Among the Bosnian folk there is a belief that alongside the material world there
is a spiritual world called Mračne Havaje. This belief is especially present in
folk magic where it is often mentioned in rituals of annulling negative energy
through the use of basmi (spells) i.e. oral magic. By analysing a few basme we
come across precise names of locations which give us a clear picture that the
Dark Havaje is a world covered by a lifeless desert called Kavdag in whose
middle there is a gigantic mountain Jaban, which is full of cracks and holes.
Kavdag is very similar to the name of the Jinn mountain Qaf which is mentioned
in Islamic legends. According to mythology, mountain Qaf is the home of the Jinn
because a large number of them live there.
Mračne Havaje are basically a folk representation of hell, a distant place where the world of humans ends and the spirit world begins in which there is no fertility nor life. The word Havaj or Havaje come from the Arabic language and symbolise air, sky, height; and we can find that word in several songs about heroes. In accordance to that it would be easy to conclude that the negative energy is being carried into the heights, into the lifeless mountain where eternal silence and darkness rule.
Bosnian spiritual healers believe that evil cannot be destroyed but transferred from one person onto another location and that's why it is sent to Dark Havaje, a place capable of absorbing all of the negative energy. The transfer is done in such a way that evil and sickness are channelled in the direction of Dark havaje with a precise chant: "over a hundred fields, over a hundred forests, behind the nine hills, into the barren land, where there is no dog bark nor a cat meow, where the prayer isn't heard..."
Mračne Havaje are basically a folk representation of hell, a distant place where the world of humans ends and the spirit world begins in which there is no fertility nor life. The word Havaj or Havaje come from the Arabic language and symbolise air, sky, height; and we can find that word in several songs about heroes. In accordance to that it would be easy to conclude that the negative energy is being carried into the heights, into the lifeless mountain where eternal silence and darkness rule.
Bosnian spiritual healers believe that evil cannot be destroyed but transferred from one person onto another location and that's why it is sent to Dark Havaje, a place capable of absorbing all of the negative energy. The transfer is done in such a way that evil and sickness are channelled in the direction of Dark havaje with a precise chant: "over a hundred fields, over a hundred forests, behind the nine hills, into the barren land, where there is no dog bark nor a cat meow, where the prayer isn't heard..."
