"....in some Croat-populated regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina one can still often meet some older women (less frequently – men) with traces of tattooed ornaments on their palms, dorsal sides of their hands, shoulders, elbows, as well as some other parts of their bodies. Apart from some rare exceptions, the custom of tattoo application belongs exclusively to the Catholic population of Bosnia-Herzegovina and is sometimes called one of the elements of folklore and beliefs of the Balkan peoples. Also associated with the pre-Christian beliefs of the Balkan Peninsula inhabitants, this custom is nevertheless said to have played its most important role in time of the Balkan conquests by the Ottoman Empire....Under the growing pressure of Ottoman lslamisation across the region and the forced migrations caused by the events, Croatian women covered their bodies with various patterns of crosses in their attempts to avoid Ottoman captivity, save their children, and avoid forced conversion to Islam through marriage, while the tattoos became one of the symbols of Catholicism in multiethnic Bosnia as well as a way to illustrate one’s affiliation to the Croatian culture of this country. These drawings of which one could almost never get rid also stayed on the bodies of Catholic women who have converted to Islam for a marriage and those who have changed their religion for other reasons, becoming an everlasting evidence of his or hers Catholic past....perhaps the custom dates back to pre-Christian times. In addition to a simplified cross also common in the ancient ornamental motifs tattoos of various tribes in Africa and Asia, almost no other Catholic symbolism was found on the bodies....Whether Catholic or pre-Christian, the almost vanishing tattoos on the hands of the elderly population of Bosnia’s Croats is seen even these days. The changes that the Ottoman conquests have brought with them to the Balkans gave this custom its purpose and possibly led to the growth of the cult."
Posted on: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 21:10:52 +0000
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