Preskoči na glavni sadržaj

Zazor, začud and prostril

Arabs, Persians and other Muslims believe that there are two types or two directions from which spells come – the first one is from humans and the other from Jinn. In folk tradition there is a belief about three types of spells: zazor, začud or učud and prostril. Zazor is a spell created out of jealousy and envy, začud comes out of great wonderment and admiration towards someone or something and prostril is the most dangerous type of spell since a child can easily die from it, if one doesn't react on time. In Cazin and Velika Kladuša when people say that someone is ill due to „svitskog sepa“ or „svitske djece“ they actually want to say that he is a victim of evil eyes.

Among Bosnian people there is a belief that more people have gone underground (died) due to consequences of spells than due to all diseases combined. Similarly, a common belief is that spells are often child diseases. Because of this understanding it is customary among Bosnian people to place the money, given to child when you see it for the first time, on the forehead, on its “star” for “good luck”. The money is given with a purpose i.e. the parents will order and pay for an amulet with an Imam, so that the power of the amulet will protect the new member of society from evil and spells. The acquired sum should not be reduced nor increased not to disrupt the mystical power of the amulet.

Until the ordered protection arrives, the mother as well as other inhabitants noticeably strive, especially during the first 40 days but also first couple of years, to be cautious and to react to the smallest signs, despite the amulet. Special caution is cultivated towards the first child since it is believed that it is most susceptible to an attack of this evil.

Various taboos are being uphold among which the most important rule is that a tired or drowsy child should not be caressed “since it won’t have the strength to resist the spell!”. Another rule without which it was claimed the child couldn’t be nurtured is the necessary usage of one or more apotropaic props so called džidža. Their only purpose was to divert the real, newest and strongest, gaze which would pave the way with its destructive influence for other negative influences.

Džidže or miniature metallic ornaments in BiH possessed in the past great manipulative power towards the destructive power of spells. All children, whether Muslim or Christian, had in their vicinity, on the crib or a hat, an item made out of silver in the form of a rabbit, rooster, frog, small rifle, arrow, sabre, mace, a hand with five fingers or lead “heart” formed during the ritual of lead melting.


Amulet against spells

Apotropaic content which was used by the Bosnian people in defence against evil eyes is varied and imaginative: red velvet tied around a wolf’s, fox’s or rabbit’s tail, dried on a spindle and then encircled with silver and gold a rooster’s coccyx, golden money, small shells, a few grains of rye or a silver plate which was forged by a naked blacksmith in the middle of the night which has the child’s name etched, and the like. But, it would be wrong to conclude that only children wore such items, namely, it was once established to see on women, especially elderly women, an upside down a zipper or safety pin, for which they claimed averted evil eyes.

“On fez of Bosnian children – especially boys – you will often see a three-cornered, made out of red cloth or silk, amulet with a few sentences (verses) or an entire prayer (surat) from the Qur’an, which was written down by a skilled Imam. They often write down a few sentences from the third chapter i.e. surat Ali ‘Imran (Imran’s family), which is well known as “small hatma”, or even the entire surat. It is recommended that an Imam prepares an ink made out of rose water mixed with saffron and incense. Such an amulet, it is said, not only protects children from spells but also pregnant women which carry it around their necks".

In the continuation of his text “About spells”, Leopold Gluck describes, somewhat clumsily, the content of an amulet against spells, he came into possession of the amulet through a Bosnian friend. Like any amulet this too begins with the words “Bismilahir rahmanir rahim” – “In the name of the merciful Lord!”. Right after that follows a prayer dedicated to four angels, each of which rule with one part of the world, to the four holly men enumerating four holly books. The prayer ends with the names of the seven sleepers from Ephes and their dog Kitmir.

Transcription of the amulet text: “Allahumme ya Rabbi Džebraile ve Mikaile ve Israfile ve Azraile ve Ibrahime ve Ismaile ve Ishaka ve Jakube ve munzilel berakati vet Tevrati vez-Zeburi vel Indžili vel Furkan. Ve la havle ve la kuvvete illa billahil aliyyil azim. Jemliha, Mekseline, Mislina, Mernuš, Debernuš, Šazenuš, Kefetatayuš, Kitmir.„

Translated to English the text of the prayer would go as follows: “My God and Jibrail and Mikaile and Israfile and Azraile and Ibrahime and Ismaile and Jakube and you from which all good stems, who gave the Torah, Gospel and Psalms and the Honourable Qur’an, I cannot help you only mighty Allah can. Yemliha, Mekseline, Mislina, Mernush, Debernush, Shazenush, Kefetatayush, Kitmir.

Underneath this prayer a magic square stood or a vefk with numbers whose numerological value represented one of the 99 God’s Beautiful names.



Instead of an amulet among the Bosnian people one would wear “blue or a turquoise, egg shaped rock so called “uročnjak” which was attached to a fez. An upturned (seam on the outside) left sleeve of a shirt, stung the eyes less, but as they say gave no less protection against spells".

Traditional practice among the entire Bosnian population, regardless of faith, was that one would wear an item of clothing upside down in order to shield from spells – “for the spell to go back”. Among Ćifuti (Jews) a bag sown in three corners using golden thread or red cloth or silk was given to children, in it was a small piece of rue, a piece of garlic and some salt, blessed on the second day of Passover in the Synagogue.

Help was sought amongst herbs and roots of certain plants such as valerian, willow or elecampane, for which it is said in a folk song:

If it weren’t for willow and elecampane
I wouldn’t nurse my son Osman.


From the herbal pharmacy, traditionally certain plants were favoured more than others primarily because of their healing properties but also apotropaic properties. We are talking about garlic and rue.

-“Most of those regulations recommend garlic, since evil spirits run from it. – “It is good”, old people say, “to rub the diseased with garlic and give him a clove to eat.” “It is good”, they said, “to crush rue, drain the juice and give a few spoons of it for drinking, one can also give crushed rue mixed with honey for consumption in the duration of 40 days.”

Popularni postovi s ovog bloga

Bosanska zrna sudbine - falanje u grah

Proricanje uz pomoć 41 zrna bijelog graha u Bosni i Hercegovini se naziva b acanje graha, falanje u grah ili ogledanje u grah . Osoba koja se bavi proricanjem naziva se faladžinica , ako je u pitanju žena, ili faladžija ako je ta osoba muškarac. Sama riječ falanje potiče od perzijske riječi fal što znači slutnja ili nagovještaj.   Proricanje uz pomoć zrna graha ( favomancija ) je dio tradicije ove zemlje i smatra se da zapravo potječe još od Ilira, koji su umjesto zrna graha koristili kosti ptica, bacajući ih na tlo i prema zauzetom položaju određivali sudbinu. Zanimljivo je napomenuti kako još uvijek u Bosni postoje pojedinci koji bacanjem zrna graha na pod određuju sudbinu prema položaju zrna graha.   U bosanskoj tradiciji proricanje sa zrnima graha pripisuje se hazreti Fatimi, kćerki božijeg poslanika Muhameda, koja se ovom mantičkom vještinom bavila tajno pazeći da Muhamed ne sazna za to. No, jedne prilike, Muhamed je ušao neočekivano u njenu sobu, baš...

Ne diraj ptičiju nafaku!

Kad nekog stalno boli glava ili ga muči nesanica treba uz Euzubilet oko glave, za suncem, tri puta obnijeti kakve sadake i dati je sirotinji. Kada nekom jedna kragna košulje viri van iz odjeće, a druga ne, vjeruje se da je ta osoba zaljubljena u nekog. U Velikoj Kladuši se tvrdi kako nikad nije bilo vodenog ili drvenog prosjaka pošto stari ljudi vele da je ogrijeva i vode oduvijek bilo. Ne valja spavati sa čarapa na nogama, možeš se razboliti. Ne valja pisati ili crtati kemijskom olovkom po koži tijela, jer ako se razboliš, nećeš se lako moći izliječiti. Kad se u kući zateknu tri osobe istog imena mora se napraviti halva. Nagaziti se može na pasji ili mačji izmet, to se naziva sugreb, od čega se neki dio tijela ospe crvenilom i svrbežom. Liječenje se vrši tako da se oboljelo mjesto potare korom kruha i da psu da pojede. Kad dijete ima padavicu otac treba nabaviti mladog crnog ovna bez ijedne bijele dlake i otići sa njim i bolesnim djetetom na raskršće. Tu na raskršću treba iznenada da ...

Tako ti je pao grah!

Odavno je javna tajna kako bosanski narod najviše vjeruje u „otvaranje zvijezde“  i  gatanje u grah, kao dvije provjerene vještine pronicanja u ljudsku sudbinu. Iako praksu ogledanja u grah nailazimo kod Turaka, Kazahstanaca, Rusa, Bugara, Rumuna i Mađara bez imalo sumnje bosanski način proricanja je najtemeljitiji i najpouzdaniji. Bacanje graha, ogledanje u grah ili falanje u grah vrlo je stara divinacijska metoda koja, prema nekim antropolozima, ima svoje izvorište u šamanističkoj praksi naših predaka Ilira koji su običavali pri ozbiljnoj  životnoj nedoumici bacati male ptičije kosti iz ruke na pod, kako bi pri njihovom padu i položaju otkrivali sudbinske odgovore. A da je upravo tako dokazuje nam danas rjetka, ali još uvijek donekle prisutna, praksa pojedinih faladžinica koje držeći  41 zrno graha u desnoj ruci iznad njega prouče šapatom odgovarajuće molitve i riječi, namjene na pitanje, i onda ga doslovno laganim pokretom bace ispred sebe na površinu stola. Zati...