«Ο αμνός του Θεού» (Μάνος Χατζιδάκις, Νίκος Γκάτσος)

[Theseus]

Λύκοι πατήσαν το φεγγάρι
και πήραν του Θεού τ’ αρνί
καντήλι και προσκυνητάρι
και παρηγόρια μου στερνή.

Donde vas
cordero de Dios
querido;

Μ’ άστρα μεγάλα και λυχνάρια
θα βγουν αντάρτες κυνηγοί
τα ματωμένα του τ’ αχνάρια
να σημαδέψουνε στη γη.

Donde vas
cordero de Dios
herido;

Κι εγώ στο ψήλωμα τ’ Άη Γιάννη (Πού είναι αυτό;)
θα σπάσω τα καμπαναριά
βαφτιστικέ του Μακρυγιάννη
κορυδαλέ του Μπαταριά.

Donde vas
cordero de Dios
perdido;

Μπορεί κάποιος να με βοηθήσει με τη σημασία των λέξεων; Έχω υπογραμμίσει τις κυριότερές μου δυσκολίες. Ξέρω ότι ήταν ο Μακρυγιάννης ο διάσημος κατ' εξοχήν συγγραφέας της δημοτικής και ότι ήταν ο Μπαταριάς ένας εξαιρετικός βιολιστής (ομοιάζει 'κορυδαλλός του Μπαταρία' με 'αηδόνες του Ηρακλείτου') αλλά αυτά είναι όλα. Όσο για τα ιταλικά, τι εννοούν και γιατί χρησιμοποιούνται;

 

[Earion]

To begin with, the verses are not Italian, they are Spanish. They mean: "Where are you going oh Lamb of God, beloved?" (first stanza), or "injured?" (second stanza), or "lost?" (third stanza). I don't really know why Gatsos preferred to address the Lamb of God in Spanish, but I can't suppress a suspicion that it has to do someway or another with the Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca, much admired in Greece, especially by the so-called Generation of the 1930's (Γενιά του Τριάντα), who was murdered mercilessly by the right-wing military authorities during the Spanish Civil War. Lorca was a great inspiration for Gatsos, who measured himself as a translator against Lorca's poetic stature (Gatsos' translations of Lorca are arguably unsurpassed to this day). Therefore I wouldn't be surprised if I were to learn that what Gatsos attempts here is to weave together the image of the Poor Man's Lamb (his sole possession and consolation) with the image of the Lamb of God (a consecrated victim on the altar for the benefit of all mankind) and together with the image of Lorca the poet, carrying on his shoulders the task of raising humanity to a higher spiritual level through his art, and being sacrificed as the unjustly slain victim of inhuman forces.

Now, if you wish me to go into detail:
Λύκοι πατήσαν το φεγγάρι = Wolves invaded under the moon-light
και πήραν του Θεού τ’ αρνί = and took away the Poor Man's lamb (του φτωχού τ' αρνί equals του Θεού τ' αρνί, because God is the provider of the lamb to the Poor Man)
This lamb was my candle, my altar and my sole consolation
θα βγουν αντάρτες κυνηγοί = andartes * will come out to chase after the wolves (* you know what andartes means, I mean the full connotations of the word?)
ψήλωμα τ’ Άη Γιάννη is not a particular place, it's the place-name for the crest of a hill, that could be anywhere
θα σπάσω τα καμπαναριά = I will ring the bells till they crack (to give the alarm)

 

[Theseus]

Thanks, Earion. Can you offer any help on stanza 3? Does βαφτιστικός mean 'the godson of Makruyiannis?

 

[Earion]

βαφτιστικέ του Μακρυγιάννη and κορυδαλλέ του Μπαταριά are poetic allusions. Here Gatsos wishes to lavish praise on somebody who is evidently an artist (a singer of traditional songs?, a composer of traditional music? somebody who expresses himself in poetry or in prose in the unassumingly beautiful demotic of Makrygiannis? it's hard to know). Certainly what Gatsos wants is to associate this person with the legendary figures of folk literature and music. Μπαταριάς must be the hero of Miltiades Malakases's poem (read here for more). The godson (ο βαφτιστικός) will very often acquire his godfather's talents (the olive oil of the baptism is known to produce such miracles).

 

[Theseus]

Σ' ευχαριστώ πολύ, Εάριων, για όλη τη προϊστορία αυτή. Είναι χρησιμότατη. Έχω και συνοδεύσει τα λινκ που ευγενικά παρείχες. Είναι όλα τα σχόλια επίσης περισσότερο από χρήσιμα για την κατανόηση των αποριών μου. Μεγάλες ευχαριστίες.:)

 

[Theseus]

Όσον αφορά τους αντάρτες, τους γνωρίζω σαν guerilla fighters and partisans καθώς και renegades and insurgents.

 

[Earion]

Quite right, but something more that that: andartes are rebels against unjust authority, frequently against any authority, who listen to the complaints of the common people and by their use of violence restore social justice. They embody the hopes and desperation of the unprivileged, their imaginary vengeance on oppressors, in short everything the term social bandit, coined by Eric Hobsbawm, evokes. No wonder they haunt the realms of popular fantasy and folk literature, and Gatsos was not the first to use them as redeemers; folk poetry has done this long before him. There came a time, during the occupation of Greece by the Axis powers (1941-1944), when all the old myths came again to life with a vengeance: andartes were now the guerrillas, the partisans serving the national cause. And, a revealing detail, the battle-hymn of the Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS) states clearly that Αντάρτης, κλέφτης, παλικάρι are one and the same, πάντα είν' ο ίδιος ο λαός : they are the People personified.

 

[Earion]

To be more precise, here is the full stanza (perhaps you'll need to google for the terms akrites, armatolos, klepht, pallikar)

Με χίλια ονόματα μια χάρη:
ακρίτας είτε αρματωλός,
αντάρτης, κλέφτης, παλικάρι,
πάντα είν' ο ίδιος ο λαός.

Out of a thousand names one quality stands out
whether an akrites, an armatolos,
an andartes, a klepht, a pallikar,
it is always the people in the same substance

Battle-hymn of the Greek People's Liberation Army, performed by the Chorus of the 54th Regiment (Mount Pelion), reconstituted (1982).

 

[Theseus]

Θεγξ, Εάριων. Τόσα πολλά να μάθω, τόσο λίγο χρόνο...Ανάβει πάρα πολύ τα αίματα μου αυτός ο ύμνος.