Αϊτέντς επαραπέτανεν

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An eagle soared high in the sky, high in the heavens
with its bloody red jaws and its soot black crown
and clutching a brave lad's arm in its talons.
- Hey, eagle, give me what you're clutching,
tell me where you got it.
- I'll not give you what I clutch, but I'll tell you where I got it.
Over on that mountain ridge, beneath that fir tree yonder,
they kitted a Hellene1 hero and left him lying in his blood.
Black birds are devouring him, white birds are hovering close by.
- Eat him, dear birds, eat the poor lost hero,
a swimmer at sea and a wrestler2 on land,
a heroic Hellene in battle, a brave Greek lad.

Translated by Michael Eleftheriou

1In the Pontic dialect, the word ‘Ellenos/Ellinas’ (Hellene, the word for a Greek in other forms of the language) means brave young man, a hugely powerful hero - as often the word Saracen or Akritis.
2Traditional ceremonial wrestling, an important fixture at every major social gathering (saint's day fairs, weddings etc.), required great physical strength and stamina, since the winner of each bout had to keep on wrestling and best opponent after opponent if the honour of final, undisputed victory was to be his.

Αϊτέντς επαραπέτανεν

Αϊτέντς επαραπέτανεν ψηλά σα επουράνια, ούι αμάν αμάν,
ψηλά σα επουράνια, ούι αμάν αμάν, ούι αμάν αμάν.

Και τα τσαγκία1 τ' κόκκινα και το τσαρκούλ'2 ατ' μαύρον
κι εβάστανεν σα κάντζια3 του παλικαρί' βραχιόναν.
- Αϊτέ μ' για δώσ' μ' ας σο κρατείς, για πέει με ν-όθεν κείται.
- Ας σο κρατώ 'κί δίγω σε, άρ' όθεν κείται λέγω4.
Ακεί σο πέραν το ραχίν5, σ' ελάτεα 'πεκεί μέρος6
Τραντέλλεναν7 εσκότωσαν και κείται ματωμένος.
Μαύρα πουλιά τρώγν' ατόν και ν-άσπρα τριυλίσκουν8.
Φατέστεν πούλια μ', φάτεστεν, φατέστεν τον καρίπην9,
σην θάλασσαν κολυμπετής, σ' ομάλεα10 πεχλιβάνος11,
σον πόλεμον Τρισέλλενας, Ρωμαίικον παλικάριν.

1τσαγκία: σαγόνια
2τσαρκούλ’: λοφίο, η κορφή του κεφαλιού
3κάντζια: νύχια, αρπάγες
4άρ' όθεν κείται λέγω: αλλά τέλος πάντων θα σου πω πού βρίσκεται
5ραχίν: βουνό
6σ' ελάτεα 'πεκεί μέρος: πίσω από τα έλατα
7Τραντέλλενας: Στην ποντιακή διάλεκτο η λέξη Έλλενος/ Έλληνας σημαίνει παλικάρι, ήρωας με τεράστια δύναμη - όπως άλλωστε συχνά και το Σαρακηνός ή Ακρίτης. Το Τραντέλλενας/Τρισέλληνας είναι υπερθετικό του υπερφυσικού αυτού όντος (βλ. και το τραγούδι Ο Χάρος μαύρα φόρησεν)
8τριυλίσκουν: τριγυρίζουν
9καρίπης: ξένος και κατ' επέκταση έρημος, ταλαίπωρος, τουρκ. garip
10ομάλεα: τόπος πεδινός, κάμπος
11πεχλιβάνος: παλαιστής. Η παραδοσιακή τελετουργική πάλη, απαραίτητο αγώνισμα σε όλες τις μεγάλες κοινωνικές συνάξεις (πανηγύρια, γάμους κτλ.), απαιτούσε μεγάλη σωματική ρώμη και αντοχή, γιατί ο νικητής του κάθε ζευγαριού όφειλε να παλέψει διαδοχικά με όσο το δυνατόν περισσότερους αντιπάλους μέχρι την οριστική -και πολύ τιμητική- νίκη.

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Birds and horses represent the animal kingdom, omnipresent in epic and akritic songs. They converse with the hero on crucial matters, judge him, hearten him, bring him news, foretell his fate. If the horse is his faithful companion in war and peace, bolstering his nature-given strength and speed and transforming him into another, imaginary creature, the birds are a manifestation of his soul, the intangible perspective of existence. The bird is all-seeing in the world and in life. Free and unsubjugated, the birds may speak, but they keep their distance. Unlike the ever-supportive horse, the talking birds maintain a provocatively superior, almost sadistic, stance, foretelling or announcing bad things that are threatening or have already happened: death or other calamities - cities fallen, women seized. Sometimes they turn back into vultures and feast on dead brave young men, plundering their handsome bodies and their strength. Miranda Terzopoulou (2017)

Recording information

Studio recording, 2004.

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