The riddle

The riddle

“Uganka” is the Slovenian word for riddle, derived from the verb; uganiti, to guess. The riddle is designed to test or give amusement in discovering the answer or meaning.  A concise definition of the riddle is "a short text for entertainment, amusement, a witty description of an object or a phenomenon, which must be guessed", in the Dictionary of Slovenian Literary Language (1994). 

The riddle is an ancient phenomenon shared by manifold cultures, included in the ethnographic study of folklore. It is a puzzle presented as a statement or question to be solved. It occurs as a popular form in texts of ancient Egypt and manuscripts in Old English, ancient Greek, Arabic, Persian and Norse. Aristotle discusses the use of the riddle in his discussion on Rhetoric. It is recorded in early sources that the riddle apart from the play aspect, has a function and meaning as metaphor. The Hebraic Book of Proverbs states "how to understand a proverb and a figure, the words of the wise and their riddles" (Proverbs 1:5-6). Over centuries there are a few famous examples of riddles in classical works, such as Sophocles, with the riddle of the Sphinx at Delphi in “Oedipus the King”, Samson in the Book of Judges, and the plays of Shakespeare.

In Slovenia, the riddle is a living traditional and literary form of rhyming verse, written by poets and writers. It is composed as a witty and playful thought veiled in short poetic verse, first raised to a poetic level by the author Oton Župančič. He is famous for the collection of "Sto Ugank" (1915), "A Hundred Riddles".
The first to record Slovenian riddles was Marko Pohlin in a small book published in 1788, " Kratkočasne uganke in druge čudne kunšte iz bele šole Petra Kumrasa".  Oton Župančič remains especially popular for his children's poetry collection of "Ciciban" (1915). The famous series of poems of Ciciban dedicated to his first son Mark is  the most popular children's poetry. Župančič's view was that children deserve the best in literature, remarks Niko Grafenauer in his introductory essay to the collection of poetry, "Podaj mi roko, pesem" (1981). 

A selection - Forty Slovenian riddles

The riddle is cultivated as part of todays children's literature. It is a distinctive Slovenian tradition in that many authors write stories, rhymes, poems, and riddles for children. Children's literature in its various forms is an integral part of the Slovenian school curriculum, highly valued in the corpus of language and cultural heritage. The riddle appears in school text books, literary readers, and educational magazines.

An initial forty riddles chosen from the folk riddle to the present day is accompanied with English translations. The authors are amongst leading poets and writers of Slovenia. As far as we know, this is the first selection of the traditional literary form with equivalent meanings in English. Books of riddles, beautifully illustrated are regularly produced by Mladinska Knjigarna, one of the major publishing houses.

Ljudske uganke . Folk riddles

1.
Nič zob nima,
pa vendar se železo je.


Toothless,
yet ironeater.


2.
Dve vrsti belih put,
v sredi pa rdeč petelin.


Two rows of white chicks,
red rooster between.

3.
Ni bilo, ne bo,
in vendar je.


It was not,
it will not be and yet it is.


 4.
Če prideneš, je manjše,
če odvžameš, je večje.


Add, and it is smaller,
take away, and it is larger.


5.
Kadar me na noge postavijo,
po glavi hodim.


They set me on my feet
but I walk on my head.

6.
Sprva belo ko sneg,
potem zeleno ko trava,
nazadnje rdeče ko kri.
Kaj je to?


First white as snow,
then green as grass,
last red as blood.


7.
Gre, pa nima nog,
leži, pa nima postelje,
lahko je, pa vendar hiše lomi.


It goes, but has no feet,
it lies, but has no bed,
it is light, yet breaks up houses.


Valentin Vodnik   (1758-1819)


8.
Brez ust govorim,
nezastopnim molčim.


Without a mouth I speak,
to those who don’t understand, I am silent.


9.
Pomlad; dišim, poleti hladim,
jesen redim, pozim gorim.


Spring; I am fragrant, in summer I cool,
in autumn I sustain, in winter I burn.


Josip Stritar   (1836-1923)


10.
Ko sonce posije prav to kažem,
ko mesec sveti, lažem.


When the sun shines I tell you this,
when the moon is bright, I lie.


11.
Dan na dan grem čez morje,
pa ne zmočim si noge.


Day after day I go across the sea,
yet I don’t wet my feet.

Oton Župančič   (1878-1949)


12.
Zlato valovje okrog in okrog;
bredem do pasa, ne zmočim si nog.


Golden waves around and around;
I wade to my waist, yet keep my feet dry.


13.
Srebrna, srebrna košarica,
v njej zlata, prezlata zarjica;
na glavo zadela jo deklica,
Poljančeva Marjetica.


Silver, silver tiny basket,
in it golden, golden tiny sunset,
on the head of a tiny maiden,
Marguerite Fielding.


14.
Noge v blatu,
glava v zlatu.


Feet in mud,
head in gold.


15.
Bela nožica,
zelena devica,
glavo je sklonila,
lase razpustila.

White little foot,
green little maiden,
bowed her head,
let down her hair.


16.
Na strehi poseda,
pa v kuhinjo gleda.


On the roof it sits,
into the kitchen it looks.

17.

Pet sinov iz ene hiše,

pa se vsak drugace piše.

Five sons of the same house,

each with a different name.

18.

 Zvezde zlate lete čez trate.

Golden stars fly over the meadows.

19.

Bela golobica, črn vran, krog zemlje se lovita.

White dove, black raven, play catch around the earth.

Matej Bor   (1913-1956)

20.

Obesili so ga, po njem bijo,

a kaj mu mar - on poje vam glasno.

They hanged him, struck him,

for all he cares – he sings to you with all his might.

21.

 Bleste se bolj kot biseri,

a vidiš jih samo v temi.

They sparkle more than pearls,

yet you see them only in the dark.

22.

Nosiš ga, hkrati pa v njem stojiš,

malce pomisli, pa pogodiš.

You carry him, you stand on him,

think awhile, and  you’ll get it.

Mile Klopčič   (1905-1984)

23.

Trdo je in v zemlji,

a vendar ni kamen,

črno je, a rdeče,

če vrzeš v plamen.

It is hard and in the earth,

yet not a stone,

black it is, yet red,

if you fling it into the flame.

Jože Šmit   (1922-2004)

24.

Po dolinah, po vzpetinah,

skoz gore in čez vode,

kamor hočemo, nas vodi,

sama z nami pa ne hodi.

Over dale. and over dell,

through the mountains, and over water,

wherever we will, it guides us,

yet it does not come along with us.

Črtomir Šinkovec   (1914-1983)

25.

Bela njiva - pa ni ajda,

črno seme - pa ni mak,

kdor to seme rad prebira,

bo morda še učenjak.

White field – yet not buckwheat,

Black seed - yet not poppy,

Whoever likes to pick over this seed,

Will be, maybe a scholar.

26.

Čista in prozorna tečem v vse domove,

včasih nepokorna skočim čez bregove.

Clear and limpid I run into all the homes,

sometimes rebellious I spring over the banks.

Vlasta Tavčar  1948 -

27.

Okrogla strešica nam glavo varuje,

kadar sneži in kadar dežuje.

A round little roof guards our heads,

when it snows and when it rains.

28.

Ptičice črne v črtovju stojijo.

molčijo, a kažejo ti - melodijo.

Tiny black birds stand in the lines.

Silent, yet they you show you - the melody.

Branko Žužek   (1921-2001)

29.

Igla igriva nikoli ne šiva,

le pota nam znana in nova odkriva.

Playful needle never sews,

it only paths known and unknown uncovers.

Niko Grafenauer   1940 -

30.

Po zraku leta,

z rokami opleta,

rohni in melje,

čez hrib nas pelje.

Through the air it flies,

with its arms flapping,

roaring and grinding,

it carries us over hills.

31.

Iz slik in besed

v skrinji ujet

pisani svet.

From images and words

Caught in the box

Is a colourful world.

32.

Tri očesa, en pogled,

pa ustavi ves promet.

Three eyes, one glance,

all traffic stopped.

33.

Glas prenaša sem in tja,

ne izbrusi si peta.

Back and forth it carries sound,

but its heels are never worn out.

Mira Voglar   1935 -

34.

Čisto tiho in skrivaj

je prišla v naš kraj.

Barvic brez števila nosi

in na lističe jih trosi.

Silent and stealthy

she came to our village.

Carrying countless colours

sprinkling on tiny leaves.

Janez Bitenc   (1925-2005)

35.

Priplesale so z neba

in popadale na tla.

Vso noč so preprogo tkale,

v belem jutru so zaspale.

Dancing they came from the sky,

and fell on the earth.

All night long they wove the carpet,

in the white morning they slept.

36.

Vseh dobrot je polna,

vselej druge pita,

sama pa nikoli ni bila še sita.

It’s full of good things,

ever feeding others,

yet never sated herself.

37.

Iskra mogočna švigne v drevo,

strese se zemlja, strese nebo.

A mighty spark shoots into the tree,

shaking the earth, shaking the sky.

Tamara Laganin

38.

Kdo je?

Ne tič ne miš,

v temni jami ga dobiš,

s kremplji stropa se drži,

z glavo proti tlom zaspi.

Who is it?

Not bird, not mouse,

you find it in a dark cave,

with claws it grasps the ceiling,

with head towards the floor, it sleeps.

Vojan T. Arhar

39.

Zaprta molčim, odprta učim,

odkrivam skrivnost, lepoto, modrost.

Closed I am silent, open I teach,

I reveal the mystery, beauty and wisdom.

Jurij Kovič

40.

Poznam čudnega strica:

kot blisk klobuk zna sneti,

čeprav ti piha v lica,

ne moreš ga prijeti.

I know a strange uncle:

in a flash he takes your hat,

though he blows into your face,

he can’t be caught.

 Solutions

1. rja - rust

2. zobje in jezik - teeth and tongue

3. današnji dan - today

4. jama - cave

5. žebelj - nail

6. češnja - cherry

7. sneg - snow

8. knjiga - book

9. jablana - apple-tree

10. sončna ura - sun-dial

11. sonce - sun

12. zrelo žito - ripe wheat

13. rosa - dew

14. pšenica - wheat

15. breza – birch tree

16. dimnik - chimney

17. prsti - fingers

18. kresnica - firefly

19. noč in dan - night and day

20. zvon - bell

21. zvezde - stars

22. čevelj - shoe

23. premog - coal

24. cesta - street

25. knjiga - book

26. voda - water

27. dežnik - umbrella

28. note - notes

29. kompas - compass

30. helikopter - helicopter

31. televizor - television

32. semafor - traffic lights

33. telefon - telephone

34. jesen - autumn

35. snežinke - snowflakes

36. žlica - spoon

37. strela - lightning

38. netopir - bat

39. knjiga - book

40. veter - wind

Selection and translation into English: Sandi Ceferin, Melbourne, 2008

Sources:
Glazer, Alenka, Oton Župančič, Mehurčki in Petdeset Ugank, Mladinska Knjiga, Ljubljana, 1980
Grafenauer, Niko, ed, Oton Župančič - Podaj mi roko, pesem, Mladinska Knjiga, Ljubljana, 1981
Jezernik, Marija, Vesele uganke, Slomškova družba, Ljubljana, 1939
Petkovšek, Darinka, Slovenske Uganke, First edition, Mladinska Knjiga, Ljubljana, 1978
Zorec, Marjeta, Šviga, švaga, čez dva praga, Mladinska Knjiga, Ljubljana, 1999
Dela Otona Župančiča, II. Knjiga, Mladinska Knjiga, Ljubljana, 1967