Oriental Institute in Sarajevo as a Guardian of Cultural Memory – From Institution of Heritage to Mnemonic Symbol

Abstract

Oriental Institute in Sarajevo is a research institution with a long tradition of research, presentation and archiving of manuscripts in the Oriental-Islamic languages, with particular interest of history and culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Ottoman Empire rule. His field of activity is very broad and ranges from historical, political, ideological, religious, social, literary and linguistic, all the way up to the artistic themes. This paper aims emphasizing and presenting the Oriental Institute in Sarajevo as an institution of cultural and historical heritage. We believe that the Institute can rightly bear the title of the institution of memory, because his primary mission is keeping and archiving written material in the Oriental-Islamic languages, and interpretation and presentation of the former to the scientific and general public. In this way the Institute is undoubtedly involved in the preservation and creation of cultural memory and the construction of identity of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its people. Special attention is paid to the semantics and semiotics of tragedy of the Oriental Institute, and to the position of the Institute in general semiosphere of suffering in Sarajevo during the aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina. We tried to offer the interpretation of the symbolism of the tragedy of Oriental Institute, and underline the importance of keeping the memories of this tragedy.