Little Bee, Bee, Kadaujo lyrics and meaning

Little Bee, Bee, Kadaujo illustration

Bitutė, bitelė, kadaujo,
Bitutė, bitelė, kadaujo.

Jojo brolelis pas svotus,
Bitutė, bitelė, kadaujo.

Prašė dukrelės jaunosios,
Bitutė, bitelė, kadaujo.

Dar ta dukrelė mažutė,
Bitutė, bitelė, kadaujo.

Nemoka drobelių austi,
Bitutė, bitelė, kadaujo.

Variant from the Slaviūnas collection (SlS II-729, M. Miežinis manuscript, c. 1849, from the Zarasai area)

Pritarinys:
Ką, bite, ką, kadaujėle,
Ką, bite, ką, kadaujėle.

Rinkinys:
Bitute, bitele, kadaujo.
— Kur josi, broliukai, kadaujo?
— Svetimon šalelėn, kadaujo.
— Kur gręši žirgelį, kadaujo?
— Ant savo uošvelį, kadaujo.
— Ar duosi dukrelę, kadaujo?
— Maža mano dukrelė, kadaujo.
Nesėdos staklelės, kadaujo,
Nerašė raštelių, kadaujo.

Little Bee, Bee, Kadaujo: sutartinė interpretation

In the courtship situation, the girl's readiness is tested through work: can she weave, is she prepared for a new family role? This is not only a question of love, but also of social and household readiness.

The repeated little bee softens the test and gives it rhythm. Still, beneath the gentle refrain lies a serious question: can the young girl already be given in marriage?

A second reading notes that the bee refrain is not accidental. In Lithuanian tradition the bee was regarded as a sacred creature connected with the soul and ancestors, while bičiulystė, a bond of friendship, comes from shared beekeeping. A courtship sutartinė in which everything takes place with the bee's support can therefore be heard ritually: marriage negotiations unfold as if watched by a witness from the world of community and ancestors. A girl who has not yet sat at the loom or written patterns has not crossed the threshold of maturity and dowry preparation. The sutartinė speaks not only about a particular wedding request, but about the ritual process of preparing and ripening a girl for marriage.

Little Bee, Bee, Kadaujo: symbols and phrases

Little bee
A sign of industriousness and community; in Lithuanian tradition the bee is linked with the soul, ancestors, and bičiulystė, friendship formed through bees.
Wedding envoys / father-in-law
The mediators and future groom's kin with whom the daughter's marriage is negotiated.
Weaving cloth and writing patterns
Signs of women's work and readiness for marriage; not knowing them means the girl is still immature.
Kadaujo
A refrain vocable that holds the rhythm and sonic flow of the sutartinė.

Little Bee, Bee, Kadaujo: sutartinė history

In Slaviūnas' collection, "Bitutė, bitelė, kadaujo" is listed as volume II, no. 729, a keturinė wedding or courtship sutartinė. It is one of the oldest known sutartinė records: the text was written down around 1849 and printed from the manuscript section "Ketursaugės" by Mykolas Ksaveras Miežinis (LMD I 754(67); the same text is also LMD I 72(71)), from the Zarasai region. Ketursaugė is an old name for a keturinė sutartinė.

The archaic variant clearly shows keturinė structure. The pritarinys, the supporting pair, sings the refrain "Ką, bite, ką, kadaujėle," while the rinkinys, the leading pair, develops the courtship dialogue: the brother rides to a foreign land to the future father-in-law, asks for the daughter, and the father answers that she is still small, unable either to weave or to write patterns.

sources

Little Bee, Bee, Kadaujo: sources