After the Great Heavy War lyrics and meaning

Po didžios sunkios vainelės,
Totoraiciai dalinos,

Kas kam teko, kam neteko,
Žentuliui uošvė pateko,

Žentas uošvės nepažino,
In žirgelį prikabino,

Kirto žirgui per galvelį,
O uošvelei per burnelį,

Išeik, miela, ant dvarelio,
Parvedžiau tau zavadnikį

Parvedžiau tau zavadnikį,
Sunkių darbų darbinikį,

Užduok miela du darbeliu,
Baltom rankom linus verpc,

Baltom rankom linus verpce,
Eikliom kojom vaikus supc,

Čiūčia liūlia totoraicį,
Po dukrele anūkaicį,

Ir užgirdo jos dukrelė,
Ir išėjo iš klėtelės,

Eikš motula aukšton kletin,
Sėsk motula už stalalio,

Sėsk motula už stalelio,
Gerk motula žalių vynų.

After the Great Heavy War: song interpretation

This song can be understood as a war ballad about a Tatar raid. At the beginning, after the great heavy war, the Tatars divide the spoils, and the son-in-law receives his mother-in-law. This image can be interpreted as the division of captives after battle.

The son-in-law does not recognize his mother-in-law, fastens her to the horse, strikes the horse on the head and the mother-in-law on the mouth, and brings her home as a zavadnike, a worker for heavy tasks, ordering her to spin flax and rock the children. These images can be understood as painful non-recognition, where one's own relative is turned into a slave.

At the end, the daughter hears the lament, comes out of the storehouse, recognizes her mother, and invites her into the high storehouse to sit at the table and drink green wine. This image can be interpreted as recognition and rescue, with reconciliation replacing pain. This is one possible meaning, but the motifs of war, captivity, and recognition are clear in the song.

After the Great Heavy War: symbols and phrases

Tatars dividing spoils
Tatars dividing plunder after battle. They signify war and the division of captives.
The son-in-law receives the mother-in-law
The son-in-law takes the unrecognized mother-in-law as a captive. It signifies painful non-recognition.
Zavadnike, worker of heavy tasks
The mother-in-law turned into a slave and driven to hard work. She signifies the cruelty of captivity.
Daughter's recognition and feast
The daughter recognizes her mother and seats her at the table. It signifies rescue and reconciliation.

After the Great Heavy War: song history

"After the Great Heavy War" belongs to military-historical ballads reflecting the memory of Tatar raids in the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, when people were captured and sold into slavery during wars. The motif of taking an unrecognized mother-in-law or other close relative is a wandering ballad plot that joins the horror of war with the drama of sudden recognition; it explains the song's cruelty and unexpected resolution.

The exact place and time of recording are not given on this page, so the song is presented by genre traits. The narrative is built on contrast: in the first part, the son-in-law turns his own unrecognized mother-in-law into a slave; at the end, the daughter recognizes her and seats her at the feast table. The cruelty of captivity is replaced by recognition and reconciliation.

sources

  • Lietuvių liaudies dainynas, vols. 1-23, Vilnius 1980-2011 (LLTI)
  • D. Krištopaitė. Lietuvių karinės-istorinės dainos, Vilnius 1956

After the Great Heavy War: sources