Secrets of a hollow amulet
In practice of Bosnian and Albanian Imam’s and sheik’s there is an extremely interesting segment of spiritual medicine which is based on the healing of people from supernatural elements (black magic, spells, possession) by passing through a so called hollow amulet. Namely, only these three European countries i.e. Bosnia, Kosovo and Albania, where Muslims are a majority, the practice of writing long amulet texts was recorded which were a mixture of magical squares, God’s names, duas and prayers from the Qur’an. Paper on which the amulet was written was usually two meters long and its width is ten centimetres. Amulet text is written on both sides of the paper and its ends are connected using duct tape, in order to form a circle. That’s why among the folk it is called a hollow amulet. Because of the pretty demanding content the text is written for one month or even more, in order to align the writing with the lunar phase. During the entire process, before and after writing, the Imam is praying to God and lighting pleasant fragrances, and he even fasts when processing more demanding parts of the amulet.
Its primary purpose is intended for annulling of negative energy through a ritual of passing the diseased through it i.e. the amulet is passed from the head down the body to the legs, usually three times. Another specificity of this amulet is that she is, unlike the rest, it is not carried wit oneself and after use its owner, usually Imam-exorcist, places it in a clean and neat place, until the next time it needs to be used. Of course, as a measure of precaution, and in order to protect it from dampness and impurities, the amulet is wrapped in a see through duct tape. In the tradition of Bosnia and Herzegovina a status symbol was that one could order and pay for such an amulet, since the price was pretty steep. It was carefully guarded and transferred through generations as a valuable family heirloom. Also, a special wooden box was created for the amulet, richly ornamented and was inherited through male successors and in absence of males a daughter could also receive it. In the name of the amulet one would mandatorily give alms to the poor and one could not refuse to help someone with it if a person sought such help. Such help could not be reimbursed.
Among the Arabs and Persians such a way of construction and usage of the amulet doesn’t exist, while among the Turks one can see the practice of praying over a ball of cotton, which is then unwrapped and from the threads one forms a circle through which a person, struck by black magic or spell, is passed through.
