The Moon Cult

Although small number of ethnological data on magic inheritance of Bosnia & Herzegovina can be found today, from what such data disclose it can be clearly found that in the past existed several types of cults among which the Sun and the Moon cults dominated.

Even these days, when they see a New Moon, some Bosniak women perform the ritual in which the influence of Islam and the old days Moon cult interlace with each-other. While gazing to the moon, a woman, lifts her arms to the chest level, with her palms pointing the sky, chants 5 Qu'ran-s prayers, after what she wipes her face with the palms. In the continuation, a Moon Cult ritual follows; a woman points her right forefinger to the Moon saying: “The way you Moon grove and transform so renew my form (existence)”. Apart from this ritual there were dozens of similar rituals amongst Bosniak women that were passed from one female generation to another. In another ritual woman prays to the New Moon for a good health of her children, in which case she directly alludes to the Goddess of the Moon; the protector of fertility and children. Another interesting belief alludes to the old times idea on divine characteristic of the Moon, namely; it is believed that when the New Moon is seen for the first time the formula:“ I see New Moon, Mashallah!“ should be chanted, as in contrary a bad magic of “evil eyes” can strike the person. In traditional Bosnian beliefs small kids are most vulnerable to the influence of the evil eyes what leads to the idea that in the old days the New Moon has been considered as a divine child,i.e. freshly (re)born Goddess, which her followers need to protect; in the faze when she has no enough strength and power.