Pop Culture
The picture on the left shows Ivana Miličević who is a famous actress in the show Banshee and her home town is in Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina. This show is an american show but since a local plays a leading role in this series, Bosnians enjoy it.The picture on the right shows Muhamed Besic, he is a defender for the Bosnian Futbol team. Futbol is a well known and watched sport in Bosnia. Futbol is also a major part of the Bosnia culture and it is the most popular sport in BH. Popularity for this sport grew after WWII because the national team consisted of mostly Bosnian players. But since BH gained their independence they have failed to qualify for any European or World Championship tournaments but this did not decrease the popularity for the sport because fans continue to watch it. Most Bosnian born players have chosen to play for other countries because of ethnic identification and higher salaries offered by other teams.
Folk Culture
These pictures show bosnian folk dancers dancing at a folk festival. Bosnia is known for their folk customs and dances. Dances are performed in separate groups of women, men and children, or in other various groups. Usually dancers hold hands or are linked together by handkerchiefs, small towels or strings of beads, as well as grip each others’ belts or shoulders. Men’s dances are usually more vigorous, while women’s are a bit more graceful. Dances are accompanied by such traditional instruments as drums, flutes, lyres and violins. Some dances are performed without music, originally intended to express people’s independence from the Turkish regime, which once banned Slavic music. Dances are performed in separate groups of women, men and children, or in other various groups. Usually dancers hold hands or are linked together by handkerchiefs, small towels or strings of beads, as well as grip each others’ belts or shoulders. Men’s dances are usually more vigorous, while women’s are a bit more graceful. Dances are accompanied by such traditional instruments as drums, flutes, lyres and violins. Some dances are performed without music, originally intended to express people’s independence from the Turkish regime, which once banned Slavic music.
Housing/Architecture
The housing of Bosnia is influenced by two major periods. They are the Medieval and Ottoman Periods. The medieval period in Bosnia lasted until the invasion of Ottoman Empire. The social organization of Bosnia of that time developed into a system known as Zadruga. In Zadruga, the community was organized such that a few families with common interests would live closely together in housing clusters. The leaders of the community were selected according to their age and high ethical standards. The Zadruga system was primarily found a rural, agrarian communities, greatly dependent on natural resources. As the community grew, segments of families would collectively move to another area forming a new cluster or a village. These were simple structures build of natural materials (usually timber and wickerwork). Interior space was organized around the hearth in a central room with separate private quarters for men and women. During the Ottoman period, people used river as a main element of urban life led to construction of Stari most in 1566 in Mostar in Herzegovina. At the time it was built it was the longest single span arch stone bridge in the world. Its meaning had however rather more profound power. It symbolized the connection between eastern and western civilization. In addition to urban planning, architecture of Bosnia has emerged with a bit clearer architectural vocabulary. Architecture however was organized around a set of unwritten architectural laws including: human scale, unobstructed views, geometry, open and flexible spaces, simple furniture, spatial links to nature and use of local materials and traditional building techniques.
Clothing
The majority of the traditional and folklore costumes of the rural population of Bosna and Herzegovina was handmade until the end of the 19th century. Most of traditional costumes of Bosnia and Herzegovina were made of wool, flax, hemp and leather. Cloth was made of flax and hemp of which basic parts of the costumes were made : shirt, pants as well as women kerchief for covering head. Cotton was greatly used for making urban costumes and its usage in making rural costumes started from the 19th century, first of all in Eastern Bosnia, Posavina and Herzegovina. Wool was most often used for making traditional costumes of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Women in the villages of Bosnia and Herzegovina used to make traditional costumes themselves while some parts of the costumes were made by rural or urban craftsmen. Women in the villages of Bosnia and Herzegovina used to make traditional costumes themselves while some parts of the costumes were made by rural or urban craftsmen.
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Food
Bosnian cuisine uses many spices, but usually in moderate quantities. Most dishes are light, as they are cooked in lots of water; the sauces are fully natural, consisting of little more than the natural juices of the vegetables in the dish. Typical ingredients include tomatoes, potatoes, onions, garlic, bell peppers, cucumbers, carrots, cabbage, mushrooms, spinach, courgette, dried and fresh beans, plums, milk, paprika and cream called pavlaka and kajmak. Typical meat dishes include primarily beef and lamb. Some local specialties are ćevapi, burek, dolma, sarma, pilav (pilaf), gulaš (goulash), ajvar and a whole range of Eastern sweets. The best local wines come from Herzegovina where the climate is suitable for growing grapes. Plum or apple rakija, is produced in Bosnia.
Entertainment
An important centre of the country’s cultural life is Sarajevo, which is home to the Ars Aevi Sarajevo museum. The musuem houses some 130 works on display by such major artists as Jannis Kounellis, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Braco Dimitrijevic and Joseph Kosuth. A new museum building, built by architect Renzo Piano, will be open in 2009. The National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo owns the Sarajevo Haggadah, which is the world’s oldest Sephardic Haggadah, written around 1350 by Jews as they fled from the Spanish inquisition. Numerous cultural festivals take place annually in Sarajevo, including the Sarajevo Winter Festival, Bascarsija Nights, Sarajevo Jazz Festival and the Sarajevo Film Festival. The capital also hosts many theatres, including the most popular National Theatre of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2003, the first Bosnian opera was held in Sarajevo.
Religion
The picture on the left shows a mosque which is the holy space of the Islam religion and on the right is a church which is the holy space of Christianity. The largest religious group in Bosnia and Herzegovina is Muslim (48%) Muslims in Bosnia are called Bosniaks. The next largest group is Eastern Orthodox (37%), who generally are Serbians and share a culture with their Serb neighbors to the east.