SICANJE
The practice of Croatian Catholic tattooing in Bosnia and Herzegovina is referred to as Sicanje, Bocanje or Saranje. Sicanje and Bocanje both mean “to prick”; terms which are fitting because the tattoos are created through a process that involves the pricking of the skin with a needle. Saranje, the other term, means “coloring”, which is derived from the coloring matter of the ink used to produce the tattoos. Although the mixture has slight regional variations, it is generally made with a gunpowder or soot mixture, which is stirred with saliva, honey, water or milk.
The tradition of Sicanje in the Balkans has evolved out of a long existing tradition of tattooing in the area that was then re-attributed to Christianity as religious conversions began taking place. The practice has been traced back to the Illyrians and the Thracians. The Ancient Greeks depicted tattooed Illyrians on their vases and archeological findings in the necropolises of Glasnica, where short and pointed bronze needles fixed to handles were discovered, further confirm this practice. For more details on the tradition of Sicanje, Bocanje or Saranje please see research by Dr. Ciro Truhelka and Edith Durham.
Project Coordinator and Author: Marija Maracic.
Born in Kraljeva Sutjeska, a town in the municipality of Kakanj, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Maracic fled to Germany during the Yugoslav Wars with her family; eventually emigrating to the United States in 1999. She received her Masters in History specializing in Art History from Cleveland State University in 2016 and a dual Bachelors from Bowling Green State University prior to this in 2011.
Project Co-Author: Josipa Karaca
Born in Donja Vast / Uzdol, a small town in the municipality of Prozor - Rama, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Karača migrated to Austria before the Yugoslav Wars, in 1990. Together with her mother and sisters, she joined her father in Austria, who had been living and working there since the early 70s as a migrant worker. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Education from the University of Innsbruck in 2014 and is currently living in Innsbruck, where she works as a trainer with deaf and hearing-impaired adults.
The Sicanje Project The Sicanje project provides a bank of primary interviews on the tradition of Sicanje/Bocanje/Saranje which were executed in the summer of 2019 in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The interviews were conducted in the regions vernacular of Croatian and Bosnian, then translated into English by Maracic and German by Karaca. The project features 23 interviews with transcriptions in PDF format, photographs, video and audio.
Regional Guides in Bosnia and Herzegovina:
Biljana Gilbo Bilic, Josipa Karaca, Janja Lazic, Ljilja Maric, Antonela Paponja.
Project Sponsors:
Nikolina Alaupovic, Marijana Anderson, Jelica & Boris Andrijic, Dinko Bačić, Mara Bakula, Ana Bakula, Vladimir Batinic, Jagoda B, Kata Beslic, Dragana Boras, Hadley K Conner, Julie Despot, Jelena Dordic, Ana Dorsey, Tom & Eileen Fallon , Rachel Harner, Christina House, Adrijana Jajcevic, Anto Jakovljevic, Natalia Jelovic, Davor Jozic, Maria Jukic, Jovanka Jukic, Ivan Jurcevic, Ljubinka Kapetanovic, Slavko Katic, Felix Kilimakher, Ivan Krnjić, Angela Križanac, Kulturno Drsutvo Hrvata BiH Kraljica Katarina Cleveland, Rosanna Pecirep Lanza, Mladen & Zorica Laush, Biljana Lovrinovic, Daniel Majhan, Dajana Markovic, Anto & Lucija Maracic, Mijo & Ruzica Maracic, Danijel Maracic, Robert Maracic, Elizabeth Maric, Pete Maric, Danijela Martinovic, Pero & Ruza Martinovic, Angela Miskic, Tatjana G. Palavra, Nika & Kristina Paulic, Elizabeth Pehar, Deborah Petri, David Petrovich, Natasa Rakic, Suzana & Ivan Sabljić, Andrea Sapina, Pero & Lucija Tolo (list to be finalized). The site is currently under construction.
The practice of Croatian Catholic tattooing in Bosnia and Herzegovina is referred to as Sicanje, Bocanje or Saranje. Sicanje and Bocanje both mean “to prick”; terms which are fitting because the tattoos are created through a process that involves the pricking of the skin with a needle. Saranje, the other term, means “coloring”, which is derived from the coloring matter of the ink used to produce the tattoos. Although the mixture has slight regional variations, it is generally made with a gunpowder or soot mixture, which is stirred with saliva, honey, water or milk.
The tradition of Sicanje in the Balkans has evolved out of a long existing tradition of tattooing in the area that was then re-attributed to Christianity as religious conversions began taking place. The practice has been traced back to the Illyrians and the Thracians. The Ancient Greeks depicted tattooed Illyrians on their vases and archeological findings in the necropolises of Glasnica, where short and pointed bronze needles fixed to handles were discovered, further confirm this practice. For more details on the tradition of Sicanje, Bocanje or Saranje please see research by Dr. Ciro Truhelka and Edith Durham.
Project Coordinator and Author: Marija Maracic.
Born in Kraljeva Sutjeska, a town in the municipality of Kakanj, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Maracic fled to Germany during the Yugoslav Wars with her family; eventually emigrating to the United States in 1999. She received her Masters in History specializing in Art History from Cleveland State University in 2016 and a dual Bachelors from Bowling Green State University prior to this in 2011.
Project Co-Author: Josipa Karaca
Born in Donja Vast / Uzdol, a small town in the municipality of Prozor - Rama, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Karača migrated to Austria before the Yugoslav Wars, in 1990. Together with her mother and sisters, she joined her father in Austria, who had been living and working there since the early 70s as a migrant worker. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Education from the University of Innsbruck in 2014 and is currently living in Innsbruck, where she works as a trainer with deaf and hearing-impaired adults.
The Sicanje Project The Sicanje project provides a bank of primary interviews on the tradition of Sicanje/Bocanje/Saranje which were executed in the summer of 2019 in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The interviews were conducted in the regions vernacular of Croatian and Bosnian, then translated into English by Maracic and German by Karaca. The project features 23 interviews with transcriptions in PDF format, photographs, video and audio.
Regional Guides in Bosnia and Herzegovina:
Biljana Gilbo Bilic, Josipa Karaca, Janja Lazic, Ljilja Maric, Antonela Paponja.
Project Sponsors:
Nikolina Alaupovic, Marijana Anderson, Jelica & Boris Andrijic, Dinko Bačić, Mara Bakula, Ana Bakula, Vladimir Batinic, Jagoda B, Kata Beslic, Dragana Boras, Hadley K Conner, Julie Despot, Jelena Dordic, Ana Dorsey, Tom & Eileen Fallon , Rachel Harner, Christina House, Adrijana Jajcevic, Anto Jakovljevic, Natalia Jelovic, Davor Jozic, Maria Jukic, Jovanka Jukic, Ivan Jurcevic, Ljubinka Kapetanovic, Slavko Katic, Felix Kilimakher, Ivan Krnjić, Angela Križanac, Kulturno Drsutvo Hrvata BiH Kraljica Katarina Cleveland, Rosanna Pecirep Lanza, Mladen & Zorica Laush, Biljana Lovrinovic, Daniel Majhan, Dajana Markovic, Anto & Lucija Maracic, Mijo & Ruzica Maracic, Danijel Maracic, Robert Maracic, Elizabeth Maric, Pete Maric, Danijela Martinovic, Pero & Ruza Martinovic, Angela Miskic, Tatjana G. Palavra, Nika & Kristina Paulic, Elizabeth Pehar, Deborah Petri, David Petrovich, Natasa Rakic, Suzana & Ivan Sabljić, Andrea Sapina, Pero & Lucija Tolo (list to be finalized). The site is currently under construction.
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