The story behind the picture

Most pictures tell a story of some kind. Some of the pictures are created just to evoke a certain emotion. Still, the most of them do both things, for the emotion goes with the story, especially with a good one. Beside the known, visible story every picture has a hidden and untold story, too. It is  a story of its genesis.  The story of the picture’s creation is often not exciting enough and therefore it is doomed to stay in the shadow of the main story. Yet, some of these background stories appear to be worth telling.

The Story of Baba Dojda (Granny Doyda) – Part 1

The main story;

“ Baba Dojda lived on the slopes of the mountain called Vitorog, in Bosnia. There, a long time ago, her mother, who was a woman of small proportions, and her father, a dwarf from the mountain Rudnik, were struck by a sudden death, while trying to escape the Ottoman Turks. The little girl, whose name nobody knew, grew up among the forest  animals and birds. Later on people would call her Dojda,  by the sound dojda – dojda (come-come) which she was making when calling the animals. Many years later they would add Baba (Granny) to her name, as well. Baba Dojda knew the hidden secrets of the plants and the mountain springs,and their healing powers. Using this knowledge she helped sick and wounded animals, without making the distinction between the wild and the domestic ones. It was told that Baba Dojda occasionally helped women too, especially the pregnant ones. People who saw her said she was small, hunchbacked and somehow appearing to be gray; she could laugh quite infectiously though. When she laughed everything around her would became jolly and started to grow exuberantly, and because of that many thought she was a witch.”

From the book Prognana bića  ( Banished Demons ), chapter Dwarfs.

Story Baba Dojda written by Petar Meseldžija

Text edited by Milenko Bodirogić

Text Copyright © Petar Meseldžija, 2010

The story of Baba Dojda – Part 2, in the next post…