From the small village of Obrov near Bijelo Polje to world scholarship
Avdo Međedović was born around 1875 in the village of Obrov near Bijelo Polje (present-day Montenegro). He came from a Muslim Bosniak family with Orthodox Serbian origins (the Rovčani lineage). The family traditionally engaged in the butcher’s trade—his father was Ćor Huso Huseinović, a well-known guslar from Kolašin.
Origins and roots
From a small environment to a great legacy
Avdo Međedović was born in the village of Obrov, near Bijelo Polje, during the time of the Ottoman Empire. He came from a Muslim family which, according to available data, had Orthodox origins connected to the Rovčani tribe.
The family worked as butchers, which shaped his early life and social position.
Early life
Without school, but not without knowledge
As a young man, he worked as a butcher and had no formal education. Throughout his life he remained illiterate, but possessed exceptional linguistic abilities.
He spoke Serbo-Croatian, learned Turkish during military service, and had basic knowledge of the Albanian language. His knowledge came not from books, but from experience and environment.
Military service
Experience that shapes a person
He spent a significant part of his life in the army:
- served at the Bulgarian border
- stayed in Thessaloniki, where he attained the rank of sergeant
- was wounded during conflicts
He spent 45 days in hospital, where one bullet was removed while another remained in his arm—a lasting reminder of that period of his life.
Family life and guslar skill
After returning from the army, he married at the age of 29, had three sons, and lived on the family estate in Obrov near Bijelo Polje. He was introduced to the gusle from childhood. He learned from his father Ćor Huso, and later from masters Ćor Huso Husović and Nezir Kaljić. Parry and Lord described him as the “most versatile and most skilled” guslar they had ever recorded.
“Avdo had a strong voice, but according to Lord also weaker diction… However, in talent and endurance he surpassed all other singers.”
— Albert B. Lord
Death and legacy
He died in 1955, leaving behind a rich oral heritage.
Albert Lord described him as:
“the last great epic singer of the Balkan tradition”
His significance today goes beyond the local context and represents a key point in the understanding of oral literature.