Musa Kesedžija, Musa Arbanas (

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also * * * Old Serbian (disambiguation ...

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 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 ...

and Bulgarian and

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Ma ...

folklore. He is most famous as a rival of

Prince Marko Marko Mrnjavčević ( sr-cyr, Марко Мрњавчевић, ; – 17 May 1395) was the ''de jure'' Serbian king from 1371 to 1395, while he was the ''de facto'' ruler of territory in western Macedonia centered on the town of Prilep. He ...

(Serbian: Марко Краљевић), a hero of Serbian and South Slavic folklore. In the poem Musa is an Albanian highwayman who confronts Prince Marko, a vassal of the Sultan, at the Kačanik Gorge, today in modern

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a international recognition of Kosovo, partiall ...

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, ; hu, Karlóca; tr, Karlofça) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Danu ...

and published in 1815 by Vuk Karadžić. Karadžić recorded the poem 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 in t ...

. 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 Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

descendant of

chthonic The word chthonic (), or chthonian, is derived from the Ancient Greek word ''χθών, "khthon"'', meaning earth or soil. It translates more directly from χθόνιος or "in, under, or beneath the earth" which can be differentiated from Γῆ ...

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

Other literature works

Petar I Petrović-Njegoš (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 Oppression is malicious or unjust treatment or exercise of power, often under the guise of governmental authority or cultural opprobrium. Oppression may be overt or covert, depending on how it is practiced. Oppression refers to discrimination wh ...

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 peopl ...

as an epic retelling ( bg, Крали Марко се надбягва с Муса Кеседжия и го побеждава). In 1972

Werner Cohn Werner Cohn (1926 – October 19, 2018) was a sociologist who wrote on the sociology of Jews and of Romani people, and political sociology. He was a Professor Emeritus at the University of British Columbia. Biography Born in Berlin, Germany, C ...

published a gypsy 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 son of

Bayezid I Bayezid I ( ota, بايزيد اول, tr, I. Bayezid), also known as Bayezid the Thunderbolt ( ota, link=no, یلدیرم بايزيد, tr, Yıldırım Bayezid, link=no; – 8 March 1403) was the Ottoman Sultan from 1389 to 1402. He adopted ...

and Musa ( Teodor II Muzaka) from the

Muzaka 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 ...

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 Djemo the Mountaineer ( sr, Ђемо Брђанин) is a popular legendary hero of Serbian epic poetry who is depicted as enemy of Kraljević Marko and brother of Musa Kesedžija. His figure might be based on an actual historical person. There are ...

( sr, Ђемо Брђанин) 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 Musa Çelebi (died in 1413) or

Moisi Arianit Golemi Moisi Golemi, also known as Moisi of Dibra ( sq, Moisiu i Dibrës), was an Albanian nobleman and a commander of the League of Lezhë. In 1443–44 he captured all Ottoman holdings in the area of Dibër region. For a brief period in the 1450s h ...

(died in 1465). John Van Antwerp Fine Jr. emphasized that

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

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