BOSNIAN RITUAL WITH THE LEAD - SALIJEVANJE STRAHE
The magical ritual of melting lead (fear pouring) is an ancient form of shamanistic practice of exorcism known in a large geographical area - literally from Palestine, Lebanon, Syria (sakbeh or rakwi), Algeria, Morocco (khfif), Turkey (kurşun dökme), the Balkans to Germany, Great Britain (melting lead, lead casting) and Scandinavian countries.
In our region, as it is usually presumed, this ritual appears by the arrival of the Ottoman Empire, with a whole set of other magic beliefs, practices and myths. But however, there are indications which tells that this ritual was originally Illyrian and that our ancestors as Roman Empire soldiers expanded it throughout the Middle East, and through Celts it also reached northern Europe.
Following this path from Palestine to Great Britain, we can notice this: in Arab countries, a ritual with lead is practiced in order to get someone free from the effects of malevolent eyes. In beliefs of Turkish people, it is intended for the treatment of fear and spells. In Bosnia the ritual is used for previously mentioned, but also for the attack of the demons, the black magic, and the blockade of human happiness. In the north of the Europe, this situation is quite different; the rite doesn’t have a healing, but exclusively divine aspect. In fact, in the countries of northern Europe, it’s practice for the New Year’s Eve (molybdomancy), which, for example, in Finland is called "uudenvuodentin", people gather, especially girls, and salvage melted lead in water to find out about the future ahead of themselves. Shortly, between this and the "salivanja strahe" there is a certain similarity, but also there is a significant difference. Both ways are aimed to detecting unknown events; through "molybdomancy" girls want to find out their love destiny in the next year. However, in the Bosnian ritual, people who practice rituals through different forms detect the physical and mental disorders of the patient. And that's the point where any similarity ends.
Although the "salivanje strahe" as a ritual doesn't have Islamic roots, certain parts of that old shamanistic ritual are monotheistic,particualy in the speaking part, and therefore the ritual monitors the pronunciation of certain chapters and prayers in Qur'an. Besides, God's Prophet Muhammad and Hazrati Fatima are called to help, so that only by mentioning their names, evil presented in the form of illness would escape from the ill person. We can confirm the same case with the Bulgarian or Romanian witches who use the ritual of prayer of Our Father, referring to the world of the power of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, or the cross. Any of them has a common usage of longer, or shorter magic formulas known as "basme" and "bajalice" ("bajati" comes from the Turkish word "baymak" – to charm, obsession (for the purpose of healing), cheat. – Abdulah Škaljić.)
To the ill, or possessed person the ritual has a primarily a cumulative effect, which is confirmed by the statements of all those persons who were submited to it. But also, there are contradictory opinions that slow down its effectiveness, nameing it as the “placebo effect”, which many "stravarke" demonstratively return with the following arguments; in fact, the ritual is equally effective if it’s done by a person who knows about it and the one who doesn’t know, such as young children. The only reproach is that the water in which the lead is melted, because it is a toxic metal, prefer not to be consumed, drinked, or that it could be poured into a crossroads, or the patient could only washes his face, hands and feet.
In spite of this, individuals tend to consume that water, in small quantities, whose harmfulness in relatioan to the daily consumption of cigarettes to the organism is nevertheless minimal. For instance, in cigarettes, besides lead which can be poisonous in large quantities, is a polonium, a cancer-causing radioactive element.
In our region, as it is usually presumed, this ritual appears by the arrival of the Ottoman Empire, with a whole set of other magic beliefs, practices and myths. But however, there are indications which tells that this ritual was originally Illyrian and that our ancestors as Roman Empire soldiers expanded it throughout the Middle East, and through Celts it also reached northern Europe.
Following this path from Palestine to Great Britain, we can notice this: in Arab countries, a ritual with lead is practiced in order to get someone free from the effects of malevolent eyes. In beliefs of Turkish people, it is intended for the treatment of fear and spells. In Bosnia the ritual is used for previously mentioned, but also for the attack of the demons, the black magic, and the blockade of human happiness. In the north of the Europe, this situation is quite different; the rite doesn’t have a healing, but exclusively divine aspect. In fact, in the countries of northern Europe, it’s practice for the New Year’s Eve (molybdomancy), which, for example, in Finland is called "uudenvuodentin", people gather, especially girls, and salvage melted lead in water to find out about the future ahead of themselves. Shortly, between this and the "salivanja strahe" there is a certain similarity, but also there is a significant difference. Both ways are aimed to detecting unknown events; through "molybdomancy" girls want to find out their love destiny in the next year. However, in the Bosnian ritual, people who practice rituals through different forms detect the physical and mental disorders of the patient. And that's the point where any similarity ends.
Although the "salivanje strahe" as a ritual doesn't have Islamic roots, certain parts of that old shamanistic ritual are monotheistic,particualy in the speaking part, and therefore the ritual monitors the pronunciation of certain chapters and prayers in Qur'an. Besides, God's Prophet Muhammad and Hazrati Fatima are called to help, so that only by mentioning their names, evil presented in the form of illness would escape from the ill person. We can confirm the same case with the Bulgarian or Romanian witches who use the ritual of prayer of Our Father, referring to the world of the power of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, or the cross. Any of them has a common usage of longer, or shorter magic formulas known as "basme" and "bajalice" ("bajati" comes from the Turkish word "baymak" – to charm, obsession (for the purpose of healing), cheat. – Abdulah Škaljić.)
To the ill, or possessed person the ritual has a primarily a cumulative effect, which is confirmed by the statements of all those persons who were submited to it. But also, there are contradictory opinions that slow down its effectiveness, nameing it as the “placebo effect”, which many "stravarke" demonstratively return with the following arguments; in fact, the ritual is equally effective if it’s done by a person who knows about it and the one who doesn’t know, such as young children. The only reproach is that the water in which the lead is melted, because it is a toxic metal, prefer not to be consumed, drinked, or that it could be poured into a crossroads, or the patient could only washes his face, hands and feet.
In spite of this, individuals tend to consume that water, in small quantities, whose harmfulness in relatioan to the daily consumption of cigarettes to the organism is nevertheless minimal. For instance, in cigarettes, besides lead which can be poisonous in large quantities, is a polonium, a cancer-causing radioactive element.
