BOSNIAN SUPERSTITIONS

How much superstitious the Bosnian people are would be hard to say, however we can claim that there isn't a nation in the world that is not subject to such a modus of magical life. Most of today's superstitions are fragments of former pagan rituals repressed or incorporated into new religion and determinants. Superstition carries with itself a sort of a cultural stamp and ethnologists and anthropologists have the largest benefit from them since they help them understand the thought processes of a certain people and a certain time period. Even though educated people see superstitions as "signs of human weakness and lack of character" we can freely claim that everyone is subject to it from academics, doctors and professors to athletes and public personalities all up to the normal everyday people. Even Neil Armstrong never hesitated to admit that he made it back from the moon only because NASA allowed him to carry a stuffed bear on board of Apollo 11, his good luck charm. Few of us would expect such a statement from the man who was the first one who ever set foot on moon on that faithful 1969.

One should always put on new clothes from the right side first, right sleeve, right legging, so that one will have luck wearing it.


Whoever cuts his nails during the night will become a lampir (vampire).


Bosnian folk believe that if a dead man inflates, that he will become a vampire. To prevent this from happening people would place a knife or a piece of earth on his chest.


In order to chase away a storm the women would throw out of their houses into the yard a rolling pin, a tripod or place a spoon full of salt uttering "Mujo chase away the sheep into the mountains!" The horns or bones from the Kurban (the sacrifice during Eid ul-Adha) is thrown into the fire in order to chase away bad weather.

Bosniaks are a people who fatalistically believe in their luck. In Bosnia it is called nafaka and it is believed that every man's fate is decided by Allah while he is still inside the womb. As long as a man lives he uses the luck that was given to him by Allah, when a man's luck runs out, he dies.


To have luck in monetary matters one should always carry an old banknote which is no longer used in his/her wallet.


People who are considered to be lucky are the ones born on Monday or Friday.


It is believed that a marriage of partners, one born on Tuesday and the other on Saturday will always end in divorce.


It is believed that luck and prosperity are enticed in a house if one keeps a four leaf clover inside the Qur'an.


When one builds a house it is said that a piece of gold should be placed inside its foundation in order for the inhabitants to enjoy good luck and prosperity.


Before moving into a new house the owner takes a fistful of salt and rubs the doorstep of the house. It is believed that he neutralizes all evil with such an action and that evil Jinn are expelled.


For wellbeing and prosperity one needs to stare at the finger of his arm looking down his nose.


It is a rule that the housewife should make halva if the house is at the same time visited by three people who have the same name. This is done so that there will be prosperity inside the house. Halva is made during Ramadan because her smell attracts peace and happiness inside the house.

When someone drops a knife and it falls to the ground with the blade pointing upwards, then it is a sign that one will have guests.


When a large horse fly enters the house it is a sign that one will have guests coming from afar.

Spellbound eyes (uroci, zazor, začud, urokljivo oko)


When you observe a small child, especially a baby in the first 40 days after birth it is mandatory to utter the prophylactic formula "Mašallah!". Besides that, in order to protect the child from spellbound eyes one sows a button different from the others in size and colour, ties a black thread around its left arm, etc. Often the child's nose is pulled and "Mašallah!" is uttered when the guests leave the house so that the child can sleep peacefully.

The effect of spellbound eyes on a child can be annulled by the Verse Ikhlas, and also after the person who uttered the verse lightly spits over the child's left shoulder, right shoulder and head. Or the child's face is wiped circularly with a rag which was used to wipe the dishes and after that the rag is thrown over the child's head, behind its back.

The mother would protect the child from spellbound eyes by plucking three hairs from underneath her armpit and placing them in a small bag made out of red cloth. She then sows that amulet onto the child's clothes.

Whoever cuts his nails using scissors will have spellbound eyes.

If you are afraid that you could become a victim of spellbound eyes you then need to grab your bottom every time you meat a negative person. There is also another way to eliminate the gaze of a person with spellbound eyes - one turns his right palm towards that person and looks at him/her through the fingers.

Whoever drinks his blood, after he is hurt or after he has cut himself at work will be immune to black magic.

In order to protect himself from black magic a person needs to wear his underwear upside down.

Coffee and folk belief





Among the Bosnian there are dozens of superstitions about coffee, and these are just some of them:


You shouldn't pour coffee over your hand (on the right side) - your stomach will ache.


If the baked coffee beans crackle in the box, it is believed that guests will arrive soon.


When the coffee oozes out of the coffee pot on the stove - it is believed that there will be a material gain.


It is said for a woman that drinks hot coffee that she isn't afraid of her husband.


A woman which likes to drink the sediment from coffee will marry a rich man.


If the woman often makes the coffee in such a way that it oozes on the stove is a sign that her husband loves her a lot.


To dream of coffee - worrying, if you dream of drinking coffee with others - you will worry for no reason.


When the foam forms a circle then the one who gets that cup can await some sort of gain, etc.

A nursing woman needs to take care that no one sees her since it can happen that someone gazes at her with spellbound eyes and also that a drop of milk doesn't fall to the ground and she doesn't step on it. Both cases can lead to the woman losing her milk. If that happens she needs to ask for some trahana (Persian terhana - oriental soup) three years old, cook it and it a few mouthfuls. She will get her milk back.

For blessing in the house, a tradition since the old days is that a guest is always awaited at the door, a special sign of respect is to stand up in front of a male guest. If a male child comes into the house it is believed that it brings good luck and well being and a chicken egg is given when it leaves.

When cleaning a table after a meal a spoon is accidentally left behind, this is interpreted as a death that will occur soon.

Before a trip one needs to overturn a part of clothes that one wears to be stable and concentrated during the trip.

When the new moon is sighted for the first time one needs to repeat prayer Fatiha three times and make a wish.

When a man and a woman meet for the first time and if something is accidentally broken, like a cup, is spilled or falls down, it is believed that love will develop between them.

To protect a small child from spellbound eyes, when giving praise to the child in its presence one would utter "Mašallah!" or the child is pulled a little by the nose or one touches the child. If someone harms the child with his/her gaze, and the child cries constantly, or is restless or has a fever, then one needs to obtain some salt from the person that bewitched the child, place it into the water and rub the child's forehead with the mixture.

In order to protect the house from black magic one needs to go out into the yard at dawn before the sun rises and bring four nails with. While holding the nails in the hand one needs to utter the following three times: "My dear Hazrat Fatima, my dear mother, tell your father Mohammad to help me during the day and night!" Then the four nails are driven into the ground, but in a reverse fashion into the four corners of the house, uttering this formula: "As no one can make anything of these nails, so too no one can do anything to me or my house!".

To clean the house of the influence of black magic one uses the ring of a dead man, i.e. a finger which is taken from the hand of a deceased, holding it on the right eye one passes through the entire house and leaves the room. One should not talk during that time.

Grains of wheat have an important role in rituals for health, namely, during every of the five daily prayers one grain of wheat is left in a glass or a vessel. When the vessel contains 100 grains then the water is poured to the brim. After the shower the vessel with the grain is poured over the head so that the grains fall on the head and into the bath. After that the person wipes itself and the grain is picked up and thrown under a sapling such as an apple, plume, etc. This is a tested Bosnian method of preserving vitality and security.

Growing common houseleek on the balcony is an old Bosnian tradition since it is believed that this plant protects the house from lightning and black magic.

To neutralise negative effects of demons one should make movements with the left hand which resemble chasing away invisible beings. Actually, that's what you are doing. When performing this action, one should utter: "Get away from me devils!"

The Jinn are masters of the dark. Their habitat is underground, underneath the root of walnut trees. That's why one should never plant walnut trees in one's yard since it brings bad luck. The trunk of the walnut tree should not be cut, and if it is necessary it should be done with an appropriate prayer. It is considered as especially negative to fall asleep underneath a walnut tree, since, as it is believed by the folk one can die or fall mentally ill. Besides, the one that falls asleep underneath a walnut tree will awaken with a headache.

The Jinn are located in persons with weak immunity, people mourning excessively or people who are overjoyed constantly. To protect oneself from a Jinn, one should utter  the following prayer in the morning after waking up: "God, be in front of me, be next to me and those dearest to me and protect us from evil. Amen".

Elderberry is a tree which grows close to water or on clear abandoned places, but always close to people. According to Bosnian mythology where an elderberry tree grows there the faeries danced their circle with elderberry flowers in their hair. That's why it is believed among the people that elderberry is the fairy flower or ornament and for humans a cure or sword. Any human which picks the flower of this tree for curing anaemia or some other disease, will be blessed by the faeries and they will help him get better. But that will happen only if the tree is respected and nurtured. If it is cut or destroyed great evil will befall that person. The one that hurts the tree will be punished by the faeries, they will bring all sorts of harm and evil to him and his family.

Never ask for a raise on Wednesday, you will be rejected.


Never loan money on Monday, never loan money to others on Tuesday and never repay your debt on Friday. Loan always in the morning, since if done at evening one is invoking bad luck and material crisis. Try and not ask for money from others, give it away more often, since giving stimulates positive energy, i.e. good luck and material advancement. All good deeds are returned three times over.


Pockets of clothes which are stored in the closet during the change of seasons, should be filled with paper money. Money doesn't love hollow pockets or clothes that is missing buttons.

One should never keep his wallet empty. It should have some coins in it. All the money in the wallet should have its main side turned towards the owner. In the smallest divider one should keep the smallest note folded in the form of a triangle. One should have a "lucky note" in the wallet (first earned note or one received from a noble man, or from a successful work, etc.). That note is not to be used, but kept and called "amulet of safety".


Only money earned in a fair way can stay in the house and can bring happiness and well-being to the family.


Money runs from you if it is earned by gambling, games of chance, unfair business practices, money that's found, money that's ripped, etc. Such money invokes bad luck and should not be kept inside a wallet. Give it to the poor or spend it quickly.

Undershirt and underwear should be worn upside-down to protect oneself from spells.

When you have some food left after your meal, do not throw it away and don't put it back with the rest of the bread, give it to the birds or fish to eat it as charity. God loves people who are charitable and who think of others.


Once you take your shoes off, you should put them away neatly. Do not leave it strewn around so that your ways won't be strewn as well.


After a meal you should touch the plate with your right hand, thank god and ask for mercy and well-being for yourself but also for others.


Take care whose comb you are using to comb your hair, where you store your comb and excess hair. Magic created with such hair is the most dangerous.


When horned beasts are startled, one should sprinkle salty water on them.


Hurry at a slow pace, which means that a smart person goes slowly and arrives safely.


Discussions of evil attract evil.


Cats are night animals and that's why they are symbols of black magic, if a black cat crosses your path, spit three times.


It is good to be moderate in all things in life, since that is the key to great achievements.


For a child which is born on Thursday, it is believed in Bosnia that its entire life it will have issues with clothes, it will quickly rip and soil it.


Housewives shouldn't borrow bread and salt to neighbours, since it can ruin the well-being of the home.

In order to have money in the house, one should keep the broom in the corner, with the handle turned upside-down.

On the day the girl is born she should not comb her hair or wear new clothes to avoid blocking her luck in love.