Halil Bajgoric^[*]

In looking further at selected phrases in the passage from Halil Bajgoric^[*] (4.10-35), we shall again be concerned with description of the complexity of the oral traditional idiom, and specifically with understanding the role of traditional rules and of second-level processes in generating phraseology. At the same time, we shall continue to point out examples of the singer's personal idiolect versus instances of the traditional dialect shared by both guslari . By extending the analysis from Kukuruzovic^[*] to Bajgoric^[*] , we not only generalize our results beyond a single poet's repertoire but also offer a more finely articulated perspective on the inherent complexity of the phraseology as a firm basis for the eventual establishment of an aesthetics suited to the art of oral traditional verse-making.^[57]

4.12 . Early in the Bajgoric^[*] passage we encounter a line reminiscent in its typical texture of many verses by Kukuruzovic^[*] :

As the underlining indicates, the colon od Kotara bane recurs in other combinations as well as in a whole-line association that we may tentatively call systemic. The evidence for this system is a single comparand found only in this same text:

In fact, the second colon itself is systemic, with the ban of Janok (od Janjoka bane ) as its referent, and the whole line seems more the result of traditional rules than of a linear pattern. The situation is thus a familiar one: the core of the linear phrase is a second-colon system of tight definition and limited

multiformity which is shaped to fit the narrative and phraseological situation with the aid of a "nonce" first colon based on traditional rules. The SBL constraint marshals the phraseology of both cola—reinforcing the normal word order in colon 1 (1-3, or 4 with U proclitic) and causing a reversal in colon 2 (IAD, bâne , 4-2 with od proclitic)—while the second-level process of a formulaic system assists in maintaining stability in the second part of the line. Right justification forms the basis for the composition of the verse, both in the relationship between cola and in the intra-colonic texture of the phrases.

In contrast to Bajgoric^[*] , Kukuruzovic^[*] develops three additional whole-line patterns using od [Janjoka/Kotara] bane . As might be expected, one of these consists of a complex of lines introducing speeches, among them the following:

All of these initial cola, the latter two related formulaically, also combine with other noun-epithet formulas, the introduction lines in Serbo-Croatian epic being many and various. A second category involves the opening colon A da vidiš ... ("But you should have seen...") or its near-relative, but again this fairly fixed initial phrase finds completion in any number of noun-epithet sequences. A third category, or. traditional word, one which happens to include only od Janjoka bane and no other colonic name in the present sample, is

Apart from its usage in 4.12, then, the second-colon system has a life of its own and recurs in three quite different kinds of lines. A smooth-surface, synchronic model for such phraseology will not suffice; the rule of thumb for traditional diction continues to be its heterogeneity and complexity.^[58]

4.15 . At times the distinction between essential ideas and their expression proves less than absolutely discrete, as this apparently simple line of specification illustrates:

The interpretation encoded in the underscoring has broken najviše into its two constituent morphemes, the superlative prefix naj- and the comparative root više , in order to show that multiformity in a traditional word need not respect what we customarily define as a lexical unit.^[59] Thus comparanda for 4.15 include such lines as

Notwithstanding the usually slight differences in connotation of the root word (the final example being equivalent syntactically but semantically exactly opposite), the syntactic pattern is identical throughout, and the general idea of the four colonic phrases is certainly consistent enough to support terming these lines members of a formulaic system. But we come yet closer to the truth when we interpret the whole line as composed of that initial colonic system— incomplete by itself and requiring a focus in a new phrase—and a characteristically more strictly defined second colon. Most often that partner phrase will be a noun or a noun-epithet formula of little or no flexibility.^[60]Bojicic^[*] Alija thus completes the colonic system with the customary invariable phrase, and, while we have little evidence for calling 4.15 a whole-line system by the classical definition, we misinterpret the line if we do not take into account the association of the first-colon formulaic phrase with the more stable focus it requires for completion of its function.

In addition, it is well to note the idiolectal character of Bajgoric's^[*] traditional "word," if we may in some way see this line as a unit. For he uses only najviše (1 ×) and najprije (2 ×) in positions 2-4, while Kukuruzovic^[*] employs only najprvo (1 ×) and najpotlje (8 ×). As for the second colon by itself, once again we have an example of a phrase that combines with numerous different partners to form lines otherwise unrelated to this one, and once again some of these lines are integral units in themselves. In effect, then, the colonic element Bojicic^[*] Alija offers us evidence that traditional words can serve two, or even more, masters: they can exist both as self-contained units to be pressed

into service in association with phrases such as A naj [-više/-prije] and as permanent parts of whole lines repeated verbatim and themselves understood as (larger) units. As in the case of Homeric phraseology, the spectrum of diction as evidenced by the Stolac material contains both cola and whole lines of every description, and it is this richness that is the guslar's traditional inheritance.

4.16 . The description of the Turks' noisy wailing in prison presents another example of the heterogeneity of traditional phraseology:

The Stolac concordance shows that the simplex cmil- (from cmiliti , "to cry out, lament") occurs in one of three formulaic systems and nowhere else:^[61]

System 2 is a well-defined whole-line pattern whose syntax and acoustic patterning (cmili/bila ) contribute to its stability. System 3, much less tightly organized, admits a wide range of first-colon noun phrases as subjects; while this pattern is surely not the same sort as system 2, it would be shortsighted simply to call it a colonic unit and ignore its connection to the initial colon. As the underlining suggests, the system that lies behind 4.16 takes a variable subject (either suzanj , "prisoner," or Turcin , "Turk") and one of two second cola, both denoting a period of time. The verse thus has a whole-line identity, a linear pattern. But, as in other examples we have considered, the second colon also has a life of its own in traditional diction; both za nedjelju dana and tri bijela dana appear in other, unrelated combinations.^[62] Once again we have evidence that a phraseological element—typically a relatively more sharply defined and more stable second colon—can exist both as part of a whole-line pattern and as a fully formed unit with an independence signaled by its compositional adaptability.

Of the three systems involving cmil- , the first two are employed by Kukuruzovic^[*] only and the third by Bajgoric^[*] only. In addition to these idiolectal categories of phrases, even the choice of numbers in the variable colonic

pattern [x] bijela dana helps to characterize the individual singer; for Kukuruzovic^[*] the number is always three, for Bajgoric^[*] always two. In fact, some other analogous phrases for duration of time, all of them second-colon formulas and nearly half of them constituting part of many different linear arrangements, are also idiolectal, as table 20 shows. To further illustrate the heterogeneity and complexity of the phraseology, we note that only examples A and D are strictly colonic and reveal no involvement with whole-line patterns of any sort. These are also the only two formulas of this category in Bajgoric's^[*] analyzed repertoire.^[63] Formulas F and G, at the other end of the spectrum, occur without exception in whole-line arrangements. The remainder of this category turns out to consist of phrases that can combine with a number of initial cola and, like za nedjelju dana , can exist as units complete in themselves or as participants in larger units. This kind of multiformity, with units that comprise one or more different types of traditional phrases, is characteristic of all levels of oral epic structure in Serbo-Croatian.

The fundamental traditional rules that govern the formation of the second-level system underlying 4-16 prove quite simple. As is typical of the more flexible first colon, the word order—here reversed from the conventional prose norm—could go either way: both words are disyllables and both have initial accent.^[64] The phrase za nedjelju dana (4-2 with za proclitic), which follows conventional sequence, is ordered by the IAD dána .

4.17 . Often a particular phraseological pattern proves dependent on the rules that govern the phraseology of the deseterac and, at the same time, looms larger than the classically defined formulaic system. Line 4.17 exemplifies such a pattern:

Polu grada rezil ucinili ,

While the first colon has no formulaic relatives anywhere in the Stolac referent, colon 2, with its essential idea of "to bring shame," is repeated elsewhere verbatim and thus qualifies as a formula. But, as in most cases, this first approximation does not penetrate to the functional core of the phrase, and we must look to the multiformity of the second colon in order to understand its compositional structure. The most faithful representation of the pattern on which the latter section of the line is based would be [x] ucinijo, -ili, -ila, -iti , etc., where x , the direct object of some form of uciniti ("to do" or "make"), is a Turkish loan word. Under the influence of the Turkish language, especially during the Ottoman Empire, the poetic idiom admitted many such lexical items and enclosed or fossilized a large number of them in what amounts to a traditional "word." To put it another way, this very system amounts to diachronic evidence of the influence of Turkish vocabulary on Serbo-Croatian deseterac diction.^[65] What was diachronically an influence has become a synchronic stylistic habit as construed traditionally in a pattern much larger and more pervasive than most formulaic systems; many variant ideas, rather than one essential one, are imaged in this pattern, but the integrity of the phrases as belonging to one "word" is beyond question.

The [x] vciniti element presents an interesting morphology, as documented in the following list:^[66]

On this pattern, well attested in the analyzed repertoires of both guslari , Kukuruzovic^[*] idiolectally erects a related "word." In effect, he turns the unit to yet wider usage by including some non-Turkicisms, that is, words of Slavic etymology that did not enter the poetic language during the Ottoman occupation or later but were part of the earlier language stock. As opposed to 145 total occurrences of this colonic "word" with Turkicisms over the whole of the Stolac referent, we find only nineteen instances of the same pattern with a native noun or adverb in the substitutable position:

Clearly, the phrase pattern was developed for and continues to serve words of Turkish origin, but Kukuruzovic^[*] has formed phrases by analogy with the older pattern, that is, neologisms that take their structure from a traditional unit.^[67]

The influence of traditional rules is manifest in the SBL organization of the second colon of 4-17 and of all its Turkish and Slavic relatives; furthermore, the 2-4 syllabic grouping throughout the 164 examples in the Stolac referent constitutes proof that the phrase pattern and not the individual instance is primary, since none of those instances which feature IAD have changed the already reversed SBL word order. In fact, and significantly, traditional rules also marshal the ostensibly unformulaic phraseology in colon 1. The IAD rule sorts the balanced 2-2 configuration by exerting pressure to align grâda with the third and fourth positions at the end of the colon. Thus, even if Polu grada cannot be shown to be formulaic, it can still be understood as traditional, for it follows the rules from which all second-level features of phrase generation take their cue.

4.18 The very next line furnishes another example of what amounts to a nonformulaic but still fundamentally traditional phrase:

Ucinili i uzabunili.<<<

Here again the underlining is misleading, because it depends on a single recurrence of ucini- in initial position:

Moreover, the instance of ucinijo in 6.1170, just as ucinili in 4.18, derives not from a formulaic phrase but rather from the second-level process of terracing; in both cases the verb ucini- repeats the final element of the preceding line. As for the second colon, although uzabunili is a hapax legomenon in the Stolac referent, we can see that sound-patterning, another second-level process, also helps to hold the line together. Not only the syntactic balance of two past plural verbs and the consequent leonine rhyme in -ili^[68] but also the assonance of uc - and uz - participate in an aural network that binds the cola into a linear whole. In respect to traditional rules, we should remember that leonine rhyme depends on the relative prominence of colon-end positions (3-4 and 9-10), so that the -ili sound pattern is finally a reflex of right justification.

4.22 . Like many other examples we have considered, this line finds its focus in a relatively well-defined second-colon system tailored to the narrative situation by a first-colon phrase of much more flexible texture:

The second-colon system, best understood as a noun in the dative singular (indirect object) followed by govorila (also including other inflections for gender) that recurs thirteen times in the analyzed referent, has a life of its own outside this particular combination. As a formulaic phrase it also follows SBL, with the syllabic configuration 2-4.^[69] At the same time, the apparent system [x] banica , where x stands for Tad, A, Pa , or Kad , is more a direct reflex of traditional rules than a systemic unit; according to right justification, it varies only at the beginning of colon 1 and assigns the three-syllable item to positions 2-4. Once more we view the typical difference of pattern and formulaic character between the two cola of the deseterac . In this case, however, the whole-line structure is supported by another second-level focusing process, that of function—for 4.22 is one of a number of lines used as introductions to speeches, and, just as in the Old English and Homeric epic traditions, these kinds of verses gain a stability due at least in part to their compositional role.

4.26 . This line also functions as one of introduction to a speech, but in this instance idiolectally:

Whether the first-colon system is deployed as a sentence complete in itself (four occurrences) or as part of a whole-line phrase (four occurrences), all examples in the referent are from the Bajgoric^[*] texts. Characteristically of first-colon formulas, this phrase shows a good deal of flexibility in the length of the "word," in its combinations with second cola, and in its own variability.^[70] When Kukuruzovic^[*] wishes to express the same essential idea as in the first colon of 4.26, he turns to one of two dialectal systems of his own:

In their particular ways, all of these cola and lines follow basic traditional rules, but the resulting phraseological variety testifies that these same rules leave room for a singer to develop and maintain individual habits of composition.

The latter portion of 4.26, pa srdito vice , contains a middle element that proves a hapax legomenon in the Stolac referent, but we still have sufficient information to declare the colon a traditional phrase. For even if we chose not to define an involved system pa/a/i [adverb/adv. phrase] vice , so that lines like A sve beze pa iz grla vice (6.143) can be viewed as comparanda, traditional rules will govern the formation of the colon; that is, the IAD vîce seeks colon-final position and reverses the SBL order (4-2, with pa proclitic). That IAD is more fundamental than the second-level focus contributed by the proposed formulaic system can readily be seen by observing that, leaving aside the four formulaic comparanda, all eight additional occurrences of vice in colon 2 are at positions 9-10 while ten of twelve in colon 1 are at positions 3-4.^[71] This line thus often a clear example of how traditional rules shape second-level processes: underlying the more immediately recognizable systemic patterns of the diction are rules that depend ultimately on the principle of right justification. In a sense, traditional rules are as current as the guslar's most recent performance and yet as ancient as Indo-European versification.