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In March 2023, the Town Museum in Gračanica was visited by Zajim Šestan from Donja Lohinja, an 85-year-old resident and certainly the most knowledgeable and informed person when it comes to the past of his village. Zajim gave us an old photo–a portrait of Zećir Alefendić from Donja Lohinja, who died in 1938 at the age of 96, at the same time telling us everything he learned and remembered about Zećir, according to the accounts of older relatives and neighbors. These stories are part of the oral history of Donja Lohinja and its inhabitants, a history that lived among the people, that was passed down from generation to generation, much richer and more contentful than the written history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information about Latif Karić (1905-1991) from the village of Vranovići near Gračanica, a widely known gusle player (guslar), but also one of the most respected locals, a man with a very interesting biography. He was born and grew up in an impoverished rural environment, in a village without an elementary school, but nevertheless he became literate and made considerable efforts in self-education. From an early age, he showed a gift for music and song, learning to play the saz, shargia, and then the gusle. As a guslar, he mainly performed old heroic epic songs. He performed at celebrations, parties, and social events in the wider surroundings of Gračanica, Srebrenik and Lukavac. Before the Second World War he also performed at night gatherings during Ramadan in a coffee house (kafana or kahva) in Gračanica. Besides being a guslar, he also was a reputed blacksmith, and a famous folk dentist. He was also considered a man of progressive views, an advocate of public enlightenment and education. He was one of the leaders of the campaign to build a school in the village in 1939 and 1940, which unfortunately did not succeed then, due to the resistance of other villagers. During the Second World War, he was among the respectable people from the wider area who strongly condemned robbery and looting, especially against the inhabitants of the neighboring Serbian Orthodox village of Gornja Lohinja, whose adult male inhabitants were arrested by the Ustashe and deported to concentration camps. From his youth until the end of his life, he faithfully maintained the tradition of gusle songs and Bosniak folk epics, as one of the last gusle players in North-Eastern Bosnia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]