Musa Kesedžija, Musa Arbanas ( Serbian and , ), also described as Musa the Robber, Musa the Outlaw, Musa the Highwayman or Musa the Beheader, is a popular legendary villain of

Serbian epic poetry Serbian epic poetry () is a form of epic poetry created by Serbs originating in today's Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia. The main cycles were composed by unknown Serb authors between the 14th and 19th centu ...

and Bulgarian and Macedonian folklore. He is most famous as a rival of

Prince Marko Marko Mrnjavčević ( sr-Cyrl, Марко Мрњавчевић, ; – 17 May 1395) was the ''de jure'' Serbia in the Middle Ages, Serbian king from 1371 to 1395, while he was the ''de facto'' ruler of territory in western Macedonia (region) ...

(Serbian: Марко Краљевић), a hero of Serbian and South Slavic folklore. In the poem Musa is an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

highwayman who confronts Prince Marko, a vassal of the Sultan, at the Kačanik Gorge, today in modern

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

Musa Kesedžija in literature and arts

Marko Kraljević and Musa Kesedžija

Musa Kesedžija first appeared in the poem ''Marko Kraljević and Musa Kesedžija'', which was recorded for the first time in

Sremski Karlovci Sremski Karlovci ( sr-Cyrl, Сремски Карловци, ) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka Districtautonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Danube, from Novi Sad. According to the 202 ...

and published in 1815 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 moder ...

. Karadžić recorded the poem sung by Tešan Podrugović. Musa had three hearts which is a sign of exceptional heroism in Serbian epic poetry. Because of his three hearts, Musa can be seen as an anthropomorphised descendant of

chthonic In Greek mythology, deities referred to as chthonic () or chthonian () were gods or spirits who inhabited the underworld or existed in or under the earth, and were typically associated with death or fertility. The terms "chthonic" and "chthonian" ...

monsters, as their anthropomorphosis can be reflected in the multiplication of body parts.

Other literature works

Petar I Petrović-Njegoš Petar I Petrović-Njegoš (; 1748 – 31 October 1830) was the Prince-Bishop of Montenegro from 1784 to 1830 and Exarch (legate) of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro. He was the most popular spiritual and military leader from the Petro ...

(1747–1830) mentions Musa and Marko Kraljević in his song ''The Sons of Ivan-bey'' ( sr-cyr, Синови Иванбегови), which was after his death published first in 1835 and then by

Petar II Petrović-Njegoš Petar II Petrović-Njegoš ( sr-cyrl, Петар II Петровић-Његош, ; – ), commonly referred to simply as Njegoš (), was a List of rulers of Montenegro, Prince-Bishop (''vladika'') of Montenegro, poet and philosopher whose ...

in his 1845 song collection ''Serbian Mirror'' ( sr-cyr, Огледало Србско). Musa appears in Macedonian folklore as a symbol of the oppressive Ottoman government. The song about Marko Kraljević and Musa Kesedžija also exists in

Bulgarian literature Bulgarian literature is literature written by Bulgarians or residents of Bulgaria, or written in the Bulgarian language; usually the latter is the defining feature. Bulgarian literature can be said to be one of the oldest among the Slavic peop ...

as an epic retelling (). In 1972 Werner Cohn published a

gypsy {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...

story about Marko Kraljević and Musa Kesedžija, which is also in the form of a retelling of another epic song — ''Marko Kraljević and Djemo the Monuntaineer''. In Zakarpattia the epic poetry about Marko Kraljević and Musa Kesedžija has been modified into stories connected with the Kosovo battle.

Historical background

Historical persons

The epic villain Musa Kesedžija is based on actual historical people. According to some authors he is the result of merging several historical people including

Musa Çelebi Musa Çelebi ( 1402 – 5 July 1413) was an Ottoman dynasty, Ottoman prince and a co-ruler of the Ottoman Empire, empire for three years during the Ottoman Interregnum. Background Musa was one of the sons of Bayezid I, the fourth Ottoman su ...

son of

Bayezid I Bayezid I (; ), also known as Bayezid the Thunderbolt (; ; – 8 March 1403), was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1389 to 1402. He adopted the title of ''Sultan-i Rûm'', ''Rûm'' being the Arabic name for the Eastern Roman Empire. In 139 ...

and Theodor III Muzaka from the Muzaka Albanian noble family, with whom Marko had dispute over Kostur. Jovan Tomić thinks that Musa Kesedžija is based on another historical person, on the supporter of Jegen Osman Pasha who has been transformed into another epic hero — Djemo the Mountaineer () in Serbian epic poetry. The epic poetry describes Djemo as Kesedžija's brother.

Historical events

Actual historical events do not support a plot in which

(who died in 1395) killed

(died in 1413) or Moisi Arianit Golemi (died in 1465). John Van Antwerp Fine Jr. emphasized that

Sandalj Hranić Sandalj Hranić Kosača ( cyrl, Сандаљ Хранић Косача; 1370 – 15 March 1435) was a powerful Bosnian nobleman whose primary possessions consisted of Hum, land areas between Adriatic coast, the Neretva and the Drina rivers ...

should have been the epic hero who fought and killed Kesedžija rather than Marko Kraljević, because it was Hranić who significantly contributed to the death of Musa Çelebi.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kesedzija, Musa Characters in Serbian epic poetry Bulgarian folklore Fictional outlaws North Macedonia folklore