Asim Bajramović
Author
Asim Bajramović
ENGLISH NARRATION SCRIPT
Line order, stanza structure, dialogue, and repetitions preserved from the Bosnian original.
And Plana lowered her ancient bones there upon the hills of Plana, stretching out like an old and weary giant to rest, though she had never found the time for sleep. Set at the crossroads of Bileća, Gacko, and Mostar, on the very border with Montenegro, for centuries she had been the target of attacks by outlaw bands bent on plunder.
The surrounding villages scattered beside Planjsko Field like the buds of roses newly opened in spring. A nearly forgotten tradition says that in those very hamlets around Plana arose twelve buljuk-bashas, and that nearly every one of them was a story unto himself.
Plana remembered Omer, Derviš, and Mujo of the Tower; Šobot from Krivača; Bećir and Meka from Trijensla; and proud Musa from Lađevići. After Derviš's tower, an entire region around Plana still bears the name "KULA" — "THE TOWER."
And the boundary walls of that tower still stand today, defying enemies just as their master once knew how to do.
Musa, at the head of the Avdić families from the village of Lađevići, moved to Turkey under pressure and cruel oppression, while Orthodox families took possession of their lands. It is said that, on the road to Turkey, some of those families stopped in Sandžak, where their descendants still live today. Montenegrin bands destroyed Šobot's Tower at Krivača, while his grave still stands in the cemetery beside the mosque of Plana, with an inscription saying that he died in the year eighteen hundred.
All of them, in one way or another, marked the age in which they lived. Yet a special place belongs to two brothers, Bećir and Meka, whose tower stood in the hamlet of Trijensla and bore the distinctive name "KAHVA" — "COFFEE." It stood beside the road that linked Plana, through Podgorje and Grabov Do, toward Zaušje and Bileća, and onward to Dubrovnik.
They say it received its name from the fine coffee and generous hospitality that awaited every
traveler whose road brought him to these parts. Besides comfortable lodging for travelers, the tower also provided equally good shelter for horses.
After Murat Ćatović was gone, the outlaw Sava Pejović grew wild with arrogance.
He burned, ravaged, and killed, believing there was no one left who dared stand in his path. Yet, through secret sources, he heard that danger threatened him from Plana — from the buljuk-bashas Meka and Bećir, to whom Murat Ćatović, upon his deathbed, had left the grave charge of avenging him. Because of this fear, Sava avoided Plana on his raids, riding through the impassable
crags of Mount Sitnica toward the villages around Fatničko and Dabarsko Fields, and farther on to Nevesinje, where he satisfied his murderous desires.
Yet the fearless Avdić buljuk-bashas awaited their moment. One day, word arrived through friends from the village of Miruše near Bileća that the outlaw chieftain Pejović intended to carry out yet another bloody raid.
His accomplices near Crvene Stijene, close to the village of Miruše, had already led him along safe paths to Mount Viduša, so that after crossing the mountain he could continue his violent venture.
The brothers prepared themselves and their horses, then set out to meet the notorious outlaw chieftain. They rode toward Mount Sitnica and the hamlet of Zvijerina, which from time immemorial had been a safe refuge for all manner of villains and their helpers.
Zvijerina's shameful tradition stretched from that age, through the First and Second World Wars, and into the present day.
Author Asim Bajramović ENGLISH NARRATION SCRIPT Line order, stanza structure, dialogue, and repetitions preserved from the Bosnian original. And Plana lowered her ancient bones there upon the hills of Plana, stretching out like an old and weary giant to rest, though she had never found the time for sleep. Set at the crossroads of Bileća, Gacko, and Mostar, on the very border with Montenegro, for centuries she had been the target of attacks by outlaw bands bent on plunder. The surrounding villages scattered beside Planjsko Field like the buds of roses newly opened in spring. A nearly forgotten tradition says that in those very hamlets around Plana arose twelve buljuk-bashas, and that nearly every one of them was a story unto himself. Plana remembered Omer, Derviš, and Mujo of the Tower; Šobot from Krivača; Bećir and Meka from Trijensla; and proud Musa from Lađevići. After Derviš's tower, an entire region around Plana still bears the name "KULA" — "THE TOWER." And the boundary walls of that tower still stand today, defying enemies just as their master once knew how to do. Musa, at the head of the Avdić families from the village of Lađevići, moved to Turkey under pressure and cruel oppression, while Orthodox families took possession of their lands. It is said that, on the road to Turkey, some of those families stopped in Sandžak, where their descendants still live today. Montenegrin bands destroyed Šobot's Tower at Krivača, while his grave still stands in the cemetery beside the mosque of Plana, with an inscription saying that he died in the year eighteen hundred. All of them, in one way or another, marked the age in which they lived. Yet a special place belongs to two brothers, Bećir and Meka, whose tower stood in the hamlet of Trijensla and bore the distinctive name "KAHVA" — "COFFEE." It stood beside the road that linked Plana, through Podgorje and Grabov Do, toward Zaušje and Bileća, and onward to Dubrovnik. They say it received its name from the fine coffee and generous hospitality that awaited every traveler whose road brought him to these parts. Besides comfortable lodging for travelers, the tower also provided equally good shelter for horses. After Murat Ćatović was gone, the outlaw Sava Pejović grew wild with arrogance. He burned, ravaged, and killed, believing there was no one left who dared stand in his path. Yet, through secret sources, he heard that danger threatened him from Plana — from the buljuk-bashas Meka and Bećir, to whom Murat Ćatović, upon his deathbed, had left the grave charge of avenging him. Because of this fear, Sava avoided Plana on his raids, riding through the impassable crags of Mount Sitnica toward the villages around Fatničko and Dabarsko Fields, and farther on to Nevesinje, where he satisfied his murderous desires. Yet the fearless Avdić buljuk-bashas awaited their moment. One day, word arrived through friends from the village of Miruše near Bileća that the outlaw chieftain Pejović intended to carry out yet another bloody raid. His accomplices near Crvene Stijene, close to the village of Miruše, had already led him along safe paths to Mount Viduša, so that after crossing the mountain he could continue his violent venture. The brothers prepared themselves and their horses, then set out to meet the notorious outlaw chieftain. They rode toward Mount Sitnica and the hamlet of Zvijerina, which from time immemorial had been a safe refuge for all manner of villains and their helpers. Zvijerina's shameful tradition stretched from that age, through the First and Second World Wars, and into the present day.