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THE PEOPLE

Culture:

Language: Formerly called Serbo-Croatian or Croato-Serbian, the major language is now referred to (according to the nationality of the speaker) as Serbian, Croatian, or Bosnian. Part of the South Slavic group of languages, along with Slovenian, Bulgarian and Macedonian, it is written in both Latin (Croatian and Bosnian) and Cyrillic (Serbian). There is a tendency for all three variants to revert to older vocabulary and grammatical structures that were common in the early 20th century, prior to the centralist pressure to standardize the language which characterized Yugoslavia during much of this century.

Religion: The bulk of the population since World War II has been regarded as atheist or agnostic, although since the late 1980s, religious practice has increased substantially. Most of the Croat minority follow the Roman Catholic faith, and many Serbs, Orthodox Christianity. Of the majority ethnic "Muslims," many have recently returned to practicing Islam, an Islam, however, which is substantially less strict than in Middle Eastern countries. Attempts to introduce more conservative Islamic practices have been aided by war-fanned ethnic antagonism, but have yet to make real headway with the general population.

Cultural Traditions: Bosnia is located just to the west of the line along which the Christian church split about 1050 AD between Rome and Constantinople. Western influence was dominant until the 15th century Turkish invasion, which imposed a dominant Turkish-Islamic influence. Periodic movements of Serbs west over the centuries have further blurred the cultural border, yielding in Bosnia the rich mix of cultures that was characteristic before the current war. An aspect which especially attracted foreign scholars was the extensive tradition of oral epic poetry, especially among the Bosnian Muslims and Serbs.

"Ethnic cleansing" and refugee movements have reduced Bosnia's ethnic mix, most extensively in the territory controlled by the "Serbian Republic" but also in other areas. Intermixture has probably best survived in Sarajevo itself and in urban areas of central Bosnia.

National Holidays: The celebration of public holidays has been effectively suspended during the war. Of greatest significance at present are probably religious celebrations, notably the Islamic month of fasting (Ramadan), usually in February-March, and the Ramadanski Bajram holiday which ends it, Roman Catholic Christmas and Easter, and Orthodox Christmas and Easter. Of special significance to many Serbs is St. Vitus' Day (Vidovdan - June 28), which is the anniversary of the Serbian defeat by the Turks on Kosovo Field in 1389, and of the assassination of Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand by a Serb nationalist in Sarajevo in 1914.

Back to Chapter 1: Table of Contents

Historical Overview