Object: | Ladies' private teferič, Rogatica |
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Description: | Group photograph of about forty unveiled Bosniak women and girls posing in front of the gate of a house in Rogatica. One girl is seated in the centre of the picture, holding an accordion in her lap, the others are lined up next to her, standing in several rows. They are all dressed for a festive occasion, most in traditional urban clothes, a few in European-style dresses, and all with elegant shoes. Some of them also carry festive handbags. Most of the women and girls have a light headscarf around their hair, tied at the neck. One young girl wears a richly embroidered jelek and a woman’s fes decorated with coins under her headscarf. The few schoolchildren on the picture are wearing coats or woollen sweaters. |
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Comment: | According to the information provided by the photographer, the ladies have gathered at a friend’s home for a private teferič. In order to catch the whole group at a suitable distance, the photographer persuaded them to step outside the gate, unveiled. The fact that he managed to do so is proof of the great trust the ladies had in their Rogatica-born neighbour Alija Akšamija, an honour he shared, not being a member of the family, with a limited number of selected male outsiders, such as the town’s mayor. Due to the restricted access to Bosniak family homes, Bosniak female musicians were usually self-taught and performed exclusively in private. There is no known picture of a female Bosniak saz player, although it is known that they existed. This photograph featuring a female accordion player is exceptional. Analogue photographic process, negative-positive (Agfa Isopan 17 DIN). Original preserved as a positive on silver bromine paper, stored as a print and a digital record. |
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Date: | 1939 |
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Location: | Rogatica |
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Country: | Bosnia and Herzegovina (contemporary) |
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| Yugoslavia (historical) |
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