6 May 2019, early morning. Cold, dark clouds are gathering under Bijeljina, a quiet town in north-eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. For many of its inhabitants, it’s just another Monday. Bot for the local Romani community, this is the day of Ederlezi (or Djurdjevdan in Bosnian-Serb-Croat language) – a joyful spring festival celebrated by many Romani peoples since the time immemorial.
Outside of the Romani Community Center large crowd gathered in anticipation. Children and young women have their heads decorated with willow wreaths. Children are curiously peering inside the office, where sits a big box of sweets they will get later on. An energetic lady, Sabira gives out eggs painted in green and red, joking that they are reserved “only for the ladies”.
While I watched this celebration seemingly isolated to some Romani communities, I had a feeling that this festival may hold some secrets to understanding the inter-religious connections that go far beyond tradition of this community. Let us go on a journey to find out.
New spring, new life
– This is a big day for our Roma communities – Sabira, the lady giving out painted eggs tells me more about this tradition – On the eve of Ederlezi, we decorate our houses with willow branches and place them near the doors and windows. We also make wreaths from willows branches and prepare lots of food. Especially the lamb, if the family can afford it. And we also paint eggs.
The eggs are dyed in red, which symbolises a healthy baby, and green eggs signify the nature coming to life. Early morning on the day of Ederlezi, children are bathed with eggs in a bathtub and then we put on wreaths on our heads.
When I looked round, all small and old ones were wearing beautiful wreaths and despite cold and cloudy day, we were all ready to go to the nearby stream.
On the way, Dragan, the founder of OTHARIN (Romani community organisation) explained why this day is so special:
-In the past, Romanis were travellers and moved from place to place depending on the weather. The celebration of Ederlezi marked the start of spring season and travels.
In fact, celebrating the spring time is nothing new to many cultures dependent on the annual cycle of seasons for their sustenance. After all, on the day of spring Equinox, Persians celebrate Now Rooz (New Year), old Slav cultures were painting eggs and drowning ‘Marzanna’ a goddes of winter and death in a river. But there are some aspects and symbols of Ederlezi that connects it with more than just ancient folk traditions.
In the search of the Green Man
First, let’s explore where the name Ederlezi (and also Serbo-Croat-Bosnian Djurdjevdan) comes from. Apparently, Romani Ederlezi, or Turkish Hidirlez is a lump of two names: Hizr (in Arabic: Al-Khidr) and Eliyas. The former is a mysterious ‘Green Man’ in Islamic tradition, while Elyas is known as a Jewish prophet. Interestingly, Djurdjevdan means a day of St George in Christian tradition and marks exactly the same day as Ederlezi.
So who are all these men? And why are they all associated?
Al-Khidr, meaning a ‘green man’ is a mysterious prophet in Islam. Interestingly, very little is known about him outside of Muslim tradition. One of Quran chapters seems to allude to the story of the ‘Green man’, a traveller and a wise man. Moses meets the mysterious man at the junction of two waters and joins Al-Khidr on the journey in the hope of learning something from his wisdom. Soon enough, a serious of surprising events happen. For instance, at some point Al-Khidr makes a hole in a boat of a poor fisherman. At another, he repairs a city wall in a very inhospitable town. When Moses reacts with surprise and even outrage to such acts, the wise man reveals his wisdom. He’s destroyed the boat so that it is not seized by a king who would be coming to the shore to take good boats by force. And he repaired a wall in a bad city as it hid a treasure left by a virtuous father to his two orphaned children.
Thus, Al-Khidr in Islamic tradition is associated with waters (two seas), green colour, protection and wisdom. In mystical strand of Islam, Sufism, Al-Khidr is seen as initiator of those walking the mystical path. In some cultures he is seen as the same person as Elyas, the Jewish Prophet. In Serb-Croat-Bosnian languages, the 23 April in Julian (orthodox Calendar) or 6 of May in Georgian one is named not after Al-Khidr (Hidirliz) but after St George (Djurdjevdan, the day of St George). According to the legends, St George slayed the dragon. Sometimes he is also associated with green colour, the colour of Al-Khidr[1] bringing about the arrival of spring.
The story of travellers
Ederlezi, by many seen as genuinely Roma tradition is really startling to me. It seems so syncretic and encompassing ancient myths, and traditions of so many other religions and cultures. Hizir is deeply revered in Turkish tradition and traditionally 6 May was the time for submitting special wishes to him for the year[2].
In central Iraq, some communities celebrate festival of Al-Khidr and Elyas, at the banks of the river Tigris. They deliver “sugar, salt, henna, sweets and myrtle leaves and at night send lit candles on wood along the river, making vows for their wishes to be granted”[3].
Yet, symbols used by Romani are also typical of ancient Slavs that were later adopted by Christianity and Orthodox Church. Interestingly, the willow tree, from which festive wreaths are made, were considered as holy trees of fertility and life in many other Slav folk traditions, including in Poland[4].
And how about wreaths or garlands themselves? In India, the floral garlands were used since ancient times as offerings to gods and a form of adoration.
Ederlezi now seems like intangible story of an intriguing community of Romani people. The story of people who, originating from Indian subcontinent, had travelled across the continents, through Iran, Turkey, South and Eastern Europe and dispersed in so many locations in Europe and America. But when travelling, they enriched the local communities through their traditions, arts and music, at the same time adopting rituals and mystical traditions of peoples they encountered.
And now, here I am, in a cold Bijelinja town, watching the Romani throwing the wreaths into the river and making wishes for an abundant year. In the background I hear traditional Romani folk song coming out from a car parked nearby:
Sa o Roma babo, e bakren chinen
A me, chorro, dural beshava
Romano dive, amaro dive
Amaro dive, Ederlezi
[English: All the Roma, dad, slaughter lambs
But me, poor, I am sitting apart
A Romany day, our day
Our day, Ederlezi]
[1] Jørgen Christensen-Erns “St George, Khidr, Zeus, Elijah, and Baal”, available at: https://www.academia.edu/31060845/St_George_Khidr_Zeus_Elijah_and_Baal
[2] Warren S. Walker and Ahmet E. Uysal, (1973) “An Ancient God in Modern Turkey: Some Aspects of the Cult of Hizir”, Journal of American Folklore 86, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, available at: http://khidr.org/hizir.htm
[3] UNESCO (2016) “Khidr Elias feast and its vows”, available at: https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/khidr-elias-feast-and-its-vows-01159
[4] Kamil Gołdowski, „Wierzba – drzewo płodności i diabelskiego czaru”, available at: https://www.slawoslaw.pl/wierzba-drzewo-plodnosci-i-diabelskiego-czaru/
Roshan Marta 