Cult of fertility among the Bosnian People

household and a place where bread
was baked is holly and it is
forbidden to thread on it, i.e.
undertake blasphemy.
Not even rain was allowed to fall
on the hearth that's why the
dormers was closed every night,
otherwise an owl could fly inside
the house, personification of
death in ancient beliefs of our
people. Namely, if an owl enters
the house through a dormer, the
entire family will die.
One even swears on bread, namely,
if it so happens that a person is
talking while eating and holding
bread in his hand he would utter:
"It was like that, I swear by this
nimet (bread)!
Infertility, polygamy and
abuse
According to traditional
understanding a woman has two main
tasks; to do house chores well as
well as chores in the field and
give birth to children. If she is
not up to the challenge which are
expected of her, especially in the
segment of fertility, she is sure
to be exposed to public judgment
and other repercussions. Without a
doubt societies attitude towards
infertile women is absolutely
inhumane and every sterile woman
was treated like a second class
citizen - persona non grata.
During a periods of crisis in our
history such women were regarded
as unworthy of life since
resources are wasted on her which
are more needed for the existence
of "fertile" members of the
society. Luckily such a stance did
not last long since the collective
conscious awoke slowly transformed
under the influence of improved
living conditions.
As Antun Hangi wrote in his
anthological work about the life
and customs if Bosnian people, a
woman not giving birth to children
is not dear to her husband, though
she was once dear to him. He
considers her to be a tree without
fruit, rose without petals,
therefore she needs to be cut down.
Groomsman says to the bride:
Gaze upon those yellow oranges,
If the tree didn't bear fruit each
year,
My brother would've cut it down.
Gaze upon the yellow lemon,
If the tree didn't bear fruit each
year,
My brother would've cut it down.
Gaze upon the flush roses,
If the rose didn't bloom each year,
My brother would've cut it down.
Ali-bey has a wonderful wife,
which he loves dearly. A year has
almost passed, and she bares no
Raif Esmerović
Cult of fertility among the Bosnian People