Your National Anthem

[Illancha]

Post your national anthem and why you think it is special.

The words of the National Anthem of Chechnya were written by author and intellectual Abuzar Aydamirov whom we regard in the same stature as the Greek Homer, English Shakespeare, French Dumas and Russian Pushkin.

What I find special about the anthem is that it describes us, the Chechen People. It does not seek to glorify a monarch or praise the land or some abstract ideal. It is dedicated to the Chechen People and reflects their temperament well.

I often find it difficult to translate from Chechen to English. I find English a bit too direct and bland and therefore the result of translation is often laughable. Either way, I feel I've made a fairly decent attempt.

N.B. More literal meaning in brackets.

Death or Freedom

We were brought into the world at night as the She-Wolf whelped,
In the morning they named us to the lion's roar.
Chorus: There is but one God

In eagles' nests our mothers nursed us,
And our fathers taught us to ride horses in the wilderness (rugged terrain).

Our mothers raised us to dedicate ourselves to our nation and homeland,
And if we ever face aggression we will display our bravery.

The mountain eagles (referring to Chechens) were raised in freedom,
We laugh in the face of hardship, ruin and arrogance.

Until cliffs of granite melt like molten lead,
We shall never give up our honour in life's trials.

Until the broiling sun burns the Earth into blackened crisp,
We shall refuse death (to head towards the ground meaning grave) having sold our dignity.

Never shall we submit in the face of wrong-doing out of desperation,
Death or Freedom - there can only be one choice.

Our sisters' singing heals (deflects, restores) our wounds,
The eyes of our beloved ones arouse our strength (force).

If hunger weakens us, we'll gnaw on the roots of trees,
And if thirst blinds us, we'll drink the dew from the grass.

For we were born at night when the she-wolf whelped.
We pledge our lives to God, our nation and our homeland.

[YOUTUBE]mAhGQZ5gNlM[/YOUTUBE]
Probably the oldest live recording of the anthem in existence today. Recorded in 1991 when Chechnya declared independence and the video quality shows.

[YOUTUBE]3z0eRsmWGVA[/YOUTUBE]

[Illancha]

Bump

[Petersburg]

God, protect the Tsar!
Strong and majestic,
Reign for glory, for our glory!
God, protect the Tsar!
Reign to foes' fear,
Orthodox Tsar.
God, protect the Tsar!
[YOUTUBE]zWY-9UihgYg[/YOUTUBE]

[Petersburg]

Noxcho, don't you like?

[Han Cholo]

[youtube]HCS1xxOCU9c[/youtube]

[Illancha]

Noxcho, don't you like?

Haha! You tell me? Maybe if it said 'God, smite the Tsar'.

Actually do you like it? Considering that the majority of Russians were serfs under Tsarist rule?

[TheMagnificent]

İstiklâl Marşı (Independence March)

Author: Mehmet Akif Ersoy

Fear not! For the red flag that proudly ripples in this glorious twilight, shall never fade,
Before the last fiery hearth that is ablaze within my nation is extinguished.
For that is the star of my nation, and it will forever shine;
It is mine; and solely belongs to my valiant nation.

Frown not, I beseech you, oh thou coy crescent,
But smile upon my heroic race! Why the anger, why the rage?
Our blood which we shed for you will not be blessed otherwise;
For freedom is the absolute right of my God-worshiping nation.

I have been free since the beginning and forever will be so.
What madman shall put me in chains! I defy the very idea!
I'm like the roaring flood; powerful and independent,
I'll tear apart mountains, exceed the heavens and still gush out!

The lands of the West may be armored with walls of steel,
But I have borders guarded by the mighty chest of a believer.
Recognize your innate strength, my friend! And think: how can this fiery faith ever be killed,
By that battered, single-fanged monster you call "civilization"?

My friend! Leave not my homeland to the hands of villainous men!
Render your chest as armor and your body as trench! Stop this disgraceful rush!
For soon shall come the joyous days of divine promise...
Who knows? Perhaps tomorrow? Perhaps even sooner!

View not the soil you tread on as mere earth, recognize it!
And think about the shroudless thousands who lie so nobly beneath you.
You're the noble son of a martyr, take shame, hurt not your ancestor!
Unhand not, even when you're promised worlds, this paradise of a homeland.

What man would not die for this heavenly piece of land?
Martyrs would gush out were one to just squeeze the soil! Martyrs!
May God take all my loved ones and possessions from me if He will,
But may He not deprive me of my one true homeland for the world.

Oh glorious God, the sole wish of my pain-stricken heart is that,
No heathen's hand should ever touch the bosom of my sacred Temples.
These adhans, whose shahadahs are the foundations of my religion,
And may their noble sound last loud and wide over my eternal homeland.

For only then, shall my fatigued tombstone, if there is one, prostrate a thousand times in ecstasy,
And tears of fiery blood shall flow out of my every wound,
And my lifeless body shall gush out from the earth like an eternal spirit,
Perhaps only then, shall I peacefully ascend and at long last reach the heavens.

So flap and wave like the bright dawning sky, oh thou glorious crescent,
So that our every last drop of blood may finally be worthy!
Neither you nor my race shall ever be extinguished!
For freedom is the absolute right of my ever-free flag;
For freedom is the absolute right of my God-worshiping nation!

[Petersburg]

Haha! You tell me? Maybe if it said 'God, smite the Tsar'.

Actually do you like it? Considering that the majority of Russians were serfs under Tsarist rule?

Yes, I do. Check it.
Sorry, google translate is horrible, but it's better than nothing.

[Illancha]

Yes, I do. Check it.
Sorry, google translate is horrible, but it's better than nothing.

Interesting.

I tried reading in Russian but gave up after the first sentence. Need to learn it.

[Riki]

[YOUTUBE]3Od-ZqBPWew[/YOUTUBE]