Tag Archives: croatian proverb

Ako Bog Da (Croatian Folk Saying)

Nationality: Croatian American
Age: 86
Occupation: Retired Former Military, Catholic Teacher
Residence: Bay Area, California
Performance Date: April 25th, 2021
Primary Language: English
Language: Some Croatian, Russian, German

Informant Context:

Ace’s grandparents immigrated to America from modern-day Croatia around the year 1912. They lived in the Midwest, and later permanently settled in Richmond, California, where many Slavic families—particularly those of Croatian and Serbian descent—lived together, working in the coal mines and on the docks during the Great Depression and into the Second World War. Ace recalls the families engaging in political arguments, singing traditional songs on stringed instruments, and navigating linguistic and cultural obstacles in America.

The interviewer met with Ace at his Bay Area home, where he returned after serving in the military during the 1950’s. 

Transcript:

INTERVIEWER: So, there were these little phrases that are either… Croatian, or… kind of, mutated Croatian? Over the years that, um…

ACE: Mu-*Mutilated* Croatian. 

INTERVIEWER: Oh! [Both laugh] That, that um… that we were talking about a little bit before we started recording—of um… just kind of like, family sayings? Do you remember any of those in, in your family? 

ACE: Yes.

INTERVIEWER: Kind of, what they sounded like and approximate translations? 

ACE: One of the things that they said every day… “Ako bog da”: “If it’s God’s will”.

INTERVIEWER: Oh, interesting…

ACE: That’s all you lived your life. 

INTERVIEWER: Yeah.

ACE: “Ako bog da”. It’s not about your goals [begins laughing] and plans–

INTERVIEWER: [begins laughing] Yeah.

ACE: –and whatever! You know, a-and I, and I thought that was an [unintelligible]teresting [dimension of it (?)] They, they… they, they never thought about the idea of, you know, uh, striving to become successful. 

INTERVIEWER: Interesting, yeah.

ACE: Yeah. Their whole life was [shrugs] “Ako bog da”! If God wants to give you children, you’ll have children. If you don’t, you don’t. If he wants you to have… more money, you’ll have more money. You know? Uh, you work hard. You… you know, you honor—you follow the ten commandments. [Yes(?)] so you want to—you got to remember the difference between Protestantism and Catholicism is… [You(?)] Catholicism lives by a set of rules, you know?

INTERVIEWER: Mhm.

ACE: Protestantism takes the position, “Well, you know, once I… I have Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior—um, you know—and I believe that, you know, [hand knocks table, microphone]I… that… his grace and, you know, go through all the theological points. Uh, the significant difference is that Catholicism says that “Yes, you’re“… there is this idea of being saved. Uh, I *was* saved, I *am* saved, I am *being* saved [hand knocks table, mic]. It is a progressive process in Catholicism. 

INTERVIEWER: Mhm.

ACE: So, you know, “Ako bog da”. [both chuckle] “If God wills it”. You know, you don’t tell God you’re saved. He tells *you*. [begins laughing]

Informant Commentary:

Throughout his interview, Ace related Croatian practices to the prevalence of Catholicism in the Croatian culture. Many of the arguments he recalls between the Croatian and Serbian families living in Richmond were rooted in either politics or religion (particularly a split between Orthodox Christianity and Catholicism). This suggests that Ace recognizes religion as both a force for unity and a force for conflict. Ace also specifically relates this folk saying to an ethos in his family. Personal ambition is always secondary to forces, usually divine, which are outside of one’s control. Therefore, the best course of action is to, as Ace says, “follow the Ten Commandments”, which flow from the same divine source.

Analysis:

Like many folk sayings, “Ako Bog Da” is a piece of implicit advice. Though the saying itself implies the fundamental uncertainty of future life events, Ace’s commentary uses this uncertainty to suggest a call to action. The fundamental uncertainty of future life events, coupled with the assertion that God wills certain events to come to pass and others not to, is meant to compel the listener to “work hard” and “follow the Ten Commandments”. Considering that Catholicism was used as a means of defining a folk in-group (Croats) and a folk out-group (Orthodox, Serbians) among Ace’s community, it is worth considering also that “Ako Bog Da” follows in the footsteps of many folk sayings, as implicit advice to continue practicing the beliefs of the folk group, and therefore maintain its discreteness from others.

Bez muke nema nauke

Nationality: Croatian
Age: 18
Occupation: student
Residence: Dubrovnik, Croatia
Performance Date: 4/23/2017
Primary Language: Croatian
Language: English

Bez muke nema nauke

Informant: MK was born in New York, but raised in Dubrovnik, Croatia. He is a senior in high school. He has an older brother, and a younger sister. While growing up our grandparents would teach us valuable life lessons and most of the time they would use a proverb in doing so. Proverbs are a huge part of our family’s culture.

 

MK heard this proverb multiple times weather it was from a family member, school teacher or even his water polo coach.

 

“Bez muke nema nauke” when translated literally means “Without suffering, there is no learning.” The English equivalent is: No pain, no gain.

 

Have you ever heard of this proverb?

 

“Of course I have, it is a common saying in our community.”

 

Does it have any meaning to you?

 

“The same it means to anyone else that lives in my community. It teaches people a lesson. It’s a valuable lesson that I ended up learning the hard way.”

 

This proverb can be used in multiple occasions in variety of fields. For an example it is most commonly used in sports and schools. In sports without pain, suffering and sacrifice there is no gain, improvement. In schools, it is said when students complain about studying; without spending hours behind a book, one wont learn

Bolje vrabac u ruci, nego golub na grani

Nationality: Croatian
Age: 18
Occupation: student
Residence: Dubrovnik, Croatia
Performance Date: 4/23/2017
Primary Language: Croatian
Language: English

Bolje vrabac u ruci, nego golub na grani

Informant: MK was born in New York, but raised in Dubrovnik, Croatia. He is a senior in high school. He has an older brother, and a younger sister. While growing up our grandparents would teach us valuable life lessons and most of the time they would use a proverb in doing so. Proverbs are a huge part of our family’s culture.

 

My informant heard this proverb from his grandfather and his teacher back in elementary school.

 

What does “bolje vrabac u ruci, nego golub na grani” mean?

 

“The literal translation is better a sparrow in a hand than a pigeon on the branch. The English equivalent of this proverb is “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” This means something you have for certain now is of more value than something better you may get, especially if you risk losing what you have in order to get it.”

 

I think this proverb has a good message to it; don’t selfishly throw away something good just because you think you deserve better. However, I also believe you should never settle. If you truly think something out there is better and you can achieve it, I say go for it. The proverb is applicable sometimes, and not others.

ko nema u glavi ima u nogama

Nationality: Croatian
Age: 18
Occupation: student
Residence: Dubrovnik, Croatia
Performance Date: 4/23/2017
Primary Language: Croatian
Language: English

Ko ne radi glavom radi nogama (ko nema u glavi ima u nogama)

Informant: MK was born in New York, but raised in Dubrovnik, Croatia. He is a senior in high school. He has an older brother, and a younger sister. While growing up our grandparents would teach us valuable life lessons and most of the time they would use a proverb in doing so. Proverbs are a huge part of our family’s culture. MK heard this proverb multiple times weather it was from family members and schoolteachers.

 

What does this proverb mean?

 

“Roughly translated it means one who doesn’t have it in his head has it in his feet. Another version of it is one who doesn’t work with his head, works with his feet.”

 

Does this proverb have any meaning to you?

 

“Yes, it does. My grandmother tells me this almost on a daily basis haha. I got so use to hearing it that it became almost like a joke between me and my grandma.”

 

The proverb explains how if you don’t think, you will have to go back to where you started and do the same thing you should’ve done already. For an example my wallet is in my room and I already left the house to go for lunch, I have to go back home (work my legs) because I forgot it (didn’t think). All in all the proverb is clever and like most of them it teaches a lesson.