In the Buzimkic family workshop, there’s a lot of work. Kenan is finishing the making of an Una boat. He himself no longer knows which number boat this is that he has made. The Una boat is a symbol of Bosanska Krupa, part of the culture and identity of its residents.
“We’re quite different from others, for example from those in Novi Grad or Bihac. Ours are somehow easier for us to steer and more accessible to people,” says Kenan Buzimkic, a master of making Una boats.
Bosanska Krupa is known for wood processing. Wood is the main raw material for making an Una boat. It gets finished in five days, and it takes half a cubic meter of wood to build.
“We make them from two types of wood, spruce and oak. We put oak into those molds that need to be stronger, more solid, and we line them with spruce because it easily absorbs and releases water. That’s for durability and easier shaping so we can shape them into our form,” Kenan adds.
Fifty years ago, Una boats were used to cross from one bank of the Una to the other. Growing up by the river required knowledge of rowing and steering the boat.
“We Buzimkics, as our family name goes, were those old masters who built these boats and with them built houses, because back in the 70s or 80s, very few had cars to transport that material. They would bring sand from the water by boat, trees and timber were gathered. That’s when the boat building started, and then came the races on the Una River – the Una boatmen,” he explained.
Besides making them, Kenan has also been a boatman since childhood. He rowed his first race in 2007. The Una boatmen is a traditional boat race on the Una River. Kenan has won many awards and first places over the years. The “Unski ladjari” Association organizes this race every year in mid-summer, and it has become part of the sports and tourism offering of Bosanska Krupa.
“This year we’re organizing the 45th Una boatmen race. We had a break during the unfortunate war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), but in all other years, our boats have sailed the Una. Last year, the city of Bosanska Krupa entrusted us to organize the race for the first time on our own and it went just as well. We had 12 registered participants, six of them were competitive, and the rest took part in a more exhibition style, which was our support from the old boatmen,” says Una Amira Velagic, vice president of the “Unski ladjari” Association.
Unlike the older generations, newer ones don’t have the chance to get to know the river and rowing. Because of that, fewer sign up for the race. The “Unski ladjari” Association aims to bring boats closer to the youth and encourage them to join the race.
“The technology we use today has affected all of us, and it has taken the youth out of nature and into enclosed spaces. Our idea is to bring them back to the riverbanks and increase participation in the competition. As an association, we came up with the idea and got support from the ministry and the city to make our own boats, which we’ll give to the same children to learn, and we, the old boatmen, will be like teachers, coaches, a support for their first strokes,” adds Una Amira Velagic.
Sailing and events on the Una will continue as long as new boats are being made, but this craft is generally endangered today.
“I’m the only young person in Bosanska Krupa involved in this. For me, it’s still a hobby even today, but maybe one day it will become a family business where we’ll only produce these boats. But slowly, it might also be dying out, really,” says Kenan Buzimkic.
Preserving the tradition and sailing the boats is the task of all Una boatmen, and as long as they exist, wherever they may be in the world, at least once a year their boats will tame the rapids of the cold and clear Una River, BHRT writes.
