Heroic Circassian Nart Song: "Bedinoqwe's Melody" [«БЭДЫНОКЪУЭ И ПШЫНАЛЪЭ»]

From the Circassian Nart Epos: "Bedinoqwe's Melody" [«БЭДЫНОКЪУЭ И ПШЫНАЛЪЭ»; "Bedinoqwe yi Pshinalhe"]

Sung by th Circassian baritone Zawir Tut (Tutov)

Уэрэд жызыIэр Тут Заурщ

Translated by Amjad Jaimoukha

Produced by Sanjalay Jaimoukha

This is Nart Bedinoqwe's anthem performed by the famous Circassian baritone. Bedinoqwe was the son of Bedin and a Nart female warrior who fought the Chint (generic term for the enemies of the Narts) incognita in men's war costume. Bedin and his wife lived on the bank of the Don River. Whilst a Nart was being hosted by Bedin, the sound of Bedinoqwe crying was heard from his mother's womb as she brought in the food table. The Nart was freaked out, and he hurried to the Narts and relayed what had transpired in Bedin's guest-house. The Narts fell into great consternation and they resolved to murder the child the moment it would be born a male. When Bedinoqwe came to the world, the Narts kidnapped him from his parents house, but they did not have the heart to kill him, seeing how extraordinarily handsome he was, so they placed him in a hole in a tree and left him to his fate. He was found by the Nart gooseherd, who brought him up with his wife in the cellar so that no one amongst the Narts would know about this. When Bedinoqwe came of age, the gooseherd went to Bedinoqwe's parents and told them that their son was still alive. Bedinoqwe became a man in full measure. He came out of the cellar and fought the Chint, as his mother did in earlier years, and he inflicted woe unto them, and then went back to the cellar. This is but one of many tales that relate the heroism and fierceness of Nart Bedinoqwe, the inimical foe of the Chint. Bedinoqwe did not wreak his vengeance on the Narts, his people, but he pursued a somewhat aloof existence. When the exotic warrior set on his campaigns on his steed, his two hounds played by his two sides and his two eagles perched on his shoulders. The sun shone on his right shoulder and snow fell on his left. He was preceded sometimes by a great conflagration and by thick mist at others, and a multitude of rooks swarmed, or wild birds soared, in his wake. His steed sprang and spun. The coals issuing from Bedinoqwe's mouth set the sides of his path on fire... When he first joined the Narts in their white wine festival (sanexwafe) at the great palace of the Alij clan (cf. the Circassians' reference to the Greeks as "Alijxer"), he was received very warmly and he partook in the dancing and merry-making. It was the Nart matron Satanay, in her infinite wisdom, who made the arrangements for the awe-inspiring hero to join Nart society so smoothly.

Jaimoukha, A., Circassian Culture and Folklore, London: Bennett and Bloom, 2010.

http://www.bennettandbloom.com/circassians.htm

Jaimoukha, A., The Art of the Circassian Minstrels, London: Desert Hearts, 2011. [CD collection]

http://www.deserthearts.com/circassianmusic.html

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Circassian
• Song
• Chant
• Nart
• Epos
• Bedinoqwe
• Heroic
• Kabardian
• Zawir
• Tut
• Tutov
• Amjad
• Jaimoukha
• Sanjalay
• Music
• Culture
• Folklore