Mythology of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Vukodlak or Werewolf

Among the Bosnian folk the name Werewolf is often used for a vampire even though we are talking about two separate mythological beings. According to legend, werewolf is created when an evil man is possessed by a demon and then he turns into a hairy night monster that kills livestock, mostly sheep and sometimes even humans. The belief in werewolf's goes far back in time, the time when our forefathers the Illyrians inhabited Bosnia which worshiped the god of forests and mountains Vidasus which is described in legends as a male body completely covered in hair.

A human being can become a werewolf in case of a demon intervention or a magical ritual. In Trebinje, according to ethnological data, a case of lycanthropy happened in the 19th century, the woman who practiced the ritual of transformation was a witch and she knew the secret pagan transformation rituals. Every time she wanted to transform into a werewolf she would take a rope and make a circle out of it on the ground. She would then take off all of her clothes and place it into the middle of the circle. She would then perform a forward somersault three times, making thus a circle with her body, in the meantime she would transform into a werewolf. She would repeat the same process if she wanted to transform back into a human. This case, like many others, wouldn't be recorded if the witch in the form of a werewolf didn't kill 40 sheep's to some landowner and him reporting it to the local authorities who undertook a search and found the culprit and the way in which the crime unfolded.

Sibjan

One of the most powerful female demons of the old Mesopotamia was Labartu, the daughter of god Anu, who as legends claim lived alongside mountains, deserts and swamps. Her appearance, as the old records in cuneiform claim, was cold imperturbable and cruel, her hair unkempt, a lion's face and naked breasts. She attacked local livestock out of the thicket as a habit and she would rip their bodies with her long claws. She was especially prone to attacking pregnant women and small children. Her greatest pleasure was, as legends claim, to cause miscarriage in women. With the advent of Islam the name of that demon was changed into Umma Sibjan and the belief in her arrived in Bosnia during the Ottoman period.

According to belief Sibjan caused a disease in children which is called in Bosnia sibiluk and is manifested by a lot of crying, slight and temporary paralysis of the child's body, loss of appetite, anaemia, insomnia,... Against her attack various prophylactic measures were undertaken like leaving a fish bone, a clove of garlic and a snake stone next to the child. If an attack by this demon took place the child would be treated by magical methods, the mother would carry the child along with a sugar cube under a chestnut tree, whose roots stretch on the earth's surface, and there she runs the child three times underneath it. If she is unable to find such a tree she carries the child to a house that the child never visited and runs the child three times underneath the beams of the house.

The fear of negative influence by Sibjan on the mother and the child caused dozens of taboos that the young mother needs to follow during the first 40 days of pregnancy: she shouldn't leave the house after midnight, she needs to carry a scarf on her head covering every single hair on her head, she mustn't wash clothes, etc.

Drekovi

Drekovi are wandering ghosts, who cause noise and racket, that's what influenced their name. Legends claim that these spirits are souls of fallen soldiers who are restless in the afterlife because of the many crimes they committed during the war. According to folk belief Drekovi appear right after sunset and they wonder constantly from graveyard to graveyard trying to find peace and tranquillity, which they will never find.

Cholera or Kolera


Cholera is considered to be a powerful demon of disease that usually comes at night, around midnight, in a carriage without horses and after which the sound of long chains being drawn on the ground can be heard. According to folk belief there are always two female demons in the carriage wearing traditional Muslim clothes holding staffs in their hands. One has a black staff and the other a white one. If a man is struck by the white staff he will fall ill but will recover over time, however if he is hit by a black one then he will die soon and there is no help for him. The two female demons are not scared of a dog bark nor can they be scared away by curses or prayers like many other demons of disease.

Cikavac or Squeaker


Cikavac is a demonic creature which is created by a witch or an evil woman to serve her. The first egg given by a black chicken is taken and the witch keeps it under her left arm for 40 days until a Cikavac emerges. During that time the woman mustn't wash her face or mention God because otherwise the ritual will not work. When the Cikavac emerges he looks like a bladder or bellows and he has a voice just like a little chicken. The witch sends him to eat milk from the neighbouring stalls every night. At dawn the Cikavac returns to the witch and ejects all the milk and fat that she then eats or sells to others. The people believe that it is a great sin to create a Cikavac.

Bik Garonja or Black Bull

Old Bosniaks believed that the Earth rests on the back of a giant black bull (Tur). 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). The tumult that is heard during the earthquake is believed to be the bulls bellow.



According to the second version of this myth underneath the Earth's surface there is a huge sea which is inhabited by a gigantic fish. On her back there is a huge bull holding the Earth on his back and in such a way prevents it from falling into the sea. When the bull moves one of his ears the Earth shakes and somewhere in the world there is an earthquake, but if he would move one of his legs or another part of his body the entire Earth would fall into the ocean. To prevent that dramatic scenario, God created a fly which constantly flies in front of the bull's eyes, of which he is afraid of, paralysing him from fear so that he cannot move.

Velika nebeska ptica

In the past in Bosnia the custom to throw peelings from fruit into the fire in order to feed the celestial bird were honoured. It was considered to be a good deed. According to a legend, Allah punished her to fly around the skies until the end of time without an opportunity to descend to earth and rest. The large celestial bird was punished by god because she wanted to defy gods will and at one opportunity she made a bet with god that she will change the fate of a girl and a boy that god had predetermined as husband and wife. The large celestial bird took the girl and carried her off to the tallest mountain among humans, far away from everyone. At the highest peak of the mountain, the bird spread the skin of an ox across the branches of the gigantic tree and placed the girl there. She took care of her for years until she grew into a fine young woman. In the mean time on the other side of the world the boy also matured into a handsome and strong young man who one day headed into the world to find himself a wife. He wondered around the world until his fate led him to the tall mountain. Weary from his journey he decided to rest under the exact giant tree that the girl lived on. She saw him and immediately fell in love with him. She asked him what was he doing under the tree and he replied that he was looking for a wife. The girl called him up, but the tree was so tall that he couldn't climb up nor could she climb down. Suddenly the girl came up with a solution and asked the young man to hide inside a sheep skin and remain there until she tells him otherwise. He did exactly what she told him. Not long after that the large bird came, the girl told her that she had seen a dead sheep underneath the tree and asked the bird to fetch it for her so she can make some clothes for herself out of its wool. The bird did as the girl told and flew off in search for some food.

The young man remained with the girl for a whole year, hiding from the large bird, and during that period she became pregnant and gave birth to a child. Allah who was observing what was going on the whole time called the bird to him and asked - Do you still believe that my will can be changed? - Yes, replied the bird. Then god replied that she was the one who brought the young man to the girl and helped them in consummating their love.

Lampir


In Bosnia vampires are called lampir, lapir, lampijer, vukodlak or vukozlačina. It was believed that if a cat crosses over a deceased man that he will become a lampir. Of course the effect would be cancelled out if the cat returns the same way it came. Because people were afraid that this would happen they would place a knife on dead man's chest or they would spike a knife next to his head. There was also a custom where people would place a bowl of wheat or only three grains of wheat where the dead person was lying before he was buried, after the burial the wheat was given to a pauper. There were a lot of lampiers but the most famous ones were Meho from Glamoč, Pajo Tomić and a certain Korkut from Nevesinje.



Bosnian witches were able to call forth the deadly power of the vukodlak by going to a graveyard and repeating the formula: "Adali Ada to protect me!" and then they would sit next to a grave keeping their eyes closed, and they would grab a handful of dirt and they would take it home. They would hold on to that dirt until one of their enemies would die and they would plant the dirt under the threshold of his house while the deceased is carried out of it. They did this because they wanted someone else dead from that household.

Dobri



In Bosnia there is a legend about Šehidi (martyrs) and especially evlije, holy men, that they can help people even after they die and that's why they are called dobri. It is believed that dobri rise from their graves at night and they pray to Allah. Because of that belief people leave jugs (made out of copper) of water and clean towels inside mausoleums in order for the dobri to take ablution (religious cleansing). A large number of people who were in charge of taking care of the mausoleums swore that a lot of the times they saw wet floor from the water and misplaced towels. That was usually interpreted as a dobri rising during the night to take ablution and to pray to God.

Did Adže


Did Adže: belief in this mythological being is characteristic for the south-western part of Bosnia, in Cazin-Velika Kladuša to be more exact, where it is believed that he is a dwarf with a long white beard and black feet who rides a large white rooster. His name stems from the Bogomil name for priests- Did. According to the above mentioned it is clear that this creature is a Bogomil priest from the south-western parts of Bosnia whose name stuck through legends in Bosnia. Did Adže presents a mystical character who was used to scare children into submission. Although in legends Did Adže possesses powers of teleporting, he is the keeper of wisdom and an entrance in the underworld.

Prepasti


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.

Stuhe


In the past it was believed that stuhe or zduhači were male witches. They possessed magical powers and they were clairvoyant. They usually helped people by performing various miracles and protecting some place from ill weather. They usually moved at night. Amongst the people there are a lot of tales about fights between stuha when there was a fight between the good ones and the bad ones. The most famous zduhači in Bosnia and Herzegovina were Gaibija and Suljo Aganović from Foča.

In the XVII century in Bosnian Gradiška there lived a man by the name of Hasan Effendi called Gaibija, according to folk belief he was one of zduhača or clairvoyants who were always present in Bosnia. He was well respected among the people and especially among the Turks. Even the great vizier Kara-Mustafa heard of his prophecies while he was getting ready to take over Vienna once again. He asked him if his conquest will be successful. It is said that the great vizier received the following answer from Gaibija: "Kara-Mustafa will arrive happily to Vienna, but in the end he will suffer tremendously!" He discouraged the other Turks, who were going from Bosnia and Slavonia into the viziers camp, from going into the war, because it would be their certain doom. That caused him to be exiled, he then moved to Bosnian Gradiška where he spent the rest of his life.

In the biographies of Great Turkish writers (Tezkyerek mešahiri Ottomans) the following was writen about him: " Hasan Effendi oracle or muabir was born in Mostar. His father was Bey Omer Alajbegović. He was an art professor and later a public teacher of a mosque in Istanbul. He visited the holy places Mecca and Medina. Oracle Effendi Hasan was an epitome of infallibility and kindness and in his forty years of clairvoyance and dream interpretation he was flawless. During the siege of Vienna he foresaw that Kara-Mustafa will not make it back alive, this angered Kara-Mustafa, and when he heard that he tried discouraging the soldiers from going into the war, he banished him from Adrianople, the oracle never returned to Istanbul."

Oracle Gaibija was killed by Turkish soldiers in 1688. A mystic legend surrounds the murder: On a quiet night, after the nightly prayer, the oracle crossed from Bosnian Gradiška onto side of Slavonia into a forest to rest a while. Fate wanted his prophecy to be fulfilled: "Sava border - Gaibija's back". There on the Austrian and Turkish border, drunk soldiers murdered Gaibija. Acting on the order of the commander of the fort of Bosnian Gradiška, his remains were carried to the place where he was murdered, and still today there lies his tomb (turbe).

Faeries or Vile

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. 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.

Dragons or Zmajevi


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.

Fatima K. from Bosanski Novi claimed that she gave birth to a dragon in 1974: "I gave birth inside the house, sometime after midnight, after half an hour of painful labour, out came a child in a white placenta and after a few moments it disappeared?!" She claimed that she never saw the child again and therefore she concluded that she didn't give birth to a "Snijet" but to a dragon. Another confirmation to this claim is that her breasts were full of milk in the evening, but when she woke up in the morning they were all drained. This occurred on a daily basis for a couple of months. Being afraid she told this to her neighbour, an old lady, who in turn told her that it was the dragon-child that came each night to feed himself with her breast milk. After some time the night visits ceased.

Jinn or Džin

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.

Šejtani or Sheitan

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!"

Angels or Meleci


It is believed among the people that there are two angels, one of them is blind and the other one is deaf, which are sent by Allah to stir up the clouds and the storm to places where Allah wishes to punish the people because of some sin. If the blind one hears the prayer from the mosque he will immediately redirect the clouds and save that place from the storms. It is further believed that the Šejtan wants to hinder him in his intent and that a fierce fight between them arises. According to the legends when the angel swings his sword towards the Šejtan a lightning flashes in the sky.

When a baby is smiling it is believed that it has seen an angel. The angels are considered to be the protectors of babies because of the baby's purity and impeccability. It is believed that babies are actually angels until the moment when they learn to speak because then they can utter the bad words along with the good ones and so they lose their gracious ability.

Soul or Duša

According to belief a man should never be woken abruptly because his soul leaves his body while he sleeps and travels around the world without any limitations. There is a similar belief amongst the Bosniaks about witches, they can also travel in the same manner with their physical bodies while they are asleep. When a witch falls asleep her soul exits through her mouth and wanders off to do evil to other humans. Her body then becomes blue and cold, her mouth stretches and her lips blacken. Before dawn her soul returns in a form of a bumble bee and enters her mouth at which moment she awakes abruptly from this mystic state.

It is believed that the souls of children haven't yet completely merged with the body and that their souls wander the world almost every time they fall asleep. Because of this reason mothers who want to move their child while it is sleeping, call the child by its name, or she lightly pulls its nose, wanting to alarm the soul about what is happening at that moment. Immediately the soul returns to the body. Otherwise, if the soul isn't warned, it is believed that the child can get ill or have serious psychological consequences.



Today in Bosnia and Herzegovina it is believed that a dying man's soul can not leave his body until his family and his neighbours "ne halale" (forgive him for his sins).

Čifuti

Coming to Bosnia the Jewish people were known as very stingy people to which a dozen sayings witness. That's why they are called Čifuti or misers. But the thing which was most linked to them was the killing of children. This belief about the Jews is not far from the truth because we find written records in Bosnia about the concoction of a magical remedy made out of human parts, called mumijo or mumya, which were made by the Jewish witches or rabbis. They acquired human parts by stealing corpses or by kidnapping and killing Christian and Muslim children. It was believed that during Pasha or some other holiday the Jews steal a child place him in a casserole and sting it with needles until it bleeds out. That's why children were frightened by these words: "Run to your uncle, run to your uncle, sting!" (Bježi amidži, bježi daidži, boc!”) in order for them to stay away from the Jewish homes.

Cigani


Gypsies were also known among the folk in BIH as children kidnappers. According to folk belief they broke an arm or a leg to the kidnapped child or they blinded him so that it can beg for money in such a disfigured form. To individual gypsy women, magical properties were ascribed which allowed them to mug anyone they wished. Usually they did it with the help of a small finger from a child's corps and by uttering secret magical formulas. For that purpose they usually used a wing from a bat. Gypsies were even mentioned in magical formulas for curing fear such as salijevanje strahe (melting lead) when the stravarka banishes the fear with the following words: "Let the gypsies take your fear and your tears in their sack far away from you!"

Snakes inside a human being

All until the half of the past century in smaller places around Bosnia and Herzegovina it was believed that there were snakes that can enter a human body and spend a certain amount of time inside it. Such a scenario would take place if a man fell asleep outside, in the shade of a tree, and opened his mouth during sleep. Allegedly the snake would use that moment if it was in the vicinity and enter his body. She would stay there for days, months even years. The man who had a snake inside him could be recognised by loss of weight and pale face. According to folk belief the snake would eat everything what the man ate not leaving anything for him. In order to cure himself of this mysterious disease the man would be told to lay somewhere outside, on the grass, and fall asleep and one of the inhabitants would bake a chicken and place it next to his mouth. According to belief as soon as the snake would sense the smell of roast meat she would get hungry and would go out and in such a way free the man of its presence.

Karanđoloz


The belief about this mythological creature was brought over to Bosnia by the Ottoman Empire. Karanđoloz as it is believed can be found at night on lonely intersections, when it surprises a traveller by jumping on his back and riding him like a horse. Besides being very heavy, Karanđoloz has an awful smell and reeks, and in that way deepens the traveller's misery and suffering. If the Karanđoloz asks the traveller "Am I heavy?" the answer mustn't be affirmative or this being of the night will become even heavier. The Karanđoloz won't stop torturing the man until dawn; when the roosters call is heard in the morning the demonic being will disappear. People used to protect themselves against the being by going around the house or a stable in circles holding a walnut in each hand and clapping one against the other they uttered: "Tučem kućnog dušmanina, što berićet odnosi a musibet donosi!". The famous Bosnian writer Mehmed Meša Selimović wrote about Karanđoloz.

Meknjača or Plačo

Is the name of a mysterious bird that has never been seen but has been heard usually during eve time or at night. Its call can be compared to a child crying. The folk believe that it is a soul of a deceased child that has turned into a bird and that it is only heard when someone is about to die. It is also called drekavac.

Mora or Nightmare


Bosniaks believe that a Mora is a discarded or cheated girl which uses this form to get back at her boyfriend. In her invisible form she comes every night around midnight and suffocates the young man by sitting on his chest. The young man feels a large pressure on his chest, he sweats and has nightmares. He awakes in the morning pale and feels powerless. It is believed that every girl can turn into a Mora if she surrenders her soul to Iblis.



How does one catch a girl-Mora? From the mosque one must bring a green belt used for tying down a deceased to the stretcher during a funeral. The one who is attacked by a Mora must go to bed holding the green belt in his right hand. He mustn't fall asleep but only keep his eyes closed. Around midnight the Mora will appear and sit on his chest. At that moment the man needs to put the belt on himself and the Mora will become visible to the human eye. Caught in a trap the Mora will be scared and she will start to beg the man not to reveal her secret in return she must swear not to be a Mora any longer. That way she will lose her invisibility power and she will become a normal girl once again.

Witch, Naletnica or Sihirbaza

According to a Bosnian belief girls become witches if they wish to cause someone harm, for example, to get revenge on her neighbour, her neighbour's cattle or children. Witches drink children's blood and they take away the milk from cows. While a Mora stops being a Mora as soon as she gets married, the same thing does not apply to witches. They don't lose their title after marriage because they stepped on the Holy Qur'an and they gave their souls to Iblis.

The witch can turn into a large butterfly and enter any house she wants especially the one that has small children in it. When you notice such a butterfly in your house, you must catch it and burn one of its wings on a candle uttering: "Come back tomorrow, I will give you salt" and then let the butterfly out of your house. It is believed that the first woman that comes to that house to ask for some salt is a witch. If she is then told that she visited this house during the night in a form of a butterfly and that she is a witch it is believed that she looses all her demonic powers.