TEKKE AT KAĆUNI

On the main road from Kiseljak to Busovača there is a picturesque flatland village – Kaćuni, and in this beautiful village one can see an extraordinary building complex which attracts attention to its unique purpose. It is legacy of a renowned spiritual family of the Hadžimejlićs, which consists of a hastanaha, i.e. a polyclinic with several reception clinics, dentistry, laboratory diagnostics and a restaurant, library, as well as a tekke of Naqshbandi order with several suites for visitors. The complex is owned by Mesudija Foundation. Since 2004, Mesudija Foundation has regularly been publishing an annual journal for historical heritage, tasawwuf and culture Kelamu'l šifa'.

Building of the complex was initiated by shaykh Mesud Hadžimejlić, who was the imam of the mosque and shaykh of the tekke at Kaćuni, and president of the Tariqa Center of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Shaykh Mesud had great spiritual and social reputation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and beyond (Ratković, 2022: 136). Today, his tekke houses Dhikr on Thursday and Sunday evenings – depending on the time of the year, after the sunset or night prayer. Dhikr gathers dervished who come both from close surroundings and from more distant parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, even from abroad. When shaykh Mesud Hadžimejlić passed away in 2009, tasks of the shaykh of the tekke were taken by his son, prof. Ćazim Hadžimejlić, PhD.

Naqshbandi tariqa has been present in Bosnia since the 16th century, though its influence was strongly felt in the 18th and 19th centuries, when two centers of this tariqa were well-known: Naqshbandi tekke at Vukeljići and tekke on Oglavak near Fojnica (Ćehajić, 1985: 96). “The teaching of Naqshbandi tariqa was spread across Bosnia and Herzegovina by its two major representatives: one was shaykh Hasan-baba Zukić (died in 1799/800) who, upon completing studies in Istanbul traveled to Anatolia and further, to Buhara and Samarkand, the spring of Naqshbandi tariqa. Upon returning to Bosnia he founded Naqshbandi tekke in Vukeljići and spread the teaching of this tariqa in Bosnia ˮ (Ćehajić, 1985: 96, 97). Better-known than shaykh Hasan-baba Zukić was his student, shaykh Sirija, who inherited him. An important fact which is associated to shaykh Sirija (died in 1846) is that he was close to major personalities from the world of ulama and high society in Bosnia of the time. Among others, he was admired by the leader of the movement for independence of Bosnia, Husein-captain Gradaščević, whom shaykh Sirija supported as a national fighter. “Rumor about a devout and renowned Sufi of high ethic, shaykh Sirija, also reached the Ottoman capital, even sultan Mahmud II (ruled from 1808 to 1839), who issued a decree in July 1835 which exempted shaykh Sirija and tekke on Oglavak from any taxes and contributions. Shaykhs and the tekke on Oglavak, as well as one in Vukeljići, were also assisted by Bosnian governors. (...) As an ethical variant of tasawwuf, Naqshbandi tariqa was widely spread in Bosnia and Herzegovina and included, in its ranks, both common people and members of senior Ottoman administration in Bosnia and Herzegovina ˮ (Ćehajić, 1985: 97).

Every Thursday and Sunday, Dhikr is held in the tekke at Kaćuni. Every second Sunday, Mubina Moker, PhD, a scholar in Iranian studies, interprets Masnavi, reciting and analyzing verses and immediately translates them from Persian into Bosnian.

Visitors come both from Kaćuni and from closer surroundings of Sarajevo, Fojnica, Pazarić, and Hadžići. Dervishes who pray Dhikr come from other tekkes as well, where the number of visitors is smaller.

Participants in Dhikr sit on the floor in two concentric circles, after the night prayer (in summer months, after the sunset prayer. They begin to recite selected ayats and prayers, as well as selected Qur'anic items. Reciting is accompanied by rhythmical movements, first of the head and then of the whole upper part of the body, first to right and left, and then forward and backward. At the climax of the reciting, one vocal tells a nasheed, while other dervishes repeat words of the shahada: La ilahe illaa Allah (Only Allah is God!), Allah or only Hu (He), depending on the sequence of the Tawhid, with the described movement of the body. Even those who do not move in the ecstatic movement of the body feel the presence of the releasing energy of enlightenment. One can feel the invitation of the soul to jointly extoll the Maker. It is hard to remain indifferent while watching the ecstasy of dervishes. Once you have experienced a tawhid of this kind, it becomes clear where love for the tekke and dervish fraternity originates. The whole ritual does not last for more than an hour. Recitation of the dervishes first heats up gradually and then gradually calms down.

After adhan for the night prayer, one of the dervishes recited the nasheed and strikes a kudum (kind of drums). It is the time of waiting for the shaykh, who is supposed to come and stand in mihrab. When the shaykh comes, everybody greets him and begin to sit in rows. The prayer is followed by dhikr, and then by a lecture given by shaykh Ćazim Hadžimejlić or a visiting lecturer. The whole event ends up with appropriate serving of savory dishes and desserts. Before prof. Ćazim Hadžimejlić, this pleasant custom was practiced by his father, shaykh Mesud Hadžimjelić (died in 2009).

Sources:

• Informant prof. Ćazim Hadžimejlić, PhD

• Informant Mubina Moker, PhD

• Informant Sulejman ef. Efendić (born in 1952) FAZM XXVIII-G, 16483.

• Informant Edib Karasalihović (born in 1990) ... Kaćuni

• Informant Kemal Mehmedović (born in 1953) Konjević-Polje

References:

• Avdukić, Malik (2016), “Nakšibendijska silsilaˮ, Kelamu'l šifa', 43-44, XII, 1437/2016 (19-25).

• Ćehajić, Džemal (1985), “Društveno-politički, religiozni, književni i drugi aspekti derviških redova u jugoslavenskim zemljamaˮ, Prilozi za orijentalnu filologiju XXXIV (1984), 91-113.

• Ćehajić, Džemal (1986), Derviški redovi u jugoslovenskim zemaljama sa posebnim osvrtom na Bosnu i Hercegovinu, Sarajevo: Orijentalni institut u Sarajevu.

• Hadžimejlić, Ćazim (2013), “Šejh Mesud ef. Hadžimejlić. Šejhul-mešajih BiHˮ, Kelamu'l šifa', IX, 1434/2013, 35 (104-107).

• Hadžimejlić, Ćazim (2016), “Pir-i Sani, Husejn baba Bosneviˮ, Kelamu'l šifa', 43-44, XII, 1437/2016 (16-18).

• Ratković, Rosana (2022), “Upoznavanje Nakšibendijskog tarikata u Bosni i Hercegoviniˮ, Kelamu'l šifa', XVIII, 1443-44/2022, 61-62 (136-139).

• Šarac, Jasmin (2020), “Hikaje iz života šejh Muhamed hadži Mejli babeˮ, Kelamu'l šifa', 55-56-57, XVI, 1441/2020, (72-74).