The tradition & historical record
2 min read · 2 sourcesIzvika (Serbian Cyrillic: извика, "clamor, cry out, shout"), or kajda (кајда, from Turkish "melody"), glas (глас, Slavic "voice") or naglas (наглас), arija (арија, from Italian "air"), are names for traditional biphonic and polyphonic folk singing in Serbia found in several styles, such as in the Zlatibor region in western Serbia where it is known as izvika, in Vlasotince in southeastern Serbia where it is known as izvikački, and central Serbia where it is known as iz glasa. It is part of the traditional singing in heterophonic drone vocal form. It is sung in a duet or group, by both males and females. It is inscribed in the Cultural Heritage List of Serbia. In the Zlatibor District in western Serbia, the tradition is found in villages in the municipalities of Arilje, Bajina Bašta, Ivanjica, Kosjerić, Nova Varoš, Požega, Priboj, Prijepolje, Užice and Čajetina. There are two styles in the Zlatibor region, the izvika or kajda, and the na bas ("on bass") or arija. There are specific melodies to the singing depending on event, such as žetelačke (agricultural), čobanske (shepherding), sijelske (social gathering), slavske (feast days), svadbarske (weddings), etc. A kolo folk dance, sakajdo, traditionally accompanies the singing in the Zlatibor region. 1
The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Izvika”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. 1
Izvika is recorded in open cultural data. The structured record cited below does not describe the practice, and this entry has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. 2
The source record links this tradition to 1 external register, which can be verified through the citation. 2