Mythologies of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The rock-carving by an artist found in Badanj Cave near the city of Stolac dates back to Paleolithic times (c. 12,000 and 16,000 BCE). It represents the death of a horse under a rain of arrows. It is the oldest Paleolithic finding in southeast Europe. There is also a rich legacy of Neolithic culture in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Particularly beautiful items have been found in Butmir near Sarajevo (5000 BC). During the Bronze Age, the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina was occupied by Illyrian tribes such as the Japods in Bihać and the Daors in Daorson, near Stolac. They were directly influenced by the Greeks, as seen in Daorson especially. The Illyrians were conquered by the Romans, who left roads, bridges, and beautiful villas with mosaics all over Bosnia and Herzegovina. The best preserved examples are at Mogorjelo near Čapljina and the mosaics at Stolac (dating from the 3rd century). The Christian basilica are found throughout the country (Zenica, Visoko, Mostar, Široki Brijeg … ), and their carved stone stonework influenced the first original medieval Bosnian art, found on tombstones – stećak.
The Bosnian medieval ethno-genesis, like elsewhere in Europe, has comprised different ethnic groups whose mutual mixing throughout centuries brought about a new people, as it was called by R. Martins, who saw the light of day when the first form of stable political power appeared in the 10th and 11th century. At least four different ethnic groups participated in its creation: Illyrian, Roman, Avar and Slavic. It is understandable that the latter, Slavic, has the most prominent position – the language being the best evidence – however, the role of others, primarily Illyrian, is not negligible. Adhering to these principles, a historian would have this tremendous privilege to present to his fellow countrymen this sensitive speech of different cultures and civilizations which, independent of their ideological barriers, have been conducting this substantial dialogue on this ground for centuries. In this way, it would become crystal clear that a civilization is at the same time both an existence and a movement, and that civilizations or cultures in all their abundant manifestation of oceans of customs, forcing situations, consents, decisions, confirmations, which are all sheer realities to all of us appearing to be personal and spontaneous in spite of frequently coming from afar.
The Bosnian medieval ethno-genesis, like elsewhere in Europe, has comprised different ethnic groups whose mutual mixing throughout centuries brought about a new people, as it was called by R. Martins, who saw the light of day when the first form of stable political power appeared in the 10th and 11th century. At least four different ethnic groups participated in its creation: Illyrian, Roman, Avar and Slavic. It is understandable that the latter, Slavic, has the most prominent position – the language being the best evidence – however, the role of others, primarily Illyrian, is not negligible
The area that is now Bosnia and Herzegovina has been inhabited by human beings since at least the Upper Paleolithic, but evidence suggests that during the Neolithic age, permanent human settlements were established, including those that belonged to the Butmir, Kakanj, and Vučedol cultures. After the arrival of the first Indo-Europeans, the area was populated by several Illyrian and Celtic civilizations. Culturally, politically, and socially, the country has a rich and complex history. The ancestors of the South Slavic peoples that populate the area today arrived during the 6th through the 9th century. In the 12th century, the Banate of Bosnia was established; by the 14th century, this had evolved into the Kingdom of Bosnia. In the mid-15th century, it was annexed into the Ottoman Empire, under whose rule it remained until the late 19th century. The Ottomans brought Islam to the region, and altered much of the country’s cultural and social outlook.
According to the Bosnian mythology, fairies are born from the dew that falls on the leaves of a large tree that grows on a mysterious, unknown hill. Legends say that they have magical powers that can be used for good and bad purposes as evidenced by a number of events described in the countless poems which describe how fairies became mother, sister or lover to heroes like Alija Djerzelez, Mujo Hrnjica or Halil. This belief in abandoned fairy children resulted in one of the most humane practices of care of orphans which saved thousands of abandoned children at an early age from certain death. Bosnian people believed that the children left after birth are actually children of some fairy and they would gladly adopt and raise them as their own. It was believed that these children bring happiness and prosperity to the family, which was under the protection of the fairy. Since there was no orphanage or some other state institutions that would take care of abandoned children in past centuries in BiH, this belief helped in the care of many orphans who were left in the woods or on the street by irresponsible parents.
The honor of opening up the first chapter of Bosnian mythological scene deservedly belongs to the mystical being Tur (bull) who holds Earth on his shoulders, according to legends. Curiosity of this mythological tale is that it is only present among Bosnian people and as such it represents exceptionally important segment in search of our origin. Researching available tales and data about the extinct bovine of the same name, Tur (Bos primigenius) I came to a conclusion that our ancestors Illyrians, probably came to our area from today’s Iran and India, following this creature during its migration towards the European lands. Namely, according to research of the Paleontological museum at the University of Oslo, first examples appeared in the area of today’s India two million years BCE from where they migrated to the Midlle East and other parts of Asia. They reached Europe around 250 000 BCE. Since prehistory Tur was an important animal for the survival of humans, our ancestors as well, which is evidenced by drawings in pre-historic caves but also the above mentioned legend.
From the time of the giants
North-western part of BiH, more precisely the mountain Kozara could reveal the biggest proof that these areas were once governed by giants. Mysterious rings of enormous size which were revealed in previous years at the mountain tops point to the fact that they were used by the gigantic creatures which lived in these parts of Bosnia millions of years ago. According to the local inhabitants, these rings stem from the time when the Panonian sea existed and that the gigantic rings were used to tie ships, since these areas were a popular port at those times. Since there was no extensive research or archaeological examination, possible explanations are endless.
The mystery is deepened by the fact that local inhabitants claim that the area is rich in other unusual discoveries, but that they purposefully refuse to speak more on these topics. Kozara is not the only place where these gigantic rings were discovered. These precisely processed stones can be seen in the vicinity of the hills near Vogošća, between Breza and Vareš, and close to Dubrovnik (Croatia). Bosnian people from these areas believe that the stone rings are of great cultural and historical importance and that it is important to examin the origin professionally, since the stone rings from the area of Kozara and Vogošća are one of the most unusual mysteries of the past.
Bosniaks – snake people
According to Bosnian mythology the snake is the first being that God created, it appeared 40 years before the first man and animal were created. This mythological data is especially interesting from the aspect of perceiving numerous other beliefs and legends about the snake in BiH since it gives us a basis for understanding the entire concept of the snake cult phenomenon. We should especially note the connection of this cult with the tradition of our people whose Illyrian genes justify denomination of Bosniaks as snake people. Among the multitude of beliefs a legend about a giant snake stands out, this snake encircles the entire globe, forming a belt around it, which when analysed geometrically depicts a circle which has a dot in the centre. In such a way we get the symbol of the sun which is inseparable from the snake cult. We shouldn’t disregard the peculiarity of this transcendental myth which directs us towards a mystical idea that a snake has a celestial form besides its earthly one. Folk beliefs claim that the snake is as large as a mountain in its original form but thanks to its mystical powers it manages to appear in its miniature form in front of humans. It is, according to all aforesaid, a being of exceptional magical power and one of the greatest forces that exist in the universe. The cult of mountain peaks, which certain folklorists and ethnologists hypothesised to belong to the solar cult, can be directly connected with the snake cult through simple logic and folk descriptions of the snake as a gigantic appearance which is compared to that of a mountain. In such a manner we again confirm the hypothesis about the inseparable connection of the sun and the snake in folk beliefs.
Mythological world of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bik Garonja (Black Bull): old Bosniaks believed that the Earth rests on the back of a giant black bull. When the bull moves his ear then an earthquake takes place somewhere in the world, and on the day when the bull shudders the whole world will come to an end (Judgement day or Kiyamet). The tumult that is heard during the earthquake is believed to be the bulls bellow.
in the past Bosniaks believed in dragons, they described them as giant snakes with wings that were able to live both in the sky and on the land. It can be concluded from the folklore that dragons were males, there was no mention of a female dragon, and the dragons fulfilled their desire for offspring with human woman and animals, especially cows. According to folklore if a dragon was attracted to a woman, he would come to her room at night or wait for her somewhere outside, on a meadow, and he would use his magical powers to put her in a trance like state. After the intercourse the dragon would fly away and the woman wouldn’t have any recollection of the incident.
After WWII in Bosnia rumours started spreading about scary apparitions which were called Prepasti. Usually they appeared on roads, meadows or next to rivers and creeks as obscure, black clouds, silhouette and whirlwinds that would go high into the clouds and sometimes they would turn into scary dark figures. Those supernatural apparitions were described by the people as distempered ghosts of dead soldiers because the places where they usually appeared were battlefields where large number of soldiers died during the war. Prepasti usually appeared in places where the soldiers lost one of their body parts, and according to belief they appeared to search for their lost limbs. Prepasti would disappear forever when the rain completely washes their blood from the soil and when plough furrows their bones into the ground.
Aždaha (Dragons)
In the past Bosniaks believed in dragons, they described them as giant snakes with wings that were able to live both in the sky and on the land. It can be concluded from the folklore that dragons were males, there was no mention of a female dragon, and the dragons fulfilled their desire for offspring with human woman and animals, especially cows. According to folklore if a dragon was attracted to a woman, he would come to her room at night or wait for her somewhere outside, on a meadow, and he would use his magical powers to put her in a trance like state. After the intercourse the dragon would fly away and the woman wouldn’t have any recollection of the incident.
Demonic creatures that have an aberrant form, which were created out of a flame. The Bosnian people describe the Jinn as small creatures with one eye and a tail. Each Jinn is limping. Even though they can take various human or animal forms they prefer to appear to humans in a form of a dark man (dark silhouette) whose face can never be seen. They also like to show themselves in a form of a black dog, a cat or a snake. It is believed that the Jinn are faithful servants but also masters of witches and wizards. When the Jinn want to seduce and subject someone to them, they dance a fiery circle and call out the name of the one they want. This usually happens when that person is sleeping. Jinn can dance a circle during the day but at that time in a whirlwind, that is why people avoid whirlwinds to this day. It is believed that as soon as the human utters: “In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful” and blows towards the whirlwind, that the whirlwind will disappear. A special group of Jinn by the name Al-Karisi attack women who have recently given birth, and babies in the first 40 days after the birth.
Faeries are young beautiful women with long golden hair. They have supernatural beauty and a soothing voice. They live inside forests and around lakes, they fly around trees and they like to dance in circles on the green grass. During that occasion they usually sing one of their many songs whose words worn people about some danger (“Ne zovi oca imenom, Ne udaraj konja povodcem, Ne tari nogu od nogu, Ne čini sebi sihira”). There’s a belief amongst the people that a child who feeds a fairy with his milk will become a great hero, this is best illustrated by the legend of Mujo Hrnjica. If people hurt the fairy in any way, it will immediately take revenge by making the human psychologically disturbed. Fairies were afraid of mothers, especially in the past. According to a Turkish folklore which found its place amongst the Bosnian people, in the past humans stole the first child of a fairy and ever since then the fairies seek revenge by stealing human children or by exchanging a human child for its own.
For this reason Bosnian women would place a metal object, most often a spoon, near baby’s feet inside the crib, when they had to leave the house or when they had to do some chores. In Bosnia and Herzegovina the most famous fairies are Bosanska vila, Gorska vila, and the queen fairy Zlatna. It was believed that Zlatna was the mistress of the forest and the water. Legend has it that every night, Zlatna accompanied by other fairies, went to the river to take a bath and after that they would dance and sing throughout the night on a nearby hillside. Bosnians believe that only those of pure spirit and a clear heart can see fairies in their sleep. Besides female fairies it is believed that there are male fairies amongst these mythological creatures. The most famous male fairy is Ušušur. According to a legend from Doboj, Ušušur fell in love with a girl, who married another man. Desperate and furious, Ušušur used his magical powers to drown the girl in a river. Comprehending the gravity of his actions, he threw himself in the river after the girl but he couldn’t drown himself because he was immortal. Because of this incident he decided to punish himself and he chained himself to the bottom of the river, which became his home. Ušušur is described by the people as green man, ragged and covered in moss.
They are demonic creatures that are similar to the Jinn. They are less powerful than the Jinn, because when a Šejtan enters a human, the human starts enjoying vices, impurity, lies or theft; but when a Jinn enters a human being, then the person suffers mental illnesses. Šejtan are easily frightened and they run away from humans as soon as the following words are uttered: “In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful”.
A Bosnian legend claims that that the Šejtan was present when the first man, Adam, was created. Namely, when God created the human body, He left it lifeless for three years. Each day the Šejtan would come and observe the human body and he would batter his fingers on the body. When he would reach the human’s head, he would batter it to and say: “This head won’t be empty”. At the passing of the third year Allah gave life to the human and it rose to life. Allah warned the human immediately about the Šejtan and told him not to speak to the first creature that approaches him and not to tell him his name. In the beginning Adam resisted the Šejtan’s advances, but after some time he gave in to the Šejtan’s blandishment and questions and he started a conversation with the Šejtan. The cunning Šejtan jumped on his left shoulder and exclaimed that he will remain there forever since they are now friends. As soon as God saw what had happened he sent an angel to land on to Adam’s right shoulder to stop the Šejtan from influencing the human to do evil all the time. In Bosnia against the Šejtan there is a saying: “Šejtanu nalet te bilo!”
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