According to old Bosnian belief, faeries when angry and vengeful, if someone hurts them on purpose or accidentally, can hit people with their arrows; so called “heavenly arrows”, which cause people to be sick.
When someone has a sudden headache, pain in the leg, arm sleeps poorly and has puncturing pain in the body, it is believed that he has been pierced by faeries. Help is sought from stravarka, which melts lead for the person and utters with a low voice:
Nine faeries flew,
from nine clouds,
from nine mountains,
from nine forests,
from nine seas,
from nine meadows,
from nine crossroads,
from nine streams,
from nine rocks,
from nine rue plants,
they sang along the way,
danced in circles,
their path crossed by Ahmed*,
he angered the faeries.
They hit him with their arrows in the head,
in the heart, in the legs,
they floored him completely,
Ahmed got sick.
Ahmed yelled: “Help me Mujo, help me Halil,
I’m shot by faeries!”
When the faeries heard this,
each of them took out their arrow out of fear,
Ahmed was cured.
Out of nine faeries and arrows,
with my formula and god’s will,
only eight remained on Ahmed,
out of eight only seven remained,
out of seven only six remained,
out of six only five remained,
out of five only four remained,
out of four only three remained,
out of three only two remained,
out of two only one remained,
out of one none remained.
By my hand, formula and lead – good deed,
and from god salvation, peace and cure, amen!
*or however the diseased is called.Lead is being poured three times: above the head, chest and legs. It is poured until in the molten lead, at the bottom of the vessel with water, one finds nine needles (thorn). In the first pouring above the head one can find one or two needles, then one observes how many will there be above the chest and legs. If there are a total of nine in the end or more the healing is finished. If they’re not located, then the procedure is repeated in three days. After nine or more needles, the diseased is cured. Those needles are thrown down the water or one by one is placed in nine holes in the ground. The diseased washes his face with the water, his arms and legs and drinks some water, the rest is poured on a nacre bush.
