The Linden Had Nine Branches (Liaj Sudijo) lyrics and meaning

Turėjo liepa, liaj siudijo
Sudija, sudijo, sudijula tatato

Devynias šakas, liaj siudijo…
Visas devynias, liaj siudijo…
Vėtrela palaužė, liaj siudijo…
Palik nar vienų, liaj siudijo…
Gegiulai inskristi, liaj siudijo… *
Gražiai pakukuoti, liaj siudijo… *

Turėja močia, liaj siudijo…
Devynias dukras, liaj siudijo…
Visas devynias, liaj siudijo…
Piršlaliai išpirša, liaj siudijo…
Palik nar vienų, liaj siudijo…
Rūtelam palaistyt, liaj siudijo… **
Aslalai pašluoti, liaj siudijo…

* kitoje versijoje: Šluotelai surišti, liaj siudijo…
** kitoje versijoje šios eilutės nėra

◈ Atitartinė giedama trimis grupėmis. Pirmoji grupė pradeda ir sudainavus „sudija“, trečioji grupė atitaria pirmajai „sudijo“, o pirmoji pabaigia posmą. Analogiškai antroji atitaria trečiajai, o pirmoji – antrajai.
◈ Slaviūno dainyne: SlS I-119a, SlS I-119b.

The Linden Had Nine Branches (Liaj Sudijo): sutartinė interpretation

This sutartinė with the refrain "liaj siudijo, sudijula tatato" can be understood as a song that sets the fate of the linden beside that of a mother with daughters. In the first part the linden had nine branches; the storm broke them, leaving only one for the cuckoo to fly into and sing beautifully. The image shows the tree reduced to a single remaining branch.

In the second part, the mother had nine daughters; matchmakers took them all in marriage, leaving only one to water the rue and sweep the floor. This parallel identifies the tree's branches with daughters, so that daughters leaving in marriage correspond to branches broken by storm.

A second reading places this as one of several variants of the same plot, alongside "Gedula liepa" and "Turėja liepa, lioj taduvėla." The abundance of variants shows how important the theme was. The linden is not only a tree; it is a feminine form connected with motherhood and Laima, and nine is a sacred number of fullness. In this variant, the last daughter is left "to water the rue." Rue is a sign of maidenhood, so the youngest daughter, remaining at home, preserves both maidenly continuity and the household's continuity. Beneath the calm answering sound of the atitartinė, the song reflects on an emptying home and generational change: as storm breaks branches, matchmakers lead daughters away, and only one remains to tend the house.

The Linden Had Nine Branches (Liaj Sudijo): symbols and phrases

Linden with nine branches
A tree losing its branches. The linden is feminine and linked with motherhood and Laima; nine is a sacred number.
Storm breaking the branches
The storm that damages the tree marks the forces that take children away from home.
Nine daughters taken by matchmakers
Daughters given into marriage. They parallel the broken branches.
The last daughter watering rue
The youngest daughter who remains at home. Because rue marks maidenhood, she preserves household and maidenly continuity.

The Linden Had Nine Branches (Liaj Sudijo): sutartinė history

"Turėja liepa, liaj sudijo" is listed in Slaviūnas's collection as volume I, nos. 119a and 119b: two variants of the same plot. The text therefore notes small verbal differences, for example "to bind a little broom" instead of "for the cuckoo to fly into." It is an atitartinė sung by three groups, which answer one another in turn with the refrain "sudija, sudijo."

The plot of a linden with nine branches and a mother with nine daughters is one of the most widespread in Aukštaitian sutartinės. Variants of it also appear in this collection, including "Gedula liepa" and "Turėja liepa, lioj taduvėla." Sutartinės flourished in north-eastern Aukštaitija from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century; in 2010 they were inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

sources

  • Z. Slaviūnas. Sutartinės, vols. 1-3 (1958-1959), I-119a, I-119b
  • D. Račiūnaitė-Vyčinienė. Sutartinės: Lithuanian Polyphonic Songs (2002)

The Linden Had Nine Branches (Liaj Sudijo): sources