"Emina" () is a poem by Bosnian Serb poet Aleksa Šantić that became a popular ''

sevdalinka Sevdalinka (), also known as Sevdah music, is a traditional 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 the ex-Yugoslavia ...

'' 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 ...

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=Juhoslavij ...

. It was first published in 1902 in the Serbian literary journal '' Kolo''. 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 , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Mostar (collage image).jpg , image_caption = From top, left to right: A panoramic view of the heritage town site and the Neretva river from Lučki Bridge, Koski Mehmed Pasha ...

. 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, serve ...

and the family lived near Stari Most; they were next door neighbors to poet Aleksa Šantić'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& ...

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, 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 * Divanhana * Himzo Polovina *Maja Milinković * Ibrahim Jukan * Ibrica Jusić * Nedeljko Bilkić * Nihad Hrustanbegovic * Saša Matić * Božo Vrećo

References