Ojkanje

What it is

Ojkanje is less a fixed repertoire than a technique. The sound is made low in the throat, and the Harvard Dictionary of Music describes it as a kind of melisma, a melody stretched over one syllable, with the voice trembling hard on "oj" or "hoj". Singers may perform solo, though groups are more usual. In group singing, the leader's breath decides when a piece ends. Words in the songs deal with love, politics, and matters of the village or the wider society.

Regional styles

Different districts have their own names and ways. Solo singing, called travel singing or solitary singing, is strongest in Lika and around Karlovac. Its forms include rozganje, still performed by folklore groups near Karlovac, and ustresalica from Konavle, which has died out. Two-part singing belongs more to the coast and the hinterland. Around Šibenik, Vrlika and Kijevo the group style is called ojkalica. In Ravni Kotari and Bukovica it is orzenje, which Serbian Orthodox singers call orcenje, orcanje or groktanje. Men's singing is treskavica, also called starovinsko or old-style, while vojkavica is the women's form. Near Trogir and Kaštela the same men's style is heard, and in Grebaštica, north of Primošten, people name it grgešanje. In northern Poljice the kiridžijsko style continues.

Where it is sung

Ojkanje took shape in the Dinaric mountain belt of the Balkans. Its heartland is the Dalmatian hinterland, and the steep country of Lika and the land behind the coast suited it well. Beyond that, it is known in Velebit, Kordun and around Karlovac, between the Krka and Cetina rivers in Drniška Krajina, in Ravni Kotari and Bukovica, in Cetinska Krajina between Svilaja and Moseč, and inland from Trogir and Kaštela. Movement of people in the 16th and 17th centuries probably carried it to the Adriatic islands, and Bunjevci who left for Vojvodina and Hungary took it with them. Similar polyphonic singing lives on nearby: ganga in Herzegovina and inland Dalmatia, and izvika around Zlatibor in Serbia.

Keeping it going

Ojkanje travelled from one generation to the next, with younger singers learning face to face from older, skilled ones. Rural life changed sharply in the last century, young people moved to towns, and the singing declined. Folklore societies now perform it. KUD Promina of Oklaj was started by five local people and appeared in a UNESCO video. UNESCO also names Sveta Magareta near Karlovac, Gacka of Ličko Lešće, Radovin, and Sveti Nikola Tavelić of Lišane Ostrovičke. Serb groups from Kordun, among them KUD Petrova Gora in Belgrade and KUD Kordun in Inđija, perform across Serbia.

History and recognition

Ojkanje thrived among country people in the Dinaric region. Ivan Lovrić, writing in the 18th century, listed it as part of Morlach culture. In the early 1900s the Croatian Peasant Party's charitable wing ran folklore festivals for rural traditions, and through the 1920s and 1930s dancing, music and regional costume were shown, with ojkanje as a valued addition. Croatia's Ministry of Culture put the singing forward in 2008, and UNESCO inscribed it in 2010 as heritage in need of urgent protection. Serbia added it to its national register of intangible heritage in 2012.

How Ojkanje is kept

Singers learn by ear from those who already sing, and ojkanje is heard where people gather. One person may sing alone, but the shared form is two or more voices together. The leader's breath decides when a piece ends. The shaking sits on the syllables "oj" or "hoj". Songs speak of love, politics and local concerns. Today the singing appears at folklore festivals, cultural events and public performances, and Croatian television has broadcast programmes about the groups and about bringing the practice back among young people.

When and where

Ojkanje is not tied to one day or season. It belongs to gatherings and to the occasions when people sang together or alone, alone being the form known as travel or solitary singing. Today it is heard at folklore festivals and cultural events held through the year in Croatia and Serbia.

Croatia is home to ojkanje, and the Dalmatian hinterland is its strongest ground. Lika, Velebit, Kordun and the Karlovac area keep it too. Emigration carried it outward: groups now sing in western Serbia, Serbia listed the singing nationally in 2012, and some groups are found in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

What Ojkanje means

For the communities that keep it, ojkanje is not just a song but a way of sounding together, and the shaking voice carries feeling that plain speech cannot. The Harvard Dictionary of Music notes the style, and UNESCO's recognition in 2010 placed it among traditions said to need urgent protection. Singers describe the sound as coming from deep in the throat, and the songs carry love, local concerns and politics.

Questions people ask about Ojkanje

See also

LinđoA circle dance from Dubrovnik played to the lijerica, where a leader sets the rhythm and calls the steps.LipizzanerA gray riding horse breed and centuries-old tradition of classical dressage kept by the Spanish Riding School.KlapaUnaccompanied harmony singing from Dalmatia, built by groups of friendsHoraA circle dance from Southeast Europe, danced at weddings and festivals

Good reading and sources

• Browse the Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Register of good safeguarding practicesUNESCO, Heritage listing
• Browse the Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Register of good safeguarding practicesUNESCO, Article

• Ojkanje on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.