Christian tattooing in Bosnia and Herzegovina

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Drawing of a Bosnian tattooed woman from the late 19th century.

Christian tattooing in Bosnia and Herzegovina (called sicanje or bocanje in Croatian)[1] was a widespread custom among Roman Catholics during the Ottoman rule over Bosnia and Herzegovina (1463–1878)[2] and up until the 20th century. Catholics tattooed their children in order to save them from devshirme, while women were tattooed in hopes of avoiding enslavement.[3]

History[]

Tattoos on a Catholic woman from the Lašva Valley in central Bosnia.

The custom is thought to predate the Slavic migration to the Balkans and even Christianity.[4] In the 1st century BC, the Greek historian Strabo wrote of tattooing among inhabitants of this area,[5] along with another Illyrian custom.[6] Vlach females from Greece, Macedonia and Herzegovina also utilized tattoos.[7] Archaeologist Ćiro Truhelka researched these types of tattoos in the late 19th century, becoming one of the first to write about them and to illustrate them.[8][9] In 1894, a Bosnia-based doctor named Leopold Glück published an article in Vienna titled Die Tätowirung der Haut bei den Katholiken Bosniens und der Herzegowina (The Tattooing of Skin Among the Catholics of Bosnia and Herzegovina) detailing the tattoos observed among the locals.[10]

Bosnian Croat women in some parts of the country tattooed their hands and other visible parts of the body (such as brow, cheeks, wrist, or below the neck) with Christian symbols and stećak ornaments. This can be seen today, not only in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but among Bosnian women living abroad.[11][12] It was done in order to prevent kidnapping of young Christians by the Ottoman Turks and converting them to Islam.[13] Children (generally girls) were tattooed from as early as the age of six, usually during the period between the feast of Saint Joseph in March to the feast of Saint John the Baptist in June.[3]

Designs[]

The most common symbols tattooed were the cross (križ), bracelet (narukvica), fence (ograda), and branches or twigs (grančica).[14] The cross had numerous variations, with one of the most common ones included small branch-like lines called "grančica" or "jelica" (pine tree). Bracelet-like designs were sometimes tattooed around the women's wrists, either with crosses or a fence-like motif. There were many non-Christian, or pagan symbols used, the most common consisting of circles believed to be connected to the traditional circle ("kolo") dances of the villages.[13] The pagan and Christian symbols were mixed together indiscriminately, with the first originating from nature and family in Illyrian times, and the other with later adapted Christian meaning.[13][14] The most common areas to tattoo were the arms and hands (including fingers), and on the chest and forehead.[15]

Traditional tattooing

Modern[]

The custom of tattooing young girls died out after World War II with the establishment of the new Yugoslav regime, and tattoos done by the traditional method are now only seen on old women.[16][17] Today, there is a growing trend of modern tattoo artists utilising the traditional designs with contemporary tattooing methods in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.[18][19]

In media[]

In 2013, a documentary titled Sicanje, bocanje, tetoviranje aired on Croatian television channel HRT 3.[17][20] In 2011, Vice published an article titled The Croatian Tattooed Grandma Cult about the phenomena.[21] Furthermore, Vice Serbia released a story and short film titled Tetovirane bake (Tattooed Grandmas), where they interview various Bosnian Croat women about their tattoos.[22]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jukić, Monika. "Tradicionalno tetoviranje Hrvata u Bosni i Hercegovini - bocanje kao način zaštite od Osmanlija".
  2. ^ The Early Age of Greece; Cambridge University Press, p493-496
  3. ^ a b Medić Bošnjak, Marija. "Stari običaj 'križićanje' ili "sicanje" izumire". Večernji list.
  4. ^ ��нтанасьевич, Ирина. "Татуировки балканских женщин: украшение, исповедание или оберег?".
  5. ^ Ćiro Truhelka:Die Tätowirung bei den Katholiken Bosniens und der Hercegovina (published in Wissenschaftliche Mittheilungen Aus Bosnien und der Hercegovina, herausgegeben vom Bosnisch-Hercegovinischen Landesmuseum in Sarajevo, redigiert von Dr. Moriz Hoernes, Vierter Band, Wien 1896)
  6. ^ Albania and the Albanians: selected articles and letters 1903-1944, by M. Edith Durham, Harry Hodgkinson, Bejtullah D. Destani
  7. ^ "Oldest Tattoo Shop in Greece by Lars Krutak". The Vanishing Tattoo. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  8. ^ Truhelka, Ciro. Wissenschaftliche Mittheilungen Aus Bosnien und der Hercegovina: "Die Tätowirung bei den Katholiken Bosniens und der Hercegovina." Sarajevo; Bosnian National Museum, 1896.
  9. ^ Lipa, Aida (26 May 2006). "THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN PERIOD IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINACultural Politics in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Creation of the Western Type of Art" (PDF). Kakanien Revisited. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  10. ^ Glück, Leopold (1894). "Die Tätowirung der Haut bei den Katholiken Bosniens und der Hereegovina" (PDF). Wissenschaftliche Mitteilungen aus Bosnien und der Herzegowina. II: 455–462.
  11. ^ "Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina". CROATIA - overview of. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  12. ^ Herzl Gaster, Theodor (1 January 1955). Customs and folkways of Jewish life. W. Sloane Associates. p. 256.
  13. ^ a b c Ralica, Iva. "Traditional Croatian Tattoos". Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  14. ^ a b Rodríguez Rodríguez, Laura. "A tatuaxe sicanje: Resistencia católica ou paganismo herdado?".
  15. ^ Balija, Petra. "Katolkinje su se tetovirale da ih Turci ne bi silovali".
  16. ^ "Sa staricama odlazi i tradicija tetoviranja krsta u BiH". N1 Info. 30 December 2016.
  17. ^ a b Duilo, Dražen. "Sicanje, bocanje: što se skriva iza tetovaža na rukama baka diljem Bosne i Hercegovine".
  18. ^ "Traditional Croatian Tattoos: Meet the tattoo artist keeping tradition alive". Croatia Week. 3 March 2021.
  19. ^ Ratković, Vanja. "Tetovaže kojima su naše bake čuvali od Osmanlija". Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  20. ^ "Sicanje, bocanje, tetoviranje (2013)".
  21. ^ Hoban, Alex. "The Croatian Tattooed Grandma Cult". Vice. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  22. ^ Petrovic, Katarina. "Tetovirane bake".

External links[]

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