HOW THE SONG “STAR SE ĆURČIĆ POMAMIO” (OLD ĆURČIĆ IN FRENZY) ORIGINATED

Although polygamy, which is allowed from the viewpoint of Islam, was not a rare occurrence in Bosnia and Herzegovina among higher classes of Muslim society, Muslim women in Bosnia and Herzegovina did not gladly approve this practice to their husbands. Folk song “Star se Ćurčić pomamio” (Old Ćurčić in Frenzy) reminds of Lutvullah-bey Ćurčić, who brought a wife to the wife, ie. married for the second time, when he was in his seventies. Some actions which did not fit in the generally accepted social norms of behavior were quite often exposed to ridicule and mockery through comic songs. Such incidents have been remembered in songs and continued to live up to this day. In Lutvullah-bey's case, his second marriage and the difference in age between him and his second wife were the reason for making this well-known Sarajevo song.

According to professor Husnija Kamberović, the Ćurčić family moved to Sarajevo from Budim in the late 17th century, and they drew their origin from Livno. They were military commanders, qadis, county managers and mayors. For over three hundred year they were an elite Sarajevo family. When studying the historical background of this song, I obtained the following data from Mr. Faruk Ćurčić, a great-grandson of Lutvullah-bey and Almasa, who are sung about in this song.

Lutvullah-bey Ćurčić was born in Sarajevo in 1809. He was a son of Derviš Muhamed-aga, a grandson of the founder of Ćurčić waqf. He was very well educated, a qadi and advisor to the Supreme Sharia Court. People in the downtown nicknamed him Lutvaga, although his official name was Lutvullah. He got married twice. His first wife was Hašema, Mehmed-bey's daughter, from the Halilbašić family. He had two daughters with her, Sedika and Hasna. He got married for the second time in 1875, when he was 65 years old. He married Almasa Zildžić, Ali-bey Zildžić's daughter, from a well-known Sarajevo family. Almasa was far younger than him, and according to stories, she was younger than twenty. This marriage was also described by Lutvullah-bey's second great-grandson, our renowned historian Bakir Tanović in his book Ćurčića vakuf (Ćurčić Waqf).

According to data from this book, as well as those obtained from Faruk Ćurčić, Lutvullah's first wife (Hašema) and her mother were at a wedding in Sarajevo. There were many beautiful girls at the wedding, and Almasa, a girl with the long blonde hair stood out among them. They later told Lutvullah about the wedding and the party, describing to him the beauty of the girls, particularly the beauty of blonde Almasa, utterly unaware of his decision to propose to this pretty girl. Lutvullah-bey was determined. He sent ducats to the Zildžićes several times, and they would return them, until one evening, at the dinner table, Almasa's uncle announced that they had accepted the ducats and that Almasa was getting married. It was said and done. The story goes that the first wife, Hašema, allowed Lutvulahh-bey to get married. The wedding took place in Lutvullah-bey's summer house at Koševo, in the famous Ćurčićes' villa, which used to be situated at the site of present Koševo stadium until the beginning of its construction. This Lutvullah-bey's estate with the summer house encompassed over a hundred dunams, and spread all the way to Jezero and down the present Ali-pašina Street.

The story then goes that Lutvullah's first wife (Hašema), together with her mother, Lutvullah's mother-in-law (we presume because she was not able to do anything to dissuade her bey from marrying another woman) paid a Sarajevo pjeva (songwriter) to compose a jeering song. And it is what she did. The story is that the song pealed at the moment when the bride was brought to the villa at Koševo. The wedding took place in 1875, three years before Austro-Hungarian annexation. Almasa was about 18, and Lutvullah-bey 65.

Lutvullah-bey Ćurčić passed away on 14 August 1883, at the age of 74. He was survived by both wives. Almasa passed away in 1926, at the age of 70. Lutvullah-bey was married to Almasa for about eight years. They had three children: sons Muhamed and Ismet and daughter Rasema. When her husband died, Almasa was pregnant, and gave birth to daughter Aiša, who passed away very soon after she was born.

The song, which was composed almost 150 years ago, changed lyrics over time, but has preserved the basic message. The gifted pjeva, the author of the song, as well as later performers, were very creative in their descriptions of the old bridegroom, who was cheated by an imp, who in turn put a bag of straw in his bed, and the bridegroom thought it was his beloved. And it is the plot and the focus of the song.

Referring to the family tradition of transmitting this song, the initial lines of which do not deviate from well-known variants, Bakir Tanović records that he heard from his grandfather and remembered the following (final) lines: Kad se dedo probudio/vreću slame zagrlio/i ovako prozborio/oj, Almaso, dušo moja/kam' ti noge, kam' ti glava/zar si taka sva jednaka? (When the old man woke up/he hugged the bag of straw/ and said/oh, Almasa, my darling/where are your feet, where is your head/are you the same all over the body?)

Music genius Ismet Alajbegović Šerbo provided musical attire for this song, and Izeta Beba Selimović has permanently saved it from oblivion with her performance. This is the variant of the song in her performance: Star se Ćurčić pomamio/bijelu bradu obričio/dok je Almasu primamio./Stade Ćurčić leđa peći/ u Almase suze teći/ili teći, il' ne teći/valja tebi sa mnom leći./Al' Almasa alčak bila/jastuk slame naložila/uz Ćurčića prislonila./Kad se Ćurčić probudio/jastuk slame zagrlio/oj, Almaso, lijepa li si/oj, Almaso, slatka li si! (Old Ćurčić is in frenzy / he shaved his white beard / until he lured Almasa./ Ćurčić began to prepare his back / and Almasa shed tears / whether you cry or not / you should lie next to me. / But Almasa was an imp / she filled a pillow with straw / and put it next to Ćurčić. / When Ćurčić woke up / he hugged the pillow with straw / oh, Almasa, you're so beautiful / oh, Almasa, you're so cute!)  Besides Beba Selimović, this well-known song has been recorded by Emina Zečaj, duo Behka and Ljuca, Zekija Suman, Vesna Hadžić and some other performers.

In the variant performed by a famous sevdalinka-singers duo Behka i Ljuca, the lyrics are as follows: Star se Ćurčić pomamio/bijelu bradu obričio/a brkove obojio/ zube grahom nakitio/dok Almasu premamio.../Almasa je mudra bila/jastuk slame naložila/slamnat jastuk naložila/uz Ćurčića prislonila./Kad se Ćurčić probudio/jastuk slame obljubio/kad se Ćurčić prevrnuo/slamnat jastuk zagrlio./Oj, Almaso, medna ti si/oj, Almaso, slatka ti si/kam' ti noge, kam' ti glava/kud si mi se odvaljala. (Old Ćurčić is in frenzy / he shaved his white beard / dyed the moustache / and decorated teeth with beans / until he lured Almasa ... / Almasa was smart / she filled a pillow with straw / she filled a straw pillow / and put it next to Ćurčić. / When Ćurčić woke up / he made love with the pillow / when Ćurčić turnes in bed / he hugged the straw pillow. / Oh, Almasa, you're so sweet / oh, Almasa, you're so cute / where are your feet, where's your head / where have you rolled away from me.) The song was also superbly performed by Zekija Suman with somewhat changed last lines: Kad se Ćurčić probudio/vreću slame obljubio/oj, Almaso, što si taka/što si taka sva jednaka/niti nogu, niti ruku/niti tvoga bijelog vrata! (When Ćurčić woke up / he made love to the bag of straw / oh, Almasa, why are you so strange / why are you so same everywhere / no legs, no arms / I can't see your white neck!)

Although intended to be a jeering song, “Star se Ćurčić pomamio” found its place in the mosaic of memorable sevdalinkas, which has made it inseparable part of our musical tradition.

References:

• Kamberović, Husnija (2005), „Begovski zemljišni posjedi u Bosni i Hercegovini od 1878. do 1918. godine“, Sarajevo: Institut „Ibn Sina“.

• Ovčina, Mirsad, radio program „Bisernica“, interview with Faruk Ćurčić, Radio BIR, 13. 01. 2015.

• Tanović, Bakir (2000), Ćurčića vakuf: Prilog historiji grada Sarajeva, Sarajevo.

• Sound recordings of the song „Star se Ćurčić pomamio“ (Beba Selimović, „Od sevdaha goreg jada nema“, Jugoton LSY-63084, Zagreb, 1979; Behka i Ljuca, Diskoton DTK-9405, Sarajevo, 1987).