"Emina" () is a poem by Bosnian Serb poet

Aleksa Šantić Aleksa Šantić ( sr-Cyrl, Алекса Шантић, (); 27 May 1868 – 2 February 1924) was a poet from Bosnia and Herzegovina. His poetry reflecting both the urban culture of the region. The most common themes of his poems are social injus ...

that became a popular ''

sevdalinka Sevdalinka (), also known as Sevdah music, is a traditional Musical genre, genre of folk music originating from Bosnia and Herzegovina. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sevdalinka is an integral part of the Bosniak culture, but is also spread across th ...

'' song, covered by many prominent singers from

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

and other parts of former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. It was first published in 1902 in the Serbian literary journal ''

Kolo Kolo may refer to: Places Poland *Koło *Koło, Łódź Voivodeship * Koło, Lublin Voivodeship * Koło, Lubusz Voivodeship Other places * Kolo, Bosnia and Herzegovina * Kolo, Central African Republic * Kolo (Tanzanian ward), Kondoa district, Dod ...

''. The subject of the poem is Šantić's neighbor, a

Bosnian Muslim The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, cu ...

girl named Emina Sefić. It is one of the most well-known ''sevdalinka'' songs of all time.

Main character

Emina Sefić (later Koluder; 1884–1967) was born to a

family in the city of

Mostar Mostar (, ; sr-Cyrl, Мостар, ) 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. Mostar is sit ...

. Her father was a prominent

imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

and the family lived near

Stari Most Stari Most ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Stari most, Стари мост, Old Bridge), also known as Mostar Bridge, is a rebuilt 16th-century Ottoman bridge in the city of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina that crosses the river Neretva and connects the two p ...

; they were next door neighbors to poet

's sister. Her great-granddaughter Alma Ferović is a

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

and has performed with

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

and

A.R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...

Statue

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. The Emina statue was sculpted by Zlatko Dizdarević over the period of three months and was not based on photographs of her, rather the 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.

Lyrics

Many artists have covered the song, but the version by fellow Mostar native, Bosnian singer

Himzo Polovina Himzo Polovina (; 11 March 1927 – 5 August 1986) 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 professi ...

, remains the most popular. Upon hearing of the death of Emina Sefić, Polovina went to poetess 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: Himzo Polovina recorded the song and added Sevda's new verses.

Legacy

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.

Covers

Amira Medunjanin Amira Medunjanin (; born 23 April 1972) is a Bosnian singer and interpreter of sevdalinka. She holds both citizenship of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Biography Medunjanin was born in Sarajevo and her fascination with the Music of Bosnia ...

* Divanhana *

*Maja Milinković *

Ibrahim Jukan Ibrahim ( ar, إبراهيم, links=no ') is the Arabic name for Abraham, a Biblical patriarch and prophet in Islam. For the Islamic view of Ibrahim, see Abraham in Islam. Ibrahim may also refer to: * Ibrahim (name), a name (and list of people w ...

Ibrica Jusić Ibrahim "Ibrica" Jusić (born 15 December 1944) is Croatian chanson, folk, pop and sevdalinka singer-songwriter and musician. Early life and career beginnings Ibrica Jusić was born as Ibrahim Jusić in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik into a f ...

Nedeljko Bilkić Nedeljko ( sr, Недељко) is a Serbian masculine given name. It may refer to: *Nedeljko Bajić Baja (born 1968), singer *Nedeljko Bulatović (born 1938), footballer and football manager *Nedeljko Čabrinović (1895–1916), revolutionary *Nede ...

Nihad Hrustanbegovic Nihad Hrustanbegović (born 7 June 1973) is a Bosnian-Dutch composer, accordionist and pianist from Amsterdam. He is considered to be one of the most prominent and successful solo concert accordion artists from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Netherlands ...

Saša Matić Aleksandar Matić ( sr-cyr, Александар Матић; born 26 April 1978), better known as Saša Matić is a Bosnian Serb pop-folk singer. Life and career Early life Matić was born on 26 April 1978 in Bihać, SFR Yugoslavia. He has a twi ...

Božo Vrećo Božo Vrećo ( sr-cyr, Божо Врећо; born 18 October 1983) is a Bosnian musician. Childhood Božo Vrećo was born in Foča, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia on October 18, 1983. His father died when he was five years old, and h ...

References