"Emina" (Cyrillic : Емина) is a poem by Bosnian Serb poet Aleksa Šantić that became a popular sevdalinka song, covered by many prominent singers from Bosnia and Herzegovina and other parts of former Yugoslavia. It was first published in 1902 in the Serbian literary journal Kolo . [1] The subject of the poem is Šantić's neighbor, a Bosnian Muslim [2] girl named Emina Sefić. It is one of the most well-known sevdalinka songs of all time.
Emina Sefić (later Koluder; 1884–1967) [3] was born to a Bosnian Muslim family in the city of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Her father was a prominent imam and the family lived in the Mostar's Old town near the Stari Most bridge. The family's household was next door to that of a sister of poet Aleksa Šantić. Emina's great-granddaughter is famous Bosnian soprano, Alma Ferović, who during her career collaborated and performed with the likes of Elton John and A.R. Rahman. [4]
On 27 May 2010, a bronze statue of Emina was unveiled in Mostar. It was unveiled on Šantić's 142nd birthday, although it's not publicly known if that was intentionally done or coincidental. [5] The Emina statue was sculpted by Zlatko Dizdarević over the period of three months and was not based on photographs of her, rather the author's "artistic vision of a Bosnian beauty". The statue was sculpted with clothing that women wore in Bosnia and Herzegovina at the turn of the century.
| Serbo-Croatian | English translation [6] |
|---|---|
|
|
Many artists have covered the song, but the version by fellow Mostar native, Bosnian singer Himzo Polovina, remains the most popular. [7] Upon hearing of the death of Emina Sefić, Polovina went to poet Sevda Katica's home in the Mostar neighbourhood Donja Mahala. He found her in the yard of the family home, informed her of Emina's death and she shuddered with grief and spoke the verses:
| New verses | Translation |
|---|---|
|
|
Himzo Polovina recorded the song and added Sevda's new verses.
Some have suggested adopting the words from "Emina" as the lyrics for the wordless Bosnian national anthem, due to its connection to Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs (the three main Bosnian ethnic groups) alike. [8]
Like the surrounding Balkan countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina has had a turbulent past marked by frequent foreign invasions and occupation. As a result, Bosnian music is now a mixture of Slavic, Turkish, Central European, Mediterranean, and other influences.
Mostar is a city and the administrative center of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina.
Sevdalinka, also known as Sevdah music, is a traditional genre of folk music originating in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sevdalinka is an integral part of the Bosniak culture, but is also spread across the ex-Yugoslav region, including Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. The actual composers of many Sevdalinka songs are unknown because these are traditional folk songs.
Jovan Dučić was a Serb poet-diplomat and academic.
Himzo Polovina was a Bosnian singer and songwriter, and one of the most famous and widely revered folk and sevdalinka artists in the region. In addition, Dr. Himzo Polovina was a neuropsychiatrist by profession. His approach contributed to sevdalinka promotion as well as its recognition as authentic music heritage of the Bosniaks.
Aleksa Šantić ; 27 May 1868 – 2 February 1924) was a Bosnian Serb poet and writer from Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Šantić wrote about the urban culture of his hometown Mostar and Herzegovina, the growing national awareness of Bosnian and Herzegovinian Serbs, social injustice, nostalgic love, and the unity of the South Slavs. He was the editor-in-chief of the magazine Zora (1896–1901). Šantić was one of the leading persons of Serbian literary and national movement in Mostar. In 1914 Šantić became a member of the Serbian Royal Academy.
Osman Đikić was a Serb poet from Bosnia, dramatist and writer. He was born in Mostar, in Bosnia and Herzegovina under Austro-Hungarian occupation. He was educated in Belgrade, Constantinople and Vienna, where he graduated from the Trade Academy. He is penned several sevdalinka songs, including Đaurko mila, Ašik ostah na te oči and Đela Fato đela zlato.
The Serbs of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, numbered about 24,000 at the outbreak of the Bosnian War in 1992, during which a majority of them were forced out, as part of an extensive ethnic cleansing campaign. With the city's post-war division into Croat and Bosniak halves, very few Serbs have returned. As a result, its current Serb population, as registered by the 2013 census, numbers 4,421 or about 4.2% of the population of the town.
Ibrahim "Ibrica" Jusić is Croatian chanson, folk, pop and sevdalinka singer-songwriter and musician.
Svetozar Ćorović was a Serbian novelist from Bosnia and Herzegovina. In his books, he often wrote of life in Herzegovina and, more specifically, the city of Mostar. His brother was Vladimir Ćorović, a distinguished Serbian historian who was killed in 1941 during World War II in Greece.
Gimnazija Mostar is a gymnasium in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Formerly called Gimnazija "Aleksa Šantić" in honour of the eponymous poet, it is nowadays popularly referred to as Stara gimnazija.
Kolo is a Croatian literary magazine published by Matica hrvatska.
Sejdefu majka buđaše is a Bosnian traditional folk and sevdalinka song.
Božo Vrećo is a Bosnian musician.
Jozo Penava was a Bosnian-Herzegovinian music producer, composer, arranger, musician and vocalist. Penava immensely contributed to the development of folk songs and the traditional Bosniak folk music sevdalinka. He worked with many prominent sevdalinka singers of the 20th century, such as Safet Isović, Zehra Deović, Himzo Polovina, Nada Mamula, Beba Selimović, Nedžad Salković, Silvana Armenulić, and Meho Puzić, among others.
Damir Imamović born in 1978, stands as a luminary figure in the realm of Bosnian music, wielding expertise as a musician, singer, composer, and preeminent authority on the traditional melodies of Bosnia and Herzegovina, specifically the evocative "sevdalinka" or "sevdah". Notably, he clinched the coveted title of "The Best Artist of Europe" at the esteemed 2021 Songlines World Music Awards, solidifying his position as a noteworthy force in the musical landscape.
Prosvjeta or the Serbian Cultural-Educational Society "Prosvjeta" was a Bosnian Serb cultural and educational society in Austro-Hungarian Bosnia and Herzegovina and Yugoslavia. It was founded in Sarajevo in 1902. It quickly became the most important organization gathering ethnic Serb citizens.
Zora was a literature journal published by Serb intelligentsia between 1896 and 1901 in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina under Austro-Hungarian rule. It was published monthly, in Serbian Cyrillic. Its chief editor was Aleksa Šantić. Besides Šantić, members of its editorial team were Svetozar Ćorović, Jovan Dučić and Atanasije Šola.
Sofka Nikolić was a Serbian and Yugoslav singer of folk music considered to be the first major music star in Yugoslavia. She recorded over 55 LP records.
... poesia che Aleksa Šantić dedicò ad una ragazza musulmana...