“Inat” — The Most Powerful Weapon
I am proud to be a Serbian. We have a truly unique mentality that sets us apart from many. Our power of will can be summed up in four letter of a million meanings. That word is — “inat.”
Originally word “inat” is a Turkish word and means “persistence.” But in Serbian it takes on a deeper meaning.
To understand the word “inat,” one must first understand the Serbian history, which is a history of tragedy. Serbia has endured continuous fights and struggles to survive in spite of it’s often doomed destiny.
Living a normal life in the face of adversity (such as the coronavirus pandemic) is a common cord throughout the world. But Serbs have taken it to the extremes in 1999. Back when former Yugoslavia was attacked by NATO for 78 days.
Serbs did not spend those months in the bunkers underground, waiting for war to be over. Instead they decided instead to live a normal life. This meant holding rooftops parties as bombs fell around them, going out and even wearing T-shirts with targets embellished on their back.
Serbs kept walking across bridges even though they were open targets for bombers. The Serbs were in many ways daring NATO to murder them. Many have called that insanity, but it’s actually “inat.”
The word “inat” embodies rejection and acceptance of one’s reality at the same time. Westerners use many words in attempt to translate “inat.” Often it is described as defiance, spite, courage, or resilience. None of them are accurate, in my opinion.
“Inat” is much more than these words.
It’s like when you do something that’s the opposite of what everyone wants and expects, just because they’re pushing you.
It is doing something on purpose, even though it’s forbidden, perhaps because it’s forbidden.
It’s like shooting a fighter bomber with a pistol.
As obstacles grow, so does “inat.”
“Inat” can be found elsewhere in the world. It is when Winston Churchill said, “We shall fight on the beaches.”
In JFK’s speech about the moon, he said, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” Kennedy showed “inat.” It is when Ireland voted in its referendum not to submit to the EU constituency. Or when a 90-year old man fights a criminal — all of that is “inat.”
It’s like a lion’s roar against the dying of the light. It’s fighting against all odds. It’s the opposite of what we all would wish life to be.
It’s a defiance of “reality,” which one knows is finite and still believes that it must and will be different.
It is when Novak Djokovic wins tennis matches when everyone and everything is working against him: the audience, the judges, and coronavirus pandemic.
It is when we are faced with injustice.
And the bigger the injustice, the harder we push — and then the sweeter the moral victory is. No matter the cost.
And if we lose, it’s for not letting anyone break us.
Many see “inat” as a curse, I see it as a pride. Even in the worst circumstances, we always do our best.
That is the meaning of the Serbian “inat.”
Written by another proud Serb, called Mila.
16 January 2022
Dovidjenja i Sve Najbolje.
