the legend of lala

After several fearless stands against the Turks along the Austro-Hungarian border, where great bravery was shown by the frontier guard regiment comprised of Serbs, Maria Theresa (Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia) decided to set off on a journey to see those celebrated heroes. She traveled, as always, diligently, and with a great entourage. The road to Petrovaradin led through Slovenia, Slavonia, and Srem, (Srem - the area between the Danube and Sava rivers, in the province of Vojvodina) where the assembly sojourned to rest. Since, Maria Theresa did not want to cross the Danube, whose waters had risen substantially that year, and knowing full well that the roads to Banat (Banat - the area between the Tisa river and Romania, in the province of Vojvodina) and Bachka (Bachka - the area between the Danube and Tisa rivers, in the province of Vojvodina) were not in good condition, she decided to muster the troops in Srem, where her assembly was stationed.

Commanders of both the Banat and Bachka regiment were ordered to select their best soldiers and send them directly to Srem, to prepare for review. A valley was chosen as a setting for the parade of soldiers, winding from the Fruska Gora (Fruska Mountains) to the Danube River. Today, this valley divides the old road from Novi Sad to Belgrade.

It was, as legend states, a beautiful, spring day. The regiment had gathered early in the morning, Maria Theresa attended mass and arrived shortly thereafter. She was greeted by the dapper frontier guard regiment which was arranged in three groups: Banachani (inhabitants of Banat) Bachvani (inhabitants of Bachka) and Sremtsi (inhabitants of Srem). The commander, as was customary in such situations, gave his report and presented the Archduchess with a bouquet of tulips. (tulip - lala in Serbian , tulips - lale in Serbian) A tulip at that time was a precious flower, only the wealthy possessed them and they had to be brought in from Holland. Accepting the report and bouquet the Archduchess started in the direction of the frontier regiment. The Banachani were in the first group. They waited in attention. Arriving to the place where they stood, the Archduchess was so impressed with their appearance and their military posture, she spontaneously threw her lale one by one at the group, saying: "Why do I need these lale? These are my Lale (pointing at the Banachani); these gallant soldiers protect my kingdom."

From that day forward a Banachanin has remained a Lala. Since, my father is from Banat, that makes me a Lala as well, but, I'm a Lala from Toronto!

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