Soul and death in Bosnian tradition

Death which represents the end of life, is probably the main "culprit" why the belief in supernatural appeared among the human civilizations. Inexplicable fear from that strange condition and generally panic from disappearing  caused among the people on the entire globe frustrations and eternal questions from the earliest times - why are we born and why do we die? Though we don't know the answer to this question even today, yet we as a civilization tried to fill the world with things in order to introduce some order and thereby give a certain sense to everything we do.
This is why humans invent religion, its unrestrained imagination creates a large number of imaginary beings which surround him, and despite numerous human characteristics, still they have some exaltation which separates them from the world of humans. Throughout centuries religion experiences its constant trend, upgrades, adjusts to human advancement and finally in ancient Iran it receives its present nature through dualism of Persians Manesa and the prophet Zarathustra, on whose principles monotheism is born - direction which tries to convince us in the absurd i.e. how it is possible that in the universe there are two principles - good and evil, but that only one principle is important and the second one is less important?!
Because of such an erroneous religious idea in Bosnia and Herzegovina around the tenth century, and probably even sooner, a revolutionary religious direction started to spread fast which seriously impairs the rigid Christian doctrine, it propagates that through the world, but also the universe, two equally important deities rule between which exists man and his primary spiritual mission to clean his soul from sins, and after death to return it to heaven. Such a claim is pretty rational, if we take into consideration the definition that according to the principles of quant physics all matter is actually condensed energy and that this is the reason why all of us are beings of energy or beings of light, what leads us into traditional belied in the spirit and soul, which every human possesses.
But, in order to die we must be born, feel life for at least a moment, in order for our spirit and soul to achieve a balance, since without this alignment with two universal principles, or with two deities of our forefathers Bogomils, we cannot enter the adventure called death. Folk wisdom claims that the spirit is the representative of the god of evil and the soul, pure and holly, it represents the god of good inside of us. While the spirit has the possibility to, usually at night while the man is sleeping, go out of the body and travel the world and also perform some weird, often bad things and bring us into various temptations, the soul is firmly fixed for the human body and there is no possibility of exiting it until death.

Reincarnation in the tradition of the Bosnian people

Bogomilsm was based on Persian dualism: the master of the spiritual world was god, and the material, which was transitory, was ruled by the evil god Satan. The same principle is evident in Christianity, Islam and Judaism where the principle of good and evil are clearly accentuated, and that god for various reasons never managed to defeat Satan and that's why both of them have their kingdoms and eternally opposed armies. The balance of power is equal with a religious promise that Satan will be eventually beaten and destroyed.

The main element of the spiritual world was the soul, for which the Bogomils believed that with migrations or metempsychosis it aims at eternal perfection or nirvana - final liberation. According to Bogomil doctrine, it was forbidden to kill animals and birds, and even to destroy their eggs, because in every animal there can be a human soul doing penance for the sin's a man has done for his lifetime. That old Bogomil beliefs left a huge mark on the Bosnian people is best witnessed by the still active belief from north-western Bosnia which claims that evil people turn into animals after death such as pigs, cows, horses,. in order to serve humans in their new life and to pay for their sins.

One important record, which dates from the Ottoman occupation of BiH, named "From Bosnia with pictures" speaks explicitly about the very widespread idea of reincarnation among the Bosnian people. Author Clement Božić commented, like numerous other contemporary observers, seeing packs of dogs moving freely around the neighbourhoods and streets of Sarajevo: "Bosniaks take care of them (dogs), by giving them complete freedom; they say that some of them may contain a human soul and if someone has a bad dream, in the morning they buy bread and feed them to the dogs."

The only animal that cannot have a human soul is the snake, probably because of the Illyrian legend according to which a snake has been created 40 years prior to any living being on this planet. This mythological belief of the Bosnian people is completely analogous to the ancient representation about the forefather of all Illyrians which was wrapped by a snake when he was a baby. In many ways a snake has been officially given a favoured status and she had a special place among the Bogomils which can be seen from numerous legends created throughout the Middle Ages where this animal plays a major role. To the Bogomils, unlike other Christian churches, the snake didn't represent the reincarnation of evil since according to their doctrine the tree of knowledge of good and evil was a woman (Eve), and Adam sinned for copulating with her, and that's why both of them were banished from heaven. Thanks to this fact the existence of the cult of snake was never brought into question throughout any period of Bosnian history, not even during the turbulent Middle Ages. The answer to the question why was only the snake exempt from the karmic circle is that she as a holly animal cannot be the bearer of a human's sinful soul, her task is to use her mystical powers to protect every house and all souls living in them.

 

 

Even though the Bogomils weren't inclined, according to their religious belief, to excessive indulgement of earthly goods, they were, like all others, exposed to constant temptations which ruled the evil material world which additionally made it harder for a soul to achieve enlightenment. According to Bogomil's conception the end of the reincarnation cycle was only possible after receiving the sacrament at death with which the soul would achieve its spiritual regeneration. It was only possible through this type of cleansing and after separation from the material world which was under the control of evil. The final goal was to ensure the unification of the soul with the good god. In a lawsuit in Torino in 1388 a claim mentioned that a soul which doesn't receive consolamentum transfers into the first body to which it comes across to, either human or animal; this continues on until it is blessed by its spiritual father on its deathbed.         

When we summarise all that has been written so far we come to some sensational data which reveals to us that in Bosnia and Herzegovina we find very clear and evident basic doctrines about karma and reincarnation which can be considered to be rare, if not the only country in this part of Europe, with such traditional concept which certainly didn't form in the Bogomil religion, but it's appearance dates from ancient times. That's why this particularity deserves special research.

Reincarnation as a term was well defined in Bhagavad Gita, authoritative writing of a Vedic teacher which dates from the 5^th century BCE, defined as a cycle of birth and death in the circle of samsara, and karma as causal effect according to which by our own actions, thoughts and feelings we create our own destiny. The idea about reincarnation can be found on all continents. But, for us the most important data is that reincarnation as a thought was present among the old Celts and Persians, two peoples which more or less had a defining influence on the religious understanding of the Bosnian people, especially during ancient and middle ages.

From Illyrian's and Bogomil's to the Bosnian holocaust

The Bogomil movement is without a doubt one of the phenomena of Middle Age Bosnia and Herzegovina since it testifies about the strength and unity that characterised the Bosnian people of that time. Aware of their uniqueness, especially Illyrian descent, the Bosnian's of that time had the hardest time during the violent transition from paganism to Christianity since the new religion was foreign and completely absurd to them. This is the reason why Bosnian people never gave up their old cults, especially the cult of the snake, which were perfectly in line with coexistence with nature, its gods, especially the Grand Mother and astral deities. In line with that there had to be a resistance, the same one that almost militarily ruined the Roman Empire, which found the Bosnian people in Bogomilism. We can assume that the Bosnian people recognised some similarities between Bogomilism and Illyrian cults, but more important is the fact that through Bogomilism they achieved certain autonomy from the Christian church, in order to continue their ancient practices of worshiping their old cults, with such convenience. Assemblies on high localities where the Illyrians glorified the heavenly deities was one of the practices of the Bogomils.

The wish for preserving tradition and cultural identity resulted in the fact that the Bogomil faith completely affirmed itself in Bosnia and Herzegovina becoming the main religious but also political movement based on the revolutionary idea of resistance towards dictatorship and hegemony which came from two directions - Vatican and Byzantium. Mass conversions in the next period of Bogomils to Islam, without force or threats, are the best proof  of the claims that support that Bogomil's saw in the new faith the best protection and solution to their existence.

From all of the above we can find the root of animosity that the Bosnian people were subject to from Serbs and to some extent Croats. Even though Bosnian people were third in number when it comes to people in the former Yugoslav republic, cultural genocide was practiced over them not just in that Republic but decades earlier, which all culminated in the period from 1992 to 1995 when it assumes an ever harsher shape expressed through ethnical cleansing. At that time of the Bosnian holocaust the most ruthless crimes were undertaken since WWII, when Bosniaks, faced with the possibility of complete annihilation, were killed in numerous Serbian concentration camps, which resulted in mass graves whose number up until today has only been partially discovered.

This all was preceded by a well thought out strategy of destroying the identity of Bosniaks, appropriation of everything that made a people a nation, where Serbian ethnologists and anthropologists played a major role. Namely, all folk beliefs of the Bosniaks were appropriated as being Serbian along with the thesis without valid evidence that Bosniaks themselves were actually Serbs?! But, this is not only the case with Bosnia, but also other neighbouring countries, and through their ethnological literature we can find entire chapters of folk tradition of Croatia, Montenegro, Bulgaria or Romania under the joint name "Serbian beliefs". A special part is made up of traditional beliefs of Turkey, their customs, cuisine, numerous words, even music, which Serbs today regard as authentic works of their cultural history?!

 

Stećci

 

Nenad M. Đorđević an independent researcher of ancient cultures and mythology on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, believes that tombstones historically don't belong to the church of Bosnia, as the most dominant religious institution during the middle ages in Bosnia, nor to the catholic or orthodox church. He claims that the origin of the tombstones is much older than Middle Ages and that it spans into the period from Neolith and the beginning of the bronze era, between 7000 and 3500 years BCE.

According to Mr. Đorđević today's hypothesis about medieval origins of the tombstones is based solely on partial historical and archaeological data which were available to the academic stipend during the first few centuries after WWII. With regard to the theory about Bogomil and Patarene origin of the tombstones, it is not based on historical or scientific facts, since the followers of Bogomil religion generally rejected wealth and feudal exploitation of state government.
Bogomils also categorically refused the Orthodox Church and its hierarchy, its temples, sacraments and holiness performed by priests. Numerous reports sent to the pope spoke of this; like the one written by one of the four grand inquisitors, which were declared to be saints by the Roman church, Capistran (Giovanni de Capistrano), also known as an expert in heresy. In his letter to pope Callixtus III 04.07.1455 he wrote: "Bosnian Bogomil's (krstjani, Bošnjani) are not members of the Eastern Church, on the contrary, they would much rather die in their unbelief than accept the faith of Rašan (Serbs)."
In a similar sense they rejected all material objects which were used by the orthodox during their prayers and they condemned the use of icons, especially the cross, and the worship of relics or saints. Bogomils and Patarens were mostly religious preachers, indifferent to worldly affairs. Mass production of tens of thousands of monolith tombstones with rich decorative motifs is in total contradiction with the modest religious doctrine of the Bogomils and Patarens.
Bogomils had a similar aversion towards the Catholic Church. Pope John XXII writes on July 18th 1319 to Mladen Šubić ".that the land of Bošnjani is so tainted by the lack of faith, that the churches are neglected, priesthood is uprooted, Christ's sacred objects are scornfully trampled, there is no respect towards the cross, the sacrament of communion life is not upheld, on the contrary christening is to some only known as a noun, even though it is the basis of the Christian religion."
As an interesting fact we should mention that the Bogomil movement appeared in Bosnia before the 12th century, as some historians have postulated, and it spread from this land further west. Dominican Anselmo from Alessandria in Italy, who lived and worked during the 13th century, in one of his writings mentions that "the heretics were first located in Bosnia from where they spread their doctrine towards Lombardi, then further towards France, where it arrived in Orleans in 1022 and Arras in 1025 (A.Dondaine, Le Tractatus de hereticis d`Alexandrie, Arch. Fr. Praedic, XX, Rome 1950., p. 308-324.)

 

Because of the aforementioned facts we can conclude that tombstones are not a privilege of the church of Bosnia, or even less of orthodox or catholic Christianity, but that they had their ancient origin as a sacral motif of the cult of fertility and cult of the dead. Namely, from 70 000 registered tombstones, only 5000 have decorative motifs. From those 5000 decorated tombstones only 438 have as their main decorative element different types of crosses. This means that the most important religious symbol which is potentially subject to various churches, together with other variants of tombstones in the form of a cross, doesn't represent even 20% of decorated tombstones. The question that spontaneously rises from these facts is: how is it possible that the most representative symbol of both, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Church only encompasses such a small number of tombstones? If with previous facts we add that most of the crosses on the tombstones are of pagan origin in a form of a swastika or anthropomorphic shape, then there can only be one logical conclusion - tombstones are not an exclusive privilege of medieval churches and cultures. Even though there are numerous proofs that tombstones were used as gravestones for catholic and orthodox Christians, and there are even some indications that a discrete number of tombstones were manufactured during the middle ages, reuse of numerous tombstones during the middle ages cannot be excluded in advance.

 

 

http://mythology.blogger.ba/