Judeo-Spanish Proverbs from Bosnia: Compilers and Their Approaches

Abstract

This article deals with four unpublished Judeo-Spanish proverb collections from post-Holocaust Bosnia that were gathered there by four different members of the Sephardic community: three men (Binjo Samokovlija, David Baruh, and Jakov Konforti) and one woman (Flora Eškenazi). I specifically examine two working techniques that these authors/collectors applied in order to safeguard and disseminate this important aspect of Sephardic oral tradition—namely, translating proverbs from Ladino to Serbo-Croatian; and the use of glosses. I argue that the choice of both techniques was conditioned by the audience for whom these proverbs were intended: translating proverbs to Serbo-Croatian aimed at accommodating the needs of the general readership in the country, while the introduction of glosses those of the Ladino-speaking Sephardim. I also examine the issue of interpreting proverbs once they appear decontextualized.