by Ivo Andrić
armour, Fata was seated on a horse and led into the town. Meanwhile, in the
courtyard, horses were loaded with the chests containing her trousseau. The
marriagewasannouncedinthecourthousebeforethe kadi. Sowaskepttheword by which Avdaga gave his daughter to Mustajbeg's son. Then the little
processionsetoutonthewaytoNezukewheretheformalweddingceremonies
hadbeenprepared.
Theypassedthroughthemarketplace,apartofthatroadwithoutescapewhich
Fatahadcoveredsoofteninherthoughts.Itwasfirm,realandeveryday,almost
easiertotraversethaninherimagination.
Nostars,noexpanse,nofather'smuffledcough,nodesirefortime to go more
quicklyormoreslowly.Whentheyreachedthebridge,thegirlfeltoncemore,as
in the summer nights before her window, every part of her body strongly and
separately, and especially her breasts in a light constriction as if in a corselet.
Thepartyarrivedonthe kapia. Asshehaddonesomanytimesinherthoughts
thoselastnights,thegirlleantoverandinawhisperbeggedtheyoungestbrother
whowasridingbesidehertoshortenherstirrupsalittle,fortheywerecomingto
thatsteeppassagefromthebridgedowntothestonytrackwhichledtoNezuke.
They stopped, first those two and then, a little farther on, the other wedding
guests.Therewasnothingunusualinthis.Itwasnotthefirstnorwoulditbethe
last time that a wedding procession halted on the kapia. While the brother
dismounted, went around the horse and threw the reins over his arm, the girl
urged her horse to the very edge of the bridge, put her right foot on the stone parapet,sprangfromthesaddleasifshehadwings,leaptovertheparapetand
threwherselfintotheroaringriverbelowthebridge.Thebrotherrushedafterher
andthrewhimselfatfulllengthontheparapet,managingtotouchwithhishand
the flying veil but was unable to hold it. The rest of the wedding guests leapt
fromtheirhorseswiththemostextraordinarycriesandremainedalongthestone
parapetinstrangeattitudesasiftheytoohadbeenturnedtostone.
Thatsamedayrainfellbeforeevening,abundantandexceptionallycoldforthe
time of year. The Drina rose and grew angry. Next day the yellowish flood
waters threw Fata's corpse on to a shoal near Kalata. There it was seen by a
fisherman who went at once to notify the police chief. A little later the police
chief himself arrived with the muktar, the fisherman and Salko Corkan. For
withoutSalkonothingofthissortcouldevertakeplace.
Thecorpsewaslyinginsoftwetsand.Thewavesmovedittoandfroandfrom
time to time their cloudy waters washed over it. The new black veil which the
waters had not succeeded in pulling off had been turned back and thrown over
herhead;mingledwithherlongthickhairitformedastrangeblackmassbeside
thewhitelovelybodyoftheyounggirlfromwhichthecurrenthadtornawaythe
thin wedding garments. Frowning and with set jaws Salko and the fisherman waded out to the shoal, caught hold of the naked girl and, embarrassed and
carefully, as if she were still alive, took her to the bank from the wet sand in whichshehadalreadybeguntosink,andthereatoncecoveredherwiththewet
andmudbespatteredveil.
ThatsamedaythedrownedgirlwasburiedinthenearestMoslemgraveyard,on
thesteepslopebelowthehillonwhichVeljeLugwasbuilt.Andbeforeevening
the ne'er-do-wells of the town had collected in the inn around Salko and the
fisherman with that unhealthy and prurient curiosity which is especially
developed among those whose life is empty, deprived of every beauty and
lackinginexcitementandevents.Theytoastedtheminplumbrandyandoffered
them tobacco in order to hear some detail about the corpse and the burial. But
nothinghelped.EvenSalkosaidnothing.Hesmokedcontinuouslyandwithhis
onebrighteyelookedatthesmokewhichheblewasfarawayaspossiblefrom
him with strong puffs. Only those two, Salko and the fisherman, looked at one
another from time to time, lifted their little flasks in silence as if pledging
somethinginvisibleanddrainedthematagulp.
Thusitwasthatthatunusualandunheardofeventtookplaceonthe kapia. Velje
LugdidnotgodowntoNezukeandAvdaga'sFataneverbecamethewifeofa
Hamzić.
Avdaga Osmanagić never again went down into the town. He died that same
winter, suffocated by his cough, without speaking a word to anyone of the
sorrowthathadkilledhim.
The next spring Mustajbeg Hamzić married his son to another girl, from
Brankovići.
For some time the townspeople talked about the incident and then began to
forget it. All that remained was a song about a girl whose beauty and wisdom
shoneabovetheworldasifitwereimmortal.
IX
Some seventy years after the Karageorge insurrection war broke out again in
Serbia and the frontier reacted by rebellion. Once more Turkish and Serbian
housesflamedontheheights,atZlijeba,Gostilje,CrniceandVeletovo.Forthe
firsttimeaftersomanyyearstheheadsofdecapitatedSerbsagainappearedon
the kapia. Thesewerethin-facedshort-hairedpeasantheadswithbonyfacesand
longmoustaches,asthoughtheywerethesameasthoseexposedseventyyears
before. But all this did not last long. As soon as the war between Serbia and
Turkey ended, the people were again left in peace. It was, in truth, an uneasy
peace which concealed many fearful and exciting rumours and anxious
whisperings.Moreandmoredefinitelyandopenlywastheretalkoftheentryof
theAustrianarmyintoBosnia.Atthebeginningofthesummerof1878unitsof
theregularTurkisharmypassedthroughthetownontheirwayfromSarajevoto
Priboj. The idea spread that the Sultan would cede Bosnia without a struggle.
SomefamiliesmadereadytomoveintotheSanjak,amongstthemsomeofthose
who thirty years before, not wishing to live under Serbian rule, had fled from
Uzice and who were now once again preparing to flee from another and new
Christian rule. But the majority stayed, awaiting what was to come in painful
uncertaintyandoutwardindifference.
AtthebeginningofJulythe mufti ofPlevljearrivedwithasmallbodyofmen,
filledwithagreatresolvetoorganizeresistanceinBosniaagainsttheAustrians.
A fair-haired serious man of calm appearance but fiery temperament, he sat on
the kapia where,onelovelysummer'sday,hesummonedtheTurkishleadersof
the town and began to incite them to fight against the Austrians. He assured
themthatthegreaterpartoftheregulararmywouldremaininBosniadespiteits
ordersandwouldjoinwiththepeopletoopposethenewconqueror,andcalled
on the young men to join
him and the townspeople to send provisions to
Sarajevo. The muîti knew that the people of Višegrad had never had the
reputationofbeingenthusiasticfightersandthattheypreferredtolivefoolishly
ratherthantodiefoolishly,buthewasnonethelesssurprisedatthelukewarm
responsethatheencountered.Unabletocontrolhimselfanylongerhethreatened
them with the justice of the people and the anger of God, and then left his
assistantOsmanEffendiKaramanlitogoonconvincingthepeopleofVišegrad
oftheneedfortheirparticipationinageneralinsurrection.
Duringthediscussionswiththe mufti, thegreatestresistancehadbeenshownby
AlihodjaMutevelić.Hisfamilywasoneoftheoldestandmostrespectedinthe town. They had never been noted for their fortune, but rather for their honesty
and openness. They had always been reckoned obstinate men, but not
susceptible to bribes, intimidation, flattery or any other consideration of lower
type. For more than 200 years the oldest member of their family had been
the mutevelia, theguardianandadministratorofMehmedPasha'sfoundationin
thetown.HelookedafterthefamousStoneHannearthebridge.Wehaveseen
how, after the loss of Hungary, the Stone Han lost the revenues on which it
depended for its upkeep and by force of circumstances became a ruin. Of the
Vezir'sfoundationthereremainedonlythebridge,apublicbenefitwhichdidnot
require special maintenance and brought in no revenue. So there remained for
theMutevelićsonlytheirfamilynameasaproudmemorialofthecallingwhich
they had honourably carried out for so many years. That calling had in fact
ceased at the time when Dauthodja had succumbed in his struggle to maintain
theStoneHan,butthepridehadremainedandwithitthetraditionalcustomthat
the Mutevelić family was called upon above all others to look after the bridge
and that it was in some way responsible for its fate, since the bridge was an
integralpartofthegreatreligiousfoundationwhichthefamilyhadadministered
andwhichhadsopitiablydriedup.Alsobylongestablishedcustomoneofthe
Mutevelićfamilywenttoschoolandbelongedtothe ulema, thelearnedbodyof
the Moslem clergy. Now it was Alihodja. Otherwise the family had greatly
diminishedbothinnumbersandproperty.Theynowhadonlyafewserfsanda
shop, which they had kept for a long time past, in the best position in the
marketplace,quiteclosetothebridge.TwoelderbrothersofAlihodjahaddied
inthewars,oneinRussiaandtheotherinMontenegro.
Alihodjahimselfwasstillayoungman,lively,healthyandsmiling.Likeareal
Mutevelić he held contrary opinions in everything, defending them tenaciously
and sticking to them obstinately. Because of his outspoken nature and
independenceofhisthoughthewasfrequentlyatoddswiththelocal ulema and
theMoslemnotables.Hehadthetitleandrankof hodja but neither carried out
any of the duties of that office nor received any income from that calling. In
order to be as independent as possible, he himself looked after the shop which
hadbeenleftbyhisfather.
Like the majority of the Višegrad Moslems, Alihodja too was opposed to any
armed resistance. But in his case there could be no question of cowardice or
religious lukewarmness. He loathed the foreign Christian power and all that it
wouldbringwithitasmuchasthe mufti oranyoftheinsurgents.Butseeingthat
the Sultan had in fact left Bosnia at the mercy of the Schwabes (for so they called the Austrians) and knowing his fellow-citizens, he was opposed to any
disorganizedpopularresistancewhichcouldonlyendindisasterandmaketheir
misfortunethegreater.Whenoncethisideawasfirmlyimplantedinhismind,he
preacheditopenlyanddefendeditwithspirit.Onthisoccasiontoohekepton
asking awkward questions and made sarcastic comments which greatly
disconcerted the mufti. Thus unintentionally he sustained among the people of Višegrad, who in any case would not have been so swift to battle or much
inclinedtomakesacrifices,aspiritofopenresistanceagainstthe mufti's warlike
intentions.
When Osman Effendi Karamanli remained in the town to continue his
discussions with the people, he found himself faced with Alihodja. Those few
begsandagaswhoswallowedtheirwordsandmeasuredtheirphrasesandwho
in fact were in complete agreement with Alihodja left it to the sincere and
ebullient hodja tocomeintotheopenandenterintoconflictwithKaramanli.
Thus early one evening the leading Višegrad Turks were sitting on
the kapia, cross-leggedinacircle.InthecentrewasOsmanEffendi,atallthin
paleman.Everymuscleofhisfacewasunnaturallyset,hiseyeswerefeverish
andhisforeheadandcheeksmarkedalloverwithscarslikeanepileptic.Before
him stood the hodja, reddish in face and small in stature, yet somehow
impressive,askingmoreandmorequestionsinhisthinreedyvoice.Whatforces
hadthey?Whereweretheytogo?Withwhatmeans?How?Whatfor?Whatwill
happenincaseoffailure?Thecoldandalmostmischievouspedantrywithwhich
the hodja treated the matter only served to conceal his own anxiety and
bitternessattheChristiansuperiorityandtheevidentweaknessanddisorderof
the Turks. But the hot-headed and sombre Osman Effendi was not the man to
notice or understand such things. Of violent and uncontrolled temper, a fanatic
with overstrung nerves, he quickly lost patience and control and attacked
the hodja at every sign of doubt or wavering as if he were a Schwabe.
This hodja irritated him and he replied to him only with generalities and big words. The main thing was not to allow the foe to enter the country without
resistance,andwhoeveraskedtoomanyquestionsonlyhinderedthegoodwork
and aided the enemy. In the end, completely beside himself, he replied with
scarcelyconcealeddisdaintoeveryquestionofthe hodja:'Thetimehascometo
die','Wewilllaydownourlives','Weshallalldietothelastman'.
'But,' broke in the hodja, 'I understood that you wanted to drive the Schwabes outofBosniaandthatwasthereasonwhyyouwerecollectingus.Ifitisonlya
question of dying, then we too know how to die, Effendi, even without your assistance.Thereisnothingeasierthantodie.'
'Ama, Icanseethatyouwillnotbeoneofthosewhodie,'brokeinKaramanli,
harshly.
'Icanseethatyouwillbeone,'answeredthe hodja sarcastically,'onlyIdonot
seewhyyouaskforourcompanyinthissenselessattempt.'
TheconversationthendegeneratedintoanopenquarrelinwhichOsmanEffendi
referred to Alihodja as a renegade, one of those traitors whose heads, like the
Serbs',shouldbeexposedonthe kapia, whilethe hodja imperturbably we
nt on splitting hairs and demanding proofs and reasons, as if he had not even heard
thosethreatsandinsults.
Indeeditwouldhavebeenhardtofindtwoworsenegotiatorsormoreunsuited
contestants. Nothing more could have been expected of them than increasing
general anxiety and the creation of one quarrel the more. That was to be
regretted,buttherewasnothingtobedoneaboutit,forsuchmomentsofsocial
upset and great inevitable change usually throw up just such men, unbalanced
andincomplete,toturnthingsinsideoutorleadthemastray.Thatisoneofthe
signsoftimesofdisorder.
None the less this barren quarrel was a boon to the begs and agas for the
questionoftheirparticipationintheinsurrectionremainedunansweredandthey
themselves were not compelled to take sides at once. Quivering with rage and
shoutinginsultsatthetopofhisvoice,OsmanEffendileftthenextdaywitha
fewofhismentofollowthe mufti toSarajevo.
The news which arrived in the course of the month only served to confirm the
agasandbegsintheiropportunistviewthatitwouldbebettertopreservetheir
town and their homes. By mid-August the Austrians entered Sarajevo. A little
later there was a disastrous clash on Glasinac, which was also the end of all
resistance. Remnants of the routed Turkish bands began to descend the steep
roadfromLijeskathroughOkolište.Amongstthemweresomeregularsoldiers
who despite the Sultan's order had joined the resistance movement of the local
insurgentsontheirownaccount.Thesoldiersonlyaskedforbreadandwaterand
thewayontoUvac,buttheinsurgentswerebitterandangrymenwhomtherout
hadnotbroken.Blackened,dustyandinrags,theyrepliedcurtlytothequestions
ofthepeaceableVišegradTurksandmadereadytodigtrenchesanddefendthe
bridge.
Alihodja was again to the fore; he pointed out indefatigably and regardless of consequences that the town could not be defended and that resistance was
senseless since the 'Schwabes had already swept through Bosnia from end to