Sicanje
Sicanje, bocanje or bockanje was a traditional tattoo custom practiced mostly among Bosnia and Herzegovina|Catholic] Croat teenage girls and boys of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the Croatian region of Dalmatia.
History
Tattooing of young girls and boys in Bosnia and Herzegovina is colloquially called sicanje, bocanje or bockanje, and it was a widespread custom mostly among Catholic Croats in the central regions. The custom is thought to predate the Slavic migrations to the Balkans and even Christianity. In the 1st century BC, the Greek historian Strabo wrote of tattooing among inhabitants of this area, namely Illyrians and Thracians, along with other customs. A similar practice was also present among Albanians and Vlach women from Greece, Macedonia and Herzegovina. Archaeologist Ćiro Truhelka researched these types of tattoos in the late 19th century, becoming one of the first to write about them and to illustrate them. In 1894, a Bosnian-based doctor named Leopold Glück published an article in Vienna titled Die Tätowirung der Haut bei den Katholiken Bosniens und der Herzegowina detailing the tattoos observed among the locals.Women in some parts of the country tattooed their hands and other visible parts of the body with Christian symbols and stećak ornaments. Boys were also tattooed with the same symbols mostly above the elbow on the right arm, chest, forehead, and pointer finger. This can be seen today, not only in Bosnia and Herzegovina but among ethnic Croats from Bosnia and Herzegovina living abroad. Children were tattooed from as early as the age of six, usually during the period between the feast of Saint Joseph in March to the feast of Saint John the Baptist in June.
The practice of tattooing on the Balkans, which also has been widespread among Albanians and also Vlach women probably predates the Slavic migrations to the Balkans, and consequently Christianity itself, tracing back to Paleo-Balkan peoples. The Eastern Orthodox Slavic population abhorred this practice.
Geographical extent in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia
The practice of traditional tattooing was recorded in nearly all regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina were Croats live. Exceptions are the areas around Banja Luka, Derventa and parts of southern Herzegovina.In Croatia, the practice of traditional tattooing was recorded in some villages of the Šibenik hinterland; this includes the municipalities of Muć, Kijevo, Unešić, Klis and Šibenik itself. It was also recorded in villages in southern Dalmatia bordering Bosnia and Herzegovina in the municipalities of Ston, Metković and in one Slavonian village in the municipality of Osijek.
Folk explanation of traditional tattooing
Many explanations for the practice of traditional tattooing among Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina are recorded. The ethnologist Mario Petrić categorised the explanations into the following groups:- A sign of Christianity
- A sign of Catholicism
- Prevention of conversions to Islam
- Decoration
- A sign for endurance of pain
- Other explanations
Motifs
The most common and widespread symbols tattooed were the cross, bracelet, fence and branches or twigs.The cross had numerous variations, with one of the most common ones included small branch-like lines called "grančica" or "jelica". Bracelet-like designs were sometimes tattooed around the women's wrists, either with crosses or a fence-like motif. There were many non-Christian, or pagan symbols used, the most common consisting of circles believed to be connected to the traditional circle dances of the villages. The pagan and Christian symbols were mixed together indiscriminately, with the first originating from nature and family in Illyrian times, and the other with later adapted Christian meaning. The most common areas to tattoos were the arms and hands, and on the chest and forehead..