DERVISH NIŠAN TOMBSTONES IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

The significance and influence of Sufism in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Ottoman period was very strong and prominent. Names of many locations and streets, as well as the preserved buildings of tekkes, zawiyahs and haniqahs testify to this long tradition. Many crucial personalities who have been credited for progress and urbanization in this region, from Isa-bey Ishaković to Gazi Husrev-bey, belonged to Sufi circles.

Tasawwuf or Sufism is primarily involved in upbringing the soul. In the past, orders which were active in Bosnia and Herzegovina included Naqshbandi, Qadirite, Rifa'i, Halveti, Shadhili and Mevlevi tariqas. It should be noted that Bektashite order also existed in our country, and disappeared at the time when janissary units were dismantled. Besides, it should also be noted that dervishes – ahiyas, i.e. dervishes merchants also existed in these regions.

Dervish nišans can be recognized by their distinctive shape, since they were made in line with the social status and Sufi order which the deceased belonged to. In accordance with the tariqa order he belonged to the burial ground of the dervishes was marked by a particular sight. On this kind of Bosnian nišans there is a clear and visible difference in shaping and carving stone, which can be seen in the shape of the cap and the turban, the layout and position of passing sections on the turban, or in the length of the upper part of the turban (mudževez). Due to the nature of such an organization, nišans of dervishes (students) and those of shaykhs (teachers) were made separately. This also shows that the design of such a kind of nišans combines the attained level in the hierarchy. On dervish nišans, color also plays a certain role. Thus, black is the color of the Rifa'i order while green is the mark of the Naqshbandi. Red represents Ehli bejt (Prophet's family) and is a mark of martyrs. 

In general, the nišan was made for persons according to duties they performed in their life, so that people could distinguish them and see their qualities and merits for the society. Nišans were also made to represent a given costume or cap which somebody wore while he was alive. Thus, on these nišans, the shaykh cap (taj) can be divided into four parts of the field, which symbolizes four elements of which everything has been made: water, earth, air and fire.

Everything presented above indicates several variants of these nišans. It was discussed by Mehmed Mujezinović in his historic work Islamska epigrafika Bosne i Hercegovine (Islamic Epigraphic of Bosnia and Herzegovina). He points out the following: „The dervish nišans also have more variants depending on which dervish order the deceased belonged to. The monuments of shaykhs and dervishes of the Mevlevian order are characterized by a turban with several horizontal passes, through which again one or more longitudinal passes pass. The nišans of members of the Naqshibandi order are like cones, the bottom of which is more pronounced with horizontal passes, and nišans of Qadiri also have helix running from the top to the bottom of the cone.“

In Sufism, there are twelve basic tariqats and this number symbolizes twelve human natures. Ever since their emergence, Sufi orders have preserved their uniqueness, which can be observed on nišans as well. There are Sufi nišans which we distinguish very simply, due to different representations of dervish caps or turbans on the tops. Besides nišans with these visible marks, there are also dervish nišans which seem identical to others but have a carved inscription in Arabic, Hu (Ar. هو, He, Allah Jalla Shanuhu). This inscription is typically found immediately below the turban and in most cases it can be seen on nišans which mark another social status.

It is by this detail that we can recognize a dervish nišan, although it was not made in the typical shape. Among authors who wrote about this topic Mensur Malkić stands out. He wrote as follows: “There are several kinds of dervish nišans same as of dervish orders. After a turban with a horizontal pass in the form of springs we knew that the deceased belonged to the Qadiri Sufi order, and the turban with several horizontal passes revealed that the deceased was a dervish of the Mevlevi order.”

The importance of Tasawwuf and tariqat in the former Ottoman Empire is evidenced by the fact that dervishes were a precursor of the expansion of the ottoman influence in the surrounding territories. Many years before the official arrival of the Ottomans dervishes were present in the Balkans, and therefore in Bosnia as well, as missionaries. It is known that the official fall of the medieval Kingdom of Bosnia happened in 1463. However, further in the text we can see clear evidence that some Sufi activity took place even before this year. The cemetery of the Ali-pasha Mosque in Sarajevo contains the preserved dervish nišans, which were described by Adem Handžić, who wrote the following: “In today's Sarajevo, in the former turbe and tekke by the Institute of Hygiene, now in the cemetery of the Ali-pasha Mosque, two dervish nišans are kept: Ayni-dede and Šemsi-dede, both dating from 866 AH (between 6. 10. 1461 and 27. 9. 1462). They are some of the oldest dated nišans in Bosnia.”

These nišans were moved from a turbe (mausoleum) which was razed in 1950 together with the Gaziler tekke, to provide space for the building of today's Institute of Hygiene. It is also useful to describe nišans on two graves which are found above Šehova Korija on the left bank of the river Miljacka. The preserved folk legend says that they are graves of the first shaykhs of Isa-bey's zawiyah (monastic complex). These nišans are very well preserved, and their form indicates that the deceased belonged to the dervishes of the Mevlevi tariqa. On the top of the nišans there is a nicely made sarik (thin piece of fabric wrapped around the turban), which is wrapped on the recognizable elongated dervish kauks (hats made of thick wool or fabric) in four crowds. Besides the oral legend, there is also a written trace. Valuable information on these nišans is provided by Mehmed Mujezinović, who in his work Musafirhana i tekija Isa-bega Ishakovića u Sarajevu iz 1966. godine (Musafirhana and tekke of Isa-bey Ishaković in Sarajevo from 1966), claims that these are nišans of Sultan Ahmed and Abdal Mahmut, Mevlevi shaykhs.

Another feature of dervish nišans are folds on the turban as well as additional symbolism on the mudževez. A good example is the nišan of Mustafa effendi Ejubović Šejh Jujo in Mostar. Even a brief analysis of the nišan on the grave of Šejh Jujo will provide a completely different perception of the topic.

At the first glance, it looks as any other male nišas with a turban. However, if we take a closer look, we will perceive small details which will provide useful data. On the main nišan (bašluk) there is an elongated mudževez, with a turban made of seven passes (dilums). This number symbolizes seven daily teachings of God's names. The mudževez is divided in a ribbed way so that markings in the form of four inverted Latin letter V can be seen on it. These markings are found on all the four sides of the nišan and symbolize the four Tasawwuf gates: Sharia (religious law), Tariqat (spiritual path), Hakikat (truth) and Marifet (cognition). These markings are found on shaykhs' nišans. The chronogram on the nišan is inscribed within five fields, which associates to the five Islamic conditions (šarts). The grave of šejh Jujo is located in the open turbe, which also has interesting decorations. The turbe has six pillars, and this number can be related to the six sharts (six pillars of belief). The turbe is covered with a mesh dome, which is divided into twelve parts, which in turn symbolizes the number of basic tariqats. In the interior of the turbe, under the open mesh dome there is a rosette, which has a recognizable appearance of the rose. In Islamic tradition the rose symbolizes Prophet Muhammed, alejhi selam. Another decoration in the form of a pentagram emphasized number five, where the number of arms symbolizes “the five of them”, i.e. Prophet and his family.

Finally, we will present nišans which are located between Fojnica and Busovača, in Vukeljići, and which also belong to Sufi shaykhs. It is the nišan of shaykh hadži Muhamed Mejli baba. According to the visible inscription, the nišan dates back to the mid-19th century (1270 AH, 1954 AD). On its top there is a carefully carved representation of the shaykh cap, with all identical details. The other shaykh's nišan is located on the grave of shaykh hadži Mesud effendi Hadžimjelić, which was made in 2010. Although these two nišans were made 156 years apart, it can be observed that they were made according to the accurately defined rule (usul), which is a clear indicator that this tradition has not ceased up to this day.     

Out of the many cultural-historical specificities that we find in Bosnia and Herzegovina, old nišans particularly stand out, the dervish nišans having a special place. Besides testifying of centuries-long Sufi tradition in our regions, they speak of our rich cultural heritage. Nišans provide data from the past about developed education, alims, shaykhs, martyrs, soldiers, waqfs and waqifs. They provide information on people and the time we should not forget. Old nišans are part of our rich historical and religious mosaic, which we can be proud of and which we can keep carefully for future generations.    

REFERENCES

• Handžić, Adem (1998), O ulozi derviša u formiranju gradskih naselja u Bosni u XV stoljeću, “Bošnjaci i islam-izbor tekstova“, Visoki saudijski komitet za pomoć BiH, Sarajevo.

• Malkić, Mensur (2008), “Stećci i nišani”, Takvim za 2009. godinu, Rijaset Islamske zajednice u BiH, Sarajevo.

• Mujezinović, Mehmed (1998), Islamska epigrafika Bosne i Hercegovine, Sarajevo-Publishing, Sarajevo.

• Mujezinović, Mehmed (1966), “Musafirhana i tekija Isa-bega Ishakovića u Sarajevu”, Naše starine, III, Sarajevo.

• Klinčević, Nihad (2021), Nišani u Bosni i Hercegovini, TDBB, Istanbul.