Leafing through the folk songs of the Mohammedans in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a careful reader will quite often notice verses mentioning the ritual kinship, godfatherhood [kumovi]. I will quote some verses as examples: ”Lika kumom […]
With heartfelt thanks to PD “Horizont” Bihać 2006 and Edin Delić and Anel Osmanović from Lukovac Marš Mira Essay
I believe, honorable judge, That you understand the people well You at least have an occupation temper is temper but the law is the law I believe, distinguished figure, you studied law To fairly judge […]
“Don’t Break my Locus Trees” is a popular ballad frequently heard today in cafes and on the radio in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia. Listeners from different ethnic communities, young and old, identify with Đorđe Balašević’s […]
In the forceful fine dust That showers down from the blue fountain On my palms are hot poppies Withered branches already dark ripe Early wounds and crows From a jump that never falls into any […]
”Have you heard the wind blowing today around noon time from the distant mountains still covered by the deep snow? Tonight is a festive night. The fruit trees are awakening tonight, they are awakening from […]
At the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019, we encounter the cruel ban of satire in public discourse. In neighboring Croatia, NewsBar is on trial due to its satirical texts. In Serbia, the […]
1. Elections An American, a Japanese, and a Bosnian talk about the elections. The American says: ‘In America, in less than 2 hours after the elections, we know who won the elections.’ The Japanese says: […]
Sometimes it’s hard remembering just how perfect our life was in Kozarac before the war; we were not rich but we had more than enough. We lived in a Communist country so there was not […]
During my wanderings and tours of the beautiful hills and valleys of northeastern Bosnia, in the area boarded by rivers Spreča, Bosna and Tinja, I noticed that the former periods of Bosnian culture still live […]
Famous people from Srebrenik’s history Today, we can conclude with sadness that a significant part of Srebrenik’s history, in a certain way due to the lack of resources, has been lost forever. However, the situation […]
Segregated schooling, called “two schools under one roof” (Dvije škole pod jednim krovom), is common in the central and southern parts of the country primarily populated by Muslims (Bosniaks) and Croats. As the term suggests, […]
Do not be afraid! You are not alone. There are others than you who unknown by you live within you. And everything which you were, will be, and dream Burns in them with the very […]
Every attempt, even the most indirect, to set up camps of whatever ideological orientation–in the name of so-called historical necessity, class struggle, racial cleansing, the new man, and so on–will discredit every work and every […]
The unpleasant surprise My grandfather’s home was on a slope, like an observation tower. We heard some noise, and saw a crowd at the edge of the village. A lot of people. The whole village. […]
GHETTO 59 Synopsis This understated ethnographic film provides an intimate view of a refugee center where over fifty families have lived for twenty years after the war. Despite their isolation and neglect, several families engage with […]
The Sarajevo Information Centre on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was recently opened at the City Hall by the Mayor of Sarajevo Abdulah Skaka and Gabrielle McIntyre and the former judge […]
And now let us finally go now let us clearly depart In this unwitnessed walk finally now there In the sack there is the bread and the stone there is the knife and the heart […]
In the Catholic Church, there is a godfather at baptism, the sponsor at the confirmation ceremony, and the witness at a wedding ceremony. They are selected separately each time. They are also very respected everywhere and considered in […]
In the stories of Janko M. Veselinović, that are full of good ethnographic details, there is a story titled “Kumova kletva – Godfather’s Curse” (Slike iz seoskog života – Pictures from the Village Life, II, […]
