The song of the birds

Kåtü mes ninkă båit? [kɒty.mɛs.ninkɐ.bɒit] ( Polish: Who should be the bride? also known as The Song of the Birds or The Funny Wedding ) is an old Polish folk song . It is the only Polish song that has survived to this day. It is believed that the song was written by the minstrel Wizlaw of the Jena song manuscript , who was usually associated with the last Rügen prince Wizlaw III. is equated. The song of the birds was sung by Wendish farmers until the 17th century. The song is thematically related to the German folk song of the bird wedding and may represent one of its models.

The performance situation of the song is described as follows:

“At least three people sang the song with different voices, line one the first, line two the second, line three all three people, line four the third. At the end of the last stanza the singers drummed on the table and struck it. "

text

Polabisch

Kåtü mes Ninka Bait?
Ťelka mes ninkă båit.
Ťelka rici
Våpăk kå naimo kå dvemo:
Joz jis vilťĕ grüznă Zenă;
Nemüg ninkă båit
Joz nemüg ninkă båit.

Kåtü mes zątĕk båit?
Strezik mes zątĕk båit.
Strezik rici
Våpăk kå naimo kå dvemo:
Joz jis wilťĕ molĕ ťarl;
Nemüg zątĕk båit
Joz nemüg zątĕk båit.

Kåtü mes traibnik båit?
Front no with traibnik båit.
Vorno rici
Våpăk kå naimo kå dvemo:
Joz jis vilťĕ cornĕ ťarl;
Nemüg traibnik båit
Joz nemüg traibnik båit.

Kåtü mes ťauxor båit?
Vauzka mes ťauxor båit.
Vauzka rici
Våpăk kå naimo kå dvemo:
Joz jis vilťĕ glupcit ťarl;
Nemüg ťauxor båit
Joz nemüg ťauxor båit.

Kåtü mes šenkir båit?
Zojąc mes šenkir båit.
Zojąc rici
Våpăk kå naimo kå dvemo:
Joz jis vilťĕ drale ťarl;
Nemüg šenkir båit
Joz nemüg šenkir båit

Kåtü mes spelman båit?
Büťan mes spelman båit.
Büťan rici
Våpăk kå naimo kå dvemo:
Joz jis vilťe last råt;
Nemüg spelman båit
Joz nemüg spelman båit.

Kåtü mes taisko båit?
Laiska mes taisko båit.
Laiska rici
Våpăk kå naimo kå dvemo:
Rüzplåstaitĕ müj våpais;
Będe vosa taisko
Będe vosa taisko

German (literal translation)

Who should the bride be?
The owl is said to be the bride.
The owl said
to them both,
I am a very ugly woman;
Can't be the bride,
I can't be the bride

Who should the bridegroom be?
The wren is supposed to be the bridegroom.
But the wren said
to them both,
I am a very tiny fellow;
can't be the bridegroom,
i can't be the bridegroom

Who should the friend be?
The raven should be the friend.
But the raven says
to them both:
I am a very black guy;
Can't be the friend
I can't be the friend.

Who should be the cook?
The wolf is supposed to be the cook.
But the wolf says
to both of them:
I'm a very bad fellow;
Can't be the cook
I can't be the cook.

[...]







Who should the musician be?
The stork should be the musician.
But the stork says
to both of them:
I have a very long beak;
Can't be the musician
I can't be the musician.

[...]

Polish pronunciation [kɒty mɛs ninkɐ bɒi̯t]
[tʲɛlka mɛs ninkɐ bɒi̯t]
[tʲɛlka rit͡si]
[vɒpɐk kɒ nai̯mɔ kɒ dvɛmɔ]
[jɔs jis viltʲə ɡryznɐ zɛinknɐ]
[nɛmyk ninkɐ]
[nɛmyk nink]

Polish text version by Hennig (1705)




Katy mês Ninka beyt?
Teelka mês Ninka beyt:
Têlka rîtzi.
Wapakka neimo ka dwemo:
Gos giss wiltge grîsna Sena;
Nemik ninka beyt:
Gos nemik Ninka beyt:

Katy mês Santik beyt?
Stresik mês Santik beyt:
Stresik rîtzi
Wapak ka neimo ka dwemo:
Gos giß wiltge mole Tgaarl;
Nemik Santik beyt:
Gos nemik Santik beyt:

Katy mês Treibnick beyt?
Wôrno mês Treibnick beyt.
Wôrno rîtzi
Wapak ka neimo ka dwemo:
Gos giss wiltge tzôrne Tgaarl;
Nemik Treibnik beyt:
Gos nemik Treibnik beyt:

Katy mês Tjauchor beyt?
Wauzka mês Tjauchor beyt:
Wauzka rîtzi
Wapak ka neimo ka dwemo:
Gos giß wiltge glupzit Tgaarl;
Nemik Tjauchor beyt:
Gos nemik Tjauchor beyt:

Katy mês Czenkir beyt?
Sogangs mês Czenkir beyt:
Sogangs ritzi
Wapak ka neimo ka dwemo:
Gos giß wiltge buxom Rgaarl;
Nemick Czenkir beyt,
Gos nemik Czenkir beyt:

Katy mês Spelmann beyt?
Bûtgan mês Spelmann beyt:
Bûtgan ritzi
Wapak ka neimo ka dwemo:
Gos giß wiltge dauge Raath;
Nemick Spelmann beyt,
Gos nemik Spelmann beyt.

Katy mês Teisko beyt?
Leiska mês Teisko beyt:
Leiska rîtzi
Wapak ka neimo ka dwemo:
Ris plast neitmo mia wapeis
Bungde, woessa Teisko:
Bungd wôssa Teisko.

German text version by Hennig (1705)




Who should be a bride?
The owl is to be the bride:
The owl said:
Back to them both:
I am a very terrible woman;
Can't be the bride,
I can't be the bride.

Who should be the groom?
The wren is supposed to be the groom:
The wren said
to them again the two:
I am a very small fellow;
Cannot be the groom:
I cannot be the groom.

Who should be the bride's guide?
The crow is supposed to be the bride- groom :
The crow said
to them both:
I am a very black fellow;
Can't be the bride and groom,
I cannot be the bride and groom.

Who should be the cook:
Wolff should be the cook:
Wolff said
to them both:
I am a very treacherous fellow;
Can't be the cook
I can't be the cook.

Who should be the pourer?
The hare should be the pourer.
The hare said
back to them both:
I'm a very quick guy;
Cannot be a giver.
I cannot be a giver.

Who should be a minstrel?
The stork is supposed to be a minstrel :
The stork said
back to them both:
I have a very large beak;
Can't be a minstrel,
I can't be a minstrel.

Who should the table be?
The fox should be the table,
the fox said
back to them both:
Beat my tails from each other,
so it will be your table,
so it will be your table.

Text by Herder (1778)

The merry wedding.
A Wendish mockery song.

Who should be a bride?
Owl is said to be the bride.
The owl said
to them again, both of them:
I am a very horrible thing, I
cannot be the bride;
I cannot be the bride!

Who shall be the bridegroom?
The groom should be a wren.
Wren said back
to them, both of them:
I am a very small fellow, I
cannot be a bridegroom!
I cannot be the bridegroom!

Who should be the bride and groom?
The crow is supposed to be the groom.
The crow said
to them again, the two of them:
I am a very black fellow, I
cannot be a bride-to-be;
I cannot be the bride of the bride!

Who should be a cook?
Wolf is supposed to be the cook.
The wolf who spoke
to them again, both of them:
I am a very treacherous fellow, I
cannot be a cook;
I can't be the cook!

Who should be the pourer?
Rabbit is supposed to be pourer.
The hare said back
to them, both of them:
I'm a very quick guy, I
can't be a pourer;
I cannot be a pourer!

Who should be a minstrel?
Stork is supposed to be a minstrel.
The stork said
to them both:
I have a big beak, I
can't be a minstrel ;
I cannot be a minstrel!

Who should the table be?
The table is supposed to be fox.
The fox said
to them again, both of them:
Hit my tails from each other, and
it will be your table;
So it will be your table!

melody

Source:

Tradition and reception

The song was recorded in text and melody by Pastor Christian Hennig von Jessen (1649–1719) in the Lüneburg region and included in the appendix of his Wendish dictionary , which was completed in 1705 in manuscript . Johann Georg von Eckhart printed the text (without melody) in 1711 in his Historia studii etymologici linguae germanicae in the original version as well as Hennig's high German translation.

Johann Gottfried Herder reproduces the text of the song in a revised translation of his folk song collection , published in 1778 under the title Voices of the Nations in Songs , as a " Wendish mocking song" The Merry Wedding . Johann Wolfgang von Goethe took over this text literally in his Singspiel Die Fischerin , written in 1789 and set to music by Corona Schröter .

Settings of this text version originate from a. by Heinrich Elkamp , Günter Bialas and Wilhelm Weismann .

literature

• Karl Christoph Heinrich Burmeister: Explanation of the Wendish wedding song. In: Yearbooks of the Association for Mecklenburg History and Archeology, Volume 6 (1841), pp. 67-69 ( online ).
• Alexander Fjodorowitsch Hilferding : The linguistic monuments of the Drevjaner and Glinjaner Elbslaven in the Lüneburg Wendlande. Translated by Johann Ernst Schmaler. Verlag JE Schmaler, Bautzen 1857, pp. 37–42 ( digitized in the Google book search).
• Reinhold Thur: Reflections on the Polish bird wedding song "Katü mês ninka bayt? (Kåtü mes nenka boi̭t?)" . In: Wiener Slavistisches Jahrbuch. Vol. 30 (1984), pp. 129-145 ( JSTOR 24746828 ).

Web links

• Katü mês Ninak bayt? " , Wendish Museum

proof

1. ↑ Vladislav Knoll: Introduction to Polish
2. ↑ The minstrel Wizlaw III. from Rügen
3. ↑ Ludwig Erk , Franz Magnus Böhme (Ed.): Deutscher Liederhort . 1st volume. Breitkopf and Härtel, Leipzig 1893, pp. 510-517, here p. 513 ( digitized version ).
4. ^ Franz Tetzner: The Slavs in Germany: Contributions to the folklore of the Prussians, Lithuanians and Latvians, the Masurians and Philippons, the Czechs, Moravians and Sorbs, Polabians and Slovins, Kashubians and Poles. F. Vieweg, Braunschweig 1902, p. 374, also sheet music in the appendix (not paginated, cf. [1] ).
5. ↑ Julia V. Ivanova-Butschaskaja: Plattes country. Nauka, Sankt Petersburg 2006, ISBN 5-02-026470-9 , pp. 162-163.
6. ^ ^{A b c} Johann Georg von Eckhart: Historia studii etymologici linguae germanicae. Nikolaus Förster, Hanover 1711, pp. 269-273 ( digitized version ).
7. ↑ cf. Joachim Leopold Haupt, Johann Ernst Schmaler: Folk songs of the Wends in the Upper and Lower Lusatia. Recorded from the mouth of the people and published with the ways of singing, German translation, the necessary explanations, a treatise on the manners and customs of the Wends and an appendix to their fairy tales, legends and proverbs. First part. Folk songs of the Wends in Upper Lusatia. JM Gebhardt, Grimma 1841, pp. 384–386 ( digitized in the Google book search)
8. ↑ ^{a b} Johann Gottfried Herder: Volkslieder. First part. Weygand, Leipzig 1778, pp. 104-106 ( digitized in the Google book search).
9. ↑ Reinhold Thur: Reflections on the Polish bird wedding song "Katü mês ninka bayt? (Kåtü mes nenka boi̭t?)" . In: Wiener Slavistisches Jahrbuch. Vol. 30 (1984), pp. 129-145 ( JSTOR 24746828 ).
10. ↑ Christian Hennig von Jessen: Vocabularium Venedicum (or Wendish word book). Reprinted by Reinhold Olesch. Böhlau, Cologne [et al.] 1959, DNB 451953657 .
11. ^ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Complete works. Volume 3. Verlag vom Litteratur-Comptoir, Herisau 1836, p. 352 ( digitized in the Google book search).
12. ↑ Funny wedding at The LiederNet Archive
13. ↑ DNB 997125330
14. ^ Günter Bialas: Funny Wedding (1961) , musicanet.org, accessed on June 6, 2018
15. ↑ Wedding of the Animals. Dance cantata based on a Wendish folk poem ("The Funny Wedding") for cantor, choir and smaller orchestra with any participation of a dance ensemble by Wilhelm Weismann ( Memento of the original from June 12, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link became automatic used and not yet tested. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , ddr-hoerspiele.net, accessed on June 6, 2018