Illyrian heritage in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The mystical world of Bosnian people has in itself, besides its uniqueness, a rich religious-magical concept infused with shamanism. When we analyse the majority of registered beliefs we come to a unique entity which reveals a fascinating fact of how much the Bosnian people were linked with nature and its forces throughout their long history. Since the ancient times Bosniaks believed that each man had his own star in the sky, headquarters of the soul, and on Earth a snake, guardian of the house and family, his/her tree and stream and in the underworld a zviždenjak. Some anthropologists tried to classify all of the above mentioned elements into a thesis about human doppelgangers (astral, vegetable and animal), regardless of the fact that their lives and existence are completely independent from that of the human and they have no connection to him except in certain situations, i.e. the ones that deal with death. For that fact this presumption is completely irrelevant and unfounded. However, in the mystical connection of mankind and nature we notice a dominant influence of fatalism, which is common to all Mediterranean people and cultures, in combination with the Illyrian cult of the snake.

Traditional legends about the close connection of certain reptiles with humans can be separated into 4 chapters after an analysis of Bosnian mythology:

-about the snake, guardian of the house and family,

-snake which can enter a human and live inside its body for certain amount of time,

-about sexual contacts between dragons and women and the birth of snijet, baby dragon,

-and about zviždenjak and its devouring of a human corpse.

All of the above mentioned chapters are actually segments of a single cult of snake, a totem animal of our ancestors. Besides serving as a totem symbol the snake represented to the Illyrians the highest deity whose spirit permeates the entire nature and universe which is especially well reflected in the belief that a large snake stretches around the entire globe, creating a ring with its body. According to ancient belief the snake was created 40 years prior to any other animal and human which is the reason that her role is especially prominent in the cult of the Grand Mother. Namely, a snake, or in its celestial form a dragon, is a classic symbol of fertility. In Bosnian tradition the connection of a snake with a dragon can be connected to the personified idea of vegetative cycles analogous to the ones from Greco-Roman mythology. A dragon actually makes a circular journey, he exits earth from water, flies through to another location where he enters a pit, a hole and reappears after a certain period

Cult of zviždenjak

Animism, which is inseparable from shamanism is evident in many segments of Bosnian folk religion in whose auspice the longest living cults, which got their religious sense from the Illyrians, embedded their beliefs into the collective consciousness of Bosniaks. The cult of zviždenjak (Salamandra salamandra) among the Bosnian people is closely linked to the cult of the snake and the belief in dragons. The name zviždenjak was given to this lizard since people believed that his scream or whistle could instantly make you deaf. He is also called družđ or diževnjak.

Based on the ancient Bosnian belief we can conclude that in fact zviždenjak is a miniature form of a dragon on earth. Its yellow colour with black spots faithfully depicts Illyrian legend about the god of evil, a large black dragon, who managed to swallow two suns in the sky while the third sun was saved by a swallow. People still today believe that the yellow colour between the black spots represents traces of the two suns that he swallowed. The concept of swallowing in this legend is analogous to the devouring of a dead human body by a zviždenjak and this imposes a conclusion that a dragon feeds of life energy which he gives back to nature in its vegetative or even reincarnating cycle, all the while waking new life in nature itself.

Although in its miniature form zviždenjak has the power to hurt any human that tries to hurt him. Namely, still today it is believed that if someone disturbs or steps on a zviždenjak he can become deaf from zviždenjak scream. It is also connected to rain among the folk since according to folk belief it appears before rain or immediately after it.

Besides obvious fear of seeing a zviždenjak and the belief that this reptile is the messenger of rain, there is no classic divination among the folk about a chance meeting with this animal according to which someone's fortune or misfortune is predicted, as is the case with the fox, rabbit, wolf and the like. Analogous with the snake, the beliefs about zviždenjak are also contradictory; in some, respect is shown to it and in others it is suggested that one should throw a curse on it: "God willing, if you are mine, you should die before me!" or to even undertake more rigorous measures i.e. to kill it. In Kakanj it is believed that it is best to kill zviždenjak 40 days prior to one's own death?! The reason for such behaviour according to belief stemming from Glamoč, Livno, Kupres and Mrkonjić Grad, is that a zviždenjak enters a dead man's body through his mouth and spoils his physical purity, and it is a good deed to kill it. Killing a zviždenjak is in opposition with the attempts of certain anthropologists and ethnologists to proclaim a zviždenjak as man's animal doppelganger, since if that was the case, killing this animal would be forbidden and would represent a great sin.

According to a belief among the Bosnian people each man has his own zviždenjak, although it remains an unknown if one gets him during birth or it appears during one's lifetime. When a man dies, the third day after the funeral, zviždenjak visits that man inside the grave. If the man was sinful during his lifetime, zviždenjak will start devouring him from his nose, but if the man was noble then it will only lay beside that person. That's why one shouldn't kill zviždenjak, if one sees him on a road it is advisable to take it with your hand and place it across the road or onto a meadow. This act of kindness can be connected with a human's attempt to propitiate his afterlife companion so that he will spare him.

In another belief it is mentioned that after a man's death a zviždenjak will visit his sahibija (master) in the grave to welcome him and he will start devouring the cadaver from his big toe. It is interesting to mention that among the Bosnian people it is believed that after a man dies and is buried, at one moment the soul returns into his dead body, entering through the toes, which results in resuscitation of the body but also shock and fear which cause a man to try and get up, he then hits his head on the wooden beams above his head and dies again. That's why we can presume that a zviždenjak starts devouring the body from the toes in order to stop him from reviving; or this act can have a mythological depiction as "life devouring" or taking away life energy from someone.

Besides eating humans from the toes, people in certain parts of Bosnia believe that a zviždenjak eats a man's nose or eyes as soon as he enters a grave. Since eyes are, according to belief, god's gift to humans and are as such holly, which also supports another belief which claims that there is no greater sin then a man swearing by his eyes, we can conclude then that a zviždenjak always goes after tabooed parts of the body. According to folk belief god had the most trouble with creating a nose, and that's why making fun of someone's nose is considered to be a great sin. Analysing the above we come to a conclusion that a zviždnejak's task is to devour a man's toes in the grave (in order to stop him from reviving), or nose and then drinks his eyes i.e. to take away his heavenly gift after which the body will be completely lifeless and without any divine sanctity. By that the human body becomes a clod of earth, from which it was created.

In the myth about the black dragon and his devouring of the sun or moon, we notice the hunger of this being for all that which sparks and has a divine characteristic. The attack of darkness and evil on light and good is an anthological tradition about two universal principles through whose interaction, creation, destruction, life and death are possible. As zviždenjak represents a miniature dragon his devouring of evil people inside a grave can be seen as an act of feeding a dragon who needs strength from evil. This is clearly visible in those parts of belief which accentuates that zviženjak starts devouring the body at the beginning or end of the body, i.e. at the places considered holly. Besides zviždenjak in the Bosnian tradition it is believed that a snake visits a dead person inside a grave and devours him and in such a way he becomes a part of it. This fits perfectly into the Illyrian myth about the great grandfather of the Illyrians which turns into a snake after he dies. 

Kult zviždenjaka

Mistični svijet Bošnjaka krije u sebi, osim svoje jedinstvenosti, i bogat religijsko-magijski koncept prožet šamanizmom. Kada analiziramo mnoštvo registrovanih vjerovanja dolazimo do jedinstvene cjeline koja nam otkriva fascinantan podatak koliko je bosanski narod u svojoj dugoj povijesti bio povezan sa prirodom i njenim silama. Bošnjaci su još od antičkih vremena vjerovali kako svaki čovjek ima svoju zvijezdu na nebu, sjedište duše, a na zemlji  zmiju čuvara kuće i familije, svoje stablo i izvor te u podzemnom svijetu zviždenjaka. Pojedini antropolozi pokušali su sve navedene elemente svrstati u tezu o čovjekovim dvojnicima (astralnim, vegetabilnim i animalnim), bez obzira što su njihovi životi i postojanje sasvim nezavisni od čovjekovog života i nemaju sa njim nikakve dodirne veze osim u pojedinim situacijama, tojest onim koji se tiču smrti. Upravo zbog toga ova pretpostavka je sasvim pogrešna i neutemeljena. Međutim, u mističnoj povezanosti čovjeka i prirode uočavamo dominantan uticaj fatalizma, koji je zajednički svim mediteranskim narodima i kulturama, u kombinaciji sa ilirskim  kultom zmije.

 

Tradicionalna predanja o bliskoj vezi pojedinih reptila sa ljudima mogu  se analizom bosanske mitologije podijeliti u četiri poglavlja:

-o zmiji čuvaru kuće i familije,

-zmiji koja može ući u čovjeka i u njegovom tijelu živjeti određeno vrijeme,

-o seksualnim kontaktima između zmajeva i žena te rađanje snijeti, mladunčeta zmaja,

- i o zviždenjaku i njegovom jedenju mrtvog čovjeka.

Sva navedena poglavlja zapravo su segmenti jedinstvenog kulta zmije, životinje-totema naših predaka. Osim kao totemski simbol zmija je Ilirima predstavljala najveće božanstvo čiji duh prožima cjelokupnu prirodu i svemir što se posebno dobro reflektira u vjerovanju kako se oko cijele planete Zemlje proteže ogromna zmija koja na taj način tvori prsten. Zmija je prema drevnom vjerovanju stvorena 40 godina prije bilo koje druge životinje i čovjeka zbog čega je posebno naglašena njena uloga u kultu Velike Majke. Naime, zmija, ili u svom nebeskom obliku zmaj, klasični je simbol plodnosti. U bosanskoj tradiciji povezivanje zmije i zmaja može se vezati sa personificiranim predstavama vegetacijskog ciklusa analogno onom iz grčko-rimske mitologije. Zmaj u stvari pravi kružno putovanje, iz zemlje izlazi kroz vodu, prolazi ili leti do drugog lokaliteta gdje ulazi u jamu, rupu, nestaje u zemlji i opet se nakon nekog razdoblja pojavljuje.

 

Animizam, koji je neodvojiv od šamanizma, uočljiv je u mnogim segmentima bosanske narodne religije, u čijem su okrilju nastali najdugovječniji kultovi kojima su Iliri dali religijski smisao i na taj način ugradili ih u kolektivnu svijest Bošnjaka. Kult zviždenjaka (Salamandra salamandra) u bosanskom narodu usko je vezan za kult zmije i vjerovanje u zmaja. Naziv zviždenjak ovaj gušter je dobio zbog vjerovanja kako od njegovog zvižduka ili vriska čovjek može istog trena ostati gluh. Naziva se još i družđ ili diževnjak.
Na osnovu drevnog bosanskog vjerovanja može se konstatirati kako je upravo zviždenjak minijaturni oblik zmaja na zemlji. Njegova žuta boja sa crnim tačkama vjerno odslikava ilirsku legendu o bogu zla, velikom crnom zmaju, koji je uspio progutati dva sunca na nebu dok je treće spasila lastavica. Narod i danas vjeruje kako je upravo ta žuta boja između crne na njegovom tijelu tragovi dva sunca koje je progutao. Iako u svom minijaturnom obliku zviždenjak ima moć da našteti svakom čovjeku koji mu pokuša nauditi. Naime, i danas se vjeruje da ukoliko neko uznemirava ili stane na zviždenjaka može ostati gluh od njegovog vriska. Zviždenjak se u narodu povezuje sa kišom jer prema vjerovanju on se pojavljuje pred kišu ili nakon nje.
Osim očitog straha od susreta sa zviždenjakom i vjerovanja da je ovaj reptil glasnik kiše u narodu ne postoje ona klasična proricanja o slučajnom susretu sa životinjama po kojima se nekom čovjeku predviđa sreća ili nesreća, kao u slučaju susreta sa lisicom, zecom, vukom i slično. Analogno sa zmijom i vjerovanja vezana uz zviždenjaka su kontradiktorna; u nekim se iskazuje poštovanje prema njemu dok se  u drugim sugerira da se na njega baci kletva „Da Bog da, ako si moj, da umreš prije mene!“ ili čak da se poduzmu rigoroznije mjere tojest da se on ubije. Ubijanje zviždenjaka u velikoj je opoziciji sa pokušajem pojedinih antropologa i etnologa da zviždenjaka proglase čovjekovim animalnim dvojnikom, jer da je tako ubijanje te životinje bi bilo zabranjeno i označeno velikim grijehom.

Prema vjerovanju bosanskog naroda svaki čovjek ima svog zviždenjaka, mada ostaje nepoznanica da li ga on dobije svojim rođenjem ili se u njegovom životu pojavi u određenoj dobi?! Kad čovjek umre, treći dan nakon dženaze, zviždenjak mu dolazi u kabur. Ukoliko je čovjek za života bio griješan, zviždenjak ga počne jesti od nosa, a ako je čovjek bio plemenit, onda on samo leži pored njega u grobu. Zbog toga se zviždenjak ne smije ubiti; ako se vidi negdje na putu džaiz je uzeti ga u ruku pa prenijeti preko puta i ostaviti uz avliju ili na livadi. Ovakav čin pažnje može se dovesti u vezu sa pokušajem čovjeka da umilostivi svog zagrobnog pratioca da ga poštedi jedenja.
U drugom vjerovanju navodi se kako nakon čovjekove smrti zviždenjak dolazi u kabur svom sahibiji (vlasniku) da mu poželi dobrodošlicu te  ga počne jesti od velikog nožnog prsta. Zanimljivo je napomenuti kako se u bosanskom narodu vjeruje da nakon što čovjek umre i sahrane ga, u jednom trenutku u njegovo mrtvo tijelo vrati se duša, ulazeći kroz nožne prste, što rezultira oživljavanjem tijela ali i pojavom histerije zbog čega uskrsli čovjek pokuša ustati te tako udari glavom u daske iznad njega i opet umre. Zbog toga se može pretpostaviti kako zviždenjak prvo počne jesti nožne prste mrtvacu kako bi onemogućio njegovo ponovno oživljavanje ili se takav čin može mitološki prezentirati  kao „jedenje života“  ili oduzimanje životne energije.
Osim što počne jesti čovjeka od nožnih prstiju narod u pojedinim dijelovima BiH vjeruje da zviždenjak čim uđe u grob čovjeku prvo pojede oči ili nos. Kako su oči božanski dar ljudima i samim time nešto sveto, što potvrđuje vjerovanje koje tvrdi kako nema većeg grijeha od onog kada se čovjek zakune u svoje oči, može se zaključiti da zviždenjak uvijek ciljano napadne tabuirane dijelove ljudskog tijela. Isto tako, narod vjeruje kako je Bog najteže na čovjeku stvorio nos pa se zbog toga izrugivanje veličini ili obliku nečijeg nosa smatra velikim grijehom.

Analizom svega napisanog dolazimo do zaključka kako je zadatak zviždenjaka da čovjeku u grobu pojede nožne prste, kako bi spriječio da on oživi, ili nos te popije oči tojest da mu na taj način oduzme božanski dar nakon čega tijelo ostaje potpuno beživotno i lišeno svega onoga što ga može razlikovati od zemlje, od koje je prema mitološkom predanju potekao.