Kata Nesiba: The Authentic and Illustrated History of a Belgrade Whore and Her Struggles for Her Constitutional Rights, 1830-1851

by Ivan Janković, Veljko Mihajlović (Illustrator), Jr. Henry R. Cooper (Translator)

The nineteenth century in Serbia began with two uprisings against an Ottoman overlordship that had oppressed not only the Serbs, but all of Southeastern Europe for almost four hundred years. Fired by memories of their medieval empire and determined to restore Serbia as a Christian state with European-style institutions, Serbia’s two princely families, the Karadordevices and the Obrenovices, vied with one another to modernize the country and eventually, in 1878, to achieve its full independence from the Ottoman Empire. Kata The Authentic and Illustrated History of a Belgrade Whore and Her Struggles for Her Constitutional Rights, 1830–1851, by retired Belgrade attorney Ivan Janković and illustrator Veljko Mihajlović, tells in vivid and authentic detail a major portion of the story of Serbia’s emancipation and modernization. Based on extensive research in Serbian archives, the author and illustrator uncover the tumultuous life of Kata, a Belgrade sex worker, as she lives and works in mid-century Serbia. They adduce numerous side stories, as well, to depict the sexual mores of the country at that time, not just of the “whores and harlots of Belgrade,” but also of the cross-dressing tavern entertainers, the LGBT population, political figures both small and great—Vuk Stefanović Karadzić, the “Father of Serbian Literacy” among them—and the ever-diminishing power of the Turks in Serbia’s political, economic, and social life. From dusty archives Kata Nesiba brings to life the authentic stories of the men and women who experienced some of the most tumultuous times in Serbia’s long and fraught history. And, as the author and illustrator delight in pointing out, so much of what happened then is happening again, in a Serbia once again independent.

115 pages, Paperback

Published October 20, 2022

About the author

Ivan Janković, advokat, rođen je 1946. godine. Diplomirao je na Pravnom fakultetu u Beogradu (1968) i na Univerzitetu u Kembridžu (1971). Zvanje magistra pravnih nauka stekao je na Pravnom fakultetu Univerziteta u Beogradu 1972. godine, a doktorat iz sociologije je odbranio na University of California, 1977. Jedan je od osnivača Fonda za humanitarno pravo, osnivač je i član Centra za antiratnu akciju, Evropskog pokreta za Jugoslaviju, Udruženja za jugoslovensku demokratsku inicijativu. Osnivač je i predsednik Udruženja za borbu protiv smrtne kazne. U mnogim sudskim procesima branio je one kojima su narušavana ljudska prava. Član je Advokatske komore Beograda, Predsedništva Sociološkog društva Srbije i Jugoslovenskog udruženja za sociologiju. Autor više članaka u pravnim, sociološkim i istorijskim časopisima - o zlostavljanju i represiji; kao i monografije o smrtnoj kazni, - „Smrt u prisustvu vlasti“. Autor je knjige “Kata Nesiba: istinita i ilustrovana istorija jedne beogradske bludnice i njene borbe za ustavna prava 1830–1851”.

Reviews

[Кристина Цабала · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book! I absolutely recommend it to everyone who wonder how did the Balkans look like two centuries ago, especially when it comes to homosexuality, child prostitution, sex work, forced labour, and underground economics. I have always asked myself how homosexuality was perceived and how was it expressed in ottoman times, and the book provides unexpected and surprisingly insightful information about it (especially with the male cocek dancers and rapes).

The book also provides great insights to the economics of Serbia, its urban landscape and how people did things without being literate (which is something I have always asked myself).

I particularly appreciate the part about the treatment of syphilis (my new favourite provocative fact), homosexual culture, and the first arrival of an elephant in Serbia.

My only critique is the lack of citations, which makes the book a bit difficult to use in research. Nevertheless, I loved it and I used it frequently in my PhD dissertation!