Djemo the Mountaineer ( sr, Ђемо Брђанин) is a popular legendary hero of
Serbian epic poetry
Serbian epic poetry ( sr, Српске епске народне песме, Srpske epske narodne pesme) is a form of epic poetry created by Serbs originating in today's Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia. The ...
who is depicted as enemy of
Kraljević Marko and brother of
Musa Kesedžija
Musa Kesedžija, Musa Arbanas ( Serbian and mk, Муса Кесеџија, bg, Муса Кеседжия), also described as Musa the Robber, Musa the Outlaw, Musa the Highwayman or Musa the Beheader, is a popular legendary villain of Serbian ep ...
. His figure might be based on an actual historical person. There are (disputed) claims that he was a member of
Muzaka noble family from Albania (
Gjin Muzaka) or maybe the
Ottoman soldier Jegen Osman Pasha. Some authors, such as Russian folklorist
Khalansky, connected him with
Svyatogor
Svyatogor () is a mythical ''bogatyr'' (knight/hero) in ancient bylinas of Kievan Rus'. His name derives from the words for "sacred mountain". Svyatogor's tale, ''Ilya Muromets and Svyatogor'', forms a part of the Ilya Muromets cycle. According ...
, which is also disputed by some other scholars.
Etymology and alternative name forms
There are several different theories about the origin of Djemo's name. According to one approach, Djemo was originally Dema, which is the diminutive of Demir, derived from the Turkish word for
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
( tr, Demir). The other possibility is that his name is derived from the name of Osman Jegen Pasha (Jedjem — Djemo) who lived at the end of the 17th century. According to some scholars his name is derived from the name of Gjin Muzaka, a member of Muzaka noble family from Albania.
Djemo the Mountaineer is mentioned as Gino Latinin ( sr, Џин од Латина) in the song 'Marriage of Stojan Popović'. Other forms of his name are Djino, Gino Arnauče, Dinče Arnauče and Gino Latinin ( sr, džin od Latina), all names of the enemies of Prince Marko also in the songs collected by
Miladinov brothers
The Miladinov brothers ( bg, Братя Миладинови, ''Bratya Miladinovi'', mk, Браќа Миладиновци, ''Brakja Miladinovci''), Dimitar Miladinov (1810–1862) and Konstantin Miladinov (1830–1862), were Bulgarian poets ...
. These narratives, which clearly portray the character as a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, whereas his brother Musa is a
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
, intend on emphasizing the stereotipical view on the duality of the Albanians among whom religion doesn't have a defining role in establishing a national consciousness, as it does with the Balkan Slavs.
Historical background
Yeğen Osman Pasha or Gjin Muzaki
Jovan Tomić in his work 'Who is Djemo the Mountaineer' ( sr, Ко је Ђемо Брђанин) claims that Djemo was from the region of Brda, a territory in modern-day
Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = M ...
and northern Albania.
He thought that Musa Kesedžija is based on the supporter of
Yeğen Osman Pasha
Yeğen Osman Pasha or Yeğen Osman Aga was 17th-century Ottoman Empire, Ottoman military officer of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian origin. After being commander of sekban (peasant mercenaries) units in Anatolia, he was appointed first to ...
while Jegen Pasha himself has been transformed into Djemo the Mountaineer ( sr, Ђемо Брђанин) in Serbian epic poetry.
Andra Gavrilović
Andra Gavrilović ( sr, Андра Гавриловић; 11 July 1864, in Svilajnac, Principality of Serbia – 24 February 1929, in Belgrade, Kingdom of Yugoslavia) was Serbian historian, historian of literature, writer and diplomat.
He also ...
disagreed with Tomić's opinion regarding Djemo in his polemic work 'Who wasn't Djemo the Mountaineer, correction of someone's literary-historical mistake' ( sr, Ко није био Ђемо Брђанин, исправка туђе литерарно-историске грешке).
He believed that Djemo was in fact
Albanian nobleman Gjin Muzaki because he assumed that
Serbian epic poetry
Serbian epic poetry ( sr, Српске епске народне песме, Srpske epske narodne pesme) is a form of epic poetry created by Serbs originating in today's Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia. The ...
about struggle between
Marko Kraljević and Djemo the Mountaineer was based on the real struggle between Prince Marko and
Muzaka family
The Muzaka were an Albanian noble family that ruled over the region of Myzeqe (southern Albania) in the Late Middle Ages. The Muzaka are also referred to by some authors as a tribe or a clan. The earliest historical document that mention Muzaka ...
from
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
. Tomić replied that struggle between Marko and noble men from Albania was not so significant to be remembered or transferred into the epic poetry.
If figure of Djemo the Mountaineer is indeed based on the figure of Gjin Muzaki then Djemo and
Musa Kesedžija
Musa Kesedžija, Musa Arbanas ( Serbian and mk, Муса Кесеџија, bg, Муса Кеседжия), also described as Musa the Robber, Musa the Outlaw, Musa the Highwayman or Musa the Beheader, is a popular legendary villain of Serbian ep ...
are onomastic projections of the same person.
Svyatogor
![Illustration-for-the-epic-ilya-muromets-and-svyatogor-s-wife-1912(1)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Illustration-for-the-epic-ilya-muromets-and-svyatogor-s-wife-1912%281%29.jpg)
Some authors, including Russian folklorist
Khalansky, connected Djemo with
Svyatogor
Svyatogor () is a mythical ''bogatyr'' (knight/hero) in ancient bylinas of Kievan Rus'. His name derives from the words for "sacred mountain". Svyatogor's tale, ''Ilya Muromets and Svyatogor'', forms a part of the Ilya Muromets cycle. According ...
. Similar to his brother Musa Kesedžija (another epic hero with demonic characteristics) Djemo is also depicted as seated on the horse and trowing his battle-mace to the clouds and catching it with his white hands ( sr, на дорату ноге прекрстио, топузину баца у облаке, дочекује у бијеле руке) which is a scene found in song about Svyatogor (russian: Сидит богатырь-от на добром́кони, Он мечет палку ту под облаки, До́земли не допускаючи, На белы́руки подхватаючи). Janja helped Marko Kraljević to capture Djemo which is another similarity with the songs about Svyatogor, i.e. to the adultery of Svyatigor's wife in the song about
Ilya Muromets
Ilya Muromets (russian: Илья Муромец), or Ilya of Murom, sometimes Ilya Murometz, is one of the ''bogatyrs'' (epic knights) in Bylinas of Kievan Rus.
He is often featured alongside fellow bogatyrs Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Pop ...
. Finally, the names of both Djemo the Mountaineer and Svyatogor have connection with the hills ( sr, брдо; Ђемо Брђанин) and mountains (russian: гора; Святого́р).
Songs
Marko Kraljević and Djemo the Mountaineer
Djemo first appeared in the poem ''Marko Kraljević and Djemo Mountaineer'', which was sung by
Tešan Podrugović
Tešan Podrugović ( sr, Тешан Подруговић) (Kazanci, Gacko, Herzegovina, Ottoman Empire 1775 — Sremski Karlovci, Austrian Empire 1815) was Serbian merchant, hayduk, storyteller and gusle player ( sr, guslar) who participated i ...
and recorded by
Vuk Karadžić
Vuk Stefanović Karadžić ( sr-Cyrl, Вук Стефановић Караџић, ; 6 November 1787 (26 October OS)7 February 1864) was a Serbian philologist, anthropologist and linguist. He was one of the most important reformers of the mode ...
who published it in 1845 within the second volume of the 'Songs of Serbian people' ( sr, Српске народне пјесме) collection.
In this song Marko Kraljević celebrates his
slava
Slava may refer to:
Ships
* ''Slava'' class cruiser, a modern Russian warship
** Soviet cruiser Slava (1979), now Russian cruiser ''Moskva'', a ''Slava'' class guided missile cruiser sunk during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
* Russian ba ...
(the Serbian Orthodox tradition of the ritual glorification of one's family's patron). He has to go to bring some fish from
Lake Ohrid
Lake Ohrid ( mk, Охридско Езеро , al, Liqeni i Ohrit , also referred as ''Liqeni i Pogradecit'';) is a lake which straddles the mountainous border between the southwestern part of North Macedonia and eastern Albania. It is one of Eu ...
as requested by the monks who were his guests. Marko goes to bring some fish unarmed, as advised by his mother, Queen Yevrosima, who wanted to prevent him from committing a sin with his arms on family holiday. During his journey from
Prilep
Prilep ( mk, Прилеп ) is the fourth-largest city in North Macedonia. It has a population of 66,246 and is known as "the city under Marko's Towers" because of its proximity to the towers of Prince Marko.
Name
The name of Prilep appear ...
to
Ohrid
Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the List of cities in North Macedonia, eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording ...
unarmed Marko meets Djemo the Mountaineer, described in Serbian epic poetry as the brother of
Musa Kesedžija
Musa Kesedžija, Musa Arbanas ( Serbian and mk, Муса Кесеџија, bg, Муса Кеседжия), also described as Musa the Robber, Musa the Outlaw, Musa the Highwayman or Musa the Beheader, is a popular legendary villain of Serbian ep ...
, who captures him with intention to kill him to revenge the death of his brother Musa, killed by Marko. Djemo then takes captured Marko along the same route (Ohrid,
Vučitrn
Vushtrri ( sq-definite, Vushtrria) or Vučitrn ( sr-Cyrl, Вучитрн), is a city and municipality located in the Mitrovica District in northern Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of Vushtrri has 26,964 inhabitants, while the muni ...
,
Zvečan
Zvečan ( sr-Cyrl, Звечан) or Zveçan ( sq-definite, Zveçani) is a town and municipality located in the Mitrovica District in Kosovo. As of 2015, it has a population of 16,650 inhabitants. It covers an area of , and consists of a town and ...
) followed by historical
Yegen Pasha during his raids against
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
.
Population of those towns pay Djemo not to kill Marko in their towns, which is another similarity with historical events when they paid contributions and ransom money to Yegen Pasha.
Another explanation is that they perceived Marko as
dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
and according to the
Serbian mythology
Slavic mythology or Slavic religion is the religious
Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, te ...
the presence of the body of dead dragon can destroy crops. When Djemo becomes so thirsty that he intend to drink Marko's blood, Marko avoids that by ruse, advising Djemo to go to the nearby tavern kept by his good friend, a
fishwife
A fishwife, fish-fag or fishlass is a woman who sells fish.
Some wives and daughters of fishermen were notoriously loud and foul-mouthed, as noted in the expression, ''To swear like a fishwife'' as they sold fish in the marketplace. One reaso ...
Yanya who frees Marko after first getting Djemo drunk. Marko then puts
legcuffs
Legcuffs are physical restraints used on the ankles of a person to allow walking only with a restricted stride and to prevent running and effective physical resistance. Frequently used alternative terms are leg cuffs, (leg/ankle) shackles, foot ...
to Djemo and takes return trip to Ohrid, returning money to citizens who paid Djemo not to kill Marko in their towns, although they offered more money to Marko just to kill the tyrant Djemo in their towns. Marko declines their offers and hangs Djemo near Ohrid. At the end of the song he returns to Prilep with the fish from Lake Ohrid.
Other songs
Djemo is also mentioned as džin Latinin in the song 'The marriage of Popović Stojan' published within the collection published by Vuk Karadžić.
Notes
Footnotes
Citations
Sources
*
*
{{Serbian epic poetry
Characters in Serbian epic poetry