Ganga: Etymology of the Polyphonic Singing in Dalmatian Zagora

Ganga je karakteristična ponajviše za središnji dio dinarske zone i obično se opisuje kao “grubo, primitivno, nestandardno, netemperirano” petoglasje pomaknutog takta. Slavenske paralele, kada tražimo podrijetlo riječi ganga, nisu uvjerljive iako ćemo naći niz formalno-semantičkih po du darnosti (npr. glagol ganati u značenju: pjesma, govor, priča, šala, proricanje, za gonetka itd.). Ova se “zagonetka” pokušala odgonetnuti preko njem. Gesang, pa i od lat. glagolskog oblika canto. U posljednje je vrijeme prilično rašireno miš ljenje da je riječ ganga stigla preko albanskoga jezika, odnosno ilirskog prežitka, a ako za to nema uvjerljivih dokaza, poseže se za nekim supstratom. Za zagovornike indoiranske teorije pitanje “izkona naše gange” očito je nerje ši vo u balkansko-slavenskom okružju. U uzmorskim vernakularima ganga je najčešće “veselica, grupna zabava, provod, bančenje, lumperaj i sl.”, naj vje rojatnije preuzeta iz tršćanskoga (tal. ganga < engl. gang, u žargonu ghega, ghenga, što je zapravo brigata, compagnia). Zagorski dvostih teško se može povezati s tim etimonom koji je potekao iz lučkog miljea. Predlažemo stoga da je taj folklorni idiom onomatopejskog postanja, da je u gangi inkorporiran zvuk imitiranja gusala, da je riječ motivirana popratnim slogom gan ili njegovim varijantama s izmijenjenim vokalom.Ganga is most typical of the central part of the Dinara region and is commonly described as “crude, primitive, non-standard, untempered” polyphonic singing of closely-knit intervals. Relevant literature offers a number of theories concerning the etymology of the word. Attempts to derive ganga from the Slav lexical pool carry little conviction despite a series of formal and semantic analogies (e.g. verb ganati in the meaning: song, speech, story, joke, fortune telling, riddle etc.). Some authors argue that it derives from the German word Gesang, or even from the Latin verb form canto. According to the recent widely accepted assumption, the word ganga came from the Albanian language as an Illyrian residue. In the coastal vernaculars ganga is most often described as “celebration, party, entertainment, bacchanals, revels etc.”, most likely borrowed from the Trieste idiom (It. ganga < Eng. gang, or jargon forms ghega, ghenga). The distich from the Dalmatian Zagora can hardly be correlated with an etymon of the harbour provenance. The author concludes that this folklore idiom is of onomatopoeic origin and incorporates the sound imitating the gusle, and that the word is motivated by the accompanying syllable \u27gan\u27 or its variants with alternating vowel

THE FITONYMS OF POLJICA

U ovom su radu prikazani fitonimi zabilježeni na teritoriju nekadašnje Poljičke knežije odnosno Poljičke republike. Građa za rječnik fitonima ekscerpirana je iz golemoga dijakronijskoga korpusa (prikupio i analizirao Lorger), a potom upotpunjena sinkronijskim podacima prikupljenima preliminarnim terenskim istraživanjem provedenim u Naklicama u rujnu 2015. godine (snimila i analizirala Ćurković). Obrada fitonimije u danome rječniku ima za cilj prikazati metode izrade Poljičkoga rječnika i učiniti javno dostupnim dio pomno prikupljene leksičke građe. Osim toga, cilj je ovoga rada dati osnovne podatke o mjesnim govorima Poljica i dosadašnjim dijalektološkim istraživanjima toga područja.This paper presents the fitonyms noted in the teritory of the historical Poljica Republic. The data for the presented dictionary was excerpted from a massive diachronical corpus (collected and analyzed by Lorger), and then expanded with synchronical data collected by preliminary field research conducted in Naklice in September of 2015 (recorded and analyzed by Ćurković). The analysis of fitonymy of the given dictionary has a goal to demonstrate the methods o construction of Poljički rječnik (Dictionary of Poljica)and to bring a part of the collected lexical data to the public. Apart from that, one of the goals of this paper is to bring basic information about the existing dialectological descriptions of the area

The Semantic World of Tints and Dyes: Crvac in Fifteenth-Century Dubrovnik

Polazeći od romanizma arapskog podrijetla alkermes, odnosno kermes, što je istoznačnica za crvak ili crvac (fonetska dubleta za crv i adj. crveno), navode se idiomi za “crvena bojila” na istočnoj strani Jadrana, različite primjene i postanja. Tako se npr. balkanski turcizam grimiz, točnije purpur ili grecizam porfir (grč. porphýra, lat. purpura), povezuje se s malakonimom volak (Murex brandaris) koji u Boki kotorskoj dobiva prepoznatljivu formu prpor i prmpor. Purpur se kod starih pisaca inače prevodi kao crvak. Značenjsku vezu crv crveno uočavamo u riječi črvit (Rab), čarvit (Susak) “mastiti jaja, robu...”. Na Ižu “crv” i “prašak za bojanje tkanine” - črv, dem. črvić i črvak, črvilo. Posljednji primjer odvodi nas do ribarskog termina krka (Korčula), korka (Dubrovnik), što je dalmatski leksički ostatak od lat. cortex (kora) > tal. corteccia (còrtice) - “kora koja služi ribarima za tanganje mreža”. U vrbničkom govoru na otoku Krku potvrđen je arhaični pridjev črmni (črman) černi u značenju “crvenkasto-žut, narančast”.This article discusses a variety of terms for the red dyes used on the eastern coast of the Adriatic in the fi fteenth century, their etymology and application based on archival documents, ethnological records, literary writings, dictionaries and many other sources. Special attention is paid to the substance in the Latin sources commonly referred to as chermisium (cremexinum and similar forms), and in the Cyrillic documents as crvac. According to the evidence, it was imported from Bosnia and Serbia and exported to Italy, its main use being for dying fabrics in the Dubrovnik workshops. As to the actual nature of this substance, the historians tended to follow in the footsteps of K. Jireček, who erroneously described it as a mineral product imported from the Balkan mines (antimony trioxide and trisulphide from the mineral Kermesite). The fi rst to come forward with a thesis that crvac is an organic substance was Sima M. Ćirković. Although he could not determine its exact nature, he found a contract from which it was evident that the substance was ‘collected’. Some Ragusan contracts contain details which testify to the organic origin of crvac, as the latter was to be ripe (staxionatus), dry (siccus), purifi ed (nitidus). Actually described is a scale insect known as Coccus ilicis, a pest of the Mediterranean oak (Quercus ilex). While laying eggs, the female insects remain inactive for a few months, and that is when they are collected. After being dried in the sun, a fi ne powder material is obtained. One hundred and forty thousand insects are needed for one kilogram of powder. Thus it is not surprising that in 1440 at the Dubrovnik market one libra of Coccus was traded for almost one ducat. In Ragusan documents crvac is mentioned from the 1440s onwards. In the latter half of the fi fteenth century it is rarely mentioned, which may be accounted by the recession in the hinterland due to the Ottoman invasion. More important was the fact that the production of cloth in Dubrovnik witnessed a decline, forcing the Ragusans to seek new, more lucrative economic activities