Witch (or Naletnica, Sihirbaza): According to a Bosnian belief girls become witches if they wish to cause someone harm, for example, to get revenge on her neighbour, her neighbour's cattle or children. Witches drink children's blood and they take away the milk from cows. While a Mora stops being a Mora as soon as she gets married, the same thing does not apply to witches. They don't lose their title after marriage because they stepped on the Holy Qur'an and they gave their souls to Iblis.
The witch can turn into a large butterfly and enter any house she wants especially the one that has small children in it. When you notice such a butterfly in your house, you must catch it and burn one of its wings on a candle uttering: "Come back tomorrow, I will give you salt" and then let the butterfly out of your house. It is believed that the first woman that comes to that house to ask for some salt is a witch. If she is then told that she visited this house during the night in a form of a butterfly and that she is a witch it is believed that she looses all her demonic powers.

 

Mora or Nightmare: Bosniaks believe that a Mora is a discarded or cheated girl which uses this form to get back at her boyfriend. In her invisible form she comes every night around midnight and suffocates the young man by sitting on his chest. The young man feels a large pressure on his chest, he sweats and has nightmares. He awakes in the morning pale and feels powerless. It is believed that every girl can turn into a Mora if she surrenders her soul to Iblis.
How does one catch a girl-Mora? From the mosque one must bring a green belt used for tying down a deceased to the stretcher during a funeral. The one who is attacked by a Mora must go to bed holding the green belt in his right hand. He mustn't fall asleep but only keep his eyes closed. Around midnight the Mora will appear and sit on his chest. At that moment the man needs to put the belt on himself and the Mora will become visible to the human eye. Caught in a trap the Mora will be scared and she will start to beg the man not to reveal her secret in return she must swear not to be a Mora any longer. That way she will lose her invisibility power and she will become a normal girl once again.

 

Snakes inside a human being: All until the half of the past century in smaller places around Bosnia and Herzegovina it was believed that there were snakes that can enter a human body and spend a certain amount of time inside it. Such a scenario would take place if a man fell asleep outside, in the shade of a tree, and opened his mouth during sleep. Allegedly the snake would use that moment if it was in the vicinity and enter his body. She would stay there for days, months even years. The man who had a snake inside him could be recognised by loss of weight and pale face. According to folk belief the snake would eat everything what the man ate not leaving anything for him. In order to cure himself of this mysterious disease the man would be told to lay somewhere outside, on the grass, and fall asleep and one of the inhabitants would bake a chicken and place it next to his mouth. According to belief as soon as the snake would sense the smell of roast meat she would get hungry and would go out and in such a way free the man of its presence.

Cigani: Gypsies were also known among the folk in BIH as children kidnappers. According to folk belief they broke an arm or a leg to the kidnapped child or they blinded him so that it can beg for money in such a disfigured form. To individual gypsy women, magical properties were ascribed which allowed them to mug anyone they wished. Usually they did it with the help of a small finger from a child's corps and by uttering secret magical formulas. For that purpose they usually used a wing from a bat. Gypsies were even mentioned in magical formulas for curing fear such as salijevanje strahe (melting lead) when the stravarka banishes the fear with the following words: "Let the gypsies take your fear and your tears in their sack far away from you!"

 

 

 

Čifuti: Coming to Bosnia the Jewish people were known as very stingy people to which a dozen sayings witness. That's why they are called Čifuti or misers. But the thing which was most linked to them was the killing of children. This belief about the Jews is not far from the truth because we find written records in Bosnia about the concoction of a magical remedy made out of human parts, called mumijo or mumya, which were made by the Jewish witches or rabbis. They acquired human parts by stealing corpses or by kidnapping and killing Christian and Muslim children. It was believed that during Pasha or some other holiday the Jews steal a child place him in a casserole and sting it with needles until it bleeds out. That's why children were frightened by these words: "Run to your uncle, run to your uncle, sting!" (Bježi amidži, bježi daidži, boc!”) in order for them to stay away from the Jewish homes.

 

Soul or Duša: according to belief a man should never be woken abruptly because his soul leaves his body while he sleeps and travels around the world without any limitations. There is a similar belief amongst the Bosniaks about witches, they can also travel in the same manner with their physical bodies while they are asleep. When a witch falls asleep her soul exits through her mouth and wanders off to do evil to other humans. Her body then becomes blue and cold, her mouth stretches and her lips blacken. Before dawn her soul returns in a form of a bumble bee and enters her mouth at which moment she awakes abruptly from this mystic state.
It is believed that the souls of children haven't yet completely merged with the body and that their souls wander the world almost every time they fall asleep. Because of this reason mothers who want to move their child while it is sleeping, call the child by its name, or she lightly pulls its nose, wanting to alarm the soul about what is happening at that moment. Immediately the soul returns to the body. Otherwise, if the soul isn't warned, it is believed that the child can get ill or have serious psychological consequences.
Today in Bosnia and Herzegovina it is believed that a dying man's soul can not leave his body until his family and his neighbours "ne halale" (forgive him for his sins).

 

 

Angels or Meleci: it is believed among the people that there are two angels, one of them is blind and the other one is deaf, which are sent by Allah to stir up the clouds and the storm to places where Allah wishes to punish the people because of some sin. If the blind one hears the prayer from the mosque he will immediately redirect the clouds and save that place from the storms. It is further believed that the Šejtan wants to hinder him in his intent and that a fierce fight between them arises. According to the legends when the angel swings his sword towards the Šejtan a lightning flashes in the sky.
When a baby is smiling it is believed that it has seen an angel. The angels are considered to be the protectors of babies because of the baby's purity and impeccability. It is believed that babies are actually angels until the moment when they learn to speak because then they can utter the bad words along with the good ones and so they lose their gracious ability.

Šejtani or Sheitan: they are demonic creatures that are similar to the Jinn. They are less powerful than the Jinn, because when a Šejtan enters a human, the human starts enjoying vices, impurity, lies or theft; but when a Jinn enters a human being, then the person suffers mental illnesses. Šejtan are easily frightened and they run away from humans as soon as the following words are uttered: "In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful". A Bosnian legend claims that that the Šejtan was present when the first man, Adam, was created. Namely, when God created the human body, He left it lifeless for three years. Each day the Šejtan would come and observe the human body and he would batter his fingers on the body. When he would reach the human's head, he would batter it to and say: "This head won't be empty". At the passing of the third year Allah gave life to the human and it rose to life. Allah warned the human immediately about the Šejtan and told him not to speak to the first creature that approaches him and not to tell him his name. In the beginning Adam resisted the Šejtan's advances, but after some time he gave in to the Šejtan's blandishment and questions and he started a conversation with the Šejtan. The cunning Šejtan jumped on his left shoulder and exclaimed that he will remain there forever since they are now friends. As soon as God saw what had happened he sent an angel to land on to Adam's right shoulder to stop the Šejtan from influencing the human to do evil all the time.
In Bosnia against the Šejtan there is a saying: "Šejtanu nalet te bilo!"

Jinn or Džin: demonic creatures that have an aberrant form, which were created out of a flame. The Bosnian people describe the Jinn as small creatures with one eye and a tail. Each Jinn is limping. Even though they can take various human or animal forms they prefer to appear to humans in a form of a dark man (dark silhouette) whose face can never be seen. They also like to show themselves in a form of a black dog, a cat or a snake. It is believed that the Jinn are faithful servants but also masters of witches and wizards. When the Jinn want to seduce and subject someone to them, they dance a fiery circle and call out the name of the one they want. This usually happens when that person is sleeping. Jinn can dance a circle during the day but at that time in a whirlwind, that is why people avoid whirlwinds to this day. It is believed that as soon as the human utters: "In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful" and blows towards the whirlwind, that the whirlwind will disappear.
A special group of Jinn by the name Al-Karisi attack women who have recently given birth, and babies in the first 40 days after the birth.

Dragons or Zmajevi: in the past Bosniaks believed in dragons, they described them as giant snakes with wings that were able to live both in the sky and on the land. It can be concluded from the folklore that dragons were males, there was no mention of a female dragon, and the dragons fulfilled their desire for offspring with human woman and animals, especially cows. According to folklore if a dragon was attracted to a woman, he would come to her room at night or wait for her somewhere outside, on a meadow, and he would use his magical powers to put her in a trance like state. After the intercourse the dragon would fly away and the woman wouldn't have any recollection of the incident.
Fatima K. from Bosanski Novi claimed that she gave birth to a dragon in 1974: "I gave birth inside the house, sometime after midnight, after half an hour of painful labour, out came a child in a white placenta and after a few moments it disappeared?!" She claimed that she never saw the child again and therefore she concluded that she didn't give birth to a "Snijet" but to a dragon. Another confirmation to this claim is that her breasts were full of milk in the evening, but when she woke up in the morning they were all drained. This occurred on a daily basis for a couple of months. Being afraid she told this to her neighbour, an old lady, who in turn told her that it was the dragon-child that came each night to feed himself with her breast milk. After some time the night visits ceased.

 

 

Faeries or Vile: Faeries are young beautiful women with long golden hair. They have supernatural beauty and a soothing voice. They live inside forests and around lakes, they fly around trees and they like to dance in circles on the green grass. During that occasion they usually sing one of their many songs whose words worn people about some danger. There's a belief amongst the people that a child who feeds a fairy with his milk will become a great hero, this is best illustrated by the legend of Mujo Hrnjica.

If people hurt the fairy in any way, it will immediately take revenge by making the human psychologically disturbed. Fairies were afraid of mothers, especially in the past. According to a Turkish folklore which found its place amongst the Bosnian people, in the past humans stole the first child of a fairy and ever since then the fairies seek revenge by stealing human children or by exchanging a human child for its own. For this reason Bosnian women would place a metal object, most often a spoon, near baby's feet inside the crib, when they had to leave the house or when they had to do some chores.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina the most famous fairies are Bosanska vila, Gorska vila, and the queen fairy Zlatna. It was believed that Zlatna was the mistress of the forest and the water. Legend has it that every night, Zlatna accompanied by other fairies, went to the river to take a bath and after that they would dance and sing throughout the night on a nearby hillside. Bosnians believe that only those of pure spirit and a clear heart can see fairies in their sleep.
Besides female fairies it is believed that there are male fairies amongst these mythological creatures. The most famous male fairy is Ušušur. According to a legend from Doboj, Ušušur fell in love with a girl, who married another man. Desperate and furious, Ušušur used his magical powers to drown the girl in a river. Comprehending the gravity of his actions, he threw himself in the river after the girl but he couldn't drown himself because he was immortal. Because of this incident he decided to punish himself and he chained himself to the bottom of the river, which became his home. Ušušur is described by the people as green man, ragged and covered in moss.

Stuhe: in the past it was believed that stuhe or zduhači were male witches. They possessed magical powers and they were clairvoyant. They usually helped people by performing various miracles and protecting some place from ill weather. They usually moved at night. Amongst the people there are a lot of tales about fights between stuha when there was a fight between the good ones and the bad ones. The most famous zduhači in Bosnia and Herzegovina were Gaibija and Suljo Aganović from Foča.

Prepasti: After WWII in Bosnia rumours started spreading about scary apparitions which were called Prepasti. Usually they appeared on roads, meadows or next to rivers and creeks as obscure, black clouds, silhouette and whirlwinds that would go high into the clouds and sometimes they would turn into scary dark figures. Those supernatural apparitions were described by the people as distempered ghosts of dead soldiers because the places where they usually appeared were battlefields where large number of soldiers died during the war. Prepasti usually appeared in places where the soldiers lost one of their body parts, and according to belief they appeared to search for their lost limbs. Prepasti would disappear forever when the rain completely washes their blood from the soil and when plough furrows their bones into the ground.

Did Adže: belief in this mythological being is characteristic for the south-western part of Bosnia, in Cazin-Velika Kladuša to be more exact, where it is believed that he is a dwarf with a long white beard and black feet who rides a large white rooster. His name stems from the Bogomil name for priests- Did. According to the above mentioned it is clear that this creature is a Bogomil priest from the south-western parts of Bosnia whose name stuck through legends in Bosnia. Did Adže presents a mystical character who was used to scare children into submission. Although in legends Did Adže possesses powers of teleporting, he is the keeper of wisdom and an entrance in the underworld.

Dobri: In Bosnia there is a legend about Šehidi (martyrs) and especially evlije, holy men, that they can help people even after they die and that's why they are called dobri. It is believed that dobri rise from their graves at night and they pray to Allah. Because of that belief people leave jugs (made out of copper) of water and clean towels inside mausoleums in order for the dobri to take ablution (religious cleansing). A large number of people who were in charge of taking care of the mausoleums swore that a lot of the times they saw wet floor from the water and misplaced towels. That was usually interpreted as a dobri rising during the night to take ablution and to pray to God.

Lampir: in Bosnia vampires are called lampir, lapir, lampijer, vukodlak or vukozlačina. It was believed that if a cat crosses over a deceased man that he will become a lampir. Of course the effect would be cancelled out if the cat returns the same way it came. Because people were afraid that this would happen they would place a knife on dead man's chest or they would spike a knife next to his head. There was also a custom where people would place a bowl of wheat or only three grains of wheat where the dead person was lying before he was buried, after the burial the wheat was given to a pauper. There were a lot of lampiers but the most famous ones were Meho from Glamoč, Pajo Tomić and a certain Korkut from Nevesinje.

Bosnian witches were able to call forth the deadly power of the vukodlak by going to a graveyard and repeating the formula: Adali Ada to protect me" and then they would sit next to a grave keeping their eyes closed, and they would grab a handful of dirt and they would take it home. They would hold on to that dirt until one of their enemies would die and they would plant the dirt under the threshold of his house while the deceased is carried out of it. They did this because they wanted someone else dead from that household.

Snijet

In the past in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 19th and half of the 20th century among the Bosniaks numerous strange cases of mysterious births were mentioned where pregnant women would give birth to strange creatures called by the people "Snijet" (Mola hydalidora). In the medical terminology we are talking about an abnormal product of conception in which the offspring doesn't develop, instead it only proliferates the placenta's embryonic tissue into a timorous formation which is called Mole by the medical profession. The belly of the pregnant woman would grow, imitating a normal pregnancy. Because the Mole is today regarded as a tumor it is natural that such a state is considered life threatening for the pregnant woman. Probably because of this most of Snijet were born during the first three months of the pregnancy.


Most ethological documents agree that the Snijet would leave the pregnant woman during the first three to four months of pregnancy, although some documents that are found in the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina claim that the Snijet could be born after nine months of pregnancy. As soon as the pregnancy would prolong itself or get complicated in any way, the midwife would suspect a Snijet, because in such situations the woman would bleed much more than usual and it would take longer for her to recuperate. Even though it was considered a good deed to give birth to Snijet, it was usually killed with a broom and buried where horse manure was stored. According to the beliefs, a woman who would give birth to three Snijet's would immediately, after her death, go into heaven.


Midwife's described the Snijet as a living being that needed to be killed as soon as possible. It had red hue and it was horrible. In the past, under the guise of Snijet a lot of criminal activities (infanticide) were committed, when a woman would want to get rid of her child that she got out of wed lock.


In certain ethnological documents Snijet was often connected to dragons. Namely, in Bosnia and Herzegovina it was believed that dragons could make love to a woman that was sleeping and as a result of that children that were born had dragon origins. Besides women, the dragons impregnated cows. In both cases the dragon child would fly off as soon as it was born in fear of human retribution. However, it would return every night while the woman was sleeping, to feed itself with the milk of its mother. Such women would claim that their breasts were empty in the morning which further sparked the belief that there was a mysterious birth. According to written testimony of such women, they claim that their pregnancy was normal and had all the accompanying symbols of a pregnancy, until after nine months the woman would wake up one morning with an empty belly and her child missing. Such a case would automatically be considered a Snijet or worse a dragon birth and such a case would immediately become a taboo and people avoided talking about it. People thought this appropriate because they didn't want to incur the wrath of the dragons by talking about that event.

Lampir

Lampir according to Bosnian belief is a dead man, who was possessed by an evil spirit (Jinn) 7 or 40 days after his death, who in turn resurrected him in order to exit his burial place and terrorise the members of his family and various places and drink blood. He is described as a man without bones, inflated like a paunch, full of blood, ragged and hairy, with big eyes and nails; dressed in the clothes he was buried in or wearing a white cloth over his naked body. Bosnian name for vampire is lampir (lepir or lampijer) . Term coming from the folks name of the butterfly – lepir. The according Bosnian beliefs death men from grave, who is become vampire, went to out in shape butterfly and fly.


In Bosnian Posavina ethnological data reveal that people believed that the lampir had eyes of a goat or a goat which he used to hide once he came into contact with humans since they gave him away. Besides the form of a human he can also have various animal forms such as a cat, dog, pig, ox, horse, mouse, bat, etc. He exits the grave though a small hole since he has the ability to elongate himself, but once he gets out he becomes large and grotesque and he makes sounds by shouting in various voices. He appears always after midnight and walks around the graves and its immediate vicinity.

When a lampir goes around a house he is followed by the noise of ten sieves, sieving the ground. He often brings some dirt from his grave and offers to some inhabitants to smell it and then sneeze. If someone says "healthy" to that person than he won't turn into a vampire; if not then he will turn into one. There are a lot of documented stories about the lampir's nightly visits, this is one of them: around Prijedor there is a Muslim graveyard. Next to it there is a Christian house. When a religious student stopped by, the housewife told him the following: "For a couple of nights we have been disturbed by a vampire. In the late night hour he throws stones at the house so forcefully that the boards on the roof started to break. Two nights ago I went out to see who is throwing rocks at our house - but as soon as I stepped out there was an eerie silence and I didn't see anyone. And as soon as I went back into the house it started again. This continued until dawn. Then I visited the graveyard, looked at all the graves, and I spotted a hole in one of the graves. I placed a large stone onto it but it was in vain, because the vampire threw stones again last night."

The standard assumption that garlic and hawthorn are a sure defence mechanism against a vampire are not true in Bosnia which can be ascertained through the following story: "A woman by the name of Aćima died in a village called Stupari, and the people started to talk that Aćima started to return to her house after midnight. The inhabitants and her husband testified to this claim, then the villagers gathered around and dug up her grave and saw her peaking at them through one eye, then they put a hawthorn stake through her. The next night a member of Aćima's household got sick, that member claimed that Aćima came back again walked around the house not saying anything, and that she took three pieces of garlic with her before she left. The family and their neighbours dug up her grave again and they found her lying on her side and the three pieces of garlic were placed around her. They made a big fie around her and once they burned her they closed the grave again. Since then the lampir Aćima was never heard from again.

One of the more interesting beliefs of how one becomes a vampire was recorded in Vlasenica - that is if someone walks over a yarn. This happened to an ethnologist: "Two girls who were weaving a yarn asked me to go over a yarn once I stepped over it. I didn't want to but they were persistent because if I didn't a great evil would befall me. When I asked what could happen they answered that I should step over it again and that they would tell me. Once I did what they asked, they said that if I didn't step over it again that I would become a vampire once I died and if they were alive when that happened he would seek them out and kill them."

TRACES OF VAMPIRISM IN BOSNIA

According to the claims of the author of the insert of the show "Galileo Mystery", in 1731 in a place Međeđa near Višegrad the earliest place of vampirism was recorded. It all began with a sudden death of 14 people. Since the deaths were not preceded by an illness the locals ascribed the deaths to vampirism. Allegedly in order to be certain of their claims, they dug up the graves a few days later and in them they found the bodies untouched! The insert didn't offer any concrete details which would substantiate this story from Međeđa, but the written documents about vampires from the time of Austro-Hungarian rule were shown which can now be found in the city archives of Vienna.

The German psychologist Sibel Balta researched these documents, she researched the mysteries connected to vampires for years. She explained that the documents refer to the Serbian village Kišeljevo and the Bosnian village Međeđa, in the 18th century a lot of unresolved murder mysteries occurred there. According to the available scriptures, Austro-Hungarian physicians paid more attention to the cases in Kišeljevo because of the king's decree, and because of the insistence of the villagers they dug up graves which were believed to hold vampires.

Balta further claims that the documents held incredible details. They say that the physicians exhumed the bodies which seemed untouched and unharmed. According to their report the skin of the bodies was pinkish in colour and in their mouths they found traces of blood. The physicians documented that the bodies seemed as if alive after death. Considering the fact that doctors of that time didn't have the means to explain what they saw, they came to the same conclusion as the locals that the deceased were the victims of vampires. They even approved the ritual of putting a hawthorn stake through their hearts, which was at that time considered as an effective cure against vampires.

However, Dr. Balta claims after researching vampires herself, today almost 300 years after Međeđa and Kišeljevo that the story of vampires hides a serial killer. To uncover clues and substantiate her claims Balta announced a visit to Bosnia.

Illyrians legend from Velika Kladuša

Based upon the Greek legend Illyrius, progenitor of the Illyrians was a son of Polyphemus and Galatea and the brother of Celtus and Galas. Illyrius children, Auterius, Enchelus, Perrhaebus, Taulus, Daortho, Dissaro and Partho are the heroes of the epic poetry of Illyrian tribes. In this legend Illyrius is closely associated with a snake; she wrapped around him after being born and thus gave him all its magical powers. Modern philology aims to prove that etymologically names of Illyrians and the mentioned animal, plying the important role in the Illyrian religion, are connected.

As Japods occupied the entire territory of present-day Northwestern Bosnia, and elsewhere, it is logical to assume that they preserved and passed, on each generational shift, some of the old Illyrian legends. Such is a legend form Velika Kladusa about a father with seven sons which reassemble the Greek one. That legend describes the giant snake that guards the Gods treasure. She was living in a deep den near Velika Kladusa, in a suburb called a Rudnik. At a time when Romans achieve military superiority over the Bosnian land, there was an Illyrian family – father of seven sons and one daughter. Life was modest but nice until the day when children, out of sheer wantonness and youthful exuberance placed the flatbread on the stone and hit it with a spear. Horrified with this sacrilege of wheat, a gift of the Gods that feeds people, the father tried to reason the children and prevent them of throwing the spear to the flatbread, but in vain.
Suddenly something strange happened and forced the young man to stop their game – the flatbread started to bleed?! Seeing this strange omen, the father grabbed his head with his hands and wept because at that moment he realized that the Gods will punish them for blasphemy.
Shortly after this event, all seven sons lost their sanity and scattered to all four corners of the World and any track of them got lost. The father died from deep sorrow for his sons. The only one that remained in the deserted house was the daughter, drowned in grief for her late father and lost brothers, but even she was spared of Gods’ punishment, because she was the one who baked the flatbread. They turned her into a huge snake and decided that she would guard their gold and gems until the moment when young man comes, enough brave to let the snake kiss his forehead.

Many centuries passed since then, the story about the snake-girl slowly became a legend, which is told in the long winter nights. Each spring, on the Hidrelez holiday, the girl would come out from the hole in her new shape repeating the same plea: “Help me! Is there any man, of any faith to let me kiss his forehead, so I would become his wife or sister?” Many knew about her said words but there was no one brave enough to liberate her from the curse and become rich.
But, one spring before the arrival of Hidrelez, a poor young man decided, persuaded by an old woman from the village, to go and let the snake kiss him. – Anyway, as poor as I am, I have nothing to loose, he was encouraging himself. He arrived at down to the hole in the ground, where the snake lived for centuries and waited on her. Soon, from the darkness of the large hole appeared the snake’s huge head followed by her long body. Seeing huge snake before him, the young man got paralyzed with fear. He could not move. But the moment the snake approached him to give him a kiss the young man pushed her and run away. The young man was running thinking that snake would go after him, but something quite different happened. She just looked after him sadly and said: - Let God gives you my sadness and loneliness, and makes you die since I can not!” After that she returned back into her hole. Shortly after this event, the unfortunate young man turned seriously ill and after great pain and suffering he died.

Velika nebeska ptica: in the past in Bosnia the custom to throw peelings from fruit into the fire in order to feed the celestial bird were honoured. It was considered to be a good deed. According to a legend, Allah punished her to fly around the skies until the end of time without an opportunity to descend to earth and rest. The large celestial bird was punished by god because she wanted to defy gods will and at one opportunity she made a bet with god that she will change the fate of a girl and a boy that god had predetermined as husband and wife. The large celestial bird took the girl and carried her off to the tallest mountain among humans, far away from everyone. At the highest peak of the mountain, the bird spread the skin of an ox across the branches of the gigantic tree and placed the girl there. She took care of her for years until she grew into a fine young woman. In the mean time on the other side of the world the boy also matured into a handsome and strong young man who one day headed into the world to find himself a wife. He wondered around the world until his fate led him to the tall mountain. Weary from his journey he decided to rest under the exact giant tree that the girl lived on. She saw him and immediately fell in love with him. She asked him what was he doing under the tree and he replied that he was looking for a wife. The girl called him up, but the tree was so tall that he couldn't climb up nor could she climb down. Suddenly the girl came up with a solution and asked the young man to hide inside a sheep skin and remain there until she tells him otherwise. He did exactly what she told him. Not long after that the large bird came, the girl told her that she had seen a dead sheep underneath the tree and asked the bird to fetch it for her so she can make some clothes for herself out of its wool. The bird did as the girl told and flew off in search for some food.

The young man remained with the girl for a whole year, hiding from the large bird, and during that period she became pregnant and gave birth to a child. Allah who was observing what was going on the whole time called the bird to him and asked - Do you still believe that my will can be changed? - Yes, replied the bird. Then god replied that she was the one who brought the young man to the girl and helped them in consummating their love.

Cikavac (Squeaker): Cikavac is a demonic creature which is created by a witch or an evil woman to serve her. The first egg given by a black chicken is taken and the witch keeps it under her left arm for 40 days until a Cikavac emerges. During that time the woman mustn't wash her face or mention God because otherwise the ritual will not work. When the Cikavac emerges he looks like a bladder or bellows and he has a voice just like a little chicken. The witch sends him to eat milk from the neighbouring stalls every night. At dawn the Cikavac returns to the witch and ejects all the milk and fat that she then eats or sells to others. The people believe that it is a great sin to create a Cikavac.

Cholera : Cholera is considered to be a powerful demon of disease that usually comes at night, around midnight, in a carriage without horses and after which the sound of long chains being drawn on the ground can be heard. According to folk belief there are always two female demons in the carriage wearing traditional Muslim clothes holding staffs in their hands. One has a black staff and the other a white one. If a man is struck by the white staff he will fall ill but will recover over time, however if he is hit by a black one then he will die soon and there is no help for him. The two female demons are not scared of a dog bark nor can they be scared away by curses or prayers like many other demons of disease.

Bik Garonja (Black Bull): old Bosniaks believed that the Earth rests on the back of a giant black bull. When the bull moves his ear then an earthquake takes place somewhere in the world, and on the day when the bull shudders the whole world will come to an end (Judgement day). The tumult that is heard during the earthquake is believed to be the bulls bellow.
According to the second version of this myth underneath the Earth's surface there is a huge sea which is inhabited by a gigantic fish. On her back there is a huge bull holding the Earth on his back and in such a way prevents it from falling into the sea. When the bull moves one of his ears the Earth shakes and somewhere in the world there is an earthquake, but if he would move one of his legs or another part of his body the entire Earth would fall into the ocean. To prevent that dramatic scenario, God created a fly which constantly flies in front of the bull's eyes, of which he is afraid of, paralysing him from fear so that he cannot move.

Three suns and a dragon

According to folk belief of the Bosnian people when the Earth was created there were three suns until one day a giant dragon swallowed up two and the third one was saved by a swallow. But, the dragon is immortal and he lives in the large sea in the east. Every morning when the sun appears the dragon opens his mouth and flies towards it, however he is prevented by an angel that strikes the dragon in the mouth with a thunder bolt and the dragon returns back into the sea. As soon as the dragon recovers he flies out of the sea and blows in the direction of the sun and then a wind is created form the mist and is dispersed all around the world.

Drekovi

Drekovi: are wandering ghosts, who cause noise and racket, that's what influenced their name. Legends claim that these spirits are souls of fallen soldiers who are restless in the afterlife because of the many crimes they committed during the war. According to folk belief Drekovi appear right after sunset and they wonder constantly from graveyard to graveyard trying to find peace and tranquillity, which they will never find.

Sky rooster

In Bosnian mythology there is mention of a large white rooster living in the sky, he is the king of all rooster on earth. When he crows at dawn and stomps his leg in the sky, all the rooster on earth hear him and they have to respond by crowing back. That's the reason why the people liked white roosters far more because they believed that they have better hearing than the roosters of a different colour. Crowing of the rooster is regarded by the folk as something positive since they believe that it chases away the Jinn and devils away from the house.
Belief in the king rooster probably comes from Iran. Ancient Iranians considered a rooster as a holly animal which reminds people to pray to God by crowing. In Bosnia it is believed that a rooster crows every time it sees an angel.
One of the greatest wisdom for the Bosnian dervishes and Sufis which they have to discover is contained in the following riddle: "When a rooster crows and stomps his foot, after seven minutes the heavenly rooster can hear him, and he too crows and stomps his foot. Therefore, what was down, went up, and what was up - never returns down?"

Three demons of love

According to folk belief there are three stars/demons that appear after sunset, if the sky is clear without clouds. Demon stars move around the sky and they are always on the other side of the world where there is a woman which wants to enchant a man with magical formulas and oaths. The main demon among them is called Palinka and the other two which follow her are Budinka and Nesanka. According to folk belief the three of them are sisters and each of them individually have different magical powers: Palinka who is also called in some formulas Kostolomka, Sjanka or Planika, she brings a lot of love and obsession into the heart of humans. Budinka, Budmirka or Budimka, brings unrest and hysteria and Nesanka, also called Prisanka or Podminta, causes insomnia. The folk imagines them as beautiful girls with long golden hair and bright eyes.

Three demons are classic characters in all rituals of Bosnian magic. Unlike Palinka, Budinka and Nesanka which are female sky demons, there are three male demons which respond to a call by banging one's hand on the wall on the eve of Tuesday and by uttering a specific formula. They are called Indija or Inda, Džindija or Džinda and Šumabir. In love rituals Indija and Džindija are sent on a trip in their lands and Šumabir is directed towards the one that needs to be spellbound and compelled to love. All three of them are imagined as creatures with tails which are blind in one eye and they limp. But none of these physical defects create difficulties for their courtesy and efficiency.
These three names are also mentioned in specific formulas used to negate negative energy, especially spellbound eyes and children weeping. While as in all other cases the first two demons are sent to their native lands Šumabir is sent to bring the child's weeping and spellbound eyes into a river vortex.

According to the occult classification Indija, Džindija and Šumabir are earthen demons which respond to banging against the wall of a house but in the end of the ritual the person calling forth the demons places both hands on the ground praying to earth, or antic goddess mother, to help and direct the demons in the desired direction. In other formulas which are of an esoteric nature the names of the demons are not mentioned, the term "three Jinn and three devils" is used. Based on that, we notice how the exorcists are not quite sure if they belong to a stronger or weaker line of demons. 

Meknjača or Plačo

Meknjača or Plačo is the name of a mysterious bird that has never been seen but has been heard usually during eve time or at night. Its call can be compared to a child crying. The folk believe that it is a soul of a deceased child that has turned into a bird and that it is only heard when someone is about to die. It is also called drekavac.

Kudretfenjeri

It is believed that these are the ghosts of dead Muslim soldiers who usually appear in the form of mysterious lights at abandoned cemeteries, ruins of old houses or military fortresses and even sometimes forests. It is believed that these soldiers were buried in Christian cemeteries and now they are wondering in search of a Muslim cemetery.

Demons of illness

Tvora: An evil spirit of diseases which attacks the patient and burdens his psyche with various nightmares and horrible appearances.

Činilica: An evil spirit that caused a lot of anxiety and fear in the patient's soul, so that the patient thought that all the evil of the spiritual world has entered him.

Otrovnica: An evil spirit that would poison the patient's blood until he would finally die exhausted.

Krvopilica: An evil spirit that would drink the patient's blood all night until it would completely drain the patient of his power.

Mraza: An evil spirit of hatred and disputes, he took away love and unity from people, and he made them fight one another.

Prikaze: Are evil spirits that appear to people only at night in various forms, mostly as cats, rabbits, goats, dogs. It is believed that whoever sees a Prikaza he will get seriously ill or die in a short time.

Karanđoloz

The belief about this mythological creature was brought over to Bosnia by the Ottoman Empire. Karanđoloz as it is believed can be found at night on lonely intersections, when it surprises a traveller by jumping on his back and riding him like a horse. Besides being very heavy, Karanđoloz has an awful smell and reeks, and in that way deepens the traveller's misery and suffering. If the Karanđoloz asks the traveller "Am I heavy?" the answer mustn't be affirmative or this being of the night will become even heavier. The Karanđoloz won't stop torturing the man until dawn; when the roosters call is heard in the morning the demonic being will disappear. People used to protect themselves against the being by going around the house or a stable in circles holding a walnut in each hand and clapping one against the other they uttered: "Tučem kućnog dušmanina, što berićet odnosi a musibet donosi!". The famous Bosnian writer Mehmed Meša Selimović wrote about Karanđoloz.

Plague or Mubarećija

Plague is considered to be a female demon amongst the folk. It is called Mubarećija (euphemism, which means lucky) and it is described as a woman in a white dress with skinny legs or in a shape of a goat. She travels all over the world, goes from one house to the other and quizzes people on everything. She hates lies and that's why one needs to tell her the truth at all times. Sometimes she communicated to people in their dreams in order to warn them that she will be visiting their village or city and that they should move out. Plague is afraid of dogs and when she is attacked by them she curls into the fetal position and waits for the dogs to leave. Like the Karanđoloz the plague also requires that a human that she meets along the way has to carry her on her back. If the human obeys the plague spares him and his family. Humans protected themselves from the plague by cleanliness and garlic.

 

 

Naletnjak

Naletnjak is one kind of Jinn in Bosnia who possesses the power of transformation. He is very adaptable and he can pass through the smallest hole or opening. According to folk belief Naletnjak can be seen during the night if one goes onto a bridge. Naletnjak can jump onto a human in the form of a cat or a ram in the desire to be carried by the human or he appears in front of a human in the form of a horse and when the human mounts him he flies towards the sky, into the clouds, until the call of the rooster is heard. Frequently the Naletnjak would appear in the form of a black whirlwind that stretched all the way up to the sky. It was forbidden to whistle during the night inside a house or a yard since it was considered that Naletnjak communicated in such a manner and one could call them when whistling.

 

 

 

Sibjan

One of the most powerful female demons of the old Mesopotamia was Labartu, the daughter of god Anu, who as legends claim lived alongside mountains, deserts and swamps. Her appearance, as the old records in cuneiform claim, was cold imperturbable and cruel, her hair unkempt, a lion's face and naked breasts. She attacked local livestock out of the thicket as a habit and she would rip their bodies with her long claws. She was especially prone to attacking pregnant women and small children. Her greatest pleasure was, as legends claim, to cause miscarriage in women. With the advent of Islam the name of that demon was changed into Umma Sibjan and the belief in her arrived in Bosnia during the Ottoman period.

According to belief Sibjan caused a disease in children which is called in Bosnia sibiluk and is manifested by a lot of crying, slight and temporary paralysis of the child's body, loss of appetite, anaemia, insomnia,... Against her attack various prophylactic measures were undertaken like leaving a fish bone, a clove of garlic and a snake stone next to the child. If an attack by this demon took place the child would be treated by magical methods, the mother would carry the child along with a sugar cube under a chestnut tree, whose roots stretch on the earth's surface, and there she runs the child three times underneath it. If she is unable to find such a tree she carries the child to a house that the child never visited and runs the child three times underneath the beams of the house.

The fear of negative influence by Sibjan on the mother and the child caused dozens of taboos that the young mother needs to follow during the first 40 days of pregnancy: she shouldn't leave the house after midnight, she needs to carry a scarf on her head covering every single hair on her head, she mustn't wash clothes, etc.

Vukodlak or Werewolf

Among the Bosnian folk the name Werewolf is often used for a vampire even though we are talking about two separate mythological beings. According to legend, werewolf is created when an evil man is possessed by a demon and then he turns into a hairy night monster that kills livestock, mostly sheep and sometimes even humans. The belief in werewolf's goes far back in time, the time when our forefathers the Illyrians inhabited Bosnia which worshiped the god of forests and mountains Vidasus which is described in legends as a male body completely covered in hair.

 

A human being can become a werewolf in case of a demon intervention or a magical ritual. In Trebinje, according to ethnological data, a case of lycanthropy happened in the 19th century, the woman who practiced the ritual of transformation was a witch and she knew the secret pagan transformation rituals. Every time she wanted to transform into a werewolf she would take a rope and make a circle out of it on the ground. She would then take off all of her clothes and place it into the middle of the circle. She would then perform a forward somersault three times, making thus a circle with her body, in the meantime she would transform into a werewolf. She would repeat the same process if she wanted to transform back into a human. This case, like many others, wouldn't be recorded if the witch in the form of a werewolf didn't kill 40 sheep's to some landowner and him reporting it to the local authorities who undertook a search and found the culprit and the way in which the crime unfolded.

Mitološki svijet Bosne i Hercegovine

Prema naučnoj definiciji, mitologija je znanost koja proučava predaje i legende fantastičnog sadržaja čiji su akteri različita natprirodna bića poput bogova, ratnika, demona, itd. Gledano očima moderne psihologije, mitologija je neraskidiva spona koja povezuje čovjeka današnjice sa njegovom prošlošću, dubokim korjenima, oblikuje njegov identitet i na neki način evocira mu uspomene na djetinjstvo, ispunjeno mnogim pričama o natprirodnim stvorenjima i događajima.

Bez obzira na geografski položaj, kulturu ili razdoblje svaka mitološka predaja malog ili velikog naroda temelji se na klasičnom Panteonu, ili još češće, na dualističkoj podjeli nadnaravnih kreacija i duhova, između kojih se nalazi svijet ljudi.
Danas je mitologija u velikom opsegu prisutna kroz mnogobrojne publikacije, televizijske dokumentarce, umjetnost ali i samu povijest. Ni filmski redatelji joj nisu mogli odoljeti pa su na opisima mističnog svijeta duhova i bogova snimljeni mnogi filmovi i serije, sa prilično velikim uspjehom.

Analizirajući legende i predaje neke zemlje vrlo lako se može doći do mnogih zanimljivi spoznaja i zaključaka o razmišljanju i ponašanju tog naroda u određenom dijelu povijesti. Uglavnom, u većini mitoloških predaja susrećemo klasične ljudske fobije od bolesti i smrti, nesreće i zla, stalnu potrebu za održavanjem kulta heroja i ratnika, ljubav prema domovini, obitelji, pojedincu, i tako dalje. Osim toga mitološki likovi predstavljaju beskrajnu čovjekovu maštu, sposobnost da se što bezbolnije prebrode teška vremena, ali i kreira autentični identitet nacije ili zemlje.

Mitologija Bosne i Hercegovine obiluje raznim vanjskim uplivima, zbog svog geografskog položaja, ali i turbolentne povijesti koja je oblikovala nemirni bosanski duh i maštu. Kako je Bosna kroz vijekove bila tačka susreta Istoka i Zapada realno je za pretpostaviti da se u pozadini raznih mitoloških predaja i opisa krije elementi pristigli iz navedenih pravaca.
U skladu sa predočenim, mitologija Bosne i Hercegovine najbolje se može sagledati ukoliko se podijeli u tri grupe presudnih uticaja koja su bila ključna za njen nastanak:


a) Bosanska vjerovanja (Iliri, Bogumili)
b) Staroslavenska vjerovanja
c) Orijentalna vjerovanja (Turska, Iran)


Ostaci drevnih Ilirskih a kasnije i bogumilskih vjerovanja prisutna su u legendama i mitovima o zmijama, zmajevima, vilama, Didu Adži, biku Garonja, tajanstvenoj ptici Meknjači ili Plačo, itd. Slavenska paganska predaja odslikava se u legendama o duhovima bolesti i općenito u negativnim bićima kao što su vampir, Mora, vještica, kuga, itd.
Orijentalni utjecaji Turske, a posebno Irana, ogledaju se u vjerovanju u meleke, šejtane, džine, Dobri, duša, i slično.

Ponekad se ti utjecaji prepliću pa im je originalno porijeklo nepoznato poput vampira, čiji naziv dolazi od sjevernoturske riječi upir, ili vila (periler) za koje se znalo u drevnom Iranu još prije 4 000 godina. Predaje o vješticama nalaze se u skoro svim narodima svijeta i slično.

Duša

Dok čovjek spava nipošto ga ne treba naglo buditi pošto prema vjerovanju iz čovjeka u stanju sna iziđe duša i nesmetano putuje cijelim svijetom. Slično vjerovanje među Bošnjacima ima i o vještici, one naime mogu putovati fizičkim tijelom ali i na ovakav način dok spavaju. Kada vještica zaspe duša joj kroz usta iziđe van i ide ljudima raditi zlo. Njeno tijelo u tom vremenu postane hladno i modro, usta joj se jako rašire a usne potamne. Pred zoru njena duša se vrati u obliku bumbara kroz usta u tijelo i ona se naglo probudi iz tog mističnog stanja.

Vjeruje se da se duša kod djece nije još potpuno spojila sa tijelom pa kod njih skoro za vrijeme svakog spavanja iziđe iz tijela i luta. Zbog tog razloga majke kada premještaju zaspalo dijete sa jednog mjesta na drugo zovnu ga imenom ili malo povuku za nos želeći na taj način alarmirati duši šta se događa. Istog trena duša se vrati u tijelo. U protivnom, ako se ne upozori duša, vjeruje se da dijete može oboljeti ili imati psihički posljedica.

U Bosni i Hrcegovini i danas se vjeruje da se duša umirućeg čovjeka ne može odvojiti od tijela dok mu familija i susjedi "ne halale" (oproste grijehe).

Djevojka-Mora

Kod Bošnjaka se smatra da je Mora odbačena ili prevarena djevojka koja se na taj način sveti svome bivšem momku. Ona svake noći oko ponoći u svom nevidljivom obliku odlazi u mladićevu kuću i guši ga tako što mu sjedne na grudi. Nesretni momak tada osjeti veliki pritisak u grudima, znoji se i ima noćne more. Ujutro se probudi sav nemoćan i blijed. Vjeruje se i to da svaka djevojka može pretvoriti u Moru ako prethodno preda svoju dušu Iblisu.

Kako se hvata djevojka-Mora?

Iz džamije se donese zeleni pojas kojim se vezuje mrtvac za nosila prilikom sahrane. Navečer onaj koga napada Mora legne u postelju na leđa držeći u desnoj ruci zeleni pojas. Ne smije zaspati već samo držati zatvorene oči. Oko ponoći doći će Mora i sjesti mu na grudi i počet će da ga guši. U tom trenu čovjek treba zeleni pojas prebaciti preko sebe i Mora će odmah postati vidljiva za ljudske oči. Uhvaćena u zamku Mora će se uplašiti i početi moliti da čovjek nikom ne oda ko je ona a ona se mora zakleti da više neće biti Mora. Na taj način izgubi moć nevidljivosti i opet postane normalna djevojka.

Vještice

Prema bosanskom vjerovanju vješticom postanu one žene ili djevojke koje žele nekom činiti zlo, na primjer, da se osveti susjedi, njenoj stoki ili djeci. Vještice piju djeci krv i kravama oduzimaju mlijeko. Dok djevojka-Mora čim se uda prestaje biti Mora to nije slučaj sa vješticama. One i nakon udaje ne gube svoju titulu zato što su pogazile Kur'an i predale dušu Iblisu.
Vještica ima sposobnost da se noću pretvori u velikog leptira i tako uđe u bilo čiju kuću, posebno u onu gdje ima male djece. Kada se takav leptir opazi u kući brzo ga uhvate i zapale mu jedno krilo na vatri svijeće govoreći " Dođi sutra, dat ću ti soli" a zatim se pusti napolje. Vjeruje se da prva žena koja narednog jutra dođe da posudi soli iz te kuće je vještica. Ako joj se tada kaže da je prošlu noć dolazila u kuću kao leptir i da je vještica vjeruje se da će odmah izgubiti svu svoju demonsku moć.

Duhovi zla i bolesti

Tvora. Zli duh bolesti koji napada bolesnika opterećujući mu psihu različitim košmarima i užasnim priviđenjima.

Činilica: zli duh koji je izazivao silnu tjeskobu i strah u bolesnikovoj duši pa je umišljao da je u njega ušlo svo zlo duhovnog svijeta.

Otrovnica: zli duh koji je bolesniku trovao krv sve dok potpuno iscrpljen ne bi umro.

Krvopilica: zli duh koji bi bolesniku cijelu noć pio krv dok ne bi iz njega izvukao svu životnu snagu.

Mraza: zli duh mržnje i svađe, on je ljudima oduzimao ljubav, slogu, tjerao ga u stalne sukobe sa drugima.

Prikaze: to su zli duhovi koji se pred ljudima pokazuju samo noću u različitim oblicima, najviše kao mačka, zec, jarac, pas.... Ko susretne prikazu vjeruje se da će se ubrzo razboljeti ili će umrijeti.

Kudretfenjeri

Smatra se da su to duhovi poginuli muslimanskih vojnika koji su pojavljuju u obličju tajanstveni svjetala i to najčešće u napuštenim grobljima, po ruševinama starih kuća ili vojnih utvrda a ponekad i po šumama. Vjeruje se da su ti vojnici pogreškom zakopani u kršćanskom groblju pa se sele tražeći muslimanska groblja.

Karanđoloz

Vjerovanje u ovo demonsko biće donijele su Osmanlije na područje Bosne svojim dolaskom. Karanđoloz se prema vjerovanju najviše može sresti noću na osamljenim raskršćima kada se iznenada popne nesretnom prolazniku na leđa i zajaši ga. Osim što je težak karanđoloz jako smrdi i zaudara pa tako uplašenom čovjeku još više pojača muku i patnju. Ako ga karanđoloz upita "Jesam li ti težak?" nesretni čovjek nipošto ne smije potrvrdno odgovoriti jer će mu tada ovo noćno biće postati još teže. Sve dok se ne pojavi zora karanđoloz neće prestati mučiti čovjeka, tek onda kada se začuje pjesma pijetla demon će nestati. Narod se od njega štitio tako što bi oko kuće i staje prolazio u krug držeći u rukama po plod oraha konstantno udarajući jedan u drugi i govoreći: "Tučem kućnog dušmanina, što berićet odnosi a musibet donosi!". O karanđolozu pisao je poznati bosanski pisac Mehmed Meša Selimović.

Kolera

Pripovijedala mi jedna nena iz Nevesinja, kako je ona svojim rođenim očima vidjela koleru. Bilo joj preko osamdeset godina, pa je ne htjedoh pobijati, nego je zamolih, da mi pripovijedi, kako je to bilo. Ona se nakašlja dvaput, pa poče:

-"Beli (zaista) ja mislim, da ima od tada pedeset godina, ako nema više, kako je to bilo. U jednoj sobi ležasmo: ja, moj brat Arif i sestra mi Vasfija. Čojk mi bijaše otišao u selo, da dotjera garonju, da ga zakoljemo u pastrmu. Svi spavahu k'o zaklani, a meni se ne da san na oči, pa ne da.

Kad ono pol noći, zazveketaše nekakvi sindžiri (lanci), stade huka arabe (kola), psi se uzbuniše, ...laju, laju, aman jarabi, gore neg' na vuka.

Ja ne budem lijena, te ustanem i pogledam kroz pendžer, kad imam baš što vidjeti! Pred našom kućom stoji araba bez konja i u njoj sjede dvije žene, obučene pod našku (kao Bošnjakinje) i svaka drži u ruci po jedan šćapić.

U jedne bijaše šćapić bijel, kao da je oguljen, a u druge crn. Čula sam od svoje rahmetli matere: koga udari ona, što nosi bijel šćap, da će se poboljeti, ali će opet izdraviti, ali koga udari, što crni šćap drži, oneme, grdna rano, ne ima lijeka.

Kako izađoše iz kola, ja više ne vidjeh ni njih, ni kola, ni ništa, kao da nije ništa ni bilo, ali paščad - aman jarabi - nikad ne patišu, već sve više i više laju.

U to se probudi moj brat Arif, pomoli glavu kroz penđer i stade vikati pse. Zaludu sam ga molila, kumila, zaludu zaklinjala, da ne pika pse, jere se more ljuto kajati.

Pa baš tako i bi.Ne prođe ni dva sahata, stade - džul vam na obrazu (s oproštenjem) - bljuvati, nokti mu pocrniše, pa sjutra ne dočeka ni podne.

Ah kako ćeš dočekati - rano moja Arife, - kad te crna dohvatila šćapom!"

To rekav, obali prste, otare ih o zid i reče: "Spomenula te, ne zavratila se!"

Velika nebeska ptica

U prošlosti stari Bošnjaci su imali običaj da bacaju ljuske od jabuke u vatru "za pticu koja živi u zraku i hrani se samo ovakvim mirisom" jer je to veliki sevap. Po predaji, ova ptica je živjela u vremenu pejgambera Sulejmana a predanje o njoj prenijela je jednom etnologu starica Đula Kulovac;

"Bila neka velika, silna ptičurina.Kladila se s Bogom da će raskopati njegovu volju. Bog pristane.Rode se ujedno muško i žensko dijete, Bog ih vjenča i odredi kad će se uzeti kad odrastu. Ptica onda uzme ono žensko dijete i odnese ga preko mnogih planina. Na vrh najveće, na najvećem drvetu razapne na granama volovsku kožu, stavi u nju dijete, sastavi krajeve kao fišek, i ostavi samo otvor kroz koji će hraniti dijete. Hranila ga i odhranila lijepu djevojku. Došlo vrijeme koje je Bog odredio da se djevojka uda za onoga mladića. U to vrijeme onaj momak pođe da lovi. Došlo mu nešto, eto tako, da ide, da traži svoju sudbinu. Došao u tu planinu pod to drvo. Vidjela ga ona djevojka i srce joj puklo za njim. Pita ga šta traži. On kaže da lovi i da traži svoju suđenicu. Ona mu kaže da je to ona i da joj dođe gore. Ali, niti je on mogao gore, niti ona dolje.

Ona mu rekla da bude pod drvetom kad ptica dođe, čut će je, kaže, sa sahat hoda, čuje se jeka i huka. Ona će tražiti od ptice da joj ga donese u gnijezdo, da ne bude sama kada ptica ode daleko po hranu. Ona tražila i ptica rekla "Dobro". Turi ga u mješinu i iznese gore. Ode ptica u lov. Donosila im hranu. Nakon godine njima se rodi dijete. A to sve Bog zna. Zove onu pticu pred sebe i pita je: "More li se božiji emer raskopati?". Ona reče da može, a on joj reče da je ona sama vjenčala momka s djevojkom kako je on bio odredio. Tada je Bog kazni da do kijametskog dana bude u vazduhu, ni na nebu ni na zemlji i da se hrani samo mirisom izgorjelih ljusaka od voća".

Prikaze

Za razliku od Prepasti noćni duhovi zvani Prikaze javljali su se u liku neke životinje. Onom ko bi ih vidio donosile su nesreću i bolest. Druge aveti koje su izazivale strah po Bosni imale su svoje karakteristične nazive. Mraza je uzimala svaku sreću od čovjeka i unosila mu mržnju i neslogu u kuću. Otrovnica je bila duh koji je trovao ljude bolešću a Krvopilnica im je pila krv u dugim noćima. Obično se takvom čovjeku opterećenom bolešću pridruživala i Tvora rušeći mu psihičko zdravlje istovremeno stvarajući halucinacije i ludilo.

Meknjače

Neka od mitskih bića Bosne i Hercegovine karakteristična su po svom oglašavanju poput Meknjača ili drugdje Drekova. Dok su Meknjače duše umrle djece, Drekovi su duše poginulih vojnika koji nemaju mira na onom svijetu zbog počinjenih grijehova. I prve i druge duše javljaju se u akšam a najviše se oglašavaju po grobljima ili u krošnjama drveća, pošto oba mjesta odgovaraju starom vjerovanju o prebivalištu duša. Zanimljivo je navesti da se u Bosni i Dalmaciju susreću neka ista vjerovanja, naime, Meknjača je ono što tamo nazivaju Macić (Maljka, Mačića, Malić) tojest duše pobačene ili prerano umrle djece, kod Hrvata nekrštene djece, čije oglašavanje nalikuje dječijem plaču a ponekad i mačijem zavijanju.

Međutim, dok Hrvati imaju pozitivno vjerovanje o Maciću kojeg ako se pozove, po vjerovanju, priskače u pomoć Meknjača kod Bošnjaka uvijek je zlosutnog predznaka.

O tome govori priča iz Cazinske krajine. Kako je cijeli dan sa konjem radio u polju čovjek je tek navečer stigao kući. Prije nego što bi ga zatvorio u staju bio je običaj da ga potjera na obližnju rijeku, na pojilo. Mrak se već bio uvelike uhvatio kada se vraćao kući. Prolazeći kraj seoskog mezarja prvo začu a onda i ugleda malo nago dijete kako leži kraj groblja i plače. To ga vrlo iznenadi, posebno zato što je dijete bilo jako maleno, pa zaključi da ga je neko tu namjerno ostavio na milost i nemilost sudbini. Sažali se istog trena i odluči ga ponijeti svom domu. Posadi dijete ispred sebe na konja i krenu kući. Ali, već na dvadesetak metara od kuće uhvati ga jeza vidjevši da su se dječije ruke izdužile i pretvorile u duge kandže. I tijelo mu se počelo izobličavati i rasti. Od straha jedva je primjetio kako je čudno biće zarilo kandže u konjski vrat od čega se životinja kao luda propinjala i ritala. U taj čas zalaja pas u dvorištu i čudna spodoba zacikti bježeći u tamu.

Cikavac

U prošlosti svaka bolja sihirbaza u Bosni imala je svog volšebnog slugu zvanog cikavac, izleženog iz jajeta crne kokoške bez ijednog biljega. To jaje mora biti što manje takozvani iznosak kako bi ga što lakše mogla nositi ispod lijevog pazuha narednih četrdeset dana. Dok ga krijući nosi ispod pazuha vračara ne smije niti se umivati niti Bogu moliti pošto, po vjerovanju, te dvije stvari sprečavaju rođenje cikavca. Tom čudesnom vračarinom slugi Muhamed Fejzi beg Kulenović u svom pohvalnom djelu «Nešto o narodnom praznovjerju u Muhamedovaca u BiH» posvetio je nešto malo prostora:
«Ima žena, koje ne imaju ni krave ni ovce, pa ni čestite koze, a ipak imaju mlijeka više nego li onaj koji čitav dželap muze.A kako je to moguće? Ovako: takova žena nosi pod pazuhom četrdeset dana kokošije jaje. Nakon četrdeset dana izleže se iz onog jajeta pile, to pile hoda oko vračarice u zoru i prvi mrak, dok se svačije mlijeko spovlači. Danju nestane tog pileta, a u prvi mrak opet dođe i tako neprestano, dok je god vračarica živa. Svaki dan ima više i više mlijeka i kajmaka».

U jednom drugom radu se još kaže:

« Kad se cikavac izliježe, izgleda kao mješčić, te ga ona žena čiji je šalje po komšiluku, te jede mrs, kao sir, kajmak, maslo, ili sisa tuđe ovce, koze i krave. Kada se cikavac najede i nadoji ide gospodarici pa joj ono sve izbljuje taman kao da driješiš mješinu. Ona ovaj mrs jede i drugima prodaje. Nema, vele, ništa griješnije, no leći cikavca».

Meleci

U narodu se vjeruje kako postoje dva meleka od kojih je prvi ćorav a drugi gluh, koje Allah šalje da potjeraju oblake i nevrijeme tamo gdje želi ljude kazniti zbog nekog grijeha. Ako onaj što nije gluh začuje zvuk ezana on će odmah usmjeriti oblake na suprotnu stranu od tog mjesta i tako ga spasiti od vremenske nepogode. Još se vjeruje kako ga u tom naumu šejtan želi zaustaviti pa između njih dvoje nastane borba. Kada melek mahne svojim mačem na šejtana tada po legendi nastane munja na nebu.

Kada se mala beba osmjehuje vjeruje se da je vidjelo meleka. Osim toga meleci se smatraju zaštitnicima djece zbog njihove čistote i bezgriješnosti. Vjeruje se i to da su mala djeca zapravo meleci sve dok ne progovore jer tada uz one lijepe mogu da kažu i ružne riječi pa tako izgube svoje dražesno svojstvo.

Šejtani

Oni su demonska bića slična džinima. Mnogo su slabije snage i uticaja od džina jer kada šejtan uđe u čovjeka on se odaje porocima, bludu, lažima ili krađi dok kada džin uđe u ljudsko tijelo onda ta osoba psihički oboli. Šejtane je lako uplašiti i od čovjeka bježe čim ovaj izrekne " Euzubilahi mineš šejtanir radžim".

Bosanska legenda govori kako je šejtan prisustvovao stvaranju prvog čovjeka Adema. Naime, kada je Bog stvorio ljudsko tijelo ostavio ga je tri godine bez života. Svaki dan šejtan je dolazio do ljudskog tijela, radoznalo ga posmatrao i udarao prstima po njemu. Kada bi god došao do ljudske glave udario bi u nju prstom i rekao "Ova glava neće biti prazna". Na izmaku treće godine Allah udahnu život prvom čovjeku i on oživi. Allah ga odmah upozori na šejtana kazavši mu sa prvim stvorom koji mu dođe ne razgovarati niti mu govori svoje ime. U početku Adem se držao Allahove zapovijedi no nakon nekog vremena popusti na šejtanova laskanja i pitanja pa započne konverzaciju sa njim. Istog trena lukavi šejtan skoči mu na lijevo rame i svečano objavivši da će od sada stalno biti tu pošto su njih dvojica postali prijatelji. Bog vidjevši šta se desilo poslao jednog meleka i uputi ga da se on smjesti Ademu na desno rame kako bi spriječio šejtana da čovjeka stalno navodi na zlo.

Džini

Demonska bića zastrašujućeg obličja nastala od plamičaka vatre. Bosanski narod opisuje džine kao malena čudovišta sa jednim okom i repom. Svaki od džina je hrom. Iako mogu uzimati razna ljudska ili životinjska obličja najviše se vole pokazivati pred ljudskim očima u obliku crnog čovjeka (crna silueta) čije se lice nikada ne može vidjeti. Vole se pokazivati i u obličju crnog psa, mačke ili zmije. Vjeruje se da su džini vjerne sluge ali i gospodari vještica i čarobnjaka. Kada žele nekog zavesti i podrediti sebi onda džini igraju vatreno kolo i zovu ime onog koga žele. To se najčešće događa dok ta osoba spava. I u toku dana džini znaju igrati kolo ali ovaj put u kovitlacu vjetra, zato i danas ljudi izbjegavaju da im se takav kovitlac vjetra približi. Vjeruje se čim čovjek izgovori: "Euzubilahi mineš šejtanir radžim. Bismillahir rahmanir rahim" i puhne u pravcu kovitlaca da će on nestati.
Posebna skupina džina pod imenom al-karisi napadaju porodilju i male bebe u prvih 40 dana od poroda.

Zmajevi

U prošlosti Bošnjaci su vjerovali u postojanje zmajeva, opisivali su ih kao ogromne zmije sa krilima koje mogu da žive na nebu ali i zemlji. Kako se dalo zaključiti iz narodnih priča zmajevi su bili muškog roda, nigdje se ne spominje ni jedan ženski zmaj, a svoju pohotu i želju za potomstvom zadovoljavali su kroz spolne odnose sa ljudskim ženama ali i životinjama, posebno kravama. Po predaji kada bi zmaja privukla neka žena on bi noću dolazio u njenu sobu ili je čekao negdje napolju, na livadi, i svojim magičnim moćima bacao u stanje slično transu. Nakon spolnog čina zmaj bi odletio a žena se nakon buđenja nije sjećala ničega.

Fatima K. iz Bosanskog Novog tvrdila je za života kako je davne 1974.godine rodila zmaja -"Rodila sam sam u kući, negdje iza ponoći, nakon pola sata bolnih trudova. Iz mene je izašlo dijete u bijeloj košuljici (placenta) i nakon nekoliko trenutaka nestalo?!"
Kako je tvrdila to dijete nije više nikada vidjela pa je prema tome zaključila nije rodila snijet nego zmaja. Potvrdu svojim sumnjama našla je i u tome što su joj grudi preko dana bile pune mlijeka a ujutro kada bi se probudila grudi su joj bile ispijene. To se redovito ponavljalo svakog dana nekoliko mjeseci. U strahu od toga povjerila se jednoj staroj susjedi koja joj je rekla da joj to svaku noć dolazi dijete-zmaj da se nahrani njenim mlijekom. Nakon nekog vremena prestale su noćne posjete.

Vile i vilenjaci

Vile su mlade i lijepe djevojke sa dugom zlatnom kosom. Vjerovanje u njih seže sve do ilirskih vremena kada su naši preci obožavali boga šuma i planina Vidasusa u čijem su se društvu redovito nalazile vile. One imaju nadnaravnu ljepotu i umiljat glas. Žive po velikim šumama i oko jezera, lete po drveću i vole igrati noću kolo po zelenoj travi. Tom prilikom obično pjevaju neku od svojih mnogobrojnih pjesmica čije riječi upozoravaju ljude na neku opasnost. U narodu se vjeruje da će ono dijete koje vila nahrani svojim mlijekom postati veliki junak, o čemu najbolje kazuje legenda o Muji Hrnjici.

Ako ih ljudi povrijede na bilo koji način, slučajno ili namjerno, vile će se istog trena osvetiti tako što će tu osobu učiniti psihički poremećenom. Vila su se naročito u prošlosti plašile majke. Prema turskoj narodnoj predaji koja se udomaćila među bosanskim narodom ljudi su u davnoj prošlosti ukrali prvo vilinsko dijete i od tada im se vile svete tako što za odmazdu kradu ljudsku djecu ili ih zamjene sa svojom. Iz tog razloga su bosanske žene svaki put kada bi morale napustiti malo dijete zbog obavljanja nekog posla u njegovu kolijevku, pored nogu, ostavljale neki metalni predmet poput kašike kako bi spriječile vile da joj ukradu dijete.

U Bosni i Hercegovini najpoznatije su Bosanska vila, Gorska vila i kraljica vila Zlatna. Za Zlatnu se vjerovalo da je gospodarica šume i vode. Predaja navodi kako je svaku večer vila Zlatna u pratnji drugih vila dolazila na rijeku da se kupa a nakon toga bi na nekom brežuljku cijelu noć igrale kolo i pjevale. Bosanci vjeruju da vile mogu sanjati samo dobre i plemenite osobe.

Osim vila postoje i muški pripadnici ovih mitološki bića koji se nazivaju vilenjaci. Najpoznatiji od njih je Ušušur. Prema legendi iz Doboja Ušušur se zaljubio u jednu djevojku koja se udala za drugoga. Očajan i bijesan zbog toga Ušušur je upotrijebio svoje magične moći kako bi natjerao djevojku da se utopi u rijeci. Shvativši kakvo je zlo uradio u očaju se bacio u vodu za djevojkom ali nijese mogao utopiti jer je besmrtan. Zbog toga sam sebe osudi na kaznu i zaveza se željeznim lancima za dno rijeke koja mu od tada postade dom. U narodu se Ušušur opisiva kao zeleni čovjek, sav čupav i obrastao u mahovinu.

Bik Garonja (Tur)

Stari Bošnjaci vjerovali su da Zemlja stoji na leđima divovskog bika Garonje. Kada bik mrdne uhom onda se negdje u svijetu dogodi zemljotres a onog dana kada se bik Garonja cio strese desit će se Kijamet. Za tutnjavu koja se čuje za vrijeme potresa vjerovalo se da je to bikova rika.
Prema drugoj verziji ovog mita ispod površine zemlje postoji veliko more po kojem pliva gigantska riba. Na njenim leđima stoji bik koji svojim leđima drži zemlju na sebi i tako spriječava da ona propadne u more. Kada bik pomjeri jedno uho zemlja se zatrese i negdje u svijetu dogodi se potres no kada bi pomaknuo nogu ili neki drugi dio tijela sva bi zemlja potonula u more. Kako bi se spriječio taj dramatični scenario Bog je stvorio jednu muhu koja biku stalno leti ispred očiju, a koje se on plaši, te ga taj strah parališe i ne može da se pomjeri.

Mračne havaje

U bosanskom narodu postoji vjerovanje kako uz materijalni svijet egzistira duhovni svijet koji se naziva Mračne Havaje. Ovo vjerovanje posebno je izraženo u narodnoj magiji gdje se često spominje u ritualima anuliranja negativne energije kroz upotrebu basmi tojest oralne magije. Analizom nekoliko basmi dolazi se do preciznih naziva lokacija mjesta čime se može doći do vrlo jasnog prikaza, naime, mračne havaje se predočavaju kao svijet prekriven beživotnom pustinjom Kavdag usred koje se uzdiže gigantska planina Jaban, koja je prepuna pukotina i rupa. Kavdag je vrlo sličan nazivu planine džinova Qaf koja se spominje u islamskoj predaji. Prema mitologiji planina Qaf je domovina džina jer ih najveći dio živi upravo na njoj.

Mračne havaje zapravo predstavljaju narodnu predstavu pakla, daleko mjesto gdje završava svijet ljudi i počinje svijet duhova u kojem nema niti plodnosti niti života. Riječ havaj ili havaje dolazi iz arapskog jezika i označava zrak, nebo, visinu i tu riječ nalazimo i u nekoliko narodnih pjesama o junacima. U skladu sa tim realno bi bilo zaključiti kako se negativna energija protjeruje u visinu, u beživotnu planinu, gdje vlada vječna tama i tišina.

Bosanski duhovni iscjelitelji vjeruju kako se zlo ne može uništiti već prvenstveno prebaciti sa jedne osobe na drugu lokaciju ta se zato ono šalje u mračne havaje, mjesto koja ima sposobnost da u sebe apsorbira svu negativnu energiju. Slanje se vrši tako da se zlo i bolest kanališu u pravcu mračnih havaja precizno formulisanim riječima: "preko stotinu polja, preko stotinu šuma, iza devet brda, u pustu zemlju, tamo gdje pas ne laje, mačka ne mjauče, gdje se Ezan ne čuje..."

Sibjan

Jedna od najmoćnijih demonica stare Mesopotamije bila je Labartu, kćerka boga Anua, koja je prema predanju obitavala duž planina, pustinja i močvara. Njen izgled stari zapisi na klinastom pismu opisuju kao hladnokrvan i surov, raščupane kose, lavljeg lica i obznaženih grudi. Imala je naviku iz gustiša napadati domaću stoku i svojim dugim kandžama rasporivati im tijela. Posebno je bila sklona napadima na trudnežene i malu djecu. Najveće zadovoljstvo joj je, prema legendi, pričinjavalo da izazove pobačaj kod trudnica. Dolaskom islama ime tog demona promjenilo se u Ummu Sibjan a vjerovanje u nju u Bosnu stiže dolaskom Osmanskog carstva.

Sibjan prema vjerovanju izaziva kod djece bolest koja se u bosanskom narodu naziva sibiluk a manifestira se velikim plačem, blagom i privremenom paralizom dječijeg tijela, gubitkom apetita, anemijom, nesanicom... Protiv njenog napada poduzimale su se različite profilaktičke mjere poput ostavljanja riblje kosti, glavice bijelog luka i zmijskog kamena pored djeteta. Ako bi se desio napad ovog demona na dijete ono se liječilo magijskim metodama, majka bi bolesno dijete zajedno sa kockom šećera odnijela do stabla kestena, kojem se korjenje proteže po površini zemlje, i tu ga provlači tri puta ispod njega. Ukoliko ne može pronaći takvo drvo onda dijete nosi u kuću gdje ono još nikada nije bilo i tri puta ga provuče ispod neke od greda u kući.
Strah od negativnog utjecaja Sibjan na majku i dijete proizveo je na desetine tabua kojih se mlada majka mora pridržavati u toku prvih 40 dana nakon poroda: ona ne smije izlaziti napolje nakon zalaska sunca, na glavi mora nositi maramu kako joj se ni jedna vlas kose ne bi vidjela, ne smije prati odjeću, etc.

Drekovi

Radi se o duhovima lutalicama, koji izazivaju buku i galamu, pa su po tome dobili i ime. Legenda kaže da su ti duhovi duše poginulih vojnika, koji nemaju mira u zagrobnom svijetu zbog svojih mnogobrojnih zločina koje su počinili u ratu. Drekovi se, prema narodnom vjerovanju, pojavljuju odmah nakon zalaska sunca, i stalno lutaju od groblja do groblja, uporno tražeči mir i spokoj, koje neće nikada naći.

Lampiri

U Bosni vampir se nazivao lampir, lapir, lampijer, vukodlak ili vukozlačina.

Lampiri su mrtvaci koji se dižu iz svoji grobova i vode strašan noćni život. Nalaze se na samotnim mjestima, mezarjima, potocima i raskršćima. Naziv lampir dolazi od narodnog vjerovanja kako iz mezara osobe koja se povampirila, kroz malu rupicu na zemlji, izleti leptir tojest lepir, kako se to kaže u kolokvijalnog govoru.
Ima više razloga zašto se neko povampiri (polampiri) a najpoznatiji je onaj ako mejita preskoči mačka. Zato se kućna mačka obavezno i danas zatvara negdje dok ne prođe dženaza. Drugi razlozi nastanka vampira jesu incesi i drugi teški grijesi zbog koji duša nema kud na onaj svijet.

Ljudi koji se povampire uzimaju oblik pune mješine te ulaze u kuću svoje rodbine ili nečiju drugu i budu u njima dok prvi pijetlovi ne zapjevaju. Takav slučaj desio se prije tri, četiri decenije u Velikoj Kladuši Đuli B.kada joj je u bolesti muž umro, vrlo mlad. Iza njega je ostala sama sa troje male djece i svekrvom u kući. Po njenom kazivanju on je poslije pokopa, nakon nekoliko dana, dolazio svako veče u njenu sobu. Vidjela ga je, no, nikada nije pričala šta se događalo prilikom tih susreta. U strahu povjerivši se svekrvi bojeći se muža-mrtvaca ona joj da savjet da na četiri strane kuće stavi po glogovu šibu. Poslije toga povampireni muž nije više dolazio.

Najpoznatiji vampir u Bosni bio je i ostao Lampir Meho, porijeklom iz Glamoča, no predaja o njemu seže i van granica BiH, sve do Karlovca. Pored njega drugi jako poznat bosanski vampir, svakako je, Pajo Tomić iz Vlasenice te izvjesni Korkut. Zanimljivo je reći da se u narodu i dalje koristi riječ "lapiti" tojest ugrabiti,oteti a koja očito ima svoje porijeklo u nazivu lampir, lampijer ili lapir što opet upućuje na način djelovanja ovog mitskog bića.

U bosanskom narodu naziv vukodlak se često koristi za vampira, iako je riječ o dva različita mitološka bića. Prema legendi, vukodlak postaje zao čovjek kojeg opsjedne demon pa se onda onda pretvori u dlakavo noćno čudovište koje ubija stoku, najviše ovce, a ponekad napadne i čovjeka. Korjen vjerovanja u vukodlaka seže daleko u prošlost, u vrijeme kada su Bosnu naseljavali naši preci Iliri koji su obožavali boga šuma i planina Vidasusa kojeg legende opisuju kao muškarca čije tijelo u potpunosti prekriva gusta dlaka.
Čovjek može postati vukodlak isključivo zbog intervencije nekog demona ili uz pomoć magijskih rituala. U Trebinju se, prema etnološkim podacima, desio na kraju 19.vijeka slučaj likantropije, žena koja je praktikovala obred preobrazbe bila je vještica i vladala je tajnim paganskim znanjima transformacije. Svaki put kada se htjela preobraziti u vukodlaka uzimala je uže i od njega napravila krug na zemlji. Potom bi skinula svu odjeću sa sebe i stavila je u sredinu tog kruga. Zatim bi napravila tri puta kolut naprijed, tvoreći tako krug svojim tijelom, i u međuvremenu pretvorila se u velikog vuka. Isti postupak je ponavljala kada bi se htjela vratiti u ljudski oblik. Ovaj slučaj bi, poput mnogih drugih, ostao nezabilježen da ta ista vještica u obličju vukodlaka nije nekom begu poklala 40 ovaca pa je on slučaj prijavio lokalnoj vlasti koja je provela istragu i otkrila krivca te način na koji se krivično djelo odigralo.

Bošnjačke vještice su umijele prizivati smrtonosnu moć vukodlaka tako što bi otišle na groblje ponavljajući formulu: "Adali ada da sačuva mene!" pa bi žmireći sjele pored nekog groba, uzele jednu šaku zemlje sa groba i odnijele je kući. Tu bi zemlju čuvale dok ne bi neko od njihovih neprijatelja umro pa bi je tajno podmetnule na njegova ulazna vrata bas u trenutku dok bi mrtvaca iznosili iz kuce. To su činile u namjeri da ubrzo opet neko umre u toj kući.

Dobri

U Bosni postoji legenda kako šehidi a posebno evlije, sveti ljudi, nakon svoje smrti mogu pomoći ljudima u nevolji pa se zbog toga nazivaju Dobri. Vjeruje se da Dobri noću ustaju iz svojih grobova i mole se Allahu. Zbog tog uvjerenja narod u turbetima ostavlja vode u ibricima i čiste peškire kako bi Dobri mogli obaviti abdest te obrisati ruke i lice. Veliki dio osoba koje su bile zadužene za brigu o turbetima, koji se zovu turbetari, zaklinjali su se da su više puta u turbetima vidjeli mokar pod od vode dok je peškir bio premješten na neko drugo mjesto. To se tumačilo kako je Dobri obavio abdest i noću se molio Bogu.

Did Adže

Vjerovanje u ovo mitološko biće karakteristično je za sjeverozapadni dio Bosne i Hercegovine točnije za Cazinsku krajinu gdje se vjeruje da je on patuljak duge bijele brade i crnih nogu koji jaše velikog pijetla. Njegovo ime potječe od bogumilskog naziva za svećenika - Did. Prema svemu rečenom lako je zaključiti da se ovdje radi o jednom od bogumilskih svećenika sa ovih prostora čije se ime kroz narodne legende ostalo u svijesti Bošnjaka. Did Adže predstavlja mističan lik kojim su se plašila djeca i na taj način tjerala da budu poslušna. Međutim u narodnim legendama Did Adže ima moć teleportacije, čuvar je mudrosti i ulaza u donji (podzemni) svijet.

Prepasti

Nakon Drugog svjetskog rata u bosanskom narodu počele su se širiti glasine o jezivim pojavama koje su ljudi nazivali Prepasti. Obično su se pojavljivale po putevima, livadama ili pored rijeka i potoka nejasni, tamni oblici, siluete i vrtlozi vjetra koji su se podizali visoko u nebo ponekad se pretvarajući u strašne crne oblike. Ta nadnaravna ukazanja narod je objašnjavao riječima da su to u pitanju nemirni duhovi poginulih vojnika jer su se i same manifestacije tog užasa događale baš na onim mjestima gdje su ginuli vojnici u ratu. Prepasti su se naročito ukazivale na onim mjestima gdje su ljudi izgubili neki dio tijela pa su, prema vjerovanju, tražili izgubljenu ruku ili nogu. Prepasti su zauvijek nestajale onda kada bi kiša oprala svu ljudsku krv sa zemlje a plug zaorao njihove kosti u zemlju.

Stuhe

U prošlosti se vjerovalo da su stuhe ili zduhači vještice muškog spola ili vještaci. Imali su magijske moći i bili vidoviti. Obično su pomagali ljudima izvodeći razna čuda i štiteći neko mjesto od nevremena. Najviše su se kretali noću. U narodu se očuvalo mnogo predaja o borbama ima dvojice stuha kada su se sukobljavali dobri i zli stuha.

Po vjerovanju zduhač je osoba rođena u košuljici te samim time i vidovita. Oni koji se rode u bijeloj košuljici smatraju se dobrim zduhačima dok oni rođeni u crvenoj rade samo zlo. Zduhač posjeduje pored proricanja i moć liječenja te su neki od njih važili u prošlosti kao veliki iscjelitelji.

Najveći zduhač u Bosni i Hercegovini a i šire bio je Mato Glušac (1781-1877) iz Korita, nedaleko od Gacka. Ali u narodu se spominju kao veliki zduhači Mahmud Paša Bašatlija, Gahibija te Suljo Aganović iz Foče. O Sulji je ostalo zapisano:" Pošto je ka njemu grdan svijet navalio, njega su, za vrijeme Prvog svjetskog rata, Austrijanci zatvorili. Po povratku iz tamnice, on je svoj dar vidovitosti izgubio".
U Bosanskoj Gradišci nalazio se izvor kojeg je narod nazvao Gahibijin bunar. Izvor se smatrao ljekovit i postao je mjesto hodočašća. Naime, na taj izvor išle su bolesne žene obiju vjera da se tu kupaju i ostave nešto novca u vodi ili neki dio od svoje odjeće.

Vjerovanje u zduhače najviše se javlja u srednjoj Bosni te cijeloj Hercegovini dok se u Cazinskoj krajini nigdje i ne pominje kao takvo. Međutim, navodi se vjerovanje u stuhe koje se smatraju zlim duhovima sličnim vampirima zbog svog izgleda mršave, blijede i ispijene spodobe. I danas se u običnom razgovoru među Krajišnicima može čuti komentar o nekom ko je fizički propao da" liči na stuhu!"

Ramo i Bajro

Ramo i Bajro su dva mitološka lika koja predstavljaju Ramazan i Bajram a kojima je narodna mašta udahnula ljudsko obličje i karakter. Dok je Ramo škrti starac koji cijelo vrijeme provodi u odricanju i izbjegavanju svake prilike da živi drugačiji život osim onog na koji je navikao od djetinjstva Bajro je njegova čista suprotnost. On je veseli starac koji je prije svega hedonista, voli društvo prijatelja i na budućnost uvijek gleda sa velikim optimizmom. U onim prilikama kada se susretnu, a to je vrlo često, uvijek se posvađaju zbog različitog gledanja na život ali se na kraju uvijek u duhu vjere i muslimanske solidarnosti pomire a sve u cilju da slušaocu priče prenesu neku mudru poruku. Ponekad se uz njih pojavljuju i dva druga lika utjelovljena u mladićima Šaronji i Bjelonji. Prvi predstavlja klasičnog Bošnjaka koji se vodi smjernicom da je bitno postiti prvi, srednji i zadnji dan Ramazana kako bi se koliko toliko zadovoljila potreba vjere dok Bjelonja ne pokušava niti to. On za razliku od Šaronje ne želi nositi masku religijskog licemjerja već predstavlja sebe onakvim kakvim jeste, sa svim svojim manama i vrlinama. Svi likovi imaju u sebi crtu komičnosti i kroz nju često idu iz krajnosti u krajnost ali uvijek sa sretnim završetkom.

Utve zlatnih krila

U bosanskoj mitologiji spominju se mistična bića opisivana kao pola žena-pola ptica koja imaju zlatna krila. Nazivaju se utve zlatnih krila i one prema mitološkoj klasifikaciji pripadaju  u  bića pozitivnog djelovanja koja pomažu pojedincima u lovu ili drugim aktivnostima, cijelim naseljima pa čak i cijelom narodu. Prema vjerovanju utve su besmrtne i  od postanka ima ih uvijek jedan te isti broj, koji je ostao nepoznat, što dovodi do zaključka  da nemaju sposobnost reprodukcije.
Narod ih opisuje kao prelijepe djevojke sa bujnim grudima a od stomaka na dolje  one imaju ptičije noge i perje. Krase ih zlatna krila velikog raspona i dok lete nebom raspršuju svjetlost u velikom krugu. Zbog legende o kralju koji je pokorio Indiju narod u nekim krajevima Bosne misli da  utve imaju ptičiju glavu i poprsje a noge i stražnjicu kao u žene.  Prema legendi utve su  pobjegle iz Indije u Bosnu nakon što je jedan veliki i moćni kralj sa svojom vojskom upao u Indiju , u tu „prokletu zemlju“, i tamo zatekao bića sa glavom pijetla i ljudskim tijelom koja su mu mjesecima pružala otpor i ratovala protiv njega sve dok ih on nije pobjedio.
No kako narod često utve i vile dovodi u direktnu ili indirektnu vezu  sasvim je jasno da je njihov izgled ipak bio ženstven i lijep tojest da su imale žensku glavu i grudi a noge ptice. U prilog toj tezi ide i izostanak bilo kakvog podatka da su utve rodile ijedno dijete ili bile u ljubavnom odnosu sa nekim čovjekom.
O utvama narod pripovijeda da su poput vila pobjegle u planine i zabita mjesta otkad su se pojavili top i puška jer nisu mogle podnijeti zvukove oružja koje donosi samo zlo i smrt.
Analizirajući predaju  o utvama dolazimo do zaključka da se prije svega radi o antičkom mitu koji najvjerovatnije potječe iz Perzije i temelji se na vjerovanju u Amenta Spentas, pretečama anđela monoteizma. Amenta Spentas su sedam besmrtnih krilatih stvorenja čija je svrha da održavaju harmoniju u prirodi i među ljudima, šireći pravdu i istinu. Vjerovanje u njih preuzeli su židovi, kršćani i na kraju muslimani nazivajući ih arkanđelima.


Ali-beg se u jezero sprema


Ali-beg se u jezero sprema
Da ustrili utvu zlatni’ krila.
Nešto mu se iz jezera javlja:
- Ne striljaj se, beže, Ali-beže,
Nisam utva da ti mene striljaš,
Već djevojka za kakvog junaka.
Utekla sam od zla materina,
Od matere kano od maćehe,
A od oca kano od očuha,
Oni mene za staroga daju.
Neću stara, pa se ne udala.
Volim s mladim po gori hoditi,
Travu pasti, s lista vodu piti,
Neg’ sa starim u šiljti sjediti,
Šećer jesti, dukate nizati.

Bosanske vile

Bosanska mitologija navodi brojne nazive vile od kojih su najpoznatije ova imena: Bosanska vila, vila kraljica Zlatna, Crvena vila, Gorska vila, vila Planinka (vila planine), itd. Pojedine vile nazivaju se i karakterističnim imenima poput Gope, Gospa, Srebra, Bilka, etc.
Crvena vila: ona se uglavnom pojavljuje u vremenu oko zalaska sunca. Sjedi na nekom prolazu ili pored puta češljajući svoju dugu crvenu kosu. Onom ko je susretne može nauditi tako što zamahne kosom u njegovom pravcu i udari ga njome. Od tog udarca čovjek postane bolestan a zna se desiti i da padne u komu. Njen simbol je crvena boja.
Bosanska vila: ona je djevojka zlatne kose i bujnih grudi. Obučena je u dugu bijelu haljinu čiji su rubovi prošiveni zlatnim koncem. U kosi joj se nalazi cvijeće ljiljana. Tijelo joj krase i velika krila sa kojima prema legendi leti zrakom i prelijeće Bosnu u svim smjerovima. Bosanska vila ima izrazito umiljat glas i često pjeva. Po naravi spada u dobronamjerne vile. Često se nalazi u društvu drugi vila koje su na nižem rangu od nje. Njen simbol je cvijet ljiljan.
Kraljica vila Zlatna: ona je gospodarica svih bosanskih vila. Obitava u velikim i gustim šumama i uvijek se kreće u društvu svojih podanica. Noću, posebno za vrijeme punog mjeseca, izlazi iz šume i kupa se na jezeru ili u rijeci. Ima zlatna krila i krunu na glavi. Poslije kupanja zajedno sa drugim vilama igra i pjeva na nekom brežuljku sve do oglašavanja prvih pijetlova u zoru. Njen simbol je pun Mjesec.
Gorska vila: ona je među najstarijim vilama i često se naziva majkom vila. Smatra se da je vila Zlatna njena kćerka koja ju je nasljedila. Gorska vila je među bosanskim narodom najviše upamćena po tome što je zaslužna za to što je Mujo Hrnjica postao najveći junak Bosne i Hercegovine. Po naravi je blaga, mudra je i ima umiljat glas. Nju bosanske stravarke pozivaju u pomoć pri liječenju oslovljavajući je riječima „majko, sestro“. Njen simbol je zlatna jabuka.
Planinka: ona je vila koja ima vjenac cvijeća upleten u kosi. Nosi dugu haljinu i ponekad drži u ruci štap koji joj služi za hodanje. Ima moć transformacije pa se često pretvori u kozu kako bi lakše prolazila strmim dijelovima planine. Poznaje sve tajne biljaka i liječenja. Sa njom su se najviše susretali pastiri kojima je priskakala u pomoć kada bi to zatrebalo. Njen simbol je bijela koza.

Vile

Vile su najkraće rečeno antički duhovi prirode ili personifikacija njenih snaga. O njima su znali još stari Iliri, Rimljani, Grci... Vjerovanje u vile nailazimo duž cijele Europe ali i Bliskog istoka. U Iranu i Turskoj vile se nazivaju periler i imaju identične funkcije i opise kao i u europskoj tradiciji. Opisuju se kao vječito mlade djevojke, izvanredne ljepote, sa dugom crvenom ili zlatnom kosom. Veliki dio vila posjeduje i krila.

Prema bosanskoj mitologiji vile se rađaju iz rose koja pada po lišću velikog stabla koje raste na tajanstvenom, nepoznatom brdu. Posjeduju magijske moći koje mogu upotrebljavati za dobre i loše svrhe o čemu svjedoče brojni događaji opjevani u narodnim pjesmama gdje se opisuje kako su vile pojedinim junacima poput Alije Đerzeleza, Muje Hrnjice ili Halila postajale majke, sestre ili ljubavnice. Ako bi se prema budućem velikom ratniku ponijela majčinski vila bi ga darovala velikom fizičkom snagom i inteligencijom a ukoliko je taj odnos bio sličan odnosu brata i sestre tada bi mu liječila svaku ranu zadobijenu u bitkama čarolijama i ljekovitim biljkama ili ga obavještavala o planovima neprijatelja. U slučaju da se vila zaljubi u junaka onda bi mu postajala ljubavnicom i majkom budućeg djeteta koje bi nakon porođaja ostavljala ocu i vraćala se svojim sestrama vilama u prirodu.

Upravo ovo vjerovanje o ostavljenoj vilinskoj djeci rezultiralo je nastankom jedne humane prakse zbrinjavanja siročadi koja je spasila od sigurne smrti na hiljade ostavljene djece u najranijoj životnoj dobi. Naime, bosanski narod je vjerovao kako su ostavljena djeca nakon porođaja zapravo dijete neke vile te su ga vrlo rado usvajali i odgajali kao svoje vlastito. Vjerovalo se da ta djeca donose sreću i blagostanje familiji koja je od tada pod zaštitom vile. Kako u prošlim vijekovima u BiH nije bilo sirotišta ili neke druge državne ustanove koja bi preuzela brigu o napuštenoj djeci ovo vjerovanje je uvelike pomoglo u zbrinjavanju mnoge siročadi koje su neodgovorni roditelji ostavljali u šumi ili na ulici.

Kako smo već rekli vile su se posebno interesovale za bosanske junake, pomagale im u borbi, liječile im rane, tugovale za njima, postajale im ljubavnice i majke njihove djece a nekada i sestre. No, iz prethodnog dijela teksta vidimo da vile nisu isključivo pomagale samo narodnim junacima već i običnim ljudima, posebno djeci. Njihova se pomoć izuzetno cjenila kod naroda o čemu svjedoče i mnoge epske pjesme poput one iz Jablanice pod naslovom „Halil traži Mujinog konja Đogata“ u kojoj je od 347 stihova 41 stih posvećen vilinom sudjelovanju u ulozi pomoćnice. Njihova specijalnost osim magije jeste i liječenje biljem. Smatra se da su većinu znanja o ljekovitim svojstvima biljaka ljudi stekli zahvaljujući intervenciji upravo ovih bića. U jednoj pjesmi se govori kako majka Omera Hrnjice po savjetu vile nalazi biljku kunicu (Achillea millefolium L.) i cijedi njen sok iznad rane svog sina i zamotava je platnom.

„I sok cidi iz kunice trave,

Sok uliva, rane zamotava.“

U narodnim pjesmama ranjenog Muju Hrnjicu liječe vile koje žive u planinama i šumama. Osim na taj način vile u namjeri da pomognu najvećem bosanskom junaku izvode različite čarolije poput one da njegov konj Đogat dobije krila i pobjedi u svakoj utrci.

Vile najčešće obitavaju po planinama i velikim šumama te oko jezera. Najviše vremena provode u letenju sa drveta na drvo, kupanju, češljanju kose i igranju kola. Kosa u kojoj leži sva vilina moć dosta puta se prema narodnim pričama pokazala velikom opasnošću za samu vilu jer se znalo dogoditi da joj se ona zapetlja u neki grm te da ona tako svojom nespretnošću postajala lak plijen za slučajnog prolaznika. Navodno, ko bi god pomogao vili da iščupa kosu iz grma mogao je od vile tražiti da mu pomogne u nečem ili čak postane supruga. Niti jednu želju nije smjela odbiti. Vile, posebno one koje obitavaju po planinama i šumama, su jako zaljubljive naravi. Postoji na desetine priča u kojima se neka vila zaljubila u određenog muškarca te ga kindapovala i sa njim živjela po nekoliko godina u nekoj šumi ili pećini.

Za razliku od njih vodene vile su neprijateljski raspoložene prema ljudima. One obitavaju pored izvora, rijeka, jezera ili mora. Skoro svo vrijeme provode u kupanju i zabavljaju se tako da svojom pjesmom opčine onog koga žele udaviti u vodi. Zbog toga narod je svaki put kada bi se noću približio rijeci ili potoku sa sobom nosio nekoliko žeravica sa ognjišta kako bi se na taj način zaštitio od njih.

U pojedinim narodnim pričama Mujo Hrnjica i Alija Đerzelez su braća mada to u stvarnom životu nisu bili. Pretpostavka je da se ideja za pojmom braće upravo stvorila na informaciji kako je obojicu velikih bosanskih junaka svojim mlijekom nahranila vila pa se zbog toga postala „braća po mlijeku“. Prema bosanskom vjerovanju ukoliko majka izgubi mlijeko pa druga žena podoji njeno dijete ta žena se smatra njegovom drugom majkom ili „majkom po mlijeku“ i tom djetetu i djeci te žene zabranjeno je da između sebe sklope brak.

U narodnoj pjesmi o Muji i Aliji navodi se kako su oni išli u lov te nakon njega sjeli pored jezera da se odmore i na kraju zaspali. Za to vrijeme posmatrale su ih tri bijele vile ljute zbog toga što su ubili nekoliko ptica. Najstarija od njih ponudi drugim dvjema stotinu dukata koja uspije zavaditi Muju i Aliju. Najmlađa vila pojavi se pored zaspalog Muje i zaplače. Njen plač probudi Muju koji pored sebe ugleda predivnu mladu djevojku. On odmah probudi brata Aliju koji umjesto jedne vidi dvije djevojke i ljutito govori kako nije pošteno da on ima tako dvije krasne djevojke a on niti jednu. Tu se posvadiše te Mujo izvuče nož i probode brata. Zatim djevojku vilu postavi na bratova konja a on sjede na svog i krenuše kući. Putem Mujo ugleda crnu vranu bez desnog krila pa je začuđeno upita kako ona živi bez desnog krila na što mu ona odgovori da živi kao brat koji brata nema. Te riječi ražalostiše Muju i on se pokaja što je ranio brata a djevojka vila mu reče da se brzo vrate jer ona je nekada liječila bolesne pa će tako izlječiti i Aliju. No, kada se vratiše brat već bude mrtav te se Mujo od velike tuge sam kazni smrću.

Međutim ni vodene vile nisu nedodirljive te im im njihova vječita potreba za kupanjem može dovesti u opasnu situaciju. Naime, ukoliko ih neki muškarac opazi dok se kupaju može se tiho prišunjati i ukrasti nekoj od njih odjeću. Po vjerovanju vila čiju odjeću muškarac ukrade mora se udati za njega. U etnografskim knjigama ostalo si zabilježeni slučajevi kako su se vile redovito sastajale na Vilenici u selu Seoce pored Visokog. Navodno su pojedini mladići uspjeli ukrasti njihovu odjeću te su se neke vile i udale za njih. Pošto su one besmrtne nakon smrti muža vila bi postajala slobodna i vraćala bi se u prirodu.

Sva vilina moć nalazi se u njenoj kosi koju one njeguju do savršenstva. Dok se češljaju vile pjevaju i tom prilikom izgovaraju zagonetne stihove u kojima se krije puno mudrosti. Kosu koja im otpadne prilikom češljanja obavijaju oko paprati (Pteridophyta). Naročito vole noću obilaziti konje sa bujnom grivom i plesti im sitne pletenice koje teško koji čovjek da može rasplesti. Takvi konji smatrali su se posebnim jer su ih dodirivale vile.

Ukoliko se vile naročito brinu za nekog čovjeka, to znači da ovaj u sebi nosi neku dublju vezu sa njihovim svijetom. Takve će se osobe isticati u životu prosvjetiteljskom mudrošću. Biti miljenik vila, tojest ako je plemenit i dopadne im se, znači imati sposobnost čuti njihovu pjesmu ili čak razaznati njihove zagonentne stihove u glasanju vjetra. Takav čovjek cjenit će istinu jer su mnoge vile čuvari istine i tjeraju laž. Međutim, desi li se susret vile i nekog zlonamjernog čovjeka onda ta osoba riskira da psihički oboli.