The magical power of the name

Although we do not choose our own name, but our parents choose it for us, it nevertheless has a great impact on everyone's life. It often determines our nature, behavior, but also our happiness in life. This is especially emphasized with names that are sonorous, rare or exotic. However, we also have names that do not bring anything good to a person, and until we change them, we will not meet our happiness.

Name changes, or nickname creation, are very common among celebrities, especially actors and singers, in order to attract more attention to themselves with this marketing correction and thus increase happiness, popularity and success. It would never have been known for the world-famous Marilyn Monroe and many other famous artists if they kept their original names, which are, in the words of the producers and managers: "uninteresting and unattractive". There is certainly truth in that statement, since the name for an individual is either happy or unhappy.

Throughout history, there are many legends about the fatalistic influence of the name on a famous individual, and among the most famous is the note about King Safi, the grandson of the famous Abbas, who ruled in Iran during the 17th century. According to the text of the story, King Safi was ill for several years and the court doctors could not cure him or even reveal what kind of disease he was suffering from. Desperate and tired of the hardship that plagued him, the king turned to a famous astrologer who advised him to change his name. The astrologer explained to him that he was a victim of evil spirits that brought him illness, and if he changed his name, he would deceive them and they would stop attacking him. He did not like this interpretation of his health problem, but after a short thought, he agreed to the strange proposal and was crowned again, but this time with the new name Sulejman, and since then he has had two names. With that, he ended his troubles and completely recovered.

The connection of the name in the Middle East with human destiny is evidenced by the well-known practice of so-called "star opening", which is actually a combination of Arabic astrology and numerology by converting someone's name and that person's mother's name, extremely fascinating details are found out, such as whether someone is under the influence of black magic, evil spirits, spells and so on. The specificity of this extremely interesting method is that it can be used to find out which sex a pregnant woman will give birth to, where a person is, how much some partners suit each other or whether a man or a woman is unlucky and so on.

Also, as Arab mystics discover, some names are negative so the people who wear them suffer from a constant loss of energy and are prone to bad luck. In addition, there are names that give great power to the human companion or astral counterpart known as Qarin who then drives these people into vices, crime or suicide. One of such names is Haris, Iris or Doris, that is, names that end with the letter S.


New name or a new godfather

The name carries a great energy potential that is uttered as a mantra so many times throughout life that it accumulates a high level of energy, which can be compatible with our aura, but also the opposite. It happens, namely, that the child possesses several properties of the water element in himself, and bears a name, which by its phonetic property, has a dominant influence of the fiery element. As these two elements are naturally opposite, this discrepancy is also reflected in the owner of that name. Our ancestors have been following this knowledge for a long time, so it is worth describing the ritual practice recorded in northwestern Bosnia.

When a small child often cries for no reason, that is, loses his breath, blushes and stiffens, then his parents first take him to the doctor. If he determines that there is no medical reason for the described behavior, it is customary to consult with hodja or stravarka.

At first, it is suspected that the given name does not suit him, so this is where the difficulties come from, and in order to change the destiny, that is, the name, 4 fruit trees are placed in front of the child, like four apples. Previously, everyone was given a name, but making sure that one of them also carries the child's name. It is then observed which apple the child will touch or take first. If he takes an apple that bears another name then that name is given to him, that name is officially changed at the registrar, and it is believed that he will be blessed and that he will have no more troubles But if he takes that apple that bears his name, then the problem is not in the name, but the suspicion falls on the "haircutting godparents". (In the Bosnian tradition, a haircut godfather is a man or woman who cuts off a few strands of hair from a small child, which gives him the title of godfather. Being a godfather or godmother to a child is a great honor).

Namely, in Velika Kladuša it is believed that some godparents can be unhappy and negatively affect the child's happiness and especially the health of the child. Therefore, it was customary to leave on the first Sunday after the appearance of the new moon early in the morning, with the child at an intersection, and the first casual passer-by would be waiting there. As soon as he came, he would be asked to "nastriže dijete“, that is, to cut off three strands of his hair with scissors, after which gifts would be given to him, and so, by a decision of fate, he would become the child's new godfather or godmother. As soon as the parents returned home, the mother would take off the child's clothes, which the child had previously worn, and lay those three strands of hair on them The clothes would then be rolled up in a roll and thrown over the roof. Then, where the bundle fell to the ground, a hole was dug on the other side of the house and those clothes and hair were buried in it. After that, it is believed, the child will surely recover.


Happy or unhappy nickname

The Bosnian people tend to say that every child brings their name with them, so in the past children were given names related to an event, for example, if a male child was born during Ramadan, it was given the name Ramo or on the holiday of Eid (Bajram), he would bear the name Bajram, Bajro, and the female child would be given the name Birame or Bajrame. We find a similar practice with Bosnian Catholics and Orthodox who would give their children names after a saint, if they were born on the day he was celebrated. Sometimes the child would be named after the day he was born, Nedjeljko (Sunday) or Sredoje (Wednesday), etc.

This story recorded in Velika Kladuša testifies to the fact that the belief in the mystical power of the name is still alive in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is said that in one family, girls were born for two years in a row around the time of the 27th of Ramadan night, and both soon died. Their worried and frightened mother went to the hodja for advice, as she was pregnant again, and by some strange coincidence she was to give birth again around this holy night. After the "opening of the star", the wise hodja told her that she would give birth to a girl, but that this girl should not be given names similar to this holiday like Lejla, Kada or Kadif, as was the case before, but a completely different name. The woman took the hodja's advice and after giving birth, gave her daughter the name Šeherzada, who grew into a very beautiful girl.

In some ethnological materials, published in the Gazette of the National Museum in Sarajevo, it is stated that in the past there was a well-known custom called "name change", all with the aim of deceiving evil and preventing the death of a child. Namely, if children died in the family, especially male children, the child would be given a name of another religion, so it is stated that the Orthodox used to give such a son the name Mujo and the Muslims would name the child Vuk.

Bosniaks also have a prophylactic custom of assigning the father's name to the first son or an only son, because of the belief that it will save him from evil or premature death. Although in the past it was customary to give children the names of dead ancestors, this custom is now being lost, partly due to new trends, but also because it is considered inappropriate to give the names of dead people: "because they are unlucky". Also, according to folklore, it is not advisable for someone to have a nickname because that person is then attacked by every evil and disease. However, different opinions can be heard, especially from fortune tellers who claim that sometimes a nickname is stronger than a name, so they pronounce it when consulting beans or cards.

Raif Esmerovic