To millions of people in the world, Bosnia and Herzegovina is known only for horrible news on violence, ethnical cleansing and war. The recent war has completely overshadowed the very rich and unique cultural tradition of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the cultural heritage of this country, a special place belongs to the traditional Bosnian music form "Sevdah". Although it is reliably known that the Sevdah originated after the Turks came to medieval Bosnia, nobody has been able to determine exactly when this was. The word Sevdah itself is open to several interpretations. The most accurate explanation is that is an Arabic word "Sevdah", which means love, desire or ecstasy. In an attempt to establish the meaning of the word Sevdah, people went back to the old age when the Arabic word "Sevdah" was used by physicians to describe black gall, a substance which circulates through human organism that control feelings and emotions.

All this clearly points to the fact that the Sevdah, ever since its discovery until today was a musical expression based on emotion and a particular emotional state of musicians and singers. Sevdah performers could not have been ordinary musicians and singers therefore, as they were requested to feel the music they performed, in order to get listeners genuinely acquainted with the message each song was meant to convey. When the Sevdah was first introduced, this music was performed by a singer with a popular and simple instrument (saz) only, so that the interpretation was always loose with and open to number of improvisations. This loose and improvised style remains an important characteristic in later forms of the Sevdah when other instruments like accordion, violin or guitar started to be used. In the beginning, the Sevdah was restricted to a small audience, when it was performed in the houses of wealthy Muslim families. Many songs focusing on this theme are still testimony to this. Over time, the Sevdah moved on from these privileged households to become a popular musical expression equally liked by all layers of society, from wealthy landowners (beg andaga) to ordinary citizens (raja). Although it has evolved over time, even in this age of technological advancement and hectic lifestyles the Sevdah remains a musical expression full of emotion, calling for old times when people lived easier and loved more.

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The sevdalinka used to be the most common kind of song in the city centres of Bosnia-Herzegovina under the Ottoman Empire. It was born at the meeting point of civilisations, so there are various cultural and musical elements from the cultures which were predominant in that area. Islam, eastern values and world-views, as well as musical influences are, of course, predominant, but they are predominant, but they are not the only ones dictating the content of sevdalinka. Sevdalinkasare love songs in which a man and a woman sing about ungratified love, and about other aspects of life place in theurban environment of that time. There have always been numerous obstacles between men and women, especially because of Islamic norms and way of life, and these songs seem to be an attempt to overcome this. In the past, thesexes were strictly separated and, quite often, their only opportunity to unite was in song. This is how these songs acquire their open melancholy and tragic atmosphere. At the same time, they are full of eroticism, a longing for abetter life and a hope that dreams will come true. There has always been something deeply tragic in Bosnia-Herzegovina; it is an introverted world, but at the same time beautiful, full of hidden shades which arerevealed through the poetry, melody and interpretation of the sevdalinkas.

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...Ognjen Tvrtkovic