History of polygamy is a long one in Bosnia and it was recorded among our forefathers the Illyrians which is written in the work by Salmedin Mesihović "Ilirike":
For men from getskih and tračkih peoples, Strabon mentions that they had more than a few wives. (Strab Geo. VIII. 3,4-5, Steph) The presence of polygamy was confirmed in the ruling house of king Agron, which alongside his wife Teuta, which was his first and most influential wife, also had another wife called Triteuta, mother of Pines. It is possible that Agron took Triteuta for his wife, since he did not have any male offspring with Teuta. It is interesting to note that Teuta, and not the biological mother Triteuta or Skerdilaida, was the one who was the custodian of the successor to the Illyrian throne after Agron's death. With this we not only see that polygamy was not rare among the Illyrian people, but in fact that it was pronounced, probably more among the clan-based aristocrats, leaders of the brotherhood and royal family.
Though in the magazine Behar, 2001 issue, it is mentioned that "having multiple wives" was accepted in the strict part of the Bosnian krajina (border), from Cazin - Pecigrad - Velika Kladusa, however this does not reflect the real situation in the field since such phenomenon was documented in areas such as Jajce but also other parts of BiH, not only among the Bosniaks but also Bosnian orthodox and to a lesser extent Catholic.
In the ethnological work GZM called "traditions of private and family life", subheading "traditions tied to birth", the following is mentioned: "We're mentioning one example in an Orthodox family in the village Lubovo (Jajce). D.S. lived with a woman 30 years of age. He didn't have children with her. A few years ago he arranged with his wife to bring and marry another woman, a widow, from the same village. The village didn't object to this proposal. But, due to disagreements between these two women, the husband divorced the first woman and married the second."
But, it would be wrong to conclude that man married other women because their wives were infertile, polygamy evidently had connections with improper social norms i.e. a certain man was shown as being rich, capable of supporting two wives, but what is most important - it glorified his libido and ego. However, such marriages often failed and ended in extremely disturbed family relations and brought one wife in unfavourable position and often her children. One of such examples was mentioned in the Yearbook of the faculty of law in Sarajevo (1955) where a statement of a banished wife from Velika Kladuša is cited: "I lived with his second wife for 6 years, and two years ago she threw me out of the house and now I'm living with his aunt. I lived with him for 15 years. We have 3 children. I don't want to part from him nor my children, since with him I earned all my assets.(2)"
Though polygamy is an old marital tradition spread throughout many parts of the world it is interesting that in the past it often originated during difficult living conditions, or as a consequence of war, when a man had to take care of a few women and children that came about from such relationships. Deficit of male population in a certain area or region was a key issue in the area of northwest Bosnia, where the border between Islam and Christianity lasted the longest. With the death of a large number of adult males there was unquestionably a decline of population and polygamy should be analysed using this data as a social phenomenon which is not close to the wider European tradition. Due to tragic historical events, after the fall of Ottoman empire, especially WWI and WWII the need for polygamy was continued and its advent was recorded up until the middle of the twentieth century.
For men from getskih and tračkih peoples, Strabon mentions that they had more than a few wives. (Strab Geo. VIII. 3,4-5, Steph) The presence of polygamy was confirmed in the ruling house of king Agron, which alongside his wife Teuta, which was his first and most influential wife, also had another wife called Triteuta, mother of Pines. It is possible that Agron took Triteuta for his wife, since he did not have any male offspring with Teuta. It is interesting to note that Teuta, and not the biological mother Triteuta or Skerdilaida, was the one who was the custodian of the successor to the Illyrian throne after Agron's death. With this we not only see that polygamy was not rare among the Illyrian people, but in fact that it was pronounced, probably more among the clan-based aristocrats, leaders of the brotherhood and royal family.
Though in the magazine Behar, 2001 issue, it is mentioned that "having multiple wives" was accepted in the strict part of the Bosnian krajina (border), from Cazin - Pecigrad - Velika Kladusa, however this does not reflect the real situation in the field since such phenomenon was documented in areas such as Jajce but also other parts of BiH, not only among the Bosniaks but also Bosnian orthodox and to a lesser extent Catholic.
In the ethnological work GZM called "traditions of private and family life", subheading "traditions tied to birth", the following is mentioned: "We're mentioning one example in an Orthodox family in the village Lubovo (Jajce). D.S. lived with a woman 30 years of age. He didn't have children with her. A few years ago he arranged with his wife to bring and marry another woman, a widow, from the same village. The village didn't object to this proposal. But, due to disagreements between these two women, the husband divorced the first woman and married the second."
But, it would be wrong to conclude that man married other women because their wives were infertile, polygamy evidently had connections with improper social norms i.e. a certain man was shown as being rich, capable of supporting two wives, but what is most important - it glorified his libido and ego. However, such marriages often failed and ended in extremely disturbed family relations and brought one wife in unfavourable position and often her children. One of such examples was mentioned in the Yearbook of the faculty of law in Sarajevo (1955) where a statement of a banished wife from Velika Kladuša is cited: "I lived with his second wife for 6 years, and two years ago she threw me out of the house and now I'm living with his aunt. I lived with him for 15 years. We have 3 children. I don't want to part from him nor my children, since with him I earned all my assets.(2)"
Though polygamy is an old marital tradition spread throughout many parts of the world it is interesting that in the past it often originated during difficult living conditions, or as a consequence of war, when a man had to take care of a few women and children that came about from such relationships. Deficit of male population in a certain area or region was a key issue in the area of northwest Bosnia, where the border between Islam and Christianity lasted the longest. With the death of a large number of adult males there was unquestionably a decline of population and polygamy should be analysed using this data as a social phenomenon which is not close to the wider European tradition. Due to tragic historical events, after the fall of Ottoman empire, especially WWI and WWII the need for polygamy was continued and its advent was recorded up until the middle of the twentieth century.
