Grass Cutting - Košenje trave
The scythe still has pride of place in villages here
Hello and welcome to this edition of our Blog, from Čardačani, in the north of Bosnia and Herzegovina, written by an immigrant (me), as I am neither a tourist or a citizen here.
I was doing some online research the other day, while listening to a playlist I have on Spotify, which I have been adding to, as and when, but basically it’s a nostalgia trip of 60 years. It certainly is an eclectic trip.
Let me know if you have listened at any time.
Anyway, one of the tracks, “John Barleycorn Must Die”, made me think of old English traditional ways of life.
That lead me to think of how today, in this village where I am, in Northwest Bosnia and Herzegovina, grass is still often cut by scythes and fields are often ploughed by horses (less now than before).
Tradition in many forms, is part of my everyday. I don’t think I appreciate what I experience as much as I should.
Note to Self. “Remedy that ASP”.
Traditional Skills Bosnia and Herzegovina
Grass mowing competition custom in Kupres
The contest involves the manual mowing of grass using a scythe and is judged by the time, effort and amount mown as cutting grass at that altitude requires strength and a special technique.
It is the most important social event in the Kupres municipality and takes place in July at a specific meadow called Strljanica, which is also the local name for the custom.
The top three mowers are recognized, with the chief mower treated as a leader who ensures the successful mowing of all the fields to gather hay for the cattle; agriculture and cattle breeding are essential parts of the area’s economy. Men, starting from the age of eighteen, are traditionally the competitors, with the element being transmitted within families from father to son.
Women rake the grass and prepare food for guests. Other elements linked to the competition include national costumes, the forging of scythes and the preparation of cattle for competition.
All ethnic and religious groups and individuals in Kupres are free to participate, with the custom being considered as a foundation of the area’s cultural identity, regardless of people’s background.
In 2020 this event entered the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
An English 🏴 and Scottish 🏴 song about this Traditional Skill.
”John Barelycorn Must Die”
The song may have its origins in ancient English or Scottish folklore, with written evidence of the song dating it at least as far back as the Elizabethan era.
The first mention of "John Barleycorn" as a character was in a 1624 London broadside entitled introduced as "A Pleasant New Ballad to sing Evening and morn, / Of the Bloody murder of Sir John Barley-corn".
In 1782, the Scottish poet Robert Burns published his own version of the song, which influenced subsequent versions.
The song survived into the twentieth century in the oral folk tradition, primarily in England, and many popular folk revival artists have recorded versions of the song.
John Barleycorn, the song's protagonist, is a personification of barley and of the alcoholic beverages made from it: beer and whisky. In the song, (play it below), he suffers indignities, attacks, and death that correspond to the various stages of barley cultivation, such as reaping and malting.
There were three men came out of the West
Their fortunes for to try
And these three men made a solemn vow
John Barleycorn must dieThey've ploughed, they've sown, they've harrowed him in
Threw clods upon his head
And these three men made a solemn vow
John Barleycorn was deadThey've let him lie for a very long time
Till the rains from heaven did fall
And little Sir John sprung up his head
And so amazed them allThey've let him stand till midsummer's day
Till he looked both pale and wan
And little Sir John's grown a long, long beard
And so become a manThey've hired men with the scythes so sharp
To cut him off at the knee
They've rolled him and tied him by the way
Serving him most barbarouslyThey've hired men with the sharp pitchforks
Who pricked him to the heart
And the loader he has served him worse than that
For he's bound him to the cartThey've wheeled him around and around the field
Till they came unto a barn
And there they made a solemn oath
On poor John BarleycornThey've hired men with the crab-tree sticks
To cut him skin from bone
And the miller he has served him worse than that
For he's ground him between two stonesAnd little Sir John and the nut-brown bowl
And he's brandy in the glass
And little Sir John and the nut-brown bowl
Proved the strongest man at lastThe huntsman, he can't hunt the fox
Nor so loudly to blow his horn
And the tinker he can't mend kettle nor pot
Without a little Barleycorn
From the Blog. You Might Have Missed.
We’re off to see ……
Josipa Lisac will be appearing at this years Banja Luka Fest.
More about that concert in a future post.
And Finally
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Thank you for this song David! I found it really inspiring. To me it points to the old/traditional way of knowing ourselves, which I believe we, the modern people are slowly loosing. The knowing that we are nature!
Also, as a child I used to love watching the traditional way of cutting grass in the mountains above Sarajevo and so loved seeing these videos and finding out that the tradition is still alive! As always, thank you for sharing.