OLD GRAFFITI ON MOSTAR MOSQUES

What we name graffiti today owes its name to the Italian word graffio, which could be translated as 'scratch'. Today, this term is typically defined as a form of visual communication with public at large by means of inscriptions or pictures on public surfaces. They are mostly works by unknown individuals or groups. Most often, they are stylized messages or signatures written by chalk or spray. They are typically associated to big urban environments. Graffiti appeared very early; they have been found on ruins of buildings from the ancient Rome, on some Mayan buildings, in ancient Arabia etc. In Europe, one can sometimes find graffiti in churches which date back to the 16th century, and even earlier.

It is well-known that there is a disagreement about whether graffiti are art or vandalism; whatever the case, there is no doubt that those which are centuries old are true jewels.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, or more accurately in the city of Mostar, there is a significant number of graffiti which reach back far into the past. Almost all of them were written on exterior walls of mosques. The reason why these inscriptions are found on Mostar mosques may be hidden in the suitability of the material that these old mosques were made of, and almost all Mostar mosques from the period of Ottoman administration were built of stone known by the name of tenelija. This kind of stone is perfect to be engraved. Naturally, Mostar youth did not take long to realize this fact.

Almost all the lower half of the west wall of the Ibrahim-aga Šarić Mosque in the neighborhood of Luka is full of various inscriptions and messages; a somewhat smaller number of texts, though significant, can be found at the foot of the minaret of the Hadži Memija Mosque in the neighborhood of Cernica; a certain number of inscriptions is also found on the minarets of the Koski Mehmed-pasha and Ćejvan Ćehaja mosques, as well as on the walls of Karađoz-bey madrasa. It is also possible that inscriptions could be found on some more mosques and madrasas. One should have in mind that we discuss only inscriptions which were engraved in the wall with an object made of solid material, probably with a nail, and not those which were written by chalk, paint of pencil, although this form of writing has also been recorded.

Unfortunately, due to the fact that a huge number of old Mostar mosques have been destroyed, either in the period of two Yugoslavias or in the period of aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992–1995, today we can only guess what possible messages disappeared from their walls. To make things more difficult, almost all the destroyed mosques were very old and located in old neighborhoods which used to bustle with life.

All Mostar graffiti were written in Arabic script. Sometimes it was an ordinary handwriting and at other times excelling calligraphy. From today's perspective, it is hard to understand what made the author inscribe a text on a wall of a mosque. Did he want to kill time while waiting for the prayer to begin, or he rehearsed handwriting, or something else? Some of the preserved inscriptions speak in favor of the third possibility. We will mention only one example as an illustration. On one part of the wall of the Šarić Mosque, an author wrote the well-known Ottoman phrase سلطانم, which means my sultan, several times; immediately next to it he wrote the Hijri year of 1224, which corresponds to 1809/10 according to Gregorian calendar. Was it perhaps an expression of hysteria of a helpless man caused by complete anarchy which befell Mostar as a result of a true little war? It was a conflict between supporters of two champions, Dadić and Voljevica, which raged across Mostar for years, and it was also the time of great hunger which ravaged these regions. Perhaps it was because of uncertainty which befell the whole Ottoman State due to the murder of popular sultan Selim III by Mustafa IV, and then overthrowing and assassination of Mustafa IV by supporters of Mahmud II and then enthronement of the latter, all of which happened over the two previous years. Certainly, the term sultan can be interpreted differently. Of course, it is almost impossible to figure out what it was about and therefore we can only guess; however, it is not the topic of this paper.

Besides this inscription, there are some which are difficult to decipher, and therefore they are most likely messages which could be understood only at that time, or only by the author and the person the text was intended for.

In any case, old Mostar graffiti are a rare treasure which has not been studied so far, and we hope that a serious research of this topic lays ahead.

As an appendix to the text, we present several photographs of Mostar graffiti inscribed on the walls of the Šarić and Hadži Memija mosques.

Mostar graffiti written on the walls of the Šarić and Hadži Memija mosques

References:

• Ćišić, Husein (2007), Postanak i razvitak grada Mostara, IC Štamparija d.o.o. Mostar i “Obzorjaˮ, Mostar.

• Hasandedić, Hivzija (2017), “Kulturno-istorijski spomenici u Mostaru iz turskog dobaˮ, Prilozi za orijentalnu filologiju, 10 (10-11), 149-177.

• Taslidža, Faruk, “Između ratova – na granici svjetova – Društveno-privredni odnosi Hercegovačkog sandžaka u prvoj polovini XVII stoljeća (1606- 1645)ˮ, BZK “Preporodˮ GD Mostar, Mostar, 2022.

• Britannica.com, Graffiti art, accessed on 04.01.2022.