Bosniaks

Bosniaks (in Bosnian: Bo?njaci) are a Southeast European ethnic group, descended from South Slavic converts to Islam and non-Slavic Islamic peoples in the Ottoman province of Bosnia. Although it is a point of contention as to their original religion - Bogomilism (Bosnian Church) or Catholicism - the term is currently used for all descendants of Islamic converts. They are named after Bosnia, the largest and most significant historical region of modern Bosnia and Herzegovina. Religiously speaking, the majority of Bosniaks are Sunni Muslims.

Culture

Folklore

Bosniak folklore has a long tradition dating back to the 15th century. Like many other elements of Bosniak culture, their folklore is a mix of Slavic and Oriental influences, typically taking place prior to the 19th century.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Two popular characters seen often in Bosniak folklore are the trickster and the Hero. Probably the most famous example of the first is that of Nasrudin Hod?a, where local folklore has him taking part in various episodes in a Bosnian setting. Other tricksters include an old wise man in the legend behind the old Sarajevo Orthodox church. Supposedly, a local official demanded that the church be built on land no bigger than an animal hide. The wise man then cut the hide into thin strips and laying them end to end was able to demarcate enough land to build a reasonably sized church.

Related Topics:
Trickster - Hero - Nasrudin Hod?a

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

National heroes are typically historical figures, whose life and skill in battle are emphasised. These include figures such as Gazi Husrev-beg, the second Ottoman governor of Bosnia who conquered many territories in Dalmatia, Northern Bosnia, and Croatia, and Gerz Eljaz ?erzelez Alija, an almost mythic character who even the Ottoman Sultan was said to have called "A Hero".

Related Topics:
Gazi Husrev-beg - Dalmatia - Croatia

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Old Slavic influences can also be seen. Ban Kulin has acquired legendary status. "Even today," wrote the historian William Miller in 1921 "the people regard him as a favorite of the fairies, and his reign as a golden age." Characters such as fairies, Vila, are also present. Pre-Slavic influences are far less common but nonetheless present. Certain elements of Illyrian, and Celtic belief have been found.

Related Topics:
Ban Kulin - William Miller - 1921 - Vila - Illyrian - Celtic

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Generally, folklore also varies from region to region and city to city. Cities like Sarajevo and Mostar have a rich tradition all by themselves. Many manmade structures such as bridges and fountains, as well as natural sites, play a significant role as well.

Related Topics:
Sarajevo - Mostar

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Language

Bosniaks would say that they speak Bosnian language. This language has only minor differences to the Serbian language, Croatian language or the language that used to be known as Serbo-Croatian. The Bosnian language has a number of orientalisms not found in the neighboring languages, but their presence in the literary language is marginal.

Related Topics:
Bosnian language - Minor differences - Serbian language - Croatian language - Serbo-Croatian

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It is notable that Bosniaks are, on the level of colloquial idiom, more linguistically homogenous than either Serbs or Croats, but have failed, due to historical reasons, to standardize their language in the crucial 19th century. A long history of impressive literature remains however. The first Bosnian dictionary was written by Muhamed Hevaji Uskufi in the early 17th century.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bosniaks have also had two of their own unique scripts. The first was the Begovica, a descendant of local cyrillic script that remained in use among the region's nobility. The second was the Arabica, a version of the Arabic alphabet modified for Bosnian that was in use among nearly all literate Bosniaks until the 20th century. Unfortunately, both alphabets have almost died out, as the number of people literate in them today is undoubtedly minuscule.

Related Topics:
Cyrillic - Arabic

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Religion

Traditionally, Bosniaks are Muslims. However, due to more modern influences and the dictatorship of Communism during the period of 1945-1992, has resulted in a few Bosniaks having Atheist, Agnostic or Deist beliefs (Pre war estimate of 10% of total population). Today, in Bosnia-Herzegovina the overwhelming number of Bosniaks belong to the Sunni branch of Islam (97% est.), although historically Sufism played a significant role in the country.

Related Topics:
Muslims - Communism - Atheist - Agnostic - Deist - Sunni - Sufism

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Being part of Europe and influenced not only by the Eastern but also by the Western culture and especially Yugoslav Communism, the Bosniaks are considered to be some of the more moderate Islamic peoples of the world.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bosniaks also have a reputation for being "liberal" Muslims. Headscarves for women, popular in middle-eastern countries, are worn by a minority of Bosniak women, and otherwise mostly for religious obligations. Muhammad's birthday (Moulid), technically not allowed by conservative Islam, is sometimes celebrated. Saudi-sponsored Wahabbism has tried to make a foothold in the country since the 1990s, but it has failed to make a significant impact.

Related Topics:
Headscarves - Moulid - Wahabbism

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Surnames and names

Bosniak surnames, as is typical among the South Slavs, often end with "i?" or "ovi?". This is a patronymic which basically translates to "son of" in English and plays the same role as "son" in English surnames such as Johnson or Wilson. What comes prior to this can often tell a lot about the history of a certain family.

Related Topics:
Patronymic - English

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Most Bosniak surnames follow a familiar pattern dating from the period of time that surnames in Bosnia and Herzegovina were standardized. Some Bosniak Muslim names have the name of the founder of the family first, followed by an oriental profession or title, and ending with i?. Examples of this include Izetbegovi? (Son of Izet bey), and Had?iosmanovi? (Son of Osman Hajji). Other variations of this pattern can include surnames that only mention the name, such as Osmanovi? (Son of Osman), and surnames that only mention profession, such as Imamovi? (Son of the Imam).

Related Topics:
Oriental - Bey

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Some Bosniak names have nothing oriental about them, but end in i?. These names have probably stayed the same since medieval times, and typically come from old Bosnian nobility, or come from the last wave of converts to Islam. Examples of such names include Tvrtkovi? and Kulenovi?.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Yet some Bosniaks have surnames that do not end in i? at all. These surnames are typically derived from place of origin, occupations, or various others such factors in the family's history. Examples of such surnames include Zlatar and Fo?o.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Many Bosniak national names are of foreign origin, indicating that the founder of the family came from a place outside of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Many such Bosniak surnames have Hungarian, Vlach or Turkish origins. Examples of such surnames include Vlasi? and Arapovi?.

Related Topics:
Hungarian - Vlach - Turkish

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

First names among Bosniaks have mostly Arabic, Turkish, or Persian roots, similar to the way that many English names have Christian origins despite it being a Germanic language. South Slavic names such as "Zlatan" are also popular primarily among non-religious Bosniaks. What is notable however is that due to the structure of the Bosnian language, many of the oriental names have been altered to create uniquely Bosniak names. Some of the Arabic names have been shortened.

Related Topics:
Arabic - Turkish - Persian - English - Germanic

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The most famous example of this is that of the stereotypical Bosniak characters Mujo and Suljo, whose names are actually Bosniak short forms of Mustafa and Suleyman. More popular still is the transformation of names that in Arabic or Turkish are confined to one gender to apply to the other sex. In Bosnian, simply taking away the letter "a" changes the traditionally feminine "Jasmina" into the popular male name "Jasmin". Similarly, adding an "a" to the typically male "Mahir" results in the feminine "Mahira".

Related Topics:
Arabic - Turkish

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Symbols

Bosniaks have a wide number of historical symbols that are associated with them. Traditional Bosniak colors are green, white, yellow, and blue. The two best known Bosniak national symbols are the crescent moon and the Lillicum Bosniacum.

Related Topics:
Green - White - Yellow - Blue

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The old flag of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the flag of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina are also associated with Bosniaks. They are based on medieval designs from the Bosnian kingdom, and were originally meant to represent the entire country of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The earliest Bosniak flags date from the Ottoman era, and are typically a white crescent moon and star on a green background. The flag is seen by some Bosniaks as the only true flag of Bosniaks because the flag is the traditional flag of Bosniaks and because the flag symbolizes the Bosniaks as an Islamic people.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The flag of the Bosniak Islamic Union is exactly as the flag just mentioned and it is based on the traditional flag of Bosniaks.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Actually, the flag of the short-lived independent Bosnian state was the same except that the moon and star were golden. There is also a similar flag that was used by Husein-Kapetan Grada??evi? during the uprising of Bosniaks against the Ottoman occupation.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Some Bosniak organizations combine the two, adopting symbols with a crescent moon where a Lillicum Bosniacum (a fleur-de-lis) replaces the traditional star. Other variations of combining the two exist. A notable one is the seal of the Bosniaks in Sandzak, which is based on the old Bosnian flag but changes one half of the seal so that instead of yellow lillies on a blue background there are yellow crescent moons on a green background.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The current national flag of Bosniaks, seen on the right, was adopted around 1992. It bears a similarity to the flag of the SDA political party, but has a few key differences.

Related Topics:
1992 - SDA

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Traditions and customs

The nation takes pride in the melancholic folk songs sevdalinka, the precious medieval filigree manufactured by old Sarajevo craftsmen, and a wide array of traditional wisdoms that are carried down to newer generations by word of mouth, and in recent years written down in numerous books.

Related Topics:
Sevdalinka - Filigree - Sarajevo - Tradition - Wisdom

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~