The Lion Of Plevna In The Songs Of Bosniaks From Sandžak

206 Naka NİKŠİĆ, PhD, Assistant Professor T.C Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı The other song that we have found in the living music tradition of the Bosniaks of Sandžak is the song Pokraj Plevne i Sofij e (Next to Plevna and Sofija) (Example 6.). We recorded this song from Avdija Avdić, born in 1945 in the village of Mojstir, Bistrica, near Bijelo Polje, in the northern part of Sandžak (a part which is today located in Montenegro). He holds a master’s degree in history, and so is aware of the historic importance of the battles of Plevna and the credit that goes to Gazi Osman Paşa so he often sang this song in order not to forget it. The recording of his singing and the conversation we had with this singer is a part of the audio archive of the author of this paper (Nikšić, 2016). The song was recorded using the Finnish method. It is my estimate that it could be used as in-class teaching material for music education classes, which would also help in the processing of the so-called eastern question 15 in seventh-grade history classes which are taught in the Bosnian language. Example 6. Pokraj Plevne i Sofije • Tekst pjesme • A translation of the lyrics into English: • Pokraj Plevne i Sofije • krvavo se sunce vije. • Sunce grije, krv se lije, • Od Moskova i Rusije. • Iz Stambola sultan javlja: • „Osman-pašo, lalo moja, • Gazija si ljutog boja!“ • Next to Plevna and Sofija • A blood-red sun hangs in the sky. • The sun burns, the blood pools • From Moscow and Russia. • From Istanbul the sultan speaks: • “Osman Paşa, my precious tulip, • You are the Gazija of this bloody battle!” 15  The eastern question is a concept related to the slow loss of power and disintegration of the Ottoman Empire from the 18th century and the redistribution of its territories which were points of interest of other great powers – Austria and Russia, and the Balkan peoples which were striving for liberation. Naka Nik š i ć