ĐERZELEZ ALIJA – A HERO OF NATURE

Years 1888–1889 saw the first edition of the collection of Muslim folk poems from Bosnia nd Herzegovina, which was compiled by the first director of National Museum and editor-in-chief of Glasnik Zemaljskog muzeja Kosta Hörmann (1850–1921). According to the compiler, „these poems reveal customs, heroics, fortunate and unfortunate events, in a nutshell: the whole life of brothers Mohammedansˮ (Hörmann, 1888, 15-16). In the foreword to the collection Hörmann underscored that the quality of these folk poems „does not in the least lag behind their friends which live among christened peoples ˮ, and which had, as Hörmann reminded, already been compiled and made widely known by Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, Simo Milutinović and others. At the end of the collection Hörmann presented several short stories. In one of them, about folk hero Alija Đerzelez, he cited an interesting story which confirmed a generous attitude of Bosnian Muslims toward Nature which, in their worldview, has rights granted by the Maker:

Toward poem IV

Narrative about Đerzelez-Alija

It has been told, that Alija has never cut a trunk of a raw tree nor has ever cut off a new twig. He has certainly heard from someone, some time, that trees are also alive and that it is a sin to cut a raw tree, and since at the time people were more devout than later, Alija had it into his head and stuck to this rule.

(Kosta Hörmann, Narodne pjesme muslimana u Bosni i Hercegovini, Svjetlost, Sarajevo, 1976, p. 579)

Mausoleum of the most famous hero of Muslim epic poetry in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a warrior and historical personality Gerz Ilijas (Alije Đerzeleza), a participant in the famous Battle of Krbava Field of the late 15th century, was erected in the village of Gerzovo. Municipality of Šipovo. He ended his warrior and life path in battles for the fortress Sokol on the river Pliva where, according to a legend, he was viciously murdered by a disguised Hungarian soldier during the daily prayer. At this site, Muslims of Sokol and surrounding villages built a mausoleum which soon became a spot of pilgrimage both of Muslims and all the other believers who sought cure for their diseases, misfortunes or wrongs. It was also a spot where prayers for rain were performed during summer draughts. The main gathering was organized every year on Aliđun – 2 August and, according to folk saying: Ilija until noon, Alija after noon, the Aliđun feast in Gerzovo was divided in two parts. In the morning, the Orthodox went to sermon to a nearby church, and then to the mausoleum where Muslims began to gather after the noon and prayed two nafl rakats “na murad” (for granting wishes) by the mausoleum and prayed to God for good health and progress, whereupon the feast began. The mausoleum was destroyed in March 1992.