Tuesday, November 3, 2026 · 天火 · tianmu.org
Kopernicki — Polish Romani Tales and Songs
Polish Romani tales and songs that Izydor Kopernicki took down among the Romani of southern Poland in 1875–77, printed in Kraków in 1930 with his French translation, here translated from the Romani, each printed with its Romani text.
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Texts
11 — The Two Brothers, the Clever One and the FoolA Polish Romani tale of two brothers, one clever and one a fool: after they cheat a rich peasant with their dead mother, the clever one blinds the fool for bread and leaves him under a gallows, where the fool overhears three devils, wins back his eyes and a fortune by their secrets, and the clever brother who goes there after him is torn apart. From Izydor Kopernicki's Textes tsiganes (Kraków, 1930), translated from the Romani.25 — The Foolish Young WifeA bawdy Polish Romani tale: a foolish girl overhears a soldier's boast and asks her father to do the same to her, and gets a beating for it; married to a man as foolish as herself, she is won by a trick with cakes and a little pan, and then takes the little pan to a smith. From Izydor Kopernicki's Textes tsiganes (Kraków, 1930), translated from the Romani.Songs 1-25The first twenty-five short songs (ghilia) of the Polish Romani that Izydor Kopernicki took down in 1875–77, with six variants and the names of their singers: going away where no one knows you, sweethearts and taverns, a mother's switch, God who strikes the wrongdoer, and drink with nothing to pay. From Izydor Kopernicki's Textes tsiganes (Kraków, 1930), translated from the Romani.