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Emina (Serbian 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. The subject of the poem is Šantić's teenage neighbor, a Bosnian Muslim girl named Emina Sefić. It is one of the most well-known sevdalinka songs of all time.
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Main character
Emina Koluder (née Sefić; 1884–1967) was born to a Bosnian Muslim family in the city of Mostar. Her father was a prominent Imam in Mostar and the family lived near Stari Most; they were next door neighbors to famous poet Aleksa Šantić.
Emina married Avdaga Koluder, became Emina Koluder, moved away from her city of birth and had 14 children. She lived to the age of 83, dying in 1967.
Her great-granddaughter Alma Ferović is a soprano and has performed with Elton John and A.R. Rahman.
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 poet Sevda Katica's home in the village of 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.