Three demons of love

According to folk belief there are three stars/demons that appear after sunset, if the sky is clear without clouds. Demon stars move around the sky and they are always on the other side of the world where there is a woman which wants to enchant a man with magical formulas and oaths. The main demon among them is called Palinka and the other two which follow her are Budinka and Nesanka. According to folk belief the three of them are sisters and each of them individually have different magical powers: Palinka who is also called in some formulas Kostolomka, Sjanka or Planinka, she brings a lot of love and obsession into the heart of humans. Budinka, Budmirka or Budimka, brings unrest and hysteria and Nesanka, also called Prisanka or Podminta, causes insomnia. The folk imagines them as beautiful girls with long golden hair and bright eyes.

Three demons are classic characters in all rituals of Bosnian magic. Unlike Palinka, Budinka and Nesanka which are female sky demons, there are three male demons which respond to a call by banging one's hand on the wall on the eve of Tuesday and by uttering a specific formula. They are called Indija or Inda, Džindija or Džinda and Šumabir. In love rituals Indija and Džindija are sent on a trip in their lands and Šumabir is directed towards the one that needs to be spellbound and compelled to love. All three of them are imagined as creatures with tails which are blind in one eye and they limp. But none of these physical defects create difficulties for their courtesy and efficiency.
These three names are also mentioned in specific formulas used to negate negative energy, especially spellbound eyes and children weeping. While as in all other cases the first two demons are sent to their native lands Šumabir is sent to bring the child's weeping and spellbound eyes into a river vortex.

According to the occult classification Indija, Džindija and Šumabir are earthen demons which respond to banging against the wall of a house but in the end of the ritual the person calling forth the demons places both hands on the ground praying to earth, or antic goddess mother, to help and direct the demons in the desired direction. In other formulas which are of an esoteric nature the names of the demons are not mentioned, the term "three Jinn and three devils" is used. Based on that, we notice how the exorcists are not quite sure if they belong to a stronger or weaker line of demons. 

BOSNIAN FOLK CALENDAR

The Bosnian national (agricultural) calendar spans back to the old Illyrian era. The maker of the calendar is unknown. It is known that it was created and used by a ancient farmer. Some dates from the Julian calendar, which was created 45 years BCE, can be recognised in the Bosnian calendar. After Christianity came, some of these dates received names of saints. With the arrival of the Slavs, pagans, people known for agriculture, the dates had different names, but they always remained the same. The folk calendar was used continuously, it was used during the time of the Bogumil's, it was also used during the Ottoman period, and it even serves a purpose today. Besides this, in Bosnia the Hijri calendar was also strictly observed. It was done by the Imam's and other religious scholars, in order to be aware of the important religious dates (Ramadan, Bayram, New year, etc.). The Hijri calendar was impractical when it came to agriculture, since it moved forward ten days every solar year, however it was practical when it came to fasting during the month of Ramadan since it moved through all the seasons. We need to mention that the Hijri calendar was the official calendar in Bosnia during the Ottoman period, until the Austro-Hungarian period when they brought the Gregorian calendar.

The Bosnian folk calendar begins on December 21st, the folk belief holds that on that date, the day extends as much as a rooster can jump from a doorstep. From this date on comes the Zehmeriya (Turkish: Zehmeri) the coldest part of winter that lasts for 40 days. While Zehmeriya lasts people avoid drinking cold water in fear of catching a cold.


January: the folk call January the longest moth in the year. From January 17th the counting of the weeks until Hidirlez begins (May 6th), 17 weeks total. This is what determines the sowing.
The period from January 31st until March 20th is called Hamsin and it represents the second part of winter.

February- from February 14th until March 14th is Veljača, the folk belief is that if snow falls in the beginning of the Veljača that the year will be fertile, and that wheat will have a good yield.

Djemre (Turkish: Cemreler), the meaning of this word is "burning charcoal", it is believed that
Djemre is the sun's heat which starts to have an intense impact on the land and it start awakening the nature. 

 -The first Djemra appears on February 20th and heats the air. That's when the Southern wind starts blowing and it becomes milder.

 -The second Djemra appears on February 27th heats up the water and raises its level. The water in the river doesn't freeze from this point on.

 -The third Djemra appears on March 6th and heats up the land. The snow melts fast and the first grass starts sprouting.

 

(Right after the first Djemra the people have a custom to notch the roots of the birch and put a glass bottle so that the juices of the birch flow in it. The bottle stays in that position until the third Djemra. The collected juices are used for medicinal purposes, especially kidney diseases)

March: the agricultural works begin during this month, the potatoes, onions and salads are sown. After the third Djemra the fruit trees are notched and inoculated.

Grandma (Baba)- from March 15th until March 21st is the period of the grandma, the unstable period when a couple of weather phenomena change in one day.

Grandpa (Did,Djed) - from March 21st until March 28th is the period of the grandpa, the folk beliefs are that it is more merciful and people start sowing potatoes during this period.

(“Did” or Grandpa is a name (title) of each Bogumil priest in Bosnia and “Baba” (Grandma) is the name of his wife who helped her husband and the community by healing with herbs, assisting in births, or foretelling fortunes. Since the Bosnian people were Bogumils before Islam came, it is then no mystery why they kept some of the memories of their old religion. Among the folk there are numerous stories, mostly comical, about Did and Baba and their adventures. By them, we can discern that they commanded great respect among the Bosnian people.)

Kablići- March 29th until March 31st

Stablići- April 1st until April 3rd

Štapići- April 4th until April 7th

(All three names are connected to the past of Bosnia when the winters were very long and they usually lasted until the middle of April. During that period the cattle used to die because of lack of food).

Mučenjaci- period from April 8th until July, this is the period when people suffered (hence the name) until the sowing of the wheat.

April: during April the corn is sown. The old Bosniaks would wait for the frogs to start making noise, which would be a sign that the climate is optimal for sowing. The people also followed other signs of the nature, and therefore it is believed that when the beech tree starts sprouting leaves that one can begin sowing grain without fearing frost. During the middle of April the grapevine was notched and a bottle was placed underneath it for the juices to drip in it until Hidirlez. This juice was used by women to smear on their hair so it would be healthy and grow quicker.

May: in the first quarter of May the sowing of beans begins. Hidirlez or Jurjevo (May 6th)- according to the national calendar from this day forward, the summer begins and the swimming in lakes and ponds can begin. In the period from May 6th until May 13th the first swarms of bees are let loose.

June: the first seven days of June are called "bijela nedjelja” or “white week" because the white mushrooms (Cantharellus cibarius) are picked in the forests at that time. In the beginning of June, pumpkins, turnips and radishes are sown.

August: it is believed that this month gives diarrhea to children and the elderly. To prevent this from happening, the mothers would take some clothes of their children and throw it under the wheel of carriages that carry wheat bundles. In the first days of August the onion and garlic are picked.

 Aliđun- August 2nd: the folk belief is that from this day on, the summer loses its heat and slowly turns into autumn, the water in the rivers begins to cool down and there can be no more swimming.

September: during this month the potato is reaped, the corn as well and the grapes start ripening. If some strawberries sprout in September, then it is believed that the autumn will be long and mild.

October: in the first and second week of October wheat is sown.

Kasum - November 8th: from this day onward, winter starts. On this day, all loans are settled, and leases of land end. Kasum is Turkish the name of November. The Arabic word kasim means 'something that divides“.

 

Pagan background of the folk calendar

As Christianity took over most of the pagan holidays and customs creating a cult of saints, in this analysis of ancient Bosnian calendar we won't waste space and time by discovering which saint took over which role of a pagan deity, instead we will focus on more important, original segments which are in its basis key principles for punctual description of the folk calendar whose content follows the creative cycle of nature. The only thing that is worth mentioning is that Christianity changed moved some dates a few days earlier or later from the original date of the pagan holidays in order to give it a Christian meaning and diminish the ancient, pagan one.

Researchers of ancient Bosnia came across archaeological evidence which point out that there was mixing between the Celtic religious cults with those of the Illyrians, especially with the Japodi, a tribe that inhabited the north-western part of Bosnia. By analysing the folk calendar of that part of Bosnia, which was transferred orally from one generation to the other, we can discover the traces of Celtic religion, the cult of fertility to be more exact, which is a staple part of what we know today as European witchcraft.

By describing particular calendar dates and beliefs connected to them we can relatively successfully reconstruct the ancient cult of triple goddess Brigid which is also considered the Grand Mother. Wheat was dedicated to her out of whom prophylactic symbols were created with intent to keep the family safe from evil. Herodotus in one of his descriptions of the Illyrians mentions that Illyrian women bring wheat as a sacrifice to one of their goddesses. This undoubtedly confirms the similar belief of the Celt and the Illyrians.

In the folk calendar dualism is emphasized, the permeation of the negative and the positive period during which nature begins and ends its circle of fertility, which is under the protection of the goddess mother and god sun. Modelled after the antique folk calendar, the Bosnian is divided on only two seasons i.e. summer and winter because it is in its essence agricultural and follows the natural cycles. According to the belief of the Bosnian folk summer begins in May and ends in November (Beltane-Samhain), and then comes the winter, when would the manifestation of the goddess mother, in her three forms, commence together with the winter solstice.

Zehmerija, Veljača and Baba we will analyse in more detail, besides female names and characteristics, they symbolise three life stages which are undoubtedly reminiscent of the pagan cult of the goddess mother, which was celebrated as triple goddess - girl, mother and old woman. The name Zehmerija, unlike the other two names, doesn't originate from Bosnia, it is a part of the Turkish folk tradition which was accepted by our people and merged into the tradition. But, while Zehmerija actually Zehmeri or Zehmerir in Turkish alludes to males, in Bosnia Zehmerija was always considered to be a female name. This is supported by "Crna Zehmerija" (Black Zehemerija), which represents the coldest winter days. During that period in the past people tended to get frozen fingers or toes, in case of very low temperatures.

Zehmerija

Witches holiday Yule which is exactly on 21st December and more than ideally it corresponds to the calendar date of the beginning of Zehmerija. From the winter solstice the day starts to get longer by the amount that the rooster can jump from the house doorstep. In this folk belief there is a clear allusion to the sun cult, whose symbol is a rooster, because in paganism after 21st of December the sun is "born" and announces a gradual arrival of warmer days.

The goddess gave birth to a son, god, which will eventually become her lover and father of the child in the next cycle. She is tired and exhausted and that's why she's resting and recuperating. That's why it's cold and snowy in nature. The goddess like the Bosnian woman rests for 40 days (četeresnica) after birth, which is also how long the Zehmerija is, and during that time the folk tradition records various taboos which clearly allude to birth. Apparently, while the Zehmerija lasts the people would avoid travelling by night, in order not to cross places where the demons celebrate and dine which also has the greatest influence during that part of year. From such encounters between people and the Jinn, humans can fall ill both physically and mentally. A similar prohibition pertains to a woman who gave birth; she was prohibited from going out at night from fear of a demon attack, since she has no immunity to them during the first 40 days after birth.

Veljača

Calendar wise Veljača is different from Zehmerija because it doesn't coincide with the other pagan holiday called Imbolc which is celebrated from dusk of 31st January until 2nd February which means that it comes at the end of Zehmerija, and we shouldn't disregard this information. Imbolc is the event when the Celtic triple goddess Brigid first appeared as a girl and made love with the young sun god, who was born on the shortest day in the year.

The difference of 12 days is perhaps due to the events i.e. mistakes in oral transfer of the tradition from one generation to the other. But, we shouldn't ignore the fact that Zehemerija, which lasts for 40 days, begins on December 21st and ends 1st of February. The name Veljača probable comes from Velja, Vela or Velika which alludes to the fact that the girl became a mother, and that's why she obtained the title grand/big, the one that brings forth life. Her symbol is the full moon. The goddess recovered from birth. God has strengthened and his warmth slowly permeates the earth and that's how the first signs of spring come about. His power grows continually, the light pierces darkness and the days become longer. The nature is slowly coming to life, which is reflected by the Bosnian calendar in the form of a fight between southern and northern wind. The goddess shows her blessings, the folk tradition claims that if the beginning of Veljača i.e. 14th, 15th and 16th of February is marked by precipitation of snow the year will be fruitful, especially for wheat, usually a symbol of the goddess.

Baba or Grandma

Baba, as the name suggests, symbolises an old lady. In the same way, the pagan holiday Ostare falls on the vernal equinox on the last day of a seven day cycle which is ruled by the Baba. With that we could claim that the last day symbolises the end of the life cycle. In this period the goddess mother conceived a child i.e. son who will be born on December 21st. Baba can be easily seen as a pregnant woman since the Bosnian term zbabna refers to a pregnant woman and the word babine refers to the traditional visit to the woman who gave birth. The folk description of Baba's character clearly alludes to classic symptoms that a woman has during childbirth - she is wilful, fickle, prone to frequent changes of mood... Due to such circumstances the goddess mother can sometimes steal fertility from humans and cause a dry year or a year marked by frequent storms.

During this period the goddess covers the earth with fertility, awakens it from its slumber, and the god grows and slowly reaches maturity. The hours of the day and night are equal, and light slowly triumphs over darkness. Farming activities start. The sun is in its northernmost point.

The end of Baba begins with a seven day period during which Did rules, the male principle, or better to say god whose mother is the goddess, he has now reached maturity and shares grace to the people, which is described in the folk tradition: "Did is merciful because during it one can start planting potatoes". The seed is placed in the earth which needs to supply the crop, fertility. The dominant influence of god is seen in the following months.

Jurjevo (Hidirlez)

In the pagan tradition Beltane symbolises the beginning of the light half of the year i.e. the arrival of summer. For the Celts that is the holiday dedicated to the god of light (sun) who has fire as its symbol. That's why each year during Jurjevo or Hidirlez in Bosnia early in the morning, before sun rise, a fire is lit in the yard as a sign of welcome to the sun which will appear in the east. Because of the strong monotheistic influence that ritual was interpreted as a defence from snakes, which allowed it to be hidden and freely practiced throughout the ages.


Ajvatovica - ancient cult of sun

Ajvatovica according to all the available data is an Illyrian tradition of the sun cult which announced the renewal of nature, its fertility through water and the forest. The days of Ajvatovica last from 15th to the 25th of June which coincides with the summer solstice (June 21st). In Celtic religion during the summer solstice a large ritual takes place, holly unity of the mature sun god and mother earth. On this day the sun god's might is at its peak.

40 days and nights is the time that Ajvaz Dedo prayed for the water to start flowing perfectly coincides with the period of June 21st to July 31st i.e. the beginning of the second pagan holiday which is celebrated for three days of Lugha or Lughnassan.



Aliđun

Lughnassan which lasts from 31st July until 2nd of August is the ancient holiday of harvest. In Bosnia during that period comes the Aliđun which is considered by the people to stand for the height of summer during which there is prosperity of fruits and grain. In the past the Bosnian people visited cult places in nature, known as dovišta, and those were the places where god was worshiped and celebrations were held followed with entertainment and food. With that the old pagan tradition was followed of praising the holiday of harvest and thankfulness for the yields of nature. Dovište Lastavica was until the middle of the twentieth century a cult place where Bosnian people would gather for 2nd of August to practice the ritual of slaughtering sheep, which is a tradition from the Illyrian times as many ethnologists claim, and it symbolised "sacrificing a virgin to the devil" i.e. a specific deity from whom one sought mercy and blessing in order to ensure fertility.

Kasum

Samhain (31.10-02.11), symbolises the end of the summer and the light part of the year after which winter and darkness arrive. Among the folk it is called Kasum, Turkish name for November. The name Kasum stems from Arabic which means "something which is shared". The end of the warm period and the beginning of winter is best supported by the folk saying: "Jurjevo brings a green leaf and Kasum white snow!" That is where the Bosnian folk calendar ends.

Iris illyrica Bosnia

Post-natal customs and beliefs

Even though by the size of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina it is one of the smaller countries in the world, her size is reflected in the richness of the cultural heritage which is permeated with influences of Islam and Christianity and the three nationalities living in Bosnia. Among numerous material remnants which testify to the fact that humans have been present in the area, a large part of non-material heritage has also been preserved, which is in its essence multi-layered. Bosnia is a country of active remains of ancient customs and beliefs, and their transformed and resurrected forms. Various customs and knowledge are presented in numerous events in the country and the world, and it is increasingly being implemented in the modern life. In the past across the Bosnian terrain numerous people have passed and left their trace which is visible still today in some segments of culture. There we can see the interwoven influences of various prehistoric cultures to various people like the Illyrians, whose direct descendants are the Bosnians, Greeks, Romans, Slavs and the kingdoms of the Ottoman Empire and Austro-Hungary.

 

Evil eyes

When the tabooed period of 40 days passes after the birth (četeresnica) the young mother can visit neighbours and relatives with the child. Where ever she appears with the child the customs are that one needs to give him an egg as a gift - a sign of strength and fertility. The customs are also that whosoever sees the child for the first time needs to give him money as a gift. The women from that household lift the child in the air in order for him to grow repeating the words "mašallah", in fear that they won't jinx the child with their eyes. But if it happens that the someone's spellbound eyes hurt the child and the child starts crying and being restless for no reason, the mother licks him from the tip of his nose to his forehead uttering: "Keleuzu bir abirfeleki mi šeri mahalaka ve mi šeri mahalaka. Gasikin, gasikin, gasikin".

 

Teeth growth

The one who first sees a tooth growing in the child's mouth is obliged to give him a shirt as a gift or some other clothing item and utter:"Koliko žica, toliko godinica!" (The number of threads in the clothing item, that's how many years of life the person wishes to him).

 

Circumcision (lat. Circumcisio)

The ritual circumcision of male children in Bosnia is called sunet or sunećenje. Circumcision was done on boys aged 40 days up to two years. In the past sunet was practiced during the warmer part of the year, usually from March to September. The ritual was done by a berber while in the past 30-40 years the procedure has been performed by a doctor. After he would do the circumcision berber would be paid in cash and given a gift. As the sunet represented a special occasion, the tradition was to prepare a festive meal and to invite the neighbours and the Imam. After the meal, before the guests leave, they would give the boy money as a gift. Money was especially considered to be lucky (berićetan) and it was used to buy dishes or livestock which was considered to be the heritage of that boy. The circumcised skin of the penis was dried up by the father would ground up and fed to the rooster "in order for the boy to be as potent as a rooster."

 

 

First haircut of the child

Bosnian people would give their child a first haircut between the ages 3 to 6, when the father is able to buy him a hat or a fez. Until that moment the child's hair would be trimmed above the eyes, on the forehead. The first ritual haircut was done in spring, when the forest turns green. A local barber (berber) is called, who receives a scarf, shirt or another item as a gift after cutting the hair. The cut off hair is wrapped in paper and is kept in a secret place in the house or it was kept until the pilgrimage to Mecca when the father or another family member could take it with him. The hair also refers to Ajvatovica, a holly place for the Muslims in BIH, or it would be placed in the mosque near a window.

 

First cut nails

When the mother cuts the child's nails for the first time, she wraps them up in a piece of paper and hands them to her husband or another family member to bring them into the mosque during Friday. He secretly leaves them under the rug in the mosque in the wish that his child will be a good pupil once he starts school.

 

Godfather and the name change

If the child is sick or slow developing in the first months of his life, then during the first seven days of the moon phase the parents take out their child early in the morning, before sunrise, on a road or an intersection. They bring scissors and a gift with them which they will give to the first person that comes their way. The passerby is asked to cut a strand of the child's hair with the scissors. The strand of hair is wrapped in a piece of paper and is later buried under a young pear or apple tree. In such a case the passerby becomes the child's haircut godfather (šišani kum). The family keeps a friendly relationship with him and invites him for the child's birthday. Besides this the ritual of name change was also practiced. A mother would take her child to a crossroad, bring two apples to which she would give names which she choose for her child. To a first passerby she would offer an apple for them to take home. The apple that would stay with the mother would determine the new name of the child.

Festive meal

The child's first steps represent an ideal opportunity for a festivity and the mother prepares gurabije (a dry cake) and maslenica and calls the neighbours over for a meal. However if the child is slow to start walking, the mother prepares the dough for maslenica, stretches it with her hands across the sofra (a table which is used to prepare the dough as well as for eating meals) and then holding the child by its hands she walks him across the maslenica. After the child leaves his footprints in the dough, the mother finishes the maslenica and bakes it in the oven. When the maslenica is baked and left to cool all of the inhabitants of a household eat it during lunch, in order to "eat" the child's fear and laziness and in such a way help him to start walking.

Bosnian Tarot

Cult of the god Bind

Ancient beliefs of the Illyrian tribes which inhabited Bosnia and Herzegovina remained present in folk beliefs, mostly connected to the cult of water healing, in which the god Bindu is clearly manifested. When one analyses the folk cult of healing and the practice of it, which is essentially pagan in nature, then it is difficult to explain how that ancient system managed to survive in Bosnia especially in the midst of a strong expansion of Christianity and later Islam?! However, the answer should be sought in the fact that Christianity, especially after the appearance of Bogomils, or Islam had enough influence to fully assimilate the Bosnian people and to fully disengage them from the ancient Illyrian religion. And that it is true is perhaps best shown by the cult of god Bindu.

As it is known god Bindu was the god of springs of the Bosnian Illyrians whose spring-temples were found all over modern Bosnia and Herzegovina and the neighbouring Croatia. One of the best preserved holly places was found in Privilice near Bihać which is located in nature, next to a spring. At that location dozens of dedicated sacrifices to Binud were excavated, as well as a chapel with numerous animal bones sacrificed in his honour.

In the ritual practice of pilgrimage towards springs one can notice the influence of three religious cults of the Bosnian Illyrians: cult of the sun, cult of the moon and cult of Bindu.

Cult of the sun: the largest number of holly and salutary springs are located on the east side of the settlement. One would visit it exclusively at dawn, before sunrise, in order to pray, wash one's face and drink water. In such a way the diseased would expect the blessing of the sun which would shine the light and warmness on the person once it rose from the east.

Cult of the moon: the holly springs were visited in the first week of the new moon, precisely on odd days i.e. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Cult of Bindu: after washing their faces and drinking water or placing it into vessels and carrying it home, the diseased would leave some money next to the streams, usually coins, food, eggs or they would hang some of their clothes on the nearby branches.

In the mentioned descriptions of rituals one can notice influences of three deities, which could point to the fact that Bindu was the son of the sun god and moon goddess and as their son he represented the perfect example of vitality and health which gives life and defeats evil, in this case over diseases. The sun that would appear in the east in the morning, according to folk belief the sun was "born", and the first seven days after the appearance of the new moon undoubtedly point to the idea of renewal of life energy, health and generally luck and prosperity. The sick would ask for blessings from the heavenly deities who again resurrected in their eternal cycles and the manifestation of their divine power was exactly the water over which Bindu had patronage and power.

Cult of the god Bind - part II

During the beginning of the 20^thcentury, Emilian Lilek, a professor from Sarajevo, recorded a dozen examples of spring worshiping in Bosnia, the springs were equated with healing powers. His ethnological work has been published in the National Museum BIH under the title "Religious antiquities from Bosnia and Herzegovina" in the chapter "Water worship". Examples that professor Lilek gathered and recorded have, besides their ethnological value, a historic significance because they confirm the long practice of worshiping the cult of god Bindu, deity of the Bosnian Illyrians to whom spring were dedicated i.e. natural temples.

It is clear that the Bosnian people haven't forgotten about the religious practice of their ancestors which survived despite numerous restless decades which were characterised by the arrival of the Slavs and monotheism. In all of the descriptions one can clearly see the practice of pilgrimage towards the streams whose water was considered to have healing properties as well as the practice of leaving money as a gift, food or a piece of clothing which was a substitute for human or animal sacrifice. Behind such a ritual there existed a belief in a supernatural being, whose name was forgotten by the people, and to whom a sacrificial offering had to be made in order to get help i.e. help from disease.

The following are only some of the examples given by professor Lilek:

 

On the left side of the river Miljacka there is a spring Pišće-water, from which you mustn't drink until you leave some money next to the stream or a piece of one's clothing. Bosnian women visit Pišće-water before sunrise, leaving money next to the spring, and tying pieces of clothing onto the branches of the willow next to the stream.

 

Catholic women visit the stream above Kovačević before sunrise and leave some money there.

In Tešanj there is a stream outside the city where the Bosnian women bring their sick children, and bathe them in that water. When they head home they leave some money next to the stream, or they take off a piece of clothing from the child and leave it next to the spring.

In Travnik there is a spring called Safa's source and it is visited by Muslim's and Christian's alike, especially around May 6^th, in particular those that have headaches or fever. They bathe themselves at the spring. When they head home they throw some money in the water or leave a piece of clothing there.

In Pritoka next to Bihać there is a spring which is visited by sick people in order to bathe in it. If a diseased arrives who is also a sinner, the water from the spring disappears immediately, but if a man without large sins comes the water appears in order for him to bathe in it. The spring is gifted with money, clothes, etc.

Next to Modriča there is a spring called Šičara.When someone has a fever, one visits the spring in the first week of the new moon's appearance, Wednesday or Friday, and it bathes in its waters before sunrise. One leaves some money next to the spring or hangs a piece of its clothing onto a tree next to the spring.

In Tuzla there is a spring called Istočnik, Christians visit it during Friday or Wednesday, in the first week of the new moon's appearance. They bathe at the spring and leave some money or some food.

 

How to make Bosnian coffee?

Take some good coffee (Doncafe, the red packet
being my preferred version, I am far too much of a wuss to go for the super
strong green packet) and a Bosnian coffee maker thing that has a name but it
escapes me right now.

Put
one tablespoon per person into the coffee maker thing

Heat up
the coffee a little. When you can smell it add some boiling water

Wait a while, but
pay attention. The coffee will soon start to bubble up. If you aren't paying
attention it will go all over the hobs.

Take off the heat
and add just a tiny bit more water

This will lead to a
creamy sort of froth that looks as if you have added milk.

Let stand for a
little while. Then pour into a cup

Enjoy.

If you are Bosnian you will have already added a fair amount of sugar at the
beginning of the process with the coffee. You can now also dip a sugar cube into
the coffee as well, or even a Bosnian Delight (same as a Turkish Delight).

Illyrians or slaves, not Slavs!

Two great misconceptions, mostly malicious (nationalist-chauvinist-driven), reign the historical sciences in the western-Balkans for the last two and a half centuries. The first misconception concerns the never-ending disputation between the Albanian and the Serbian school. While the former school claims Albanians to be the last (only authentic?) surviving Illyrians, the latter claims not only that Albanians are Thracians (i.e., not Illyrians) but it also says that no such people as Illyrians has ever existed, instead contending that the locals were all Slav/Serb because ancient sources are filled with references to "sclavs" and "serfs"... The second misconception is related to the first, and it concerns the issue of who the Slavs were (or weren't) in the Balkans before the national awakening of the 18th century... The reason for the two schools being so unapologetic lies in the possible answers to the crucial question they thus pose: Whose is the western Balkans? But being so extreme, neither of those two views seems very authentic; besides, no other interested parties living in the area have ever been asked for their opinion on the above two fundamental disputes that can (and do - as we speak) have great repercussions on lives of millions. At the same time, both schools oppose wholeheartedly and fight fiercely any idea of Bosnia-centered Illyria, even though the idea is supported by a world's leading authority on Illyrians, Professor of Roman and Greek archaeology John Wilkes (the author of "The Illyrians", Oxford Press 2000).

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The first dispute is dealt with easily just by stacking ancient maps in time. Thus by looking at the Ptolemy's Map [on the left] one can see that (province of) Illyria was alive and well just around year 100 AD, i.e. about the time the legend of Christ took roots. Following the situation as it developed, some centuries later there it is yet again [on the right] - amongst other Roman provinces including the conquered Dacia (today's Romania). What's curious about this however is that of all the provinces shown on the maps, only the detailed records on how Illyria was conquered are missing, unlike say the well-documented conquest of Dacia (see article of 26 August). However, it's not just that military papers are mysteriously lost, but according to Wilkes "even today Illyrians barely make the footnotes in most versions of ancient history" as well. Indeed, with exception of a partly preserved appendix on Illyrian wars, by Appian of Alexandria (95-165 AD), there is virtually no complete account available on (the conquest of) Illyria!

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Wilkes supports the concept of a Bosnia-centered Illyria, proposing that it's actually Bosnia, not Albania, which was (the center of) Illyria. This is also obvious from the maps shown here. It's rather a mystery how Bosnia, so prominent and nearby the Rome itself, could have gotten omitted from most texts from/on the Roman Empire. He writes of Illyrians:

(1) "...A separate group of Illyrians identified by renowned historian Geza Alfoldy: he identifies 'Pannonian peoples' in Bosnia, northern Montenegro [around Pljevlja and Prijepolje, p.84] and western Serbia [Sandžak]". p.75

(2) "Not much reliance should perhaps be placed on attempts to identify an Illyrian anthropological type as short and dark-skinned similar to modern Albanians." p.219

(3) "...a documented description of Illyrians, Pannonian family: -Pannonians are tall and strong, always ready for a fight and to face dangeour but slow-witted." p.219

(4) "Life has always been hard in the Illyrian lands and countless wars of resistance against invaders are testimony to the durability of their populations." p.220

(5) "In sum, the destructive impact [of Bosnia-centred theory] on the earlier generalizations regarding Illyrians should be regarded as a step forward." p.40.

The Illyrians-Bogomils-Bosniaks continuity is self-evident as the above finds coincide with the settlements of today's Bosniaks (the Muslims of the Balkans). Note ancient maps [above] corroborating the early Antiquity-Ottoman Empire continuity too: there [left] you can see that, of the entire western Balkans, only Bosnia was called Illyria (proper) with own Sea called Illyricum Mare (part of a larger, Adriatic - Emperor Hadrian's Sea). It can be also seen that during the whole time of their independence, Illyrians had a coast from today's Dubrovnik to Šibenik. This simply continued (wasn't given to Bosnia by anyone!) during the entire period of Middle Ages [right], after the Holy See helped establish Kingdom of Bosnia just like many other European kingdoms that Vatican designed so to replace the fallen Roman Empire with a kingdoms-padded geopolitical shield protecting Rome for millennia to come - if you can't have one huge empire any more, then have a number of loyal and small nonetheless resilient states instead. Given that there are more than 200 scholastic theories on why the Empire fell (meaning no one has a slightest clue as to why it happened), it could also be that it never has fallen but was transformed (in the above described manner) instead.

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Contrary to common belief, for the most part of their long history Illyrians/Bosnians had a strong fleet, brave infantry, and able generals. As immediate neighbors of the Romans and Greeks, they were enormously envied however. Therefore no Roman or Greek record referred to the Illyrians in any other way except as "pirates", "thieves", "barbarians", "rebels" or even "sclavs" and "serfs" (Lat. sclavo = Slav; serf = servus = slave, later on 'exiled Russian slave'), both terms used by the Romans as insult only, i.e., long before the 6th century when real Slav hordes began attacking and committing mass murder of thousands of Illyrians at a time, always careful not to encounter the Roman legions but only unarmed civilians (thus "softening" the Roman defenses that semi-relied on non-Italian recruits in Illyria and Thracia; before moving the border of civilizations westward to Drina River and on). Probably, the insults were part of the first geopolitical game ever played in the Antiquity, where both Rome and Greece played on the card of a well-known geopolitical fact that your immediate neighbor is your enemy, and that your immediate neighbor's neighbor is your natural ally. Similarly, later on, in the 18th century, Serbian nationalists will claim that all "sclav" and "serf" ever mentioned in the Antiquity were actually Serbs. (In the same grabbing manner they simplistically and systematically translated all appearances of 'Sclavoniae' in Latin texts, as 'Serbia(n)'.) Thus it's Serbian relentless nationalism that makes it important to set the record straight - today more than ever. Hence etymology of the word 'sclav' is completely unrelated to what's contended, so Serbia's historians cannot claim Slavic heritage from the ancient times for any of the peoples westward from the Drina, just like Albanians cannot claim their exclusive, pure-Illyrian heritage either. The real (and the only statistically significant) Slavs that exist in Bosnia nowadays are the Bosnian Orthodox (self-styled "Bosnian Serbs" although most are born in Bosnia) whose immediate ancestors (up to third knee) largely moved in from Serbia and Croatia during the last ninety years or so, thanks to Austria's and Serbia's administrations trying to Christianize the domestic Illyrian population.

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No wonder both (and only) the Serbian and Albanian schools largely dismiss Wilkes (thus giving him an enormous credibility), for Wilkes says it's hard to believe Bosnian-Illyrian tribes were "Romanized", "Hellenized", etc. This however is what the Serbian school needs desperately so that they too can claim that the same tribes had been also "Slavicized" after the fall of the Western Roman Empire and into the Mid Ages. Everyday experience however teaches us that assimilation of entire peoples/tribes under occupation is practically impossible, and can instead be expected to occur only in individuals moving to a foreign land. The maximum extent to which assimilation is able to get is already known from everyday life, the best example being our present-day diaspora: our refugees who got entirely surrounded by foreign language adopt that language as quickly as by 2nd generation. On the other hand, an occupation is an occupation is... then as nowadays - take for instance the Ottoman occupation of Bosnia (1527-1878) during which time Bosnians acquired only religion from their occupationists, but not their culture, tradition, or language for that matter. It has been suggested that Bosnians had attained language from the Slavs, and religion from the Turks, but it's a fact that they had never adopted both from the both. This arbitrariness is an important circumstantial evidence that "Romanization", "Hellenization", "Slavization", "Turkization", or "Germanization" were all practically impossible in Bosnia! Finally, if such "izations" were at all possible, why is it that the Bosnians adopted neither religion nor language from the Austrian occupationists too? The relatively shorter duration of that occupation compared to the other two occupations cannot be the answer because say the Roman occupation had lasted much longer than any other, yet most of the Illyrians-Bosnians had adopted neither Latin language nor Catholic religion, not to mention Roman culture, art or tradition.

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Also, as Wilkes suggests, given the military mindedness of the Illyrians [royal armor shown above, soldier's armor on the left], as well as their vigilance and resistance to numerous conquerors through ages, it can be said with high certainty that today's Bosnians [Bosnian Muslims and Catholics] are direct descendants of the Illyrians who never "disappeared" or "got assimilated". Add to this the non-stop putting-down of Bosnians (via jokes akin of those on "slow-witted" Illyrians) that continues to this day and is mostly favored in Serbia and Croatia (same as in Greece and Rome a few millennia ago). Namely, this is an anecdotal evidence for validity of the Bosnia-centered theory of Illyria. Be it noted at the end that authenticity of many intermediate maps (produced in times before or after the maps showed above) can also be questioned, as such maps mostly come from Serbian (and to a lesser extent Croatian, albeit not less confused and not less nationalist-chauvinist) sources. Therefore it'd be useful to deliberately dispute all Serbian and Croatian historical references (sources, maps, analyses) on ancient and medieval Bosnia, at least until the time tells the true science from nationalist-driven (geo)politics. Unfortunately, history of Europe is history of war, even more so in case of the Balkans, and even more so still in case of Bosnia. Therefore, most of the grand events/undertakings in the area can probably be explained by geopolitical motives and related military activities. I don't need to remind the reader that the same overlaying set of rules applies to Bosnia even today, as it did in her recent past (Dayton Accord 1995, Teheran Conference 1943, Berlin Congress 1878), the most recent Kosovo-Bosnia connection - including the 1992-1995 aggression - being its latest manifestation as we speak... This is also why in the above I use geopolitical maps only (to show that most of the intermediate maps are unreliable), for geopolitics is "oberpolitics", with everything else (including history) from Antiquity till today being nothing more than its byproduct.

http://omerbashich.blogspot.com/
 

Happy Independence Day to all citizens of Bosnian and Herzegovina

MYTHOLOGICAL WORLD OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

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.

Bosnian superstitions

http://magic.bosnianforum.com/


In Bosnia it is believed that children are like angels until they open their mouths, because they are able to utter not only good but also bad words. Even though they lose their graceful features, children still have a clean soul and therefore they are able to foretell various events; if a child often packs its things while playing it is said that it feels that the family will move soon or if it ducks its head and often stares between his legs that it feels that he will soon have a new member of family.

Among the people there is a belief that an even number of children is not a good sign and also if the youngest child resembles one of the parents uncannily. For a child that has curly hair it is believed that it will be temperamental and the child that gets wet before it turns one year old will be prone to diseases all of its life.

A loving Bosnian mother in an attempt to have all of her children love and respect each other often puts the same clothes onto them, a brother's shirt or socks onto the sister or vice versa.

It is believed that the sun wouldn't shine if there were no orphans in the world since Allah created it to warm up the orphans.

When a small child sneezes the mother utters a prophylactic formula against diseases: "Pis mace, zdrava djeca!" (shoo cat, let my children be healthy).

When a small child's teeth grow slowly it is believed that the parents don't want to have any more children.

If the children in a household have similar names then it is believed that there will be more children, a large family.

It is believed if someone stares at a woman who is breast feeding her child or if a drop of milk falls to the ground and she steps on it that she can lose all of her milk. To get her milk back the woman needs to cook trahana (oriental soup) which is three years old and as soon as she eats a few spoons of it she will have milk again.

Illyrians legend from Velika Kladuša

Based upon the Greek legend Illyrius, progenitor of the Illyrians was a son of Polyphemus and Galatea and the brother of Celtus and Galas. Illyrius children, Auterius,  Enchelus, Perrhaebus, Taulus, Daortho, Dissaro and Partho are the heroes of the epic poetry of Illyrian tribes. In this legend Illyrius is closely associated with a snake; she wrapped around him after being born and thus gave him all its magical powers. Modern philology aims to prove that etymologically names of Illyrians and the mentioned animal, plying the important role in the Illyrian religion, are connected.

 

As Japods occupied the entire territory of present-day Northwestern Bosnia, and elsewhere, it is logical to assume that they preserved and passed, on each generational shift, some of the old Illyrian legends. Such is a legend form Velika Kladusa about a father with seven sons which reassemble the Greek one. That legend describes the giant snake that guards the Gods treasure. She was living in a deep den near Velika Kladusa, in a suburb called a Rudnik. At a time when Romans achieve military superiority over the Bosnian land, there was an Illyrian family – father of seven sons and one daughter. Life was modest but nice until the day when children, out of sheer wantonness and youthful exuberance placed the flatbread on the stone and hit it with a spear. Horrified with this sacrilege of wheat, a gift of the Gods that feeds people, the father tried to reason the children and prevent them of throwing the spear to the flatbread, but in vain.      

Suddenly something strange happened and forced the young man to stop their game – the flatbread started to bleed?! Seeing this strange omen, the father grabbed his head with his hands and wept because at that moment he realized that the Gods will punish them for blasphemy.

Shortly after this event, all seven sons lost their sanity and scattered to all four corners of the World and any track of them got lost. The father died from deep sorrow for his sons. The only one that remained in the deserted house was the daughter, drowned in grief for her late father and lost brothers, but even she was spared of Gods’ punishment, because she was the one who baked the flatbread. They turned her into a huge snake and decided that she would guard their gold and gems until the moment when young man comes, enough brave to let the snake kiss his forehead.

 

Many centuries passed since then, the story about the snake-girl slowly became a legend, which is told in the long winter nights. Each spring, on the Hidrelez holiday, the girl would come out from the hole in her new shape repeating the same plea: “Help me! Is there any man, of any faith to let me kiss his forehead, so I would become his wife or sister?” Many knew about her said words but there was no one brave enough to liberate her from the curse and become rich.

But, one spring before the arrival of Hidrelez, a poor young man decided, persuaded by an old woman from the village, to go and let the snake kiss him. – Anyway, as poor as I am, I have nothing to loose, he was encouraging himself. He arrived at down to the hole in the ground, where the snake lived for centuries and waited on her. Soon, from the darkness of the large hole appeared the snake’s huge head followed by her long body. Seeing huge snake before him, the young man got paralyzed with fear. He could not move. But the moment the snake approached him to give him a kiss the young man pushed her and run away. The young man was running thinking that snake would go after him, but something quite different happened. She just looked after him sadly and said: - Let God gives you my sadness and loneliness, and makes you die since I can not!” After that she returned back into her hole. Shortly after this event, the unfortunate young man turned seriously ill and after great pain and suffering he died.    

Bosnian the Moon Goddess

In accordance with the Old Bosnian believes the Moon Goddess manifested in two forms. The first form was celestial and the second one was a tellurian. In her celestial form the Goddess had the power of magic and healing whilst in its tellurian form she was the goddess of fertility and well being. The text of the old Bosnian Love Chant alludes on her tellurian form, noticeable already in the beginning of the formula “Black Earth Mother, please help me, nor is this charm related to you neither to me, but to my dear…” When Christianity came into Bosnia and after that the Islam, the old cult of Mother Goddess was preserved, thanks to Bogumils, but with time the people forgot the meaning of most of the rituals and customs.

The belief in fairies is the best preserved part of the cult of Mother Goddess, which was kept in the mind of people. It is obvious that the cult could continue to exist only by loosing its religious significance and get a mark of local legends and superstitions. As such, it did not present any threat to monotheism but could have been forwarded from generation to generation. Based upon it, even the titles of Moon Goddess and Mother Earth had been changed into Zlatna (Golden Fairy) and Gorska vila (Forest Fairy). Both of them have been mentioned in the mythology of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The title Zlatna comes from the word gold which reminds of shinning, gloss or better to say the moonlight. The Gorska vila is the same as the Forest Fairy and the late title also refers to earth.

Chant Bosnian witch

What happened to Hasiba B. from a small Northwest village of Bosnia, few years after the World War II, shows the best that the connection between the people and old goddesses never severed. According to her story, once while she was shepherding at the meadow something unusual happened. While walking around she suffered a huge shock for no apparent reason which mostly reassembled the epileptic seizure. She lost the consciousness, her body was completely rigid and she was foaming out of the mouth. The family members found her in such condition and brought her home. Hasiba was lying for three days without consciousness like being in coma. When she woke up on the fourth day, she was completely sound and healthy. That most fascinating thing was that she woke up with the gift of foreboding and healing. Namely, while in coma she was visited by fairies who taught her how to foretell the future by watching into the water, how to perform divination with beans and how to heal the people by ritual of salivanje strahe. The fairies also taught her the various bajalice (oral charms) that she was supposed to pronounce in the healing rituals. One of the most interesting charms is the one related to the magical healing of the Moon.   

If analyzing quite a long text of three bajalice which make a whole, one could write a lot. However for this occasion it is enough to list few interesting ones. The bajalica brings up several times numbers 3 and 9 (3x9=27, which corresponds to the lunar circle), few times word silver, the metal dominated by Moon in astrology, while water as the Moon element is being mentioned 52 times. For better understanding of this text, maybe is good to specify that a year has 52 weeks.   

The fight against the evil embodied in physical and psychological diseases starts by activating of two elements: earth and water and after that the fire. It is important to remember that the forth element of air is present constantly through the breath i.e. the speech of a person who chants or baje. As described in bajalica, during the battle between the earth and water from one side against the evil, the “doors of the earth” are being open whilst the valleys and hills collide. That creates the power which neutralizes the evil. The appearance of the full moon is quoted at the end of the first bajalica.

The second bajalica starts with full moon coming that manifests by the psychical calmness of patient. The full moon waning, the moon phase coming and this change results by Moon giving the water and strength to the patient.  It follows by the next: “the patient was born in the night of the full moon and therefore he eliminated any decease during nine days”, “the night comes to the patient as so the help from the water; as the down comes the following day so the sun will arrive to the patient.” The last verse points out that by arrival of the sun the patient will be relieved of physical issues, such as fear, insomnia and anxiety. After, as the sun goes down in the west so the peace and calmness comes to the patient. On the next night the full moon brings the water as the gift to the patient that heals him for the next nine days. The evil withdraws and disappears as the days pass by. At the very end are mentioned the following: the full moon as well as the moon phase that brings the new moon which makes patient resting and neutralize the negative affects.

At the very beginning of the third and last bajalica it is described the arrival of full moon that brings the health i.e. strength to the patient. The most interesting part in this bajalica is speeding up the moon phases: full moon – moon phase – full moon, whilst element of water is in all verses that follow the moon change. Once again the reborn of the patient is emphasized but this time he is born for the first time during the night of the moon phase and the second time during the full moon. In both cases the moon “gifts” the patient but this time the gifts are three waters and nine days. These gifts have the profound curing effect as described in the following verses: “regenerate its own body; open the eyes; calm the psych; heal the bones and body; the full moon is coming…” In the last 15 sentences it describes exclusively the fight between fire and water, their interaction that bring definite victory over negative influences which caused psychological and physical problems to the patient.  

*Bajalica or magic chant – basma, bajati. The term has its origin in the Azerbaijan language where it represents folk poetry bayati which is in fact incantation- a type of magical poetry intended for sickness, happiness, love, fertility, keeping evil at bay.

Bosnian cuisine: Krompiruša

A Bosnian favorite, krompiruša, or potato pie, is a carb lovers’ delight. Truly tasty, it’s also wonderfully simple to make.

Ingredients
400 g potatoes
700 g flower
1 dl oil
salt
pepper

Instructions
To make the dough or jufka, mix the flower with warm water and salt, and roll into 4 balls. Oil them well and let them stand while you prepare the filling. To make the filling, peel the potatoes and boil half-way, then place in cold water. Cut the potatoes into cubes and add some oil, salt and pepper.

Spread out the dough with your hands, cut off the thick ends. Place one fourth of the filling at one end of the dough you’ve spread out, then roll it up together with the filling and place it into a square, greased baking pan. Make sure to always use the same quantity of filling with each piece of dough, and always spread out the dough equally thin or thick. Bake at 200 C° for 12 minutes.

Bosniaks - Illyrians

 

 

Bosnian historian prof.dr.Enver Imamović, believes than the modern-day Bosniaks do not continue the lineage of any Slavic tribe, but rather of an ancient Illyrian tribe called Posen. He gives a serious reference to support his statement and adduces the ancient Greek historian Appain of Alexandria (c. 95 – 165 C.E) who mentions an Illyrian tribe named Posen as living on the territories of modern-day Bosnia and Hercegovina. Mr.Imamović corroborates that the term Posen is nothing else but a corrupted form of the Illyrian term Bosen. Thus, mr. Imamović concludes that when talking about modern-day Bosniaks and the ancient Illyrian Posens we are talking about „one and the same people with the same name and a historic continuity of 2,000 years“.
To support his theory of the Illyrian ancestry of the Bosniaks, mr.Imamović mentions that the very name Bosnia is pre-Slavic and that it was existent long before the Serb and Croat tribes moved to the Balkan. Thus, he mentions that„already in the Roman time Bosnia was called approximately Bassania“.

Bosniaks are Illyrians

Prof. dr. Enver Imamović in his book “Historija bosanske vojske” ("The history of the Bosnian army") describes at length the Bosnian Illyrians, their military and social system. For this text the most important part of the book is the one that describes the vast density of Illyrians in Bosnia before the advent of the Romans and the Slavs:

After they had conquered the coastal tribes the Romans headed inland. At that time Bosnia was inhabited by numerous Illyrian tribes. They were considered as particularly brave and warlike by the surrounding tribes. The north-western part of Bosnia was inhabited by Japodi, east of them, between the rivers Vrbas and Bosna, were the Mezeji and in the central Podrinje there were Dindari. Desetijati inhabited central Bosnia, Dalmati western Bosnia and Ardijejci southern Herzegovina and the Adriatic coast.

Nakon što su pokorili obalna plemena Rimljani su krenuli u unutrašnjost zemlje. U to doba Bosna i Hercegovina je bila naseljena brojnim ilirskim plemenima. Ona su od okolnih plemena smatrana izuzetno hrabrim i ratobornim. Sjeverozapadnu Bosnu naseljavali su Japodi. Istočno do njih, između rijeka Vrbasa i Bosne, živjeli su Mezeji a u srednjem Podrinju Dindari. Desitijati su naseljavali srednju Bosnu, Dalmati zapadnu, a Ardijejci južnu Hercegovinu i primorje.

According to prof. dr. Enver Imamović and academician Muhamed Filipović, the Bosniak people are direct descendants of Illyrians which can be easily confirmed through various analyses especially historical but also religious.

It has long been regarded that the Albanians are the only direct descendants of the Illyrians, however the things that mr. Imamović and mr. Filipović have brought forth in their historical analysis's and papers confirmed the findings of the Swiss institute IGENEA. Namely, the experts of the institute came to a conclusion that only 20% of the Albanians have the Illyrian gene on the other hand 40% of the Bosnians have the gene as well.

When the Slavs arrived in the Balkans they performed genocide over the Illyrians, it is believed that 4 million of them were killed, and the survivors had to forcefully assimilate into the community of the Slavs.

NAME: Illyrian

EVOLVED FROM: Danubian / Yamnaya

COUNTRY: Albania / Croatia / Bosnia and Hercegovina / Romania / Greece / Turkey

REGION: Dalmatia, Bosnia/Hercegovina

TERRITORY: Illyria

LANDMARKS: Adriatic Sea / Balkan Peninsula

SITES: Gmunden / Oberzeiring / Koman

CENTERS: Glasinac / Skodra

AGE: Neolithic / Bronze / Iron

DATES: BC 2000 /BC 15th – 12th c / BC 1000 / BC 900 / BC 8th c / BC 5th c / BC 393 / BC 359 / BC 310 / BC 3rd / AD 168

DEITIES: Galatea

SIGNATURE: tumulus / villages / hillforts / tattoos / horse breeders / sea raiders / lembi