Σον θεό εφτάγω τάμα (to Neikos for his help)

[Theseus]

I have been interested in the Turkish genocide by Ataturk, ever since I heard that-way out cycle of songs sung by the terrifying and fearsome Diamanda Galas: Defixiones, Will and Testament: Orders from the Dead. Since then, while listening to Areti Ketime's memorable rendering of the Pontian Σον θεό εφτάγω τάμα, my interest has been revived. I know that this song will hardly help me to learn Greek but it interests me as to what it means. I have cobbled together a sort of translation but if there are any Ποντιακά specialists out there, I'd be grateful for their help. The song then and my attempt at a rendering of sorts.

Σον θεό εφτάγω τάμα To God I make a vow

ντε συρές τον πόνο, μάνα Don't trouble yourself, mother,
ντε συρές τον πόνο μάνα Don't trouble yourself, mother,
και εγένεσες εμέ you who gave me birth.

Μάνα, ξέρς πως αγαπώ σε. Mother, you know that I love you
εν ντροπή και να ρωτώ σε in shame I ask you
αν εν κόλαση ο κόσμον if the world is hell
ο παράδεισός που έν then where is Paradise?

Τα τιφέκια περισεύνε Rifles are unnecessary
οι ανθρώπ ντε φτάν και ξερνε don't men come and know
οι ανθρώπ ντε φταν και ξέρνε don't men come and know
τη ζωή να του θα τρων they will destroy life?

Κρούνε πέρνε σαν χαμένα They fire their guns like crazy
αχ κ’ ελέπνε τα καημένα and ah! they see
τα μώρα τα πεινασμένα the poor babies
να ποθάνα σολιμόν die of starvation.

Σον Θεό εφτάγω θαύμα (τάμα) I make a vow to God
ντε συρές τον πόνο μάνα don't trouble yourself, mother,
ντε συρές τον πόνο μάνα don't trouble yourself, mother,
και εγνώρσα τη ζωή I have got to know what life is

Πώς να ελέπω τα παιδόπα How can I see little children
μόνο τσόπο και στουδόπα only death & bones
Θε μ’ για χάλασον τον κόσμο My God, just destroy the world
και να χτίσας την αρχή you should remake it from the beginning.

Neikos has given me help, which I always acknowledge. Now it is up to those who understand Ποντιακά.:)

 

[AoratiMelani]

I don't speak Ποντιακά, although I am familiar with it, thanks to a good friend of mine who is Πόντια.
I think, however, that "ντε συρές τον πόνο μάνα και εγένεσες εμέ / και εγνώρσα τη ζωή" means "with pain, mother, you gave birth to me / I came to life". Let us see what others have to say, cause I'm not at all confident.

 

[AoratiMelani]

I asked my friend to translate it in Greek, so here you are.
According to her, κρούνε πέρνε is an expression which literally translates as "they hit and take" (χτυπάνε και παίρνουνε) and means they are walking around lost.
You might also want to correct σολιμον = σο λιμον (two words, not one), τσόπον = ψόπον (ψυχή, soul).
Also, I prefer to spell και as κε in the instances where it means "no", in order to not confuse it with "and"


Σον θεό εφτάγω τάμα / Στον Θεό κάνω τάμα [=δίνω υπόσχεση] / I offer to God
ντε συρές τον πόνο, μάνα / Τον πόνο που τράβηξες, μάνα / The pain you suffered, mother
και εγέννεσες εμέ / Και με γέννησες / To give birth to me

Μάνα, ξέρς πως αγαπώ σε / Μάνα, ξέρεις πόσο σ' αγαπάω / Mother, you know how much I love you
εν ντροπή και να ρωτώ σε / Ντρέπομαι να σε ρωτήσω / I am ashamed to ask you
αν εν κόλαση ο κόσμον / Αν είναι κόλαση ο κόσμος / If the world is hell
ο παράδεισός που έν; / Ο παράδεισος πού είναι; / Then where is heaven?

Τα τυφέκια περισsεύνε / Τα τουφέκια περισσεύουν / There are too many guns
οι ανθρώπ ντε φτάν κε ξερνε / Οι άνθρωποι δεν ξέρουν τι κάνουν / People do not know what they are doing
τη ζωή να του θα τρων / Θα φάνε το κεφάλι τους [=Θα χάσουν τη ζωή τους] / They will loose their life

Σον Θεό εφτάγω τάμα / Στον Θεό κάνω τάμα [=δίνω υπόσχεση] / I offer to God
ντε συρές τον πόνο μάνα / Τον πόνο που τράβηξες, μάνα / The pain you suffered, mother
και εγνώρσα τη ζωή - Και ήρθα στη ζωή [=και γεννήθηκα] / To bring me to life

Κρούνε πέρνε σαν χαμένα / Γυρίζουν σαν χαμένοι / They are wondering, lost
αχ κ’ ελέπνε τα καημένα / Αχ, δεν βλέπουνε οι καημένοι / Poor people, they cannot see
τα μώρα τα πεινασμένα / Τα μωρά τα πεινασμένα / The hungry babies
να ποθάνα σο λιμόν / Που πεθάνανε από την πείνα / Who have died from starvation

Πώς να ελέπω τα παιδόπα / Πώς να βλέπω τα παιδάκια / How can I see the small children
μόνο ψόπο και στουδόπα / Όλο ψυχή και κόκαλα / Mere soul and bones
Θε μ’ για χάλασον τον κόσμο / Θεέ μου, χάλασε τον κόσμο / My God, destroy the world
και να χτίσας την αρχή / Και φτιάξε τον απ' την αρχή / And build it again from start

She also suggested you might want to hear the songs Της τρίχας το γεφύρι with Amalgamation, and Την πατρίδα μ' έχασα.

Την πατρίδα μ' έχασα
έκλαψα και πόνεσα
λύουμε κι αναστορώ
ν' ανασπάλω κε πορώ

 

[Theseus]

Τhat makes a great deal of sense:
'So, you suffered pain
In giving me birth'.

Is ντε the (unlikely) Turkish word or the Pontic for δε(ν);

Thanks so much for all this help, AoratiMelani. At least I made some sense of it! Please thank your friend profoundly for this detailed help!

I now can translate this verse:-

Εγώ για τ'εσέν και μόνον I for you only
σύρω τη σεβντάς τον πόνον endure the pain of heartache
το κιφάλι μ' σο μαξιλάρ' my head is on the pillow
ο νους ιμ εν 'σο δρόμον my thoughts in the street.:):)

 

[AoratiMelani]

Νο, ντε is "what". Ντε φτας; is a common greeting, literally "what are you doing?" meaning "how are you?"

 

[Theseus]

Sorry, you replied before I could! Ντε therefore is another form of ντο.:) It is worth knowing the name of your friend. She should post this translation into English online.

 

[AoratiMelani]

Actually, I think it is ντο, not ντε. I believe I was misled by your writing, as I don't know the language. I think it may actually be ντ' έσυρες, ντ' εφτάς.

My friend is not very handy internet-wise. She dictated the Greek version to me and I translated it into English.

 

[Theseus]

I only submitted the version that I found at Σον Θεό εφταίγω τάμα στίχοι. Its transcriptions are so often wrong. It is obviously ντ' εσυσρές. Thanks to you both for your help. I have learnt a great deal about Pontic Greek. It is all grist to the mill! Νερό στον γλωσσολογικό μου μύλο.....;:)

 

[AoratiMelani]

I only submitted the version that I found at Σον Θεό εφταίγω τάμα στίχοι.

Of course, I should have known. The thing with Pontic Greek is that it is mostly spoken, rarely written, so people are not accustomed to the written forms and often get them wrong.

 

[Theseus]

AoratMelani, I have heard them both and can understand them both! I heard Της τρίχας το γεφύρι with Amalgamation, and Την πατρίδα μ' έχασα with Şevval Şam. She has a fantastic voice but there is a problem with her recording; before the song begins she sings something different which sounds like a mixture of Pontic and Νέα Ελληνικά. Can you make any sense of it, just the γενικό νόημα. Here is the recording:

And here is someone's transcript of her preamble:

ωωω εσύ είσαι τεμον η ψυν, αν χάνω σε θα χάμε, ωωω έλα σον κόσμο κε'βρηκα τη σεβνταλουκ ντε φταμε, ωωω λελέβω σε λελέβω σε και σεβνταλέσα κι'είσαι... (το τελευταίο το χάνω λόγω του ότι είναι τουρκόφωνη και δεν το καταλαβαίνω καθαρά
Does it make any vague sense?:)

 

[AoratiMelani]

My friend says she cannot make anything of the second and the last verse. This may be a different dialect than the one spoken in her village. Here are the other verses, however.

Εσύ 'σαι τ' εμόν η ψυν / Εσύ είσαι η δική μου ψυχή / You are my soul
αλλά σ' εσέν θα χάμε / αλλά για σένα θα χαθώ / but I will lose myself to you
έλα κι ο κόσμον με γρικά / έλα, κι ο κόσμος να μην καταλάβει/ come, though they may not understand
το σεβνταλούκ θα εφτάμε / την αγάπη θα κάνουμε (=θα αγαπηθούμε) / we shall love each other
λελεύω σε, λελεύω σε / να σε χαρώ, να σε χαρώ / you are a joy to me
και σεβνταλίσα κ' είσαι / αγαπητικιά δεν είσαι / you are not my mistress
αφήντσ' εμέν' το παλικάρ / αφήνεις εμένα το παλικάρι / you leave me, the lad
και μαναχέσα κείσαι / και μόνη σου κοιμάσαι / and you sleep alone

EDIT: I just completed the missing verses, following a phone call from my friend.

 

[Theseus]

A brilliant reply. The transcript was very poor but the translateble part that your friend could make sense of clearly gives the γενικό νόημα. A big thank you to bοth of you for your help!:) I don't know why Şevval Sam had to add these words. They are not really relevant. It is ironic that the song was sung by a Turkish music and film star about a Turkish massacre!

 

[AoratiMelani]

I just added the missing verses, following a phone call from my friend. She says the singer does not speak Pontic very well. She also suggests you listen to this version of the song. When I have more time to spare, I'll make the transcript and translation.

 

[Theseus]

Wow, thank you both so much. Şevval Sam must have memorised the initial words poorly. It's therefore probable that she doesn't speak Pontic. Thank you both for all this help!:):)

 

[Theseus]

Here is the transcript:-

Την πατρίδαμ’ έχασα, /Την πατρίδα μου έχασα
έκλαψα και πόνεσα./έκλαψα και πόνεσα
Λιγούμαι κι αροθυμώ, όι όι /λιπούμαι και νοσταλγώ, όι όι
ν’ ανασπάλω κι επορώ./να ξεχάσω δεν μπορώ

Ρεφραίν:
Μίαν κι άλλο ’σην ζωή μ’ /Άλλη μια φορά στη ζωή μου
σο πεγάδι μ’ σην αυλή μ’ /στο πηγάδι μου στην αυλή μου
Νέροπον ας έπινα, όι όι /Να έπινα νερό, όι όι
και τ’ ομμάτα μ’ έπλυνα. /και να έπλυνα τα μάτια μου.

Τά ταφία μ’ έχασα/Έχασα τους τάφους μου
ντ’ έθαψα κι ενέσπαλα /αυτούς που έθαψα και δεν ξέχασα.
Τ’ εμετέρτς αναστορώ, όι όι /Θυμάμαι τους δικούς μο, όι όι
και ’ς σο ψυόπο μ’ κουβαλώ./και στην ψυχή μου τους κουβαλώ.

Ρεφραίν...

Εκκλησίας έρημα, /Εκκλησίες έρημες,
μοναστήρα ακάντηλα,/μοναστήρια χωρίς καντήλια,
πόρτας και παράθυρα, όι όι/πόρτες και παράθυρα, όι όι
επέμναν ακρόνυχτα/έμειναν ορθάνοιχτα.

Translation:-

I lost my homeland,
I cried and felt pain.
I'm crying and I'm longing, oh oh
I can't forget.

Refrain:
Another time in my life
in my well, in my yard.
I wild be drinking water, oh oh
and washing my eyes.

I lost my graves
the people I buried but I didn't forget.
I remember my people, oh oh
and I'm carrying them in my soul.

Refrain

Empty churches,
monasteries without candles
doors and windows, oh oh
are left wide open.

 

[Theseus]

The interpretation of Την πατρίδα μ' έχασα by Μαυροθάλασσα was harrowing and heart-rending. Despite the Turkish denial of the Pontic genocide 'the Allies of World War I condemned the Ottoman government-sponsored massacres as crimes against humanity. More recently, the International Association of Genocide Scholars passed a resolution in 2007 recognising the Ottoman campaign against Christian minorities of the Empire, including the Greeks, as genocide (γενοκτονία)'. In spite of the clear evidence, officialdom in Turkey denies that it was 'genocide'.

 

[SBE]

I think Theseus your last post explains why you should not venture to interpretations by artists of the other side. Nine times out of ten, they would not have the same authenticity.

 

[Theseus]

Yes, you're right. And when pain and genocide is used as a form of entertainment and ego-boosting, a song is even less authentic... BTW, here is another example of me working from a bad text. ντ' εσυρές is sung not ντε συρές, but I couldn't be expected to work that out. I'm fascinated with the similarities of Pontic with Ancient Greek. And the negative in Pontic is κε, from όχι pronouncing the κ as if it is k-h /kʰ/as in Ancient Greek i.e. not as in modern Greek, where χ has become like the ch in the Scottish 'loch' [x] before broad vowels.

 

[SBE]

It is ironic that the song was sung by a Turkish music and film star about a Turkish massacre!

Isn't that the definition of cultural appropriation?