Examples of curing fear

Fight against fear is not simple and often requires a lot of patience. This is best evidenced by stravarke whose work experience is full of various cases. Stravarka Emina Hadžihasanović told the following story to a journalist of a Sarajevo magazine:

-I was melting lead to a man, he was imprisoned by četniks (name for Serbian paramilitary army which committed the most war crimes in BiH), he was imprisoned in a concentration camp and was tortured, also a grenade exploded in his building. He was ready to die. He couldn’t walk normally any more. He wasn’t able to go alone anywhere, so he took his child with him everywhere he went. He couldn’t even go to the toilet without the child taking him there. He was a butcher by trade, a good man. He asked doctors for help but they couldn’t help him, his medical results were good but he couldn’t walk straight. I have molten 77 lead pieces for him and he recovered. He is now working in a butcher shop on Ilidža.

Obviously the issue of great fear in a man requires great effort, which is evidenced by another case from the practice of this stravarka:

-There was once a woman. And an ox wanted to kill her, but he didn’t. And due to such a shock she fell into a coma. From that day she always slept a little and fell into a coma a little. It happened that no matter where she was, she would feel a bit weak, she would then fall to the floor. She would fall unconscious. Here, there are 79 leads that I molten for her until now and now the condition has gotten better, she only feels like this maybe once a week. While I melt a couple more she will recover completely. There is only cure in melting lead. Doctors are oblivious. They’re looking – all is good, all is nice and a person cannot function normally. Fear resurrects in the body and all is negative. It strikes the legs and arms and the head, everywhere. You melt three lead pieces – and it feels as if you took it with your hand and threw it away, everything disappears. From the old days the lead melting ritual was practiced, it is a part of our Bosnian tradition for ages.




Illyrian inheritance

For the lead melting ritual, which is familiar in numerous Balkan countries, but also Middle East such as Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Iranian anthropologists believe that it stems from the Illyrian warriors, which spread it across the Roman empire while serving its armies, to all corners that the powerful, ancient Empire covered. That is why the Turks, Arabs, Persians and the Jews took it over, which confirms that we are dealing with an effective and efficient ritual for annulling fear, spellbound eyes but also magic.

Curiosity which is among the folk usually connected with the gift of divination and lead melting is that both techniques are often a gift of supernatural forces to an individual. Namely, knowledge about lead melting, according to a stravarka, it often comes “in a dream”, i.e. the stravarka to be dreams it. One of such examples was the already mentioned Emina Hadžihasanović:

-I dreamt that I will die. And my house in the dream is placed on a high hill. I was looking for someone to say the prayer Yasin for me, and I couldn’t find anyone. I then placed a blanket next to this bed and I lay down to die. I started uttering Yasin and three mubina (chapters) of Yasin I finish, and I die. When I woke up in the morning, I remembered the dream and what had happened, I then went to an Imam on Vratnik to tell him what had transpired.

He said: It is good for you that you dreamt it if you are going to melt lead. I never did, I said, but I can start. From there I came here, there was a woman there – she went from one doctor to the other. She was struck by it, she couldn’t move. She said: I dreamt last night that you will melt lead for me. I smiled and said: I have never molten lead for anyone. She said that I shall to her, now. I said when this is the case then I shall. She entered the house through the stairs on her knees. She couldn’t bend her leg. There I took a spoon and I started melting lead. When I have finished melting lead for her for the third time, she suddenly rose up and started walking. She lived for another three-four years and died. And from that day on I melt lead.


Doctors cannot cure fear

Stravarka Hadžinca from Potur in Travnik is another one of the rare people which haven’t received much attention from internet portals and media in general. During an interview with a journalist, Hadžinica revealed some of the secrets of this ancient technique.

-This is no divination, it is useful, but there are people which think otherwise, and I wouldn’t like if you would reveal my identity. I wouldn’t like it because of my family either, you know how it is, she explained. She says that people come from all over the place, from central Bosnia, Zenica and even Sarajevo. Everyone comes with his own story and his own troubles. From workers, up to doctors, politicians and singers. It is a tradition to charge for lead melting. Someone gives some money, someone a present, but for everything to be complete, a reward must be given. That’s why lead cannot be molten by closer relatives which live in the same house. Although it is popular belief that this ancient exorcist skill is solely practiced by women, lead can be molten by men, but they say that it is not appropriate for a man to melt lead for a woman, because of the conservative society.

The ritual with lead without a doubt stems from shamanism which is based on animism. Probably because of its somewhat mysterious power of transformation, to change from solid into the liquid state and reverse, the lead spurred ancient Illyrian shamans to try and change the state of the diseased with the help of lead, through a magical ritual. Besides, stravarke, but also some Imam’s, which practice this method, agree that lead has a lethal power towards humans but also demons. Namely, as a rifle bullet can kill a man so too can lead in a shamanistic ritual kill i.e. more precisely trap energy of a spirit and so remove it from the diseased person.

In three consecutive lead melting rituals, the figure of lead does actually come out in a form similar to the thing that caused the fear.

-Women come to me and they don’t know that they’re afraid of their husband. I reveal this immediately and I tell her – you are afraid of your husband! Of course, sometimes I find a figurine which shows that the husband is afraid of his wife. To remove the fear it is important to find the cause.


She helps only to those that need such a help

When talking to other stravarke with which I had the opportunity and pleasure to talk to, I came across an identical opinion. Each of the categorically claim that everything that is shown in the lead can no longer hurt the diseased person.

-Lead melting will always help to the one who is a case for it, i.e. who is full of fear or some other negative energy, and if his problem cannot be solved by the ritual then he will have no use from it, said Mevlida O. from Velika Kladuša, one of the stravarka which inherited her knowledge from her mother in law.

-No one knows how old this custom is. I feel sad because it is dying out, there are no young women which would like to learn it, and there are few of them that could – says Hadžinica and she explains the stern predispositions: the one which is experienced in lead melting, gives to the student izun, i.e. permission. The woman needs to be pious, with a covered body and it would be good if she is educated, especially in an Islamic spirit. She doesn’t have to go to Hajj, but as Hadžinica says, it won’t hurt.

Continuing the discussion stravarka Hadžinica said that they brought her a singer which sang in a nearby restaurant.

-He says, I don’t know what is wrong with me, I just want to quarrel?! I thought tha someone must have frightened him. I melt lead for him, and each time a figure of a man shows. I ask – who scared you? He then told me everything, that he accepted a friend in his house so he can spend the night there, but in actuality the man was a crook and he wanted to rob him. The singer kept quiet about this event and kept the fear to himself, but when the problem escalated he came to seek help.

How to defend yourself from black magic

Bosnian stravarke (folk doctors) claim that there is no object or thing in this world that cannot be used for magic or spells. Not even the sacred books, religious paraphernalia or holy water are spared from that. Of course, despite this fact it is also necessary to note that only a small number of people are able to successfully perform magic and cast spells. Such persons, first of all, have to be mentally strong and able to maintain communication with the spirit world. Without these two conditions magic is not feasible.



Witch props are usually those items that are in daily use such as bread, water, coffee, sugar, scissors, needle, matches, thread, wool, etc. Often at first glance quite harmless little things outside the front door or below the threshold, pillows or toilet, that you would not even pay attention to, are actually charged magic props that emit negative energy.


Magic for home


Although I am not a supporter of the idea that the effect of magic is reflected in everything, nor that every even remotely suspicious object should be declared as an evil spell, it is my opinion that one should be careful about everything that is, especially in the morning, found at the entrance door or under the mat.

Since ancient times it is known that the entrance to the house is a particularly sensitive place for picking up any kind of magic, and therefore if you find the remains of the earth, blood, water, cat's or dog hairs, colored thread, etc., do not ignore them and consider them as a harmless coincidence or wind’s play.

It is very important to note that any such object found at the entrance door should not, under any circumstances, be brought into the house, nor touched with a hand. It is enough to sweep it with a broom on dustpan than throw it into dumpster. After that, the threshold and doorposts should be sprayed with wine vinegar, in order to fully neutralize any negative impact.

Magic charms are often brought into the house with the clear intention to attract evil spirits into that home and to fill it with negative energy. Continuous restlessness, sudden deterioration of household appliances, groundless arguments, frequent headaches or, most often, the feeling that you are everywhere more comfortable than at home, is a clear indication of the influence of supernatural forces. The best places to place magic spells are toilet or the bedroom where the victim of magic sleeps. Especially dangerous are those spells that are sewn into the pillow, as they directly affect the human psyche.

The best way to eliminate all of those spells that are found in the home, in the opinion of Bosnian stravarke, is this - all magic charms should be picked up and taken to a three-border point. That is the place where the three plots of land meet, and in its center one should dig a hole, put the magic charms in it and then cover them with soil.

According to stravarke, after that the person who made magic (witch) is completely blocked and can no longer do magic against you. Of course, after that it is very good to "clean" the house with exorcism water or by burning some proven incense, so that peace and prosperity can return to it.


The fire and water met


If you do not know where to turn for help, after you eliminated suspicious objects from the house, use this ritual. Go to a water spring and throw firstly three pieces of bread and a bit of salt in it, saying:

Holy water, great mother,
I present you with bread and salt
and you please give me what
I ask of you - home peace and prosperity!

 Then scoop some water and take it home. Throw nine live coals in it or burning matches and every time, while doing so, repeat:

The fire and water met
Enemy’s hands decayed!

This is, otherwise, a verse from a long exorcism spell pronounced by stravarke while forcing evil away, but it is enough for above described ritual. As soon as you remove the coals or matches from the water, use the water to spray the walls of the whole apartment or house.

Another useful advice on how to protect your home from magic and spirits, and somehow make it hard for their invasion, is not to allow the moonlight to "enter" into the house. In the nights of the full moon draw the opaque curtain over the window, drop the blinds or shutters. Moonlight is the strongest carrier of the magical forces and spirits use it many times to enter into the house and with them enters the magic. That is why it is typical for sensible persons to suffer from restlessness, insomnia or nightmares.



Demonic possession through dolls from grave


According to my opinion, but also by experience, the most serious forms of magic are those made with fresh soil from graves. In my research I found some interesting stories told by some stravarke, who revealed intriguing details about the rituals of black magic among the Bosnian people. Sihirbaza (witch) wanting to hurt her enemy is waiting for someone from neighborhood to die and on the same night, after the burial, goes to that grave completely naked and straddles it like a horse.

After some time that she spent muttering mysterious words, she stand up, grab the soil from the grave, as much as it is enough to make a miniature clay doll. In that soil she than put some characteristic sign of the person against whom she is preparing the spell, such as the footprint, the thread from clothes or something else. After that she is splashing the soil  with cow’s urine and blood of a black hen, and mixing it with the soil, spitting on it three times saying:

Such will you NN also vomit and urinate blood, every day until he die!

After she formed a human figure from the soil she takes it and buries it under a dry stump or under an old tree that slowly dries. According to the testimony of stravarka, the person who is a target of such a magic spell gets ill in a very short period and dies unless he gets help.

Studying described ritual I found out that it is based on the obsessions, i.e. that sihirbaza tries to connect the spirit of a deceased person with the victim of magic by the soil as medium, so that the spirit would possess the victim and cause the illness, madness or even death. Of course, goes without saying that these and similar rituals are extremely dangerous because they are based on control of the spirit of the dead person.

Also, sitting or lying on the grave is characteristic ritual gesture of Arabic magic. Namely, the witches are most inclined to visit the graves of people who, during their lifetime, held a prominent position or post, such as a judge, because of the belief that extremely strong jinn like to visit such graves. Sitting naked on the grave the witch allows the demons of the grave to possess her, and in return some of her wishes shall be fulfilled, especially these related to black magic.

Power of a human hand

As already written, our hands, tips of fingers and our palms, have an outstanding ability to receive and send energy. That’s why we shouldn’t be amazed that we have lines on our palms and that our fingers are adorned by a unique imprint which confirms the primordial thesis that we all are unique beings, whose body is nothing else but a condensed energy, the same energy we call life.

Knowledge about the manipulation with that energy was never completely lost, it is present in numerous segments but people today have difficulty in recognising it and even greater difficulty in understanding it. Ritual movement of hands and feet are an ancient practice in Bosnian occult tradition. The following examples from practice show how knowledgeable were stravarke in the basis of energy’s magic.

Namely, as a stravarke Ajša B. told me once while she is uttering exorcist formulas it will not have a healing effect if the person which is being healed has his legs or arms crossed. Allegedly, the person is blocking itself and prevents the transfer of energy.


It is interesting to mention that people still today, especially older women, are afraid of those guests who enter the house holding their arms crossed behind their back and once they enter the home they cross their hands on their chest. With this, according to experienced stravarke they’re practicing black magic and invoking evil and bad luck to that family. That’s why the housewife should repeat this short formula which will prevent them in their intent and better yet reverse the evil:

What you are thinking and doing,
you shall see it on your body,
if god wills, veledalin amin!

Refusing or stopping the transfer of negative energy in Bosnia was well known in the middle ages, probably in the ancient age, and the proof that our forefathers the Bogomil were acquainted with the rules of energy magic is best presented on the reliefs of individual tombstones – raised right hand, palm facing the observe, while the left hand is behind the back.



Namely, as Bosnian stravarke claim if we turn the palm of the right hand towards a negative person, to observe them through spread fingers of the hand, that person then won’t be able to hurt us with an evil gaze or thoughts. Actually, we are disabling the transfer of negative energy i.e. magical attack.




However, the palm also has incredible healing properties. From experience it is familiar that every man, as soon as he feels pain places his palm immediately on the painful place with the desire to ease the pain. This reaction is instinctive. If a man feels back pain, he won’t think about placing his hand on his back, the hand will go by itself without him thinking about it. That is a reflex similar to the one which makes our eyes blink when something flies towards our face. All people hold their hand on a painful spot, even both hands if the pain is stronger. If the pain is unbearable, people press that place. Often times we can see a diseased unconsciously massaging the painful place on a leg or some other part of the body wanting to use ritual movement to “break” the pain with a massage and energy of the palm.

No one is asking themselves why is this so and if there is some purpose behind this, however I believe that most people would say that they feel better while holding their hand on the painful spot. That’s because people have the ability to heal with the help of lifeenergy, which comes from space, since prehistory, but only rare individuals can use it consciously. We need to mention an important thing which is – every man can cure with his palms, no matter the age, from a small child to an old man. Education level is unimportant, intelligence, social status, neither race, nationality nor religion.

Bosniaque ritual avec plomb

Dans la tradition de la Bosnie-Herzégovine est présent dans la médecine populaire depuis les temps anciens, un rituel intéressant de plomb connue sous le titre de la fusion du plomb ou salivanje olova, de la fusion de la peur ou salivanje strahe, de la fusion des grains ou salivanje zrna, déversement horreur ou prelijevanje strave, etc. Il annule les effets négatifs du mauvais œil, de la magie noire, de la rencontre avec les démons et de la chance bloquée, par exemple, quand une fille ne peut pas se marier ou l'elève ne reussi pas a l'ecole. Cependant, le plus souvent ce rituel se pratique pour les enfants qui pleurent frequemment ou ont le sommeil agité.

La personne qui pratique ce rituel est appelé stravarka ou stravaruša , si c'est une femme,  ou stravar, si il s'agit d'un homme . Habituellement,  la connaissance de la pratique du rituel est hérité d'un membre de la famille qui s'en est occupé toute sa vie. Lorsque cette personne est vieille ou pour cause de maladie ne peut plus être engagé dans la fusion du plomb alors ce savoir elle l'enseigne a son successeur .
Pour effectuer un rituel de fusion du plomb il faut prendre que quelques petits morceaux de plomb, un récipient métallique dans lequel on verse l'eau, il est recommandé que ce soit de l'eau de source, et une casserole dans lequel faire fondre le plomb sur le feu. Le patient est recouvert d' un tissu rouge sur la tête. Stravarka récitant des prières sur un bol avec de l'eau, en disant des le départ ceci:

«Ma chere Hazrat Fatima, ma chère mère,
dites à votre père Mohammed
de me venir en aide comme a ce patient " .

Puis il dit que la première et les trois derniers chapitres du Coran, soufflant dans l'eau chaque fois qu'il arrive a la fin de la prière. Si pendant que  stravarka fais ca elle a des réactions telles qu'un étouffement dans la poitrine, l'apparition d'une odeur forte, elle sais qu'il est question d'un grand mal, et il est prononcé le chapitre 36. du Coran. Le même chapitre sera prononcé une fois de plus après la fin du rituel, mais cette fois sur un morceau de sucre que le patient doit manger .

Lorsque le plomb a fondu stravarka prend une cuillère et verse le plomb fondu dans un bol d'eau qu'elle tient au dessus de la tête du patient. Tout en versant au dessus de la tête, elle regarde dans la direction d'une grande colline pour que le mal s'en aille loin du patient. Pendant ce temps-là:

"Le plomb se brise et de N (nom du patient ) tout le mal s'en va".

Au contact du plomb fondu et de l'eau froide celui ci va prendre differente forme qui seront analysés par stravarka pour connaitre la cause de la maladie ou d'un problème qui touche les patients. Si vous voyez un serpent dans la forme elle conduira à interpréter « que le mal est venu de l'ennemi " si il y a des formes qui ressemblent à des clous on dira alors que c'était la peur ou le stress,  si on voit sur certains des morceaux de la couleur verte on va interpréter le signe disant «Quelqu'un a travaillé par magie avec l'aide de talismans ", etc .

Lorsque vous interprétez ce que vous voyez dans les formes de plomb, les ramasser et les remettre de nouveau a fondre dans le feu. Le Plomb fondu sera de nouveau verser dans un bol d'eau par contre cette fois ci il sera tenu au niveau de l'abdomen des patients. Après ré- analyse des formes au fond du bol d'eau stravarka les ramasse à nouveau et refait fondre sur le feu une troisième fois. Cette fois ci le plomb fondu est versé dans un bol d'eau, qu'elle garde au dessus des pieds du patient. Le rituel est terminé, le signe que le mal ou la maladie est annulée se voit grace a une forme dans le plomb en forme de larme, appelé le «cœur». Si cette forme apparait c'est que le rituel a réussi.
Après ca stravarka prend trois allumettes, les allume une par une et les jette dans un récipient avec de l'eau , en disant :

«Je n'e brule pas des allumettes mais je brule tout le mal,
les maladies et les démons avec N ( dire le nom du patient ) de la mère N ( dire son nom »),
avec l'aide de Dieu. Amen!



«cœur»

Stravarka sort alors les allumettes et le plomb du recipient et reverse l'eau dans une bouteille vide et la donne au patient pour la prendre à la maison. L'eau sert a la toilette du patient pendant sept jours, matin et soir, et il boit un peu à chaque fois de cette eau. Le meilleur jour pour effectuer ce rituel est le mardi qui était un jour saint de la Bosnie Bogumil. Si vous ne voyez pas après la troisième fusion du plomb la forme de coeur alors le rituel doit etre répété les deux mardi suivants.

Dans le contenant utilisé pour le rituel on emmiette des morceaux de pain en tout petit morceaux a fin de les jeter dehors et qu'ils soient mangés par les oiseaux. La signification de ce rituel est de donner l'aumone aux oiseaux afin qu'ils emportent avec eux le mal et les maladies qui ont frappé les patients.

En fin de compte , il convient de noter que la performance de ce rituel n'est pas anodine, car il se produit un transfert de l'énergie négative des patients sur stravarka qui fait qu'il ou elle ont généralement certaines réactions comme l'insomnie, la douleur de poitrine, les cauchemar,  la dépression, etc.  Par conséquent, le rituel devrait s'engager seulement par ceux qui ont des connaissances sur l'élimination de l'énergie négative .