Usage of exorcist formulas (Greek exorkiza
- beseech, exorkismos -
incantation), in folk rituals of healing it is very old has its source in
paganism. Namely, in ancient times it was firmly believed that diseases of the
body are caused by evil demons with their activity, through spellbound eyes,
aggression or entering the human body, therefore the idea that magical formulas
can force a demon to leave the human body and return physical and mental
balance to a person, was created. In the beginning only shamans and wizards
practiced these rituals, and later the practice was taken over by priests and
certain persons from the people, which claimed that they were contacted by
higher forces with a certain task.
For a large part of magical formulas, especially exorcist ones, it is
suggested that they be repeated nine times, especially if one is looking for a
stronger effort in dissolving the disease. In folk medicine of BiH there are a
lot of such examples, like the one that a person can have the ritual of lead
melting repeated nine times, where during every individual ritual the lead will
be molten and poured into the water nine times. Of course, every time a magical
formula for chasing away evil will be repeated. Nine is the final number, after
that the diseased will be either cured or the disease will be considered to be
chronic. It is interesting to mention that number nine often appears as a
symbol of the demon of disease, which is demonstrated through various examples
of belief that there are nine types of stomach illnesses ("from nine hands"),
nine spells and diseases, nine son's of the demon mother Sijerma, nine
winds, etc. In accordance with this it is necessary to perform a detailed study
of the symbology of the number nine, in order to understand its meaning and
role in magical rituals of healing.
In mythological tradition on life, i.e. tree of life, nine demons keep
assaulting it; they're sometimes leaders of large armies of evil beings. As
nine is the number of the Grand Mother, giver of life, it is very evident that
these demons represent a type of a divine opposition which has the function of
endangering order of life at all times. What is interesting is that these
demons are always female and as such can represent an alter ego of the Grand
Mother herself. In modern psychoanalysis demons which attack pregnant women and
their children could be placed under the concept of postnatal depression or,
better to say, psychosis. Let's not forget to point out that among the Bosnian
folk there is a belief that there are "nine types of mothers" but
only one of them is good - the one that is taking care of her child.
All those traditional prophylactic beliefs and rituals about pregnant
women and her newborn among the Bosnian folk are an inheritance of ancient
pagan beliefs based on an epic conflict of dark and light forces. From the
ancient Babylonian myths, Mesopotamia or Egypt the story of the creation of the
world was always mentioned, when from the allegorical conflict of Good and Evil
and ensuing chaos, law and order are created, and with that the necessary
conditions appear for life on earth. Evil was always presented in the form of a
woman or a hermaphrodite and that mythological idea will dominate all stages of
human history and it will receive its culmination with the advent of
monotheism, which will spark unheard of killing of women under the ludicrous
accusation that they are - witches.
But, through observation of the role of female demons in folklore and
mythological beliefs we can see that such a socially acceptable concept of
their role is the result of a certain historical aversion. It is, primarily,
based on an unchangeable attitude that a woman is the master of life, which in
a patriarchal society directly endangers the superiority of men, and that the
decision of child birth will depend on her decision and behaviour. That's why
monotheism wants to gain complete control over the woman and her body, in order
to ensure its survival, and women are traditionally encouraged to give birth,
and they are constantly suggested that they are created to serve men. That
forced submission of the woman towards man is actually the result of fear and
feeling of inferiority which men have towards women because of their natural
ability for creation and control of life, which men don't have.
In a worse position were women which didn't give birth, they were
usually considered to be evil beings or witches. Namely, one can notice hatred
of the community towards women which were infertile or old, which didn't have
reproductive powers, and as such they were, allegedly, filled with hatred
towards children[1], which is best illustrated
by numerous stories where the evil witch eats children. Bosnian traditions were
no exception in which witches[2]
were portrayed in a similar fashion.
In Bosnian mythology witches have eight forms; as Otrovnica she poisons people's blood, in the form of Krvopilica
she would rink people's blood at night, Strava causes cramps in
children, Kuga - spreads, while clad in white, the disease
pestilence from one place to the other, Činilica - causes mental
diseases, when she is in the form of More she attacks people at night,
sitting on their chest, stopping their breathing, when a diseased gets a high
fever and starts hallucinating, then he was probably attacked by Tvora,
and if he is unlucky in love and is always fighting with others, he became the
victim of Mraza.
[1]
Although Kron was represented in Greek
mythology as the father who eats his own children, it never had any serious
influence in creating a mythological representation about an evil male demon
which kills children, such case would always be considered to be an isolated
case, and often, was brought into connection with the animalistic disposition
in humans, comparing such act with the killing of the cubs by some male
animals.
[2] In mythological stories two female demons are
mentioned, Sijerma and Resma, for which legends claim that
they are "king's wives and the biggest witches", which have certain
similarities with Umm al Sibyan
and El Hamma, female
Jinn from Islamic mythology, which are also considered princesses of the Jinn
world but witches as well. Their role is to attack pregnant women and small
children, especially boys. It is believed that Sijermi is actually the daughter of the Bosnian king Herceg
Stjepan, a Bogomil, which was a witch and which knew lycanthropy, which she
used to slaughter sheep to local inhabitants in the form of a wolf.
"When Pope Pius II took the seat of St. Peter in the Vatican, he to
tried to uproot the Bogomil, to destroy their sanctuary, which they found in
the land of king Herceg Stjepan. In 1460 he sent his cardinal legate to Herceg
Stjepan, to forbid him from receiving the followers of the heretic Bogomil
church in his land, but he didn't succeed with his plan. Political events in
Bosnia and Herzegovina diverted attention from religious questions because of
the increasing danger which threatened Christianity in the form of the
Ottomans, and Herceg Stjepan die as a Bogomil" (Epigraphic hyphens from
Bosnia and Herzegovina, GZM, nr. 1889/01, pp. 65, 01/01/1889)
