Grimoars

 Magical books or Grimoars are from their beginning written for a specific number of people whose knowledge was sufficient to understand and decode the coded scriptures and messages. Today when we take a look at the corrupt content created by erroneous transcriptions or translations we can conclude that the purpose of Grimoars was to prove that man can overcome that which is outside living matter. Therefore Grimoars can be regarded as forefathers of what we today call parapsychology.

 In recent history unskilled writers caused great damage to the occult literature because of their ignorance of the topic, and they therefore made grammatical mistakes and erroneous transcriptions that changed the meaning of the texts. It was difficult for translators who are not native speakers of Arabic language to decipher terms that were archaic in origin and as a result practical rituals became theory and exotic literature to them. Above all else they placed every beginner who tried performing these rituals in danger.

 Regardless of the mentioned problems, today we can find a couple of good Arabic spell books which were written by master magicians such as: Al-Toukhi, Ibn Ghazali, Al-Boni whose content represents real gems of eastern occultism.

 Arabic or Oriental magic can be divided into two sources; the first which derives its power from faith, that is Islam where rituals include parts of prayers from the Quran or whole verses, Zilzal which are regarded as the essence of love magic. This type of magic is not deprived of spiritual influences, it is based upon them taking into consideration that behind every prayer from the Quran there are invisible, noble servant’s that are subordinated to the text and whose role is to guard the holly text. The second source of magic is based on activation of Djinn forces which are set in motion by mentioning their names through various oaths or by using various symbols connected to them or writing talismans. In both cases the source of magic is based on utilising good or bad ghosts (Djinn), which in the end also determine the alignment of the wizard himself.

 Rituals of white magic are very simple perhaps because of the desire to accentuate the power of the prayer, while the rituals of dark magic are more complex and demanding. But to fully understand the whole history of Arabic magic we must go back into time all the way back to the powerful civilizations of Egypt, Persia and Mesopotamia.

Spells that are a combination of ancient Arabic-Persian teachings have a long history which can be seen from the elements contained within them. The extent to which old beliefs of Mesopotamia and Persia have an influence on the people can be best seen by reading old Arabic Grimoars. In one of the numerous love receipt among the number of Djinn names the name Shamash is mentioned, which is the ancient god of sun, while spells used for tying down a husband need to be prepared and left over night inside the oven. The oven was dedicated to the goddess Ishtar, which rules over love, fertility and motherhood, because legend has it that she lived inside an oven. Copper was also dedicated to this goddess, an item that is usually mentioned in Arabic love spells.  

Sihr or magic

Generally the term Sihr describes a range of terms which are known to us as magic, including various methods of oracles, the use of different objects and signs, medicinal plants, assembling spells, manufacturing talismans and notations, and communicating with supernatural forces. During the long history of magic which begins in the drab of mankind we find depicted walls of the caves in Altamira, Spain, where the primitive man drew figures of punctured wild animals wanting to influence that way his hunting skills and to strengthen his hunting capabilities. In paganism, the first form of religion, magic played a central role and by virtue of it and through spells performing magic rituals the priests and priestesses addressed the gods and spirits of nature. Later with the advent of monotheism, the history of magic continues with the stories about Adam and his daughter Anak, then Solomon or the Persian ruler of magic and the world of King Jamshid all the way to Iblis and his daughter Baidah, the angels Harut and Marut, etc.

Today we reliably know that no religion can exist without magic because without it the religion could not exist nor could it be accepted by the people. The things that fascinated and inspired man for ages and ever since his origin, are the miracles and supernatural phenomena before which he recedes and prostrates himself. If we look at the stories of the three messengers of God Mosses, Jesus and Mohammed we will notice magical or miraculous legends. In the case of Mosses the division of the ocean is nothing else but a copy of the much older Egyptian myth in which one of the pharaoh's wizards splits a lake into two before the spellbound people. Satan's temptation of Jesus in the desert is a classical description of an ancient wizard who evokes and communicates with demons. Muhammad's banishment of the devil also points to a similar myth.

The whole system of Arabian magic is founded on the age old beliefs of ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt and Persia which were developed in details and they encompassed magical sciences like astrology, numerology, spiritualism, necromancy and the like. A conformation of this claim is easy to be found reading various perscriptions from Arabic magic books. In bewitching a husband to be bound, Sihr is left in the oven over night. An oven for bread was dedicated to the goddess Ishtar who ruled over love, fertility and motherhood. Also her metal was copper, a frequent material for production of talismans. In another medicine for love in the list of the names of the Jinn that are being called upon, the name Shamash is mentioned, the ancient god of the sun, etc. It would be interesting to mention the symbol of the pentagram or the five sided star probably the most famous symbol of the Arabic occult tradition, which represented the god Anubis in the ancient Egypt. Besides this, the use of vefk's (magical square) began on the territory of today's Syria. From all of the above it is easy to conclude that magic has never been absent from mans conscience and that the methods and techniques that were used 7000 years ago still exist today, comprehended in a more assimilated, modern way.

Two ways to get knowledge about magic

From ancient times, magical knowledge was acquired in two ways- through books and through an oral tradition. The first way can be called elite, because obtaining knowledge that way was available only to a handful of chosen people who were acquainted with the mystical arts through teachings about using mysterious forces embodied in the names Allah, magical alphabet and vekf's. Traditional transmission of magical knowledge to family members was the most frequent way of initiating into the supernatural. This way can be considered as better, and more useful than the previous one because the knowledge and experience that is gathered over generations is a measurable source of wisdom and power unlike obscure texts and formulas from ancient authors that are protected.

Another important factor that vindicates the above mentioned, is the acquisition of the necessary permit for spiritual work from a teacher-forerunner which is after all one of the key elements for occult work.

 

How does Sihr work?

Today when occultism and clairvoyance are experiencing their renaissance, various untrue stories and misinformations are being spread about magic. The lowest form of magic- sorcery is being hit the hardest. Even though serious spiritualists avoid this form because it represents succumbing to low passions and impulses, it is the main reason for the bad reputation of occultism. At the very beginning it is important to say that we are talking about manipulation of the uninformed masses who are fed lies through newspapers and shallow books about something that might be called "house magic" where an unhappy wife needs to give her husband three drops of menstrual blood in his coffee or to touch him with spellbound honey and a miracle will take place. Those are notorious absurdities that are of no use and they should be considered as fairy tales and romantic prescription that were made up by old ladies while they were knitting socks.

If we consider this logically, any person that has made a blood transfusion would be incurably in love with the donor because as these prescriptions claim, the person that drinks a couple of drops of blood from your pinky will be madly in love with you. If magic (sorcery) was that easy wouldn't it be logical then that everyone would use sihr's on one another, and they wouldn't do anything else? Because it wouldn't be necessary.

 REAL MAGIC

Real magic only works in the hands of an experienced individual who is familiar with the first law of magic, namely: in the world of magic nothing comes for free, everything has a price. In other words this would mean that for every service that we expect we need to do a counter service. To whom? To spiritual beings (Jinn) who are the backbone of magic. Without their help no magic has an effect. According to spiritual laws a magi or a magician can influence another person through his Jinn if he manages to find out his name, namely, every man has his copy in the spiritual world (Karin) that directly influences him through his subconscious. If the magi succeeds to dominate the human copy in the spiritual world then he has control over that man. Of course, there are a lot of different ways to influence another person through magic but they are all based on the contact with the spiritual beings.

 Besides this every initiate into the Arabian occultism knows that a large number of magical operations are subject to astrology. Namely, every successful magical operation has in its own basis a positive astrological influence which is shown through some of the planets in the astrological clock or the zodiac sign. In accordance with that, for all magical influences a culprit can be found in the position of certain planets. By this we mean Saturn, Pluto and Neptune whose influence is the strongest when he is in the 8th house a symbol of the magical and the occult. Of course the positions of other planets are also important in determining magical influences. Red or love magic can be easily traced by following the position of Venus, whose influence can be seen through Fridays and its astrological clocks because most love rituals are based on them.

 There are many ways in which humans can return favors to ghosts, namely; to pray to them, reading verses from the Quran, doing some religious practices for the Jinn (if we are talking about Jinn believers), doing dishonest things (if we are talking about Jinn that are atheist), there were cases that a male Jinn or a female Jinn which is in contact with the magi wishes the magi as his intimate partner and (supernatural) intimate contacts take place, sometimes they go so far to have a supernatural marriage and such.

 How this communication between the Jinn and the Magi look like is best illustrated by this Turkish description of the ceremony of magic. When some girl is not returning affection to some boy who has been in love with her for a long time, feelings of love obsession are developed in him which prompt him to seek help from some powerful magician.

The whole process of sorcery is done in several parts and the first one is of course the classical "looking into the stars" to discover all the similarities between the male and the female on the basis of personal data. The practical part of the ritual begins on Friday, after the nightly prayers, when the magi goes to the house of the boy and sits next to the fire place. Holding in his hand salt and speaking some Jinn spells or azamet he throws it into the fire. As soon as the salt starts cracking the magi pronounces the names of the boy and the girl, than he speaks bissmilah and spits into the fire.

Pronouncing spells with the salt is only the introduction into the serious part of the ritual, namely, after reading a verse from the Quran, he takes seven candles and places them in different spots around the fire place and in the end he lights them. That way creating ideal conditions for his occult work, he starts calling forth the Jinn pronouncing the verse Jinn. In a very short time the Jinn start arriving in the room, sitting around the lit candles waiting for the magi's orders.

The magi knows that he cannot hurry with his orders, therefore he draws seven triangles around the fire place and in everyone of them he writes a magical word "Hu". He repeats seven times the azimet walking around the house, blowing after every repetition. As soon as he stops next to a candle the magi loudly calls out the girls name continuing with the words "ya eyyuhelervah" blowing to his left and right side.

With this he indicates the last part of his ritual when the orders are given to the Jinn and where he follows the events that he has set in motion with his magical operations. Before that he puts out one candle uttering the following words in Arabic: "You Jinn, bring me the soul of this candle, the girl is asleep." And then he puts out the rest of the candles.

The above mentioned ritual is repeated seven nights in a row. On the last night the magi writes the name of the girl on the boy's chest with a dark ink, giving a warning that no one can see that. By the magi's instruction the boy has to encircle the girl's house three times, three nights in a row while the magi tracks the condition of the Jinn that is in charge of the task. Seven days after the above described is done, the souls of the boy and the girl will be united and she will start to love the boy, for whom she never had any feelings. 

Ilirsko-bosanska mitologija: božanski bik Tur

Bik je od početka ljudske povijesti sveta životinja koja je zbog svoje fizičke snage i impozantog izgleda dio mnogih mitoloških predaja, legendi i kultova. Među najstarijim mitovima gdje se on navodi locirana je Mesopotamija i predaja o božanstvu Gugalanni, poznatijem kao Nebeski Bik ili Bik sa Neba. Gugalanna je bio prvi muž Ereshkigala, božanstva podzemlja, mračnog svijeta bez svjetlosti. Njega su Bogovi poslali da se osveti Gilgamešu zbog toga što je odbio seksualni poziv boginje Inanne. Tom prilikom Nebeski Bik, čiji udarac nogom izaziva zemljotres, poražen je i ubijen te raskomadan od strane Gilgameša i njegovog pratioca Enkidua. Na Bliskom istoku religijski pojam ubijanja bika je dosta čest i nalazimo ga i u predaji o genezi uobličene u perzijskom bogu Mitri, od čijeg je opisa rođenja i života nastala mitološka predaja o Isusu, koji lovi i ubija divljeg bika. Iz tijela mrtve životinje nikle su biljke, od kostiju postalo je žito a iz krvi vinova loza. Tada se stvaraju i prvi ljudi. Bik i nakon pojave islama na ovom području ne gubi svoju božansku osobnost što se najbolje može argumentirati arapskim mitom, ili bolje rečeno kozmologijskom predstavom, o bijelom biku Kujuti koji stoji na glavi strašne zvijeri Bahamut i drži zemaljsku kuglu na svojim leđima.

Bahamut ili Behemoth naziv je za mitološku divovsku ribu koja u arapskoj kozmologiji predstavlja oslonac same planete Zemlje, i za nju mitologija tvrdi da ima mnogo očiju, ušiju, noseva i jezika po sebi. Pojedini mitovi govore kako umjesto riblje ima glavu slona ili nilskog konja, a u nekim verzijama Bahamut je zapravo morski zmaj sa oštrim zubima i udovima. Bahamut na svom snažnom tijelu drži svih sedam sfera koja u arapskoj mitologiji čine cjelokupni univerzum. Na Bahamatu, odnosno na njegovoj glavi, pozicioniran je bik po imenu Kujuta, koji na svojim leđima nosi planinu od rubina. Na vrhu te neobične planine melek drži sedam slojeva zemlje. Alternativno, po leđima Bahamuta je zapravo površina od pijeska. Kujuta stoji na tom pijesku, a planina koju nosi na leđima ima u sebi ogromni ocean usred kojeg pluta Zemlja. Ispod Bahamuta se nalazi mračni i tajanstveni predio ispunjen maglom i vodom. Neki mitološki podaci tvrde kako ispod te tamne sfere postoji vatreni svijet u kojem obitava zmija po imenu Falak.

Bahamut je originalno mitološko stvorenje arapske mitologije, podaci o njemu se pojavljuju u kosmografskim tonovima koji datiraju iz 1291. Sam naziv na arapskom znači „zvijer“. O njemu je posebno pisao drevni arapski historičar Ibn al-Wardi, a spominje se i u Hiljadu i jednoj noći gdje se navodi priča o čovjeku po imenu Isa koji vidjevši Bahamuta od šoka i straha gubi svijest. Kada se probudi Allah ga pita da li je vidio veliku ribu. Isa odgovara da je vidio kako na glavi ribe stoji bik. Židovi su ovo mitološko stvorenje, poput mnogih drugih religijsko-mitoloških segmenata, asimilirali u svoje mitske predaje.

 

Arapski Kujuta i bosanski Tur

 

Pojedini segmenti prezentirane legende imaju dodirnih tačaka sa bosanskim mitom o gigantskom biku Turu, koji na svojim leđima nosi planetu Zemlju, i od čije volje ovisi njena ali i sudbina svih ljudi. Generalno, predaja o Turu je kratka i nema puno detalja koji bi otkrili nešto više o široj predstavi bosanske kozmologije a jedini izuzetak čini Rogatica. Naime, u tom dijelu Bosne se vjerovalo kako ispod zemlje postoji nepregledno more, na njegovoj površini pliva jedna velika riba, na ribi stoji bik a na njemu Zemlja. Kad taj bik pomjeri samo malo jednim uhom, zemlja se zatrese, a kada bi pomaknuo nogom ili čime drugim, sva bi se zemlja u more prevrnula, ali je, vjerovalo se, Allah stvorio jednu mušicu koja stalno oblijeće oko očiju tog bika i on ima od nje toliki strah da se ne smije niti pomjeriti sa mjesta.

Kako kod Turaka nema zabilježene legende niti o Bahamotu niti Turu, može se zaključiti da nije bilo prenošenja mita tokom osmanlijske okupacije BiH već da je on očito rudiment nekog drevnog paganskog kulta koji su baštinili pojedini mediteranski narodi, a među njima i Iliri. Postoji logična mogučnost da su ilirski vojnici službujući u Rimskom carstvu prenijeli legendu o Turu na područje Sirije i dalje, ili obrnuto, usvojili je i donijeli na Balkan. No, kako god bilo riječ je o vrlo staroj legendi iz drevnih, antičkih vremena. Bik je za Ilire imao vrlo značajno mjesto u religijsko-magijskom smislu te iako nemamo puno pisanih podataka o paganskim obredima naših predaka otkriveno je kroz arheološka nalazišta da su običavali vješati rogove Bos primigeniusa na začelje kuće što je imalo magijsku funkciju da štiti familiju i podari joj plodnost. Također ne treba zaboraviti navesti niti tradicionalan običaj kod ilirskih plemena prinošenja žrtve, dara u krvi i mesu Bogovima za uspješnu žetvu pšenice, kada se na nekom brdu početkom augusta klao bik.

 

Jedinstveni Tur

Evidentna su i druga mimoilaženja u samoj legendi, naime, kako tvrdi arapska mitologija Bahamut će kada bude Smak svijeta biti uništen od strane svoga kreatora odnosno Boga, kojemu je jedina ta zvijer potčinjena. Kod Bošnjaka se pripovijeda kako će se kijamet desiti onoga dana "kada Tur zatrese svoje tijelo", odnosno nema nikakvih navoda o klasičnoj predstavi Smaka svijeta gdje se sve odigrava Božijom voljom, što nam daje dovoljno prostora za zaključak kako je Tur zemljodržac gospodar planete i ljudi.

Isto tako, dok se u arapskoj mitologiji bik Kujuta prikazuje potpuno bijele kože u bosanskoj mitologiji on je crne boje, i svakako je povezan sa stvarnom životinjom (Bos primigenius) koja je izumrla na tlu Europe u srednjem vijeku. Najbolji dokaz njegove prisutnosti na području Bosne i Hercegovine su toponimi koji svemu daju dublju historijsku konotaciju. Tur je u bosanskoj predaji bez imalo sumnje božanstvo i u tom obliku ne susreće se nigdje drugdje na Balkanu, niti u Europi, što samo po sebi dovoljno implicira kako je riječ o drevnom nadnaravnom biću. Prije se pretpostavljalo da njegov naziv Tur dolazi od skraćenice latinske riječi taurus no jasno je da izvorno porijeklo proizlazi od stvarnog imena divljeg goveda Bos primigenius.

 

Božanski Orač Vidasus

U tradicionalnom životu Bosne i Hercegovine kastrirani bik tojest vol bio je sastavni dio seoskog domaćinstva i zamjenjivao je konja, koji je imao višu tržišnu cijenu i zbog toga nije mogao biti u vlasništvu većine seoskih domaćinstava. Istražujući kroz etnološku građu i usmenu predaju vjerovanja bosanskog naroda o volu primjetno je kako se prema njemu odnosilo sa pažnjom i brigom prvenstveno zbog egzistencijalne ali i svete svrhe. Kada započne proljetno oranje zemlje volu koji se nalazio sa desne strane omotavalo se oko desnog roga crveno pletivo (niti), od čelo bi mu se razbilo kokošije jaje a vrat bi mu se namazao maslom. Sve te ritualne mjere poduzimale su se u svrhu zaštite od zla i prizivanju sreće i plodnosti.

 U narodnoj astronomiji sazviježde od sedam zvijezda takozvane Plejade naziva se Volovi. To je interesantno i zbog toga što se Plejade (Messier 45) nalaze u sazviježđu Bika. Iako wikipedia tvrdi kako su Plejade zastupljene u svim mitologijama sjeverne polutke izvjesno je da se kroz legendu o Turu, ali i druga narodna predanja i vjerovanja, može nazrijeti mitološka poveznica sa Plejadama i u bosanskoj mitologiji. Segmenti kulta božanskog bika Tura naslućuju se upravo iz dva narodna naziva sazviježđa koja se nalaze jedan uz drugi a to su Orion, skup od tri zvijezde, koje se u Bosni naziva Štapovi, i već pominjani Volova. U proljeće, kada je vrijeme za sijanje, kad se ugledaju Štapovi na nebu, znak je da je nastupila zora, bliži se jutro, te treba nahraniti i upregnuti volove da idu orati.

 Zajedno ta dva sazviježđa prezentiraju onog koji upravlja Volovima tojest ore zemlju odnosno predstavljaju mitološkog Božanskog Sijača, koji bi mogao biti niko drugi nego ilirski bog Vidasus, poznat kao i Žeteoc - onaj koji žanje (žito). U prilog tome ide i podatak kako su plug izmislili sami Iliri.

Illyrian-Bosnian mythology : Divine bull Tur

From the beginning of mankind the bull was a holly animal which is a part of numerous mythological traditions and cults, due to its physical strength and imposing look. Among the oldest myths where he is mentioned is located in Mesopotamia and the legend about the deity Guagalanni, better known as the heavenly bull or bull from the sky. Gugalanna was the first husband Ereshkigala, deity of the underworld, dark world without light. Gods sent him to exact revenge upon Gilgamesh because he refused sexual advances of the goddess Inanna. During that occurrence, the heavenly bull, whose kick causes earthquakes, was defeated and dismembered by Gilgamesh and his follower Enkidu. In the middle east religious paradigm of killing a bull is frequent and we can find it in the legend about the genesis shaped in the Persian god Mithra, from whose description of his birth and life the mythological legend of Jesus was created, this god hunted and killed a wild bull. From the body of the dead animal, plants started to grow, from the bones wheat sprang up and from his blood grapevine. That’s when the first people were created. Even after the advent of Islam in these areas the bull didn’t lose his divine characteristic which is best confirmed by the Arabian myth, or better said cosmological representation, about the white bull Kujuta which stands on the head of a horrible beast Bahamut and holds the earth on his back.

Bahamut or Behemoth is the name of a mythological giant fish which in Arabic cosmology represented a backbone of earth, and for her mythology claims that she possesses numerous eyes, ears, noses and tongues. Certain myths claim that instead of a fish’s head it has an elephants head or hippopotamus head, and in some versions Bahamut is actually a sea dragon with sharp teeth and limbs. Bahamut holds on his strong body all seven spheres which in Arabic mythology constitute the entire universe. On Bahamut, i.e. on his head, the bull named Kujuta is positioned, which holds a mountain made out of rubies on his back. On top of that unusual mountain the angels are holding the seven layers of earth. Alternatively, on the back of Bahamut is actually a surface made out of sand. Kujuta is standing on that sand, and the mountain that he is carrying on his back has a vast ocean in the middle of which earth is floating. Underneath Bahamut is the dark and mysterious part filled with mist and water. Some mythological data claim that underneath that dark sphere there is a fire world in which the snake Falak dwells.

Bahamut is an original mythological creation of the Arabic mythology, data on it appear in cosmological tones which date since 1291. The name itself in Arabic means “the beast”. About it the ancient Arabic historian, Ibn al-Wardi  wrote, it is also mentioned in the 1001 night where the story about the man named Isa is mentioned, who after seeing Bahamut out of shock and fear loses his consciousness. Once he awoke, Allah asked him if he had seen a big fish. Isa replied that he saw a bull standing on top of the fish’s head. The Jews assimiliated this mythological being, like many other religious-mythological segments, in their mythological traditions.

 

Arabic Kujuta and Bosnian Tur

 Certain segments of the presented legend have connecting points with Bosnian myths about the gigantic bull Tur, which holds the planet on his back, from whose will depends the fate of earth and all people. Generally, the myth about Tur is short and there are not a lot of details which would reveal something more about the wider representation of Bosnian cosmology and the only exception is Rogatica. Namely, in that part of Bosnia it was believed that underneath the land there was an endless sea, on its surface swam a giant fish, on the fish’s head a bull stood and on his back earth. When that bull moves slightly his ear, the earth shakes, and when he would move his leg or something else, the entire earth would plunge into the sea, but it was believed that Allah created a small fly which constantly flies around the eyes of that bull and he is so afraid of her that he literally can’t move. (1)

As among the Turks there is no recorded legend not about Bahamot nor Tur, we can conclude that there was no transfer of myths during the Ottoman occupation of BiH, instead it is a rudiment of an ancient pagan cult which was inherited by certain Mediterranean people, and among them the Illyrians. There is a logical probability  that Illyrian soldiers serving in the Roman Empire transferred the legend of Tur to the territory of Syria and further, or vice versa, inherited it and brought it to the Balkans. But, no matter how it happened we’re talking about a very old legend from the old, ancient times. The bull had a very significant place for the Illyrians in the religious-magical sense and even if we don’t have many written data about the Pagan rites of our ancestors, we discovered through archeological findings that they preferred to hang the horns of Bos primigenius at the front of the house which had a magical function to protect the family and give it fertility. Also we shouldn’t forget to mention the traditional custom among Illyrian tribes of offering sacrifice, gift of blood and meat to the gods for a successful harvest of wheat, when they would slaughter a bull during august up on a hill.

 

Unique Tur   

Other bypasses in the legend itself are evident, namely, as the Arabic mythology claims Bahamut will when judgment day comes be destroyed by its creator i.e. god, to whom this beast is only subjugated. Among the Bosnians it is narrated that judgment day will take place on the day “when Tur shakes his body”, i.e. there are no claims about the classic notion of Judgement day where everything happens by god’s will, which gives us ample space to conclude that Tur holder of the earth is the ruler of the planet and people.

Similarly, while in Arabic mythology the bull Kujuta is depicted with totally white skin in Bosnian mythology he is black, and is truly connected to an actual animal (Bos primigenius) which died out in Europe in the middle ages. The best proof of its presence on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina are toponyms which give a deeper historical connotation to everything. Tur in Bosnian tradition is without a doubt a deity and in that form it is not seen anywhere else on the Balkans, nor in Europe, which in and of itself implicates that we’re talking about an ancient supernatural being. In the past it was assumed that his name Tur comes from the abbreviation of the Latin word Taurus but it is clear that the original name stems from the actual name of the wild bovine Bos primigenius.

 

Divine plowman Vidasus

In the traditional life of Bosnia and Herzegovina a castrated bull i.e. ox was an integral part of a village household and it replaced the horse, which had a higher market price and that’s why he wasn’t owned by numerous village households. Researching ethnological build and oral tradition of the belief of Bosnian people about the ox it is noticeable that he was treated with care and attention primarily because of the existential but also holly purpose. When the summer plowing begins to the ox which was on the right side people would wrap around his right horn a red knit (thread), a chicken egg would be cracked on his forehead and his neck would be covered with butter. All of these ritual measures were undertaken with the goal of protection from evil and summoning good luck and fertility.

In folk astronomy the constellation out of seven stars so called pleiad is called the Volovi (oxen). It is interesting because the pleiad (Messier 45) is located in the constellation of the bull. Though Wikipedia claims that pleiad is represented in all mythologies from the southern hemisphere it is evident through legends about Tur, but also other folk beliefs and traditions, that we can notice a mythological connection with the pleiad in Bosnian mythology. Segments of the divine cult of Tur are hinted out of the two folk names of the constellations which are located one next to the other and they are Orion, assembly of three stars, which in Bosnia were called Štapovi (sticks) and the already mentioned Volovi (oxen). In the spring, when it is time for sowing, when the Štapovi are visible on the sky, it is a sign that dawn occurred, morning is nearing, and that oxen must be fed and harnessed so they can plow.

Together these two constellations represent the one which operates the oxen i.e. ploughs the land i.e. represents the mythological divine sower, which could be no one else than the Illyrian god Vidasus, known as Žeteoc – the one that reaps (wheat). In addition to that goes the data that the plough was invented by the Illyrians.