Gjergj Elez Alia - Albanian Folklore

Albanian Folklore

In Albanian folklore, Gjergj Elez Alia was a great warrior of Albanian tradition. The song Gjergj Elez Alia was recorded by Bernardin Palaj and Donat Kurti in Nikaj (Tropojë District) and published in Tirana in 1937. The song is usually sung in lahute, or occasionally in Çiftelia by Albanian rhapsodes. The song is part of the larger cycle of the Albanian Songs of the Frontier Warriors (Albanian: Këngë Kreshnikësh or Cikli i Kreshnikëve) that crystallized in the 17th and 18th centuries and recorded in written form in first decades of 20th century by the Franciscan priests Shtjefën Gjeçovi and Bernardin Palaj. Although they were transmitted from South Slavic milieu of Bosnia they are not simply translated from Serbo-Croatian, but they independently evolved in northern Albanian highlands.

Gjergj Elez Alia had nine wounds on his body and lay suffering for nine years in his house and everybody had forgotten him. Only his sister took care of him night and day for nine years. Then news came that another enemy, Balozi i Zi (black knight) had come from the sea and was killing people and destroying villages every day.

One day Gjergj felt some drops of water on his face and thought that his house had become so old that the rain was coming in. His sister told him that it was not the rain, but her tears on his face. She told him that Balozi had requested her and sooner or later would come to get her. Gjergj then told her to take his horse and make it ready for war, as he was going to fight against the horrible Baloz. He met Baloz the next day and had the fight; Gjergj was victorious. He returned home to his sister and as they hugged with joy, both their hearts stopped beating and they died instantly together. They were then buried in the same grave and the place was never forgotten. Everyone that passed by stopped to remember his great actions.