Origins
The origins of sevdalinka are not known for certain, though it is known to date from sometime after the arrival of the Turks in medieval Balkans. The word itself comes from the Turkish sevda which derives from the Arabic word sawda (meaning black and also black bile, which in earlier times was used by doctors to denote a substance purported to control human feelings and emotions. But in Turkish sevda doesn't mean black; it means love, caressing. That word was brought to Bosnia by the Ottomans. Today it is a richly evocative Bosnian word meaning love, caressing, longing (for loved one), and the main theme of sevdalinka lyrics. Thus the people of Bosnia employ the words "sevdalinka" and "sevdah" interchangeably as the name of this music, although the word sevdah can also be used in other meanings. It is possible that the central term in Portuguese Fado saudade is of the same origin.
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