Croat tattooing in Bosnia and Herzegovina

[Rastko]

Christian tattooing in Bosnia and Herzegovina was a widespread custom among Roman Catholics during the Turkish rule over Bosnia and Herzegovina (1463–1878) and up until the 20th century.

Croats would tattoo their children in order to save them from Turks who kidnapped them in Ottoman Bosnia, while Croatian women were tattooed in hopes of protecting themselves from being taken away by Turkish men into captivity. Tattooing became widespread after the Ottomans would take children into captivity and send them to Turkey where they were trained to be soldiers or servants.
Even today Croatian women in some parts of Bosnia (and Herzegovina) tattoo their hands with Christian symbols and stećak ornaments. This very old custom, used exclusively among Catholic Christians, had a special meaning in the period of the Ottoman occupation. This type of custom has been common throughout history: one example is the Greek historian Strabo (1st century BC) who mentions tattooing among inhabitants of this area, along with another that it is an old Illyrian custom. Archaeologist Ćiro Truhelka researched these types of tattoos in the late 19th century, becoming one of the first to write about and to illustrate them on paper.
Bosnian Catholic Croats tattoo their hands and other visible parts of body with Christian symbols (usually with a small cross), like brow, cheeks, wrist, or below neck. This can be seen even today, not only in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but among Bosnian Croat women living abroad.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/BiH_-_UH_N_1991.gif/642px-BiH_-_UH_N_1991.gif

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6f/BH_Croats%2C_Tattoo.jpg/434px-BH_Croats%2C_Tattoo.jpg

http://cdn2.vtourist.com/6/4652036-Tetoviranje_Hrvata_u_BiH_Bosnian_Croatian_Tattoo_K upres.jpg

http://cdn1.vtourist.com/6/4652037-Croatian_Tattoo_bosanske_tradicionalne_tetovae_Kup res.jpg

There are cases of tattooing on chests or even foreheads.
Tattooing was conducted at 12 to 16 years of age and usually it was done by an elderly experienced woman.
Grime and coal dust, honey or the bark of a tree (ash, cornel - wood) was usually used for the colour.
It was usually conducted in the spring time and during religious holidays.

[Rastko]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/562551_10151537437162488_11179869_n.jpg

:)

[Duke]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/p480x480/523477_588720644473270_2018471679_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/21222_592467437431924_1200213968_n.jpg

[Rastko]

http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/7091/mornarica5.jpg

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/3843/mornarica6.jpg

http://www.bosnafolk.com/mozaik/slike/images/20100823181705_b114.jpg

http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/2453050/img/Anonymous/tattoo2.jpg

http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/agJstGVP0zk/mqdefault.jpg

http://forum.net.hr/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Discussions.Components.Files/19/6283.8400_5F00_CroatTattoos_5F00_jpg_2D00_550x0.jp g

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRh1I8xJHHA4r9oPP_cJIMsQZMQ1L6_1 mjIygGIK4QgRoL0n9a-

[Sisak]

And it is characteristic of all Bosnian Croats? I have heard already about tatooing. I know a Croat whose grandmother had tattoos, but his great-grandparents were German, all of Bosnia. Now he identifies as a Croat and live in Croatia.

[Duke]

And it is characteristic of all Bosnian Croats? I have heard already about tatooing. I know a Croat whose grandmother had tattoos, but his great-grandparents were German, all of Bosnia. Now he identifies as a Croat and live in Croatia.

yes, reason they tatooed themselves is to avoid assimilation, because in Kuran tatooing is prohibited, so from young age they tattooed crosses and onther paterns all over the body.

My grand-grandmother from mothers side had these tattooes

[Rastko]

And it is characteristic of all Bosnian Croats? I have heard already about tatooing. I know a Croat whose grandmother had tattoos, but his great-grandparents were German, all of Bosnia. Now he identifies as a Croat and live in Croatia.

The core is in Rama and Kraljeva Sutjeska AFAIK.

Here you have a great link with some more photos and informations:
http://tetoviranicovjek.bloger.index.hr/post/hrvatska-udruga-ljubitelja-tetovaze-i-piercinga--tradicionalno-tetoviranje-hrvata/13876843.aspx

[sido]

yes, reason they tatooed themselves is to avoid assimilation, because in Kuran tatooing is prohibited, so from young age they tattooed crosses and onther paterns all over the body.

My grand-grandmother from mothers side had these tattooes

Yes mine too(from Hercegovina),she still married my muslim great grandpa btw lol

i guess it developed because of that but later on it just became a tradition

[Duke]

Yes mine too(from Hercegovina),she still married my muslim great grandpa btw lol

i guess it developed because of that but later on it just became a tradition

sometimes you cant cure love :D

[Duke]

I think my grandmother has it also, but only few small ones... hmmm

[Rastko]

Traditional name for tattooing is ''sicanje'' or ''bocanje''.

Here is the documentary:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prRHlCQjsC8


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S0gta7sLYQ


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCq3Zy-Lzwk

[Rastko]

I've asked my fiancee about it but she can't remember any of her female ancestors tattoing.She's from western Herzegovina.

My female ancestors from southern Herzegovina also didn't have tatoos,as far as I know.

It's more of a Bosnian Croat thing,than Herzegovian.

Duke,where from is your grandma?

[Hurrem sultana]

Ovo treba na pdf Bosna

[Hurrem sultana]

Anyway,i watch this program and apparently it is pre christian(according to the franciscan)

[Rastko]

Ovo treba na pdf Bosna

Nema nike potrebe.

[Hurrem sultana]

Nema nike potrebe.

Pa radi se o Bosni

[Arbërori]

Very interesting, we had a simmilar practice, but it's mostly abandoned.

I believe it's pre-Christian, but later on has adopted Christian values ofcourse. Beautiful!

[Alenka]

Are the motives all Christian? Because I think some seem to be pagan elements, like kolovrat and sonce.

[Hurrem sultana]

Very interesting, we had a simmilar practice, but it's mostly abandoned.

I believe it's pre-Christian, but later on has adopted Christian values ofcourse. Beautiful!

Most people have similar stuff,its not that special really.Its pagan

[Rastko]

Are the motives all Christian? Because I think some seem to be pagan elements, like kolovrat and sonce.

People in the Balkans do tattoos for millennia. Tattoo needles that are found in this region date back to Illyrian times and even the Celts buriedv them in their graves, as evidenced by the recent discovery of tattoo needles in Croatia. But the greatest need for tattooing is caused when the Ottomans occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina 1463. Since then, over the next 400 years, until the 1878 Croatians were mass tattooing themselves to save their children from abduction, Janissaries and horny begs.

[Cokolino]

Sto se tice narodnih obicaja, moze se mnogo naci na ovoj stranici;

http://narodni.net/

Obuhvaca cijeli region i vrlo je kvalitetna stranica. Pa koga interesuje, neka proviri :)

[Permafrost]

A very fascinating, if not downright primitive tradition. Never would've imagined something like that to live on in Europe.

[Hurrem sultana]

Sto se tice narodnih obicaja, moze se mnogo naci na ovoj stranici;

http://narodni.net/

Obuhvaca cijeli region i vrlo je kvalitetna stranica. Pa koga interesuje, neka proviri :)

nema nista nase lol :P

[Cokolino]

^^
Ima Luna, poslao sam ti :D A nase je njihovo, njihovo je nase, znas kako se to u Bosni zna pomjesati :)
Nego, naisao sam na ovo; http://narodni.net/tradicionalne-zagonetke-ili-mozgalice-sacuvajmo-ih-od-zaborava/
Bas volim mozgalice :D

[Sisak]

A very fascinating, if not downright primitive tradition. Never would've imagined something like that to live on in Europe.

then all of tattooing in the world are primitive. You can only be jealous:p

[Arbërori]

Most people have similar stuff,its not that special really.Its pagan

Tattooing is an art and it is indeed special.


A very fascinating, if not downright primitive tradition. Never would've imagined something like that to live on in Europe.

Yes, a form of art is a downright primitive tradition... :picard2:

[Sisak]

The question is has it this to do with tattooing of ancient Vuchedol people?
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.497202826958386.120650.222413247770680&type=3
http://i41.tinypic.com/2podzj7.jpg
http://i43.tinypic.com/dhdctz.jpg
http://i39.tinypic.com/jb1a48.jpg
Križevi: Mogući prikazi tetoviranja ili skarificiranja
Gornji dio keramičke ženske figure, Vinkovci, vučedolska kultura, 3. tisućljeće prije Krista, Gradski muzej u Vinkovcima,
crtež K. Rončević

Eneolitik: Mogući prikazi tetoviranja ili skarificiranja na keramičkim ljudskim figurama iz Vinkovaca u Hrvatskoj

http://i39.tinypic.com/2wbuw41.jpg
http://i44.tinypic.com/keyn8o.jpg
http://i43.tinypic.com/10cm0ar.jpg

[Sisak]

Tattoos used to be made with mother´s milk, but only of those mothers who had blue eyes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agJstGVP0zk

[Sisak]

Bosnian Catholic tattoos, ca. 1908 (Edith Durham)

Durham, arguably one of the most important British writers on the culture of Albania, documented the existence of many tattooed Albanian Catholics, most of whom had migrated to the area from Bosnia to evade the Turks in the 15th century: “the bulk of these Catholic…tribes-folk, both men and women, are tattooed on the back of the hand, the forearm, or the breast with a cross; but never a plain cross. It has a crescent above and below it; or the arms terminate in small circles; or some in circles and some in crescents; or the cross is in the ‘sun-wheel’ form.” Durham stated that “most people said they did it because they were Catholics. One man remarked it was to ensure you Christian burial, if you died abroad.” When Durham asked what the meaning of the circle and crescent represented, she was told, “Dielli - the sun, and Hana - the moon. The cross was to show you were Christian.” A local priest offered, “They have a number of curious pagan beliefs which they will not tell me. I have found that they believe in two powers – Light and Darkness – which are in conflict – Good and Evil. These tattoos are in some way connected with it. So is the Serpent, which they sometimes tattoo and also draw on walls.”


Today, traces of these ancient tattoos continue to be found among a small number of Bosnian Catholics, although the majority of Bosnians are Muslim. Interestingly, Durham provided us with several illustrations of the Bosnian tattoos in the same work where she describes the Albanian ones, and it is noteworthy that many of her illustrations parallel several salient elements that continue to be worn as tattoos by contemporary Bosnian women.

Bosnians called the tattooing process sharati (“to color”) and many patterns were as follows: kolo (“the circle”), named after the traditional dance of the region, klas (“ear of corn”), ograda (“ring-fence”), narukvotza (“bracelet”), grancica (“small pine twig”), eliza (“fir tree”), krizh or krizhevi (cross, crosses) and more importantly Sun, Moon, and Star.

Old Bosnian Catholic women who knew the tattoo patterns worked as tattoo artists and tattoo pigment consisted of the soot of resinous pinesap collected on a plate, then combined with honey and water, saliva and mother’s milk. Sometimes tattoo designs were carved into a piece of willow bark and stenciled on the skin as a guide.

Certain days of the year were better for tattooing than others. Annunciation Day (March 25th) and Palm Sunday were tattooing days, but March 19th (St. Stephen’s Day) was the most common. According to Durham’s informants, tattooing was connected to fertility, springtime, new life, religion, and the position of the sun.

Not surprisingly, sun worship in the Balkans was an ancient pre-Christian phenomenon: the cross as a sun symbol, the four spokes representing the four quarters of the heavens and the wheel as a whole represents the movement of the sun through the heavens. Many of the Bosnian and Kurdish tattoos depict this symbol, as well as the Albanian Catholic motifs, however abstract they may be.

The Romans, who exacted their rule over the Balkans for centuries, brought a variety of cults to the area, especially that of Mithras. A capital doctrine of Mithraism was fatalism, where the destinies of humankind were bound to the planets. The sun, the greatest of them, influenced kings and emperors. Each day of the week was sacred to a planet and December 25, the birthday of Sol Invictus (“Invincible Sun”), was especially holy and is now fêted as Christmas. An immense mountain towered above the sun, moon, and stars and was the home to the immortals. After death, the spirits of light and darkness struggled for the soul, which, if it escaped darkness, rose first to the moon and then passed to the six other planets to be cleansed before reaching eternal bliss.


source: http://tetoviranicovjek.bloger.index.hr/post/bosnian-catholic-croatian-body-tattooing-/18808928.aspx