Dimitrije O.

Golemović (Serbia)

SINGING “NA BAS” IN SERBIA IN LIGHT OF THE INFLUENCE OF TWO

WORLD WARS AND WARS AT THE END OF 20th CENTURY

Keywords: singing “na bas”, two-part, Word War I, World War II, cultural identity

Abstract: Word War I, World War II and wars at the end of 20th century where very important for
developed of singing “na bas”. This singing who was a perfect way for expession of patriotic filings, after
the wars got a new werses, becoming the one of the most popular kinds of singing in Serbia and
neighboring countries.

Various reasons account for the origin and dissemination of certain forms of music-
making in traditional demotic practice. In order to create and afterwards perform a song,
a suitable occasion was needed, such as, for instance, lies at the bottom of many custom
and ritual songs. Whether related to the annual or the life cycle, they existed in a specific
syncretic unity with other forms of traditional artistic expression: dance, instrument-
playing, acting etc. instilling hope in the members of the patriarchal community that
everything will be fine in their future life. That there will be enough food for the whole
family, and that they will all be alive and well. Even in rites for the dead, the mourners
endeavored to give them a dignified farewell; of special importance was lamenting, i.e.
the performance of dirges. In the popular belief, the last farewell to the deceased,
including the act of naming him or her, which became part of the song, was a way of
securing immortality.
In the evolution of folk singing and in accordance with its, it gradually changes
function and becomes singing in the true sense of the word – an activity whose function
is no longer in the service of survival, but satisfies aesthetic needs. A “classical” example
is singing “na bas” (“over the bass”) to which this paper is dedicated.1 Its forms are
typical for the lack of any “serious” functionality.2 Singing na bas is of a relatively recent
origin: its features reflecting central European influences stand as an eloquent proof of
that. Firstly, its melody is equally tempered; next, it is two-part homophony, with the
third as the principal vertical sonority (perfect fifth in cadences). This type of singing
probably originates from Croatia – Slavonia,3 from where it spread into other parts of
Croatia (Lika, Kordun, Banija...), as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. There
are several reasons for its spreading, the chief one undoubtedly arising from its

1
I have addressed the topic of singing na bas on several occasions (some of my published works will be
mentioned later on); however, like any major problem which takes a great deal of effort in order to be
scientifically fully explored, this type of singing offers many opportunities for this kind of work.
2
I do not count certain ritual songs which were initially sung one-part, to be afterwards adopted to modern
times and new ways of life by being “sonically enriched”; such is the case with the koledarska songs from
Mužinac, eastern Serbia (Golemović 2000, ex. 51).
3
Unlike the forms of ancient two-part singing whose origin lies concealed underneath the centuries-old
layers, impossible to be completely uncovered, several explanations have been offered for the origin of
singing na bas. Particularly interesting – and also very logical – are two which look for the roots of this
type of singing in instrumental playing: either bagpipe or tamburitza orchestra (Fulanović-Šošić 1965, 550).

1
characteristics. We would primarily point out its collective nature; unlike earlier types of
singing which involved two or three singers, it is conducive to the development of social
activities. Then, the melodies are not linked to specific regions and are accordingly not
limited in their further dissemination: they are universal in a way.4 It is the simplicity of
their performance that made such songs popular: a single singer-soloist sings a line (more
rarely only a segment), repeating it subsequently accompanied by all other participants
(not infrequently ones who hear the song for the first time). Along with these “principal”
characteristics of singing na bas, there were economic and social circumstances
conducive to its diffusion. By economic I primarily mean those related to the migrations
of population owing to economic and similar circumstances. Thus, from the “depressed”
regions of Croatia, as well as from Bosnia and Herzegovina, people migrated to Slavonia
to seek jobs, bringing not only their wages, but also what they learned there, including
songs na bas.5 There is a well known example from western Serbia where such songs
were brought from Lika by young men who worked at the construction of the narrow-
gauged railway.
Regarding social conditions, the spreading of singing na bas was aided by most
unfortunate circumstances brought about by wars – and in these parts there were as many
as three in the last hundred years. First and Second World Wars, and then wars at the end
of the 20th century inflicted enormous pains upon hundreds of thousands of people, but at
the same time they facilitated various forms of acculturation.
Little has been written about World Ward I as an influence on the development
and dissemination of singing na bas¸ but there are some interesting facts. I would point
out the most obvious: during my field investigations in the region of Užice, I learned that
songs na bas were acquired from “Slavonian jam-makers”. Those were the women who
came with Austro-Hungarian troops (many of whom were actually from Croatia), with
the task of making preserve from local fruit. To those who should find this incredible I
draw attention to the fact that during that time, when Serbia was occupied, a great deal of
land was deserted. The majority of Serbian population, fearing retribution from the
enemy for the defeat at the beginning of the war, left their homes (many of them followed
Serbian troops as they crossed Albanian mountains). Thus, the jam-makers were
important for sustenance of the occupational troops, but it was also important in relation
to traditional demotic singing. Those few Serbs, who remained at home, even though they

4
Dženana Hadžisadiković says, having in mind singing from Cazin (Bosnia and Herzegovina) that [when
singing na bas] “there are no separate melodies, “kaidas”, but all are sung to the common kaida (indicating
its local character)” (Hadžisalihović 2007, 179).
5
Here is what academician Vlado Milošević says on the subject: “There is a kind of modernism in
Zmijanje /.../ Those tunes have been brought by lads from the military service, or working on road
constructions, saw-mills etc. The tunes are urban tunes of Slavonian type, but deformed. They perform
various antics, they open their mouths too wide, their voices are squeaky, too bright, and they cadence in
fifths. They call such tunes, particularly those ending in fifths, singing na bas.” (Milošević 1940, 321).
Academician Cvjetko Rihtman also has something to say: “Forms of the first category manifest a high level
of congruence with forms from neighboring regions, so they obviously arose under the influence of these
neighboring forms, or were simply taken over. This is particularly easy to ascertain in northern and
northwestern parts of Bosnia, where this influence is especially prominent.” (Rihtman 1951, 10). Cvjetko
Ritham also says: “The most recent tradition, obviously arriving from the north, from Slavonia and Croatia
via Krajina and which overwhelms the first three (Rihtman 1955, 7).

2
hated the occupational army, succumbed to a degree to their influences. The most
prominent example of such influence was singing na bas. It was easy to assimilate, it was
universal, easy to sing, and – let us not forget that – it was sung in an understandable
language, very similar to the domestic one. Another reason why singing na bas was
accepted in western Serbia was the fact that it was primarily an activity of the youth, and
the youth is undoubtedly most open to various influences and most flexible in their
appropriation.
World War II, as compared to World War I, caused significantly greater upheaval,
and much more intensive mixing of population throughout former Yugoslavia. People of
various ethnic and religious backgrounds took part in the People's Liberation Struggle.
They all brought along something of their own that developed and often changed during
the war. Yet, among all the forms of demotic musical creation, the most widely accepted
was singing na bas, owing to its aforementioned characteristics (Ex. 1).6 What the
fighting men at that time needed was a type of singing in which the whole collective
could take part, like the “Kozara kolo”, a simple dance consisting only of walking. 7
In the existence of singing na bas during World War II, of special importance was
the way, basically quite traditional, in which new songs were created: a new text was
added to the familiar tune. Thus the warriors, similar to demotic singers, got the
opportunity to express what they wished through the song, from their personal feelings
(these songs are most similar to the traditional ones), to various events in which they
often participated themselves.8 Otherwise, during the People's Liberation Struggle songs
moved from one area to another, in a way not unlike in peace, only much faster.9
As it spread during the war, singing na bas exerted significant influence on local
forms of singing; the intensity of these influences, their types, hence their “results”
differed considerably. When you graft fruit, both the plant which is grafted and the one
onto which it is grafted are important, for on the latter largely depends what the future
plant will look like and especially what its fruit will be like. Likewise, for singing na bas
it did make a difference whether it arrived in regions where two-part singing had
previously existed, or where one-part singing had been typical. In the regions with two-
part tradition the singers’ sense of harmony was more developed, so the songs were

6
Ethnomusicologist Dragoslav Dević says on this subject: “Melodic, harmonic, rhythmic and architectonic
foundation of partisan music carries in itself traits that were already familiar in our vocal music” (Dević,
1961, 268).
7
This type of kolo (round) dance is based on the so-called tabanaško kolo from the mountain of Kozara
(Mladenović, 1960, 169−201), and is usually accompanied by singing na bas; it has become widespread
throughout the territory affected by war.
8
People’s Liberation Struggle produced abundant poetic material made into song in the well-known
traditional way (Dević, 1961, 268).
Interestingly enough, the singing of revolutionary songs (although they probably were not songs na bas)
existed in Croatia even prior to World War I, as evidenced by Ante Nazor: “In urban areas (Omiš-Split)
before World War I lyric songs permeated with nationalistic combative motives were very common.
Popular in the city of Omiš were Serbian folk songs and songs to the verses of Serbian poets Zmaj, Jakšić,
Šantić and so on. Six youths from Omiš were arrested for fourteen days for singing Oro kliče sa visina (The
Eagle Sings from on High) (Nazor, 1961, 246).
9
They arrived in the region of Mosor from all parts of the country, chiefly from Lika, Bosnia and
Montenegro, and they developed further. Already during the first days of the war, Dalmatian fighters went
to Lika and Bosnia. On return, they brought the song /.../ our peasants, living in very poor conditions, went
to procure food in more fertile areas (Slavonija, Srijem and Banat) and that is how they transmitted songs
(Nazor, 1961, 248).

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assimilated more naturally and remained more or less unchanged with respect to their
source. If singing was only monophonic, as in northeastern Serbia, the singers with a
“melodic ear” produced a type of singing diverging in many respect from the original
one. Thus, for instance, songs from northeastern Serbia almost totally lack the solo
“introduction” which is all but obligatory in songs na bas; instead, everybody sings from
the beginning (Ex. 2). Besides, the third-sonority typical of this singing tends to be
avoided in the northeast, sometimes even replaced by a fourth. Such a practice originates
in singing in parallel fourths, which largely resembles the form of European mediaeval
art singing known as the organum (Ex. 3).
It ought to be emphasized that the forms of singing, that is the influence of one
type of singing on another, can in practice depend also on the terrain on which the people
live. Singing na bas became widespread in “flatter” areas, such as Mačva, Tamnava, as
well as Šumadija. In western Serbia it is n an equal footing with the more ancient two-
part singing, but in northwestern Serbia, along the river Drina, it only came with
partisans. This does not even mean during the war, but only after it has ended, since the
Drina valley during the war was controlled by Chetniks. That is why the popular term for
such songs is “partisan songs”.10 Considering that they had a short very lifetime in
demotic practice, they frequently exhibit considerable differences with respect to the
typical songs. These differences are particularly prominent in the accompanying voice. In
some songs it tends to be too static, which occasionally results in the absence of parallel
thirds and the occurrence of other intervals: from the fourth to the seventh (Ex. 4). On the
other hand, the second voice can be divided producing octave doubling; the division
occurs especially in cadences, but there the interval of division is the sixth rather than the
octave, so that the ending is on a sixth chord in open position (Ex. 5).
Wars at the end of the 20th century “reaffirmed” traditional demotic culture.
Unable to cope with various problems, some of which being the greatest that one can ever
experience (the loss of home or a closest relative etc.) people resorted to the traditional
epic instrument of gusle once again to invoke traditional epic heroes: Janković Stojan,
Kosančić Ivan and so on. Many of them harked back to old songs, mostly songs na bas
that were supposed to serve as a kind of guarantee of their communality. To some of
them, singing na bas became a token of belonging, indeed a symbol of the cultural, and
along with that religious and national identity. Such was the case with the refugees
gathered around the Culture-Artistic Society “Krajina” in Belgrade. Although their
repertoire featured songs of various forms and styles, these people opted for singing na
bas, these songs having become their “common denominator”. Thus, more than half a
century later, the situation from World War II repeats itself: it was then the singing na
bas became the “chief ‘unifying factor’ of Yugoslav peoples on their path to achieving
national, religious and cultural unity and creating a Yugoslavian identity (Golemović,
2007, 265).

10
It is interesting that ethnomusicologist Dragoslav Dević also uses the observation on the existence of so-
called partisan diaphony: “The diaphony of the fifth, widespread as it is, is characteristic of partisan two-
part singing; or, if one may say so, partisan diaphony bears traits of the fifth diaphony” (Dević 1961, 266).

4
References:

Dević Dragoslav, „Narodne melodije iz perioda Oslobodilačkog rata“ [Folk Melodies

from the People’s Liberation War], Rad VIII Kongresa Saveza folklorista Jugoslavije u
Titovom Užicu 1961, Beograd 1961.

Fulanović-Šošić Miroslava, Polifoni oblici prve kategorije u narodnoj muzičkoj tradiciji

Bosne i Hercegovine, Savez kompozitora Jugoslavije, Zvuk, 65, Sarajevo 1965.

Golemović, Dimitrije O., Refren u narodnom pevanju: od obreda do zabave,[Refrain in

Traditional Folk Singing: From Ritual to Entertainment] Renome-Bijeljina, Akademija
umjetnosti-Banja Luka, Beograd 2000.

Golemović Dimitrije O., „Tradicionalna narodna pesma kao simbol novog kulturnog
identiteta (na primeru prakse jugoslovenskih ratnih izbeglica)“ [Traditional Folk Song as
a Symbol of a New Cultural Identity as Exemplified by Yugoslav War Refugees], Čovek
kao muzičko biće [Man as a Musical Being], Biblioteka XX vek i knjižara Krug, Beograd
2007.

Hadžisalihović Dženana, „Na bas pjevanje u okolini Cazina“, [Singing na bas in the area
of Cazin] 5. međunarodni simpozij „Muzika u društvu“ [5th International Symposium
„Music in Society“], Sarajevo 26-28. Oktobar/listopad 2006., Muzikološko društvo
FBiH, Muzička akademija u Sarajevu, Sarajevo 2007.

Milošević Vlado, Seljačko pjevanje u banjalučkoj Vrhovini [Peasant Singing in

Banjalučka Vrhovina], Razvitak, 11, Kulturno društvo „Zmijanje“, Banja Luka 1940.

Mladenović Olivera, Partizanske i druge narodne igre u Oslobodilačkom ratu i revoluciji

[Partisan and Other Folk Dances in People’s Liberation War and Revolution], Zbornik
radova SANU, 58, Beograd 1960.

Nazor Ante, „Kako se razvijala revolucionarna pjesma oko Mosora“ [How the
Revolutionary Song Evolved around Mosor], Rad VIII Kongresa Saveza folklorista
Jugoslavije u Titovom Užicu 1961, Beograd 1961.

Rihtman Cvjetko, Polifoni oblici u narodnoj muzici Bosne i Hercegovine [Polyphonic

Forms in the Folk Music of Bosnia and Herzegovina], Bilten Instituta za proučavanje
folklora 1, Sarajevo 1951.

Rihtman Cvjetko, Narodna muzika jajačkog sreza [Folk Music from the District of
Jajce], Bilten instituta za proučavanje folklora, 2, Sarajevo 1955.

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 SINGING “NA BAS” IN SERBIA IN LIGHT OF THE INFLUENCE OF TWO
WORLD WARS AND WARS AT THE END OF 20th CENTURY
Summary

As we know, first facts about singing “na bas” where connected with World War I.
Singing na bas was brought to Serbia by Croatian soldier who took part of Austro-
Hungarian Army. From Slavonia, together with Croatian soldiers, came their women so
called “Slavonian jam-makers”, who made jam from local fruit. And when the war was
over, songs, sang in language very similar to Serbian language, kept on living in local
musical practice. They also developed and become the most often vocal forms in
different regions of Serbia in time of World War II, because songs na bas a very simple
structure. Very interesting and little strange are examples from North-eastern Serbia,
because before singing na bas was brought, people sang in one-voice manner. Also, very
interesting are songs from North-western Serbia so-called “partisan songs”, which had
not enough time to develop. In near past, at the end of last sentury, songs na bas again
become very popular, very often as a kind of their national identity.

(2012)

Example:

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