JURJEVDAN, ILINDAN (ALIĐUN) AND CHRISTMAS IN THE FOLK CULTURE OF BOSNIAKS - MUSLIMS

Until the emergence of modern technical aids in agriculture, people fully depended on moody forces of nature: the Sun, rain and wind. The man very early realized that the quality of life depended on the Sun and, to ensure affection of this precious celestial body, began to consider the Sun a deity. Besides the Sun, rain was the most important element necessary for a good harvest, and people attempted to control rain as well by praying to God or performing ritual magic rites. Performing rain prayers in the nature, which is somewhere still present in the tradition of Bosniaks, was a replacement for these pre-Islamic and pre-Christian magic rites.

Before accepting Christianity Bosniaks, like other peoples at a similar level of social development, developed an entire ritual system which served to ensure the Sun and rain for a good yield and protecting cattle from evil demons. In spring, festivities were organized for a good and fruitful year; in mid-summer, fairs were held during the harvest; and in the beginning of winter they celebrated repeated strengthening of the Sun. Upon conversion to Christianity, medieval citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina continued these folk festivities, though they now named them after Christian saints, under the influence of the church. Thus, they dedicated spring rites, which used to be held on 6 May, to St. Juraj (George) instead to deity named Jarilo; the festival in the honor of pagan deity, thunderer Perun, which took place on 2 August, was named Ilindan after St. Ilija (Elijah) the Thunderer, and festivities in the honor of the birth and strengthening of the Sun of 15 December were replaced by Christmass customs. Upon adopting Islam, Bosniaks still continued to organize fairs on Jurjevdan and Ilindan (Aliđun), and perform certain protective activities on the occasion of Christmas.

Jurjevdan (6 May)

Bosniaks used to utilize the greenery which brought spring after the long winter for magic activities for a good harvest and protection of cattle. In villages on mountainous slopes around Sarajevo Bosniaks had organized picnics on Christian saint days since time immemorial, although these fairs were exclusively related to their agricultural works. Thus, the picnic on Jurjevdan was organized because the wheat they had sown sprouted well. In other parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, livestock fairs took place on Jurjevdan; lambs were sold and spring supplies bought. As a form of protecting cattle from snakes, it was a custom across our country to take something smoking around the barn on Jurjevo morning. In the surroundings of Visoko, on the eve of Jurjevo, the Qur'an was carried around the house to protect the household and barley was sprinkled around the barn to protect cattle.

On Jurjevdan, girls would perform magic rites telling fortune about who and when they would marry, and how happy their marriage would be. In central Bosnia, the girl would cut two onion stalks, she would ornate one with golden and the other with silver thread. After several days of waiting, the girl would inspect the onion: if the stalk with golden thread had grown more, it was believed that the girl would have a happy marriage if she married that year; if the stalk with silver thread grew more, it was believed that she would be unhappy in marriage. In Herzegovina, people believed that the girl would marry a guy if the stalk with golden thread grew longer, or a widower if the stalk with silver thread was longer.

On the eve of Jurjevo, girls used to bring omaha water from the millstone. They would cover omaha with plants and hide it under the ground during the night since they were not allowed to leave it under the roof, under the nail, as it was believed that metal deprives water of magic power. On Jurjevdan, girls used to get up before dawn and have a bath, or wash their face with omaha, to become more beautiful and more attractive to boys. Besides the aesthetic function, it was believed that omaha improves health of the person who used it for bathing or washing face. In Jajce, on Jurjevdam, young people used to tour villages and strike everyone they came across with nettle, since it was believed that it is good for health. In Visoko, on Jurjevdan, children would be gently whipped with dogwood shoots, to make them as healthy as dogwoods. Somewhere it was done with a willow stick.

Ilindan/Aliđun (2 August)

Muhamed Hadžijahić claims that Bosniak “celebrations of Aliđun brought to the fore old Slavic pagan traditions related to the cult of the Sun, thunders and rain”. The name itself of this holiday is interesting, Aliđun, which Bosniaks began to use upon accepting Islam, under the influence of Ottomans. Proper name Ali is a Muslim replacement for Christian Ilija (Elijah), and word gün (đun) means day in Turkish. By simple translation of Ilindan into Aliđun Bosniak Muslims did not want to hide their pre-Islamic origin. On the contrary, in the saying: Ilija until noon, Alija after noon, people vividly remember the process of spreading Islam in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which encompassed both pre-Islamic population of Bosnia and Herzegovina and their holidays.

Across Bosnia, fairs and picnics have been taking place on Aliđun. Bosniaks from Sarajevo used to go to Trebević early on Aliđun morning, where they ate, drank, sang and dance round dances until the dark, having fun in various ways. The most attractive part of Aliđun (Ilindan) parties were boys' games and heroics. Boys of different religions often competed against each other. Winners at these games would be celebrated as heroes the whole year, until the following Aliđun.

Christmas (25 December)

In the tradition of Bosniak Muslims, the fewest customs are related to Christmas, which is understandable since marking a holiday with this name (small god) is directly opposed to strict Islamic monotheism. In some parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, belief was widespread among Bosniaks that influence of evil spirits and ghosts expands across the country on Christmas Eve. People in Prozor protected themselves from the ghosts using garlic. Before going to bed, children and adults would rub garlic on the body, and mixed it into food, to neutralize evil spirits. The following morning they would wake up happy since they managed to protect themselves from evils of Christmas Eve.