Bagpipes: Vladan Radisavljević Part of a collection of Komite/Chetnik folk songs from the Serbian-Turkish wars of the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Text and description .... Visit Mica's website: www.micapetrovic.com -- all songs are free to download. Visit Mića's site: www.micapetrovic.com -- all songs are for free downloading. -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- -------- KUMITE MLADOG PETK (folk) All from me, Kate, nana zdala, All from that, Kate, mean girl. Dos'g writes, Kate, doodishe, How come, Kate, they didn't come? So young, Kate, and beautiful! Happy Friday, Kate! They went, Kate, to the mountain, There are the Turkish, Kate, evil sejmen. Petko leads, Kate, Azganji, Azganji, Kate, Adjami. In your hands, Kate, thin rifles, In your belt, Kate, a pair of pistols. -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- --------- Petko Ilić was born in Stari Nagoričan near Kumanovo around 1886. He joined the Serbian Chetnik organization as a Chetnik in 1903. In the fall of 1905, after crossing the border, his company was surrounded by the Turkish army. The company put up a desperate resistance until only Petko, two Chetniks and one bomb remained. The Chetnik slogan freedom or death has been confirmed. The Chetniks activated the bomb, hugging themselves over it. The Turks did not take the corpses away, which saved Petko, who was thrown away by the detonation, but not seriously wounded. It was night, the Turks had dispersed, but one person remained unnoticed in the forest... It was Mara Kuchkova, a simple woman from the people, born in the village of Kučevištu in the Skopje Black Mountain, she proved herself as a loyal support to many brave fighters for liberation. She received them in her modest home, skillfully hid them from the eyes of the centuries-old oppressor, fed them in secret and saw the angry wounds. When it burned down to her nails, in order to avoid arrest, she unearthed a rifle hidden in a barn and went into the forest to join the freedom fighters. She managed to break through the thicket and approach the wounded duke. She found him alive in a pool of blood and imperceptibly pulled him into the undergrowth, then lifted him on her shoulders and quickly escaped in front of the Turkish pursuit. Painfully but persistently, Mara dragged the wounded duke to the Serbian village. At her home, she cleaned and bandaged his severe wounds. Since that was not enough for recovery, she had to take him to the doctor. The next day, she dresses him in women's clothes and, like her own daughter, drives him through town in a cart to doctor Mihail Šuškalović, whom she knew was sympathetic to the Serbian freedom fighters. After receiving medical help, the Duke remains hidden in the village. Only after forty days, still in bandages, to everyone's astonishment, Petko appears in the Vranjska banja, and that's right in the church when the priest, in front of the crowd, is serving a memorial service for him and his martyred comrades. The lamp falls out of the priest's hands, and the people are left breathless, looking at the duke as if it were a miracle. In 1907, Petko became the commander of the company in Skopje, Montenegro, where he would represent the liaison and courier company of the two Mountain headquarters. The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 was carried out by the Turkish army. They proclaimed the equality of all religions. After the Young Turk Revolution, the Chetniks surrendered their weapons in Skopje and signed peace. However, the real goal of the Young Turks was to impose the Turkish language and a single national feeling on all peoples in the country. With this, they turned against themselves all Christian nations and non-Turkish Muslims, as well as representatives of the former government. Petko started chatting again in 1910, since the Young Turks continued their practice of oppressing Christians. He died in the spring of 1912 in the village of Stracin as a victim of the assassination of a pro-Bulgarian peasant. He asked to be buried in Serbia, at the border, so that he could observe the passing companies. He was buried in the Saint Panteleimon Monastery, in the village of Lepčinac.