01 Ajvatovica Islamic tradition pilgrimage in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Ajvatovica is the largest

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic traditional, religious and cultural event in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. It is located near

Prusac Prusac (Прусац) is a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is one of the oldest villages in the Skopaljska valley located in the upstream area of the Vrbas river. It is ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. It was named after Ajvaz-dedo (''Grandfather Ajvaz''), a pious

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

working to enlighten the population and achieve progress in the area.

History of the Holy Site of Ajvatovica

Ajvaz-dedo was a

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

dervish who arrived in Akhisar (known today as

) with the conquering Ottoman armies in 1463. The story of the rock dividing dates back to the legend of Ajvaz-dedo, an elderly man who prayed for water during a long period of drought that threatened the small mountain hamlet of

in 1510, during Ottoman rule. However, Ajvaz Dede found a powerful spring of water near the village on the mountain Šuljaga. The spring had been shut off by a rock 74 metres long and 30 metres wide, which obstructed the construction of a running water system. Ajvaz-dedo spent 40 days beseeching

Allah Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God in Abrahamic religions, God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with God in Islam, Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), althoug ...

to split the rock. On the fortieth morning, following his prayers, Ajvaz Dede dreamt that two white rams collided and split the rock. When he awoke, he saw the rock split in half. Wooden pipes were placed along the newly formed canyon to take water into Prusac. Seeing it as a sign of God's

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...

and

blessing In religion, a blessing (also used to refer to bestowing of such) is the impartation of something with doctrines of grace, grace, Sacred, holiness, spiritual Redemption (theology), redemption, or Will of God, divine will. Etymology and Germani ...

, people began going on pilgrimages to the place where the rock had split. In 1947, during the early years of communist Yugoslavia, thirteen people were convicted by the district court in

Travnik Travnik ( cyrl, Травник) is a town and a municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the administrative center of the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, ...

for "participating in the unauthorized procession on the occasion of the religious holiday Ajvatovica, opposing state officials and violating the ban on flying religious flags." The thirteen individuals were also accused of assaulting two policemen who tried to break up the procession and threatening them with knives while on horseback. Following this incident, maintenance of the religious site was forbidden by the communist Yugoslav government until the tradition was renewed in June 1990. There are annual celebrations in Prusac to commemorate the event. It has become a large tourist and religious attraction called the "Days of Ajvatovica". The 500th anniversary of the event was commemorated in June 2010.

References

Islamic pilgrimages {{Islam-stub