The only Sevdah Institute in BiH is for sale on Pik for 320,000 KM

The Omer Pobrić Foundation "Sevdah Institute" has been for sale since Thursday, writes the BiH news agency Patria (NAP).

The only institution in Bosnia and Herzegovina dedicated to the protection of sevdalinka - the traditional Bosnian song, located in the village of Mulići near Visoko, is for sale on the internet marketplace Pik for the price of 320,000 KM.

The decision of the Pobrić family to sell the Institute has shocked many sevdalinka enthusiasts. Experts warn that the 320,000 KM might be the value of the Institute's building and some of its accompanying facilities, but the value of the sheet music, instruments, sound carriers, and other items related to the traditional Bosnian song cannot be measured.

Enver Šadinlija, a member of the Institute's Council, warned that it is first and foremost regrettable that this institute was not founded by the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which should be concerned with preserving BiH's cultural heritage, but that an individual had to do it.

And, it is even more regrettable, he says, that when Pobrić already founded the Institute, the state does not want to take care of it.

The "Sevdah Institute" was founded in 2003 by BiH composer Omer Pobrić. He wanted to preserve sevdalinka as a national cultural asset of Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, after Pobrić's death, the Institute almost ceased to operate. Insiders say that Pobrić himself is partly to blame, as he did not train anyone during his lifetime who could continue where he left off. Practically, Pobrić, they say, was reclusive and did not allow anyone to get too close.

The Omer Pobrić Foundation "Sevdah Institute" preserves and collects sheet music of all known sevdalinka songs, sound carriers on which they were published, and all forms of film and video recordings of sevdalinka. The Institute collects and archives literary, sociological, cultural, ethnological, and other publications that deal with sevdah and sevdalinka in any way. It also preserves and collects musical instruments on which sevdalinka is performed.

Munevera Pobrić (66), the wife of the late Omer Pobrić, says in an interview with Patria that it is very difficult for her to have to sell the Institute for which her husband lived, but she can no longer take care of it alone. The Institute covers more than 400 square meters and has a large number of accompanying facilities.

- The bills for the Institute are high, and my pension is 310 KM. I can no longer finance it all myself – says Munevera. The authorities, she says, have never shown interest in taking care of the Sevdah Institute, writes NAP.