KariA‡i

KariA‡i mosque through the main Bosnian highlands, when the annual three-day pilgrimage commemorating Hajdar-dedo KariA‡a€”an earlier messenger of Islam in Bosnia, a dervish sheikh, and a friend of Jesus (evlija)a€”takes place. Photograph by David Henig, 2009.

Although the Yugoslav communist program oppressed and used popular control of several religious manifestations and get togethers, they couldn’t exclude the KariA‡i pilgrimage, which happens to be perhaps remarkable since the pilgrimage enjoys historically started well-attended ( MulahaliloviA‡ 1989 :192a€“196). In 1993, throughout the Bosnian war (1992a€“95) a Yugoslav National military tank caused by the age-old solid wood mosque. The surface was at the time period scarcely easily accessible, since there comprise many landmines spread out in the earth during pilgrimage webpages, therefore local Muslims briefly prepared the annual acquiring in a neighboring provincial community mosque. After the fighting, the outdoor am slowly de-mined. The wooden mosque would be remodeled in 2002 as well pilgrimage entirely repaired.

Although its renovation had been initiated by a gaggle of hometown engaged Muslims, the mosque and the area it sits about tend to be legally owned and accessibility these people was subject to the state-approved Islamic Community (Islamska Zajednica). The Islamic Community can also be responsible for arranging the yearly KariA‡i pilgrimage. The pilgrimage happens following July. The go steady happens to be mentioned in line with the old Julian calendar because 11th Tuesday after Jurjevdan (in other words., St. George’s time, might 6). The pilgrimage begins by week’s noon prayer and persists until the Sunday midday prayer. Simply male Muslims are allowed to go to at KariA‡i.

The pilgrimage event normally includes reciting of the entire Qua€™ran (hatma dove), singing tracks revering Allah (ilahija), and various shows including the performance of mevlud verses inside Turkish and Bosnian, tevhid for Ottoman and Bosnian martyrs (A?ehide), and combined devotional and delighted prayer, kijam zikr (Arabic, qiyam dhikr). 2 The kijam zikr is conducted by dervishes and encouraged by a dervish sheikh. More pilgrims usually notice compared to experience this kind of prayer, as dervishes get usually been developed of ambiguously and happened to be seen as the Islamic a€?other withina€? inside original Yugoslavia ( Bringa 1995 :221; Duijzings 2000 :107). But the devotional prayer via pilgrimage has also been executed during socialist days. This is certainly perhaps extensive, since, through the 1950s, the Islamic society, making use of the Yugoslav county’s services, blocked all dervish instructions in Bosnia-Herzegovina to become a€?devoid of national valuea€? ( Algar 1971 :196). 3

Unlike the fact for the conventional cradles of Bosnian Sufism their outdated dervish lodges within the american areas of key Bosnia (cf. Algar 1971 ; A?ehajiA‡ 1986 ; MiA?ijeviA‡ 1997 ), the continuity of dervish ordering got cut in northern areas. For this reason, KariA‡i has become openly offered and defined for a long time only as an area of Muslim yearly pilgrimage. But from inside the latter 1980s, a dervish gang of the Rifaa€™i purchase, that we have additionally read, ended up being developed in your community. 4 In its hunt for reliability as well repair of Sufi schooling (tesavuf) in your community, team entwined its identification making use of old body of Hajdar-dedo KariA‡. Although the dervish team these days traces its name through their sheikh’s a€?spiritual lineagea€?(silsila) to Kosovo, the dervishes give consideration to KariA‡i her spiritual cradle, and so they get pregnant of Hajdar-dedo KariA‡ because messenger of Sufism in your community along with their spiritual forefather.

Ajvatovica

The Ajvatovica pilgrimage work a significant character inside the methods town Muslims through the main Bosnian highlands think on the transformation of dedicated landscapes a€?after socialism.a€? Within narratives and informal talks, simple community relatives usually juxtaposed KariA‡i together with the Ajvatovica pilgrimages. However, almost all of them haven’t ever pilgrimed to Ajvatovica.

The Ajvatovica pilgrimage, within the village of Prusac, offers you figures very similar blackpeoplemeet coupons to that from the KariA‡i webpages, as far back as the 17th 100 years and including another renowned messenger of Islam, effendi (as well as dervish sheikh) Ajvaz-dedo. The tales point out that Ajvaz-dedo was actually partner of Jesus (evlija). As he came to Prusac, there was clearly no best water supply within the village. There was clearly best a spring outside of the town, however it was actually clogged by a rock. Ajvaz-dedo spent 40 period praying to Allah, and on the 40th week he or she wanted two white in color rams colliding. When he woke up, the stone received separate by 50 percent. Hometown villagers determine this as a miracle (keramet) and advantage (bereket), and, from the moment, need pilgrimed on the place the spot that the stone split.

Unlike the KariA‡i pilgrimage, the Ajvatovica got legally prohibited during socialist stage, in 1947 (cf. MulahaliloviA‡ 1989 :192a€“196), and got renewed only in 1990, mainly throughout the engagement of the Islamic Community; various media, including the Islamic weekly publication Preporod; together with the Stranka Demokratske Akcije (SDA; Party of Democratic Action), led at the same time by Alija IzetbegoviA‡. The spot in which the Ajvatovica pilgrimage internet site is was regulated and defended throughout warfare from the Bosnian army, and, thus, through general public rhetoric, obtained the type of a holy area, articulating the continuity of a threatened Muslim area and its national tradition (cf. Rujanac in press ).

It swiftly turned evident for me that strategy the Ajvatovica pilgrimage try orchestrated currently performs a very important part in Bosnian Muslim nationwide open national politics, as controlled by way of the Islamic people, including calculating plainly in local interactions. Ajvatovica happens to be provided through the Islamic society as being the biggest yearly Muslim get together in Europe, one with prolonged continuity, regardless of the formal ban required in 1947. As it is orchestrated and choreographed, a€?The times of Ajvatovicaa€? (Dani Ajvatovice) unfold as an assemblage of spiritual pilgrimage, governmental getting, and public display consists of several parties, gigs, and lessons being generally presented and advertised because of the Islamic area through lots of billboards. The Ajvatovica pilgrimage happens to be offered, to paraphrase different regional root, as a a€?manifestation of traditions and long-lasting continuity of Bosniak [Muslim] identity and culturea€? in addition to the a€?largest Muslim get together in Europea€? (e.g., notice Ajvatovica.org.ba 2010 ). Additionally, within my fieldwork, i used to be over and over explained that Ajvatovica were an all-male meeting, although after 1990 it absolutely was widely offered for the nationalized rhetoric as a gathering for most Muslims. In other words, the Ajvatovica pilgrimage was actually reorchestrated and instrumentalized in Bosniak political discussion as a fertile logo in post-Yugoslav general public arguments on collective Bosnian Muslim identity along with Bosniaksa€™ research authenticity as an independent post-Yugoslav region (nacija).