Bajram

Written 11/8:

            Since the majority of the population here is Muslim, we have a few days off surrounding the holiday of Bajram (pronounced “Bie-rahm”).  I am beginning to learn more about Islam, so I now know that Bajram commemorates the story of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son.  I am sure most of you are familiar with this story, since it is a part of the Judeo-Christian literature as well.  In the story, God sees that Abraham is willing to sacrifice his son, Isaac, and at the last minute intervenes and replaces Isaac with a sheep.  So, on Bajram, it is traditional to sacrifice a sheep.  A lot of my friends thought I would totally freak out about this, but I actually approve of meat-eaters being more connected to the animals they eat (e.g. being involved in the slaughter).  I was also told that Muslims are instructed to eat 1/3 of the sheep themselves and then are supposed to give the other 2/3 away to the poor.  I really like this idea, and it reminds me of the Jewish tradition of “tsedakah”.

            Bajram itself began on Sunday.  The days leading up to it were quite chaotic in and around the markets.  Then, on Sunday and Monday, I went out for a jog/walk and was struck by how quiet and empty the streets were! (Though celebratory firecrackers frequently broke the silence.)  It reminded me of walking around on Christmas morning in the US.

Duvacki Qvintet Persempre

In other news, all of the principal woodwind players of the Sarajevo Philharmonic are forming a woodwind quintet, and since we have some free time, today was our first rehearsal.  We rehearsed at the Music Academy, which gave me the opportunity to go inside the building for the first time.  The music academy is situated on the third floor of a building very close to the National Theater, in the city center.  It looks very much like many of the music schools I’ve been to in the US: an old, long hallway, with classrooms, practice rooms, and offices spilling out sounds of rehearsals, lessons, and practice sessions.  Something about the building reminded me of Peabody, and I felt a little nostalgic for my undergraduate years. 

My quintet will hopefully give our first concert in early December, so we began to work on that program today.  We are playing light, easy pieces to start.  My Bosnian colleagues call the repertoire “limonata”, or “lemonade”.  In the US we’d call it a “pops” program.  Even though the music is not much of a challenge, I am looking forward to our concert.  I believe that we might be the first Bosnian woodwind quintet to perform in quite a long time…maybe since before the war.  So, the flutist, Sakib, told me that I will soon be a part of Bosnia’s cultural history!