#gusle

[songs-of-the-east]

Old Vinyl's of Traditional Gusle Artists; mostly Serbs from Bosnia and Herzegovina & Montenegro in Yugoslavia

[songs-of-the-east]

Herzegovinian Serb Gusle artist: Maksim Vojvodić

[profesors]

◾Serbian guslar dressed in serbian traditional clothes from Herzegovina & Montenegro 🇷🇸

[profesors]

◾Serbian children from Ozren mountain(Bosnia & Herzegovina/then Kingdom of Yugoslavia) playing gusle(serbian traditional music instrument), 1940.

[lelejskagora]

[triptihosmrti]

Drawing of Filip Višnjić by Josif Danilovac, 1901

Filip Višnjić (1767–1834) was a blind Serbian epic poet and one of the most famous guslars.

Born to Marija and Đorđe Vilić, he derived his surname from his mother's nickname, Višnja (=cherry).

His father died when Filip was young and a bout of smallpox turned him blind when he was 8 or 9.

During the 500 year lasting period of Ottoman imperialism and oppression of Orthodox Serbs and other ethnic-religious groups who refused to convert to the occupiers’ religion, a female family member of his was abused by a group of Ottomans which his family avenged by lynching 2 of the abusers; this was punished by the Ottomans by massacring his other family members, killing every man in the family, and burning down the village. In the same year his mother died. Around this time, Višnjić learned to play the gusle, a one stringed instrument that has traditionally been used by Serbs for centuries to preserve history through oral retellings.

Due to lack of food following the Ottoman’s land confiscation, Višnjić had to beg on the streets. He travelled around and played the gusle for members of all religions.

Unlike most other Serb guslars, especially female ones, he was mentioned by name by folk song collector Vuk Karadžić. Karadžić owed some of his most famous epics to not only Višnjić but also numerous blind female guslars.

More about said blind women and their peculiar social position due to the belief in their sight seer abilities can be read about in this linked post.

Blind people were also the only group of people for whom an “academic” Guslar education is historically documented. From the 16th-early 19th century in the town of Irig existed the Slepačka akademija (Academy for the Blind), as well as a religious institution and a musicological institution of professional guslar education.

In 1780 the work of the Academy was stopped by the Habsburg Empire (which had by then become the new occupier of parts of the of Balkans including Serbia) and intervention of Catholic clergy Ilok.

Nevertheless, Irig remained a center in gusle play. Not far from Irig, a private school later settled in Slankamen in its succession, the last representative of which is considered to be the blind Pera Dmitrov (1852-1926). Dmitrov's gusle was kept in Irig's reading room, but burned together with the book fund during the German occupation fire in World War II.

[cosechadehuellas]

Serbian monk playing gusle in front of 13th c. Vranjina monastery. Lake Skadar, Montenegro.

[ludwigvb]

#zabljak #durmitornationalpark #gusle #montenegro #thegoodlife (at Žabljak) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRza27jMF-X/?utm_medium=tumblr