related Persian word () meaning both "melancholic" and "enamored". It was these associations that came with the word when it was brought to Bosnia by the Ottomans. Today it is a richly evocative Bosnian word, meaning pining or a longing (for a loved one, a place, a time) that is both joyous and painful, being 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. Saudade, the central term in Portuguese Fado, is of the same origin, likewise emerging from the Arabic language medical discourse used for centuries in both Al-Andalus and the Ottoman empire. N.B., the term melancholy is of similar origin, stemming from original Greek medical term for black bile - melan kholé. Origins and history The origins of Sevdalinka are not known for certain, though it is known to date from sometime after the arrival of the Ottomans in the medieval Balkans, but melodies and the venerable "Aman, aman" lyrical figure hint at a Sephardic and Andalusian influence which can be explained by the arrival of Sephardic refugees in Ottoman Bosnia, or more likely an Ottoman Turkish meaning which translates to "have mercy". The first historically mentioned Sevdalinka is considered to be "Bolest Muje Carevića" (The Illness of Mujo Carević), which is believed to have been written around the year 1475. Another early written document that notes Sevdalinka was from the year 1574 when an Italian man was passing through the Bosnian city of Visoko and heard what he described as "sad songs sung by the locals" that made him feel melancholic. In the early 16th century, a duke from Split mentioned a song about the forbidden love of a Christian girl named Mara Vornić and a Muslim boy named Fadil or Adel/Adil (accounts vary). The earliest known female Sevdalinka poet was Umihana Čuvidina, who wrote mainly about her dead husband. Performers A couple of significant singers of the Sevdalinka in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s were Rešad Bešlagić and Vuka Šeherović. Towards the end of World War II, Radio Sarajevo was founded and signed some of the most prominent Sevdalije (Sevdalinka performers) among them were Zaim Imamović in 1945, Himzo Polovina in 1953, Beba Selimović in 1954, Safet Isović in 1955 and Zehra Deović in 1960. Nada Mamula was signed to