftll Avenue, New York NY 1Ul)l 0 www.ibmuris.com in association xvitifllic Ctfittfi for {\ll):1I\lAH Studies Distributed in the Unitctl. States and Canucla 5§}£C}Uni\'lil)' by Prilgtave Macmillan, l75 Fifth /\\/cnuc, NmwYo1'l;, NY lOOl0 Text copyright @ 2009 Anna Di Leilio Translzitions copyright © 2009 Robert Eisit The rigbi 4'>€f\i'l)\§i Di Leliio to be idcnrified as the ‘.l\1tl1Ol‘ or this work have been asscnczi by the author in arcorclancc with the Cnpyrigl1t,D¢sigt\s and P‘<\[t:!\tS Act 1988 All rights rtlscruzcl. Except for brief quotations in a rcvie\v,tl1is book or any putt thcrcor, may not ba reprodticeti, stored in or illU'0(l\!C<‘l into 1 r€U'ii:v'a.l System, or transmitted, in any form or by any inc-ans, electronic, rzicclmiical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written pcrrnissimi of the publislicr. References to inter-tier wcbsircs (URLs) were accurate at the time oriwtiring. Ncitllfif rite author not l.B.TauriS is rcsponsiblc For wcbsilcs that may bavc expired or Cl\(-\I\g€d since llic text was prepared. l$BN: 978 1 84385 0941 A full Cl? record for this book is available from the British Library A full C lP record for this book is available from the Library of Congress Library of Congress Cztralog Card Nuinber: availabic Printed and bound in Great Britain by the l\’lPG Books Group, Botimin and Kings Lynn Conttints /1:/cnowledgements Part Qnc Once There W215 a Sultan Mul‘al.. Introduction The l'~listorinn’s Record: Albanian Pr0tag<)r1istn in thc Christian Camp l\'lil10sb Kopiliq vs. lVIil0§ Obilié Millosli Kopilicfs Albanian Authenticity as an Emerging Story Albanian \/Vcstern Identity The Story Variations on the Themes of Resistance and Arlaptation Conclusions Part Two Yhrfllbanian Variants ofibe Sung qflbs Bcztfle u lwrovo Variant 1: Gl_i§a Elczuvic 1923 Variant Z: l\/lzirgaret I-laslucK Variant 3: Albert Lord 1937 Variant 4-: Anton Qctta 1952 Variant S: Anton Qetta 1954 Variant 6: Karaceva 1954 Variant 7: Rabovec 1955 Variant 8: Shkodra 1998 Naies Bi17li0gra[>/Jy 1931 * " ’ “e ""““‘*— Acknowledgements The idea for this book was born during a serendipitous c0nver— sation with Bejtullah Destani and Robert Elsie, who listened to my stories about Drenicefs heroes and encouraged me to research the epic of Kopiliq. Bejtullah, who possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of everything Albanian, and a prodigious private li- brary, provided Margaret Hasluck’s transcription of a variant of the epic song on the Battle of Kosovo. Robert generously shared his own patrimony of ideas and texts on Albanian culture, and has been supportive throughout the project with his wise advice and his editing skills. Most importantly, he beautifully translated the Albanian epic, now finally available in poetic English. In diflerent ways, Arbnora Dushi, Zymer Neziri, and Ahrnet Qerizp, who know a great deal about Albanian folKlore, gave me tremendous help. They answered my many e~rnails, met with me when l asked, and provided many hard to locate books and articles essential to this research. Nora has been a gracious and patient “cultural translator.” Zymer gave me the variant of the epic recorded in the 1930s by Albert Lord, which he found while perusing the Harvard Collection of Albanian songs. Ahrnet, who loves speaKing the ltalian he learned during nine years of detention as a prisoner of conscience, introduced me to several rhapsodists who made the text of the songs Wonderfully alive for me. In Prishtina and Tirana I could count on Zeza Kraja and Eda Derhemi to find the old journals I needed, saving nie the no small amount of suflering that would have been required to extract holdings from the obstructionist bureaucracies of local libraries. Shukrie Gashi, Dom Lush Gjergji, and Garentina Kraja have always been quick to expand my reach, introducing rne to new and relevant people and ideas. Finally, there are a few people I must thank for their critical reading of my manuscript: Samuel Crawford, Bashkim lseni, " "“‘ Fatos Luhonja, Ines l\/lurzalcu and Rez-art Spahia have all given their nine and thoughts, and while not responsible for what l have Written, each has helped put the text in better shape with their comments and insight. Although the Albanian epic refers to the Battle of Kosova, We use throughout this hook the name Kosovo, being the standard English designation for the area which currently calls itself Republic of Kosovo. Part One Once Here W613 az Sultan Murat. .. Soliho Magnificent used to tell rne: “Oiseau dc Charn, you write. Very nice. I, Solibo,l speak. You see the distance? in your book on the Watermama, you want to capture the word in your Writing, l see the rhythm you try to put into it, how you want to grab Words so they ring in the mouth.You say to rne: Am I doing the right thing, Papa? l\/le,l say: One writes but words, not the word, you should have spoken. To write is to take the conch out of the sea to shout: herds the conch! The word replies: wheres the sea? But that’s not the most important thing. I am going and you’re staying. I spoke but you, you’re writing, announcing that you come from the Word. You give me your hand over the distance. lt’s all very nice, but you just touch the distance...” PatricK Chamoiseau, Solibo Magnfiicerzt. Introduction “Once there was a Sultan l\/lurat...”Thus begins the Albanian epic on the Battle of Kosovo.‘ This is the story of Murat, a i\’loses—like leader who performs miracles for his people and is destined to die as a martyr, and Kopiliq, the daring warrior with magic powers who kills Murat.The historical event that provides the background to this epic is Sultan l\/lurat l’s Kosovo cam- paign in the spring of B89, culminating in a confrontation with the coalition of BalKan forces led by the Serbian Prince Lazar Hrcbeljanovioz Both the Sultan and the Prince were killed in a battle that apparently ended with no decisive victory in the field, or no immediate outcome, but signaled the weariness of local forces against the Ottomans. Seventy years later the last resistance was finally overcome; Kosovo feudal lords lost their independence to the Ottomans, who established their rule over the entire region. Compared with the fame of the Serbian epic songs on the same battle ~ centered on the characters ofprince Lazar the pious, Vuk Brankovic the traitor, and l\’lilos Obilié the loyal general and assassin of the Sultan — knowledge of the Albanian epic is scarce. This is no surprise‘ The Albanian oral tradition has had a profound influence on national history and selfddentification, but has not had the same worldwide recognition as the Serbian tradition, for the language itself is not widely known.3 ln particular, the Albanian epic of the Battle of Kosovo has never played the central role that the Serbian myth of Kosovo played since the 19'“ century in building a national and regional identity.‘ Yet, while the Serbian oral tradition seems to have died out in the second half of the 20”‘ century, the Albanian oral tradition is still very much alive in Kosovofi Its continuity demonstrates remarkable resilience against modernization, emigration, and even more direct threats: during the Milosevic years and in the run up to the war, the Serbian police and army targeted singers and destroyed scholarly institutions where Folk culture had been recorded and archived.“ The oral tradition survived despite of, or THE BA'l"l‘LE, OF KOSOVO U8‘) maybe because of, the violent attempt to suppress it, lt still adds new productions to a rich body of songs that are legendary tales of individual resistance played against an historical background. I stumbled upon an Albanian song about the Battle 0l_KOS()VO while l was researching the culture of the Kosovo Liberation Army (k_LA), the guerrilla group formed in the 1990s to fight for independence from Serbia.7 In books by local historians l read that B/lilos Obilic, the Serbian hero reputed to be the assassin of the Sultan, was instead the Albanian hero Millosh Kopiliq. Evidence ofhis Albanian origin was to be found in the epic song on the Battle and in folK wisdom, which locates i\/lilloshls birth in Kopiliq, a hamlet in the rural area of Drenica. ln Kosovo, current popular history texts, but also school textbooks, have absorbed the oral tradition. The possibility ofan Albanian Kopiliq will come as a complete shocK to a wider audience that admires Serbian epic poetry and knows the Serbian hero Qbilic. in truth, no historical evidence confirms Kopiliqis Albanian origin, but no evidence confirms ()bilic’s Serbian origin either. The name Obilic for example, is an 18*‘ century invention that two Serbian amateur but influ- ential nationalist historians, Vasilije Perrovic and Pavlc julinac, introducedg Obilic reflects the Serbian Word ofvifie, which means “abundance.” Before then, the assassin of the Sultan had always been known as Kobila, Kopiliq, Kobilic or other versions of that name by the same stem.“ The root here might be in an old Balkan substrat word, in Albanian /capil (child or bastard child), in Romanian c0pi/ (child) and in Serbian kopile (bastard child) or /eobilr/1 (mare, from which £10/ailic, son of the mare).“‘ Since then, the medieval character named Kopiliq has only lived in the memory of the Battle of Kosovo among the Albanians.