A few years ago, with the help of fellow ethnologists from the Museum, I located and identified a rich collection of Bosnian-Herzegovinian artifacts related to esoteric and occult traditions from the Ottoman period. The collection is extremely rare and diverse; it includes objects from all religious cultures from this area and testifies to a very close connection between the ritual, health, and economic spheres of activity. Amila Buturović, an orientalist from Bosnia and Herzegovina with a Canadian address, is a full professor of the history of religion and culture at the Department of Humanities at York University in Toronto, specializing in Islamic Studies. Recently, in cooperation with the National Museum, she launched two important projects, both for Amila and for the museum and, ultimately, for Bosnia and Herzegovina and its cultural and historical heritage. In addition, he is collaborating on the project with the world's top textile preservation expert, Dr. Fenella France of the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian, who agreed to accompany her to Sarajevo to examine the condition of the Ottoman talismans at the National Museum. - In the beautiful museum environment, Dr. France and the museum's conservation team are conducting an initial inspection to propose further instrumentation, conservation, and storage of these spectacular objects, stated Amila Buturović in one of her posts on Facebook, which was also the occasion to talk with her about what that's what she does. Read below
A few years ago, with the help of fellow ethnologists from the Museum, I located and identified a rich collection of Bosnian-Herzegovinian artifacts related to esoteric and occult traditions from the Ottoman period. The collection is extremely rare and diverse; it includes items from all religious cultures from this area and testifies to a very close connection between ritual, health, and economic spheres of activity, between written and oral culture, as well as significant forms of interreligious relations. Some of the artifacts are quite simple and every day, and some are extremely sophisticated and complex, which indicates the wide range of influence that the esoteric and occult traditions had on this area. Given that we are talking about a collection that is diverse in material, design, linguistic, and iconographic expression, as well as symbolic content, the task of conserving, analyzing, and exhibiting them, both physically in the museum and virtually through digitization, requires a lot of work. I devoted myself not only to the analysis of the textual and contextual content of this material but also to assisting fellow conservators and ethnologists at the Museum to find an optimal way to preserve and exhibit this exceptional collection.
Through the various activities of the National Museum, we bear witness to the layered and rich historical culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina/Submitted photo
Through various activities of the National Museum, we bear witness to the layered and rich historical culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Although I have previously collaborated with the Museum and used their written and material resources for scientific research, the collaboration on this project is much more detailed and dynamic. The collection we are talking about was unknown because it was not systematically processed, even though it was included in the museum's inventories quite early. We were all somewhat taken aback by its variety, from a variety of materials that include paper, metal, wood, and textiles to content that evokes folk wisdom, theological teachings, scriptures, math puzzles, astral puzzles, symbolic diagrams, and more. From the beginning, I understood that it must be approached through detailed processing and contextual understanding of its relevance and importance not only for science but also for the public of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I've been working on several unusual and fascinating specimens from that collection for years now, and I'm still extracting new information from them, both synchronically in the sense of lateral connections to our and related cultures and diachronically in the sense of the layered intellectual and cultural genealogy that permeates these objects. Every time I focus my analysis on a new segment, I am surprised by new findings and discoveries, new components, and guidelines that reflect the dynamic accumulation and transfer of knowledge through many cultures and epochs. In the background of this work on museum artifacts is my research of written sources concerning the culture of health in the Ottoman period, including inter-confessional healing practices, occult methods, apotropaic therapies, and folk medicine. Written sources from our archives indicate intellectual currents and varied practices originating from Islamic and European traditions, which are mixed with folk healing methods. In pre-modern medicine, where health was considered an integral component of well-being according to the principle "in a healthy body, a healthy mind," treatment required not only focusing on the focal point in the body but on the harmonization of physical and psychological balance, climatic conditions, proper nutrition, and understanding optimal conditions for health problems. The greatest pre-modern medical theorist, philosopher, and polymath Ibn Sina, known in the West as Avicenna and as the father of modern medicine, whose magnum opus served as the main textbook in European medical schools until the end of the 18th century (which we have partially transcribed in manuscripts), was prescribing something that we are all coming back to lately, which is preventive medicine, the balance of physical and mental health, and the difficulty of treating body ailments if the environment and mental state are not favorable. Although Avicenna was not a supporter of astrology and occult methods of healing, he understood the value of the mysterious sciences and the belief in harmony among cosmic forces. Therefore, the material at our disposal is not any hocus-pocus magic or "new age" perspective, but an ancient tradition and an extensive cultural exchange between Galenic medicine, which was developed by Islamic physicians and philosophers through the fusion of physics and metaphysics, mysticism, and belief in the influence of cosmic currents on human organisms and well-being. All this is present in Bosnian libraries and archives in manuscripts written and transcribed in Arabic, Ottoman, and Persian, and Franciscan archives in Latin. I try to connect this knowledge with occult and esoteric instrumentalization thanks to these museum artifacts that provide a unique opportunity for parallel consideration of theory and practice. 
Written sources from our archives point to intellectual currents and colorful practices originating from the Islamic and European traditions, which are mixed with folk healing methods/Contributed photo
This collection is truly a cultural treasure, and I hope that soon it will be ready to see the light of day, i.e., that it will be presented to the general public in all its complexity. Scientific achievements must be accessible; for this purpose, we have various media and forums that enable the deepening of knowledge about one's own culture. Otherwise, what we do remains closed within narrow academic circles. As I said earlier, to achieve this, it is necessary to understand the content and broader context of the creation and ritual use of these artifacts in as much detail as possible. In them, domestic and foreign traditions that arrived through various imperial conquests, displacement, contacts, and exchange of knowledge are intertwined. Among the various forms of cultural expression, this collection represents perhaps the most fruitful for understanding those contacts and transfers of ideas, knowledge, rituals, and material culture. Islamic esotericism itself, which was built for centuries through the influences of ancient Persian, Hellenistic, Egyptian, Babylonian, ancient Hebrew, and other cultures, continued its dynamic development through contact with this climate and its ancient Slavic, Byzantine, and Latin-Christian heritage. We are talking about a cumulative process through which some elements were retained, some rejected, and some modified following the monotheistic teachings of the holy scriptures. Esoteric philosophy was included in the broader Islamic sciences and was given a lot of intellectual and analytical attention. It was not marginal, the way we now think about that topic, at least publicly, as some charlatan manipulation. On the contrary. Throughout antiquity and pre-modern history, the presence of sages who sought significance in the invisible side of life was instrumental in making important decisions in the private and public domain of all strata of society. In the early Islamic tradition, mathematicians, alchemists, astronomers, Sufis, and philosophers got involved, so they all contributed to strengthening, deepening, and spreading esoteric thought and practice. Of course, the modern period pushed it to the margins and tied it to black magic and quackery, but it is still present, in various ways, in almost all cultures. Just remember that no hotel in the Western world still has a 13th floor because that number is associated with bad luck. So it is with number 4 in the east. In Toronto, it's easiest to get a phone or car registration number that includes 4s because most of the city's East Asian population rejects it because they believe it carries bad energy. Supporters of spiritualism in modern societies very often reach for this ancient knowledge and bring it into their interpretations of the cosmos.
In the collection, there are large talismanic representations of so-called magic squares, i.e., of vefkov and complex numerological and astral diagrams. /Submitted photo[/caption] In this sense, the artifacts of the National Museum point to the richness of our tradition and the vivid discussions that took place in it, to its connection with the intellectual and ritual presence of esotericism both East and West of us, and to the fact that interest in health and well-being was expressed through various spheres of activity and concepts of health. Thus, the medical market was encouraged by various sources of knowledge, cultures, and medical practices. That health market broke down walls between religious, social, and political groups. When you are sick or need help, you care less about where the doctor or healer is from or what his affiliation is and more about whether that person is a reliable authority if you turn to him for help and if he has a good reputation if he has helped others. This is probably the case even now when we seek professional help for our mental and physical health.
In the collection, there are large talismanic representations of so-called magic squares, i.e., vefkov, and complex numerological and astral diagrams. They require extraordinary skill and expertise both to assemble and to understand. I was so fascinated by their statements of esoteric teachings that I immediately shared it with my colleague Dr. Binku Hallum from one of the leading research institutions in Great Britain, the British Library, where he is the chief curator of Arabic manuscripts and a world-renowned expert on Islamic esotericism. After I explained to him what it was all about and showed him a few photos, he enthusiastically replied that he had been reading about such complex examples of vefkov for decades but that he had never been able to see them "live" because almost all of them have been lost and are only occasionally mentioned in the literature and appear in private collections. Fascinated by the realization that the National Museum owns several such specimens, Dr. Hallum came to Sarajevo at my invitation, and that's how our collaboration began: through the analytical breakdown of all talismanic components, checking mathematical operations and finding formulas for their composition in written sources, interpreting symbolism, translating the text from Arabic, and opening comparative segments with similar artifacts. Our work is reverse engineering. We had the opportunity to exhibit works, some together and some separately, all over the world: BiH, England, Canada, USA, and Israel. We plan to publish a study that will be based on these artifacts but contextually related to the pre-modern tradition in the Middle East and Europe. 
After talking with the director of the National Museum and the expert museum staff, we decided to knock on the door of the best experts with the hope that they will agree to evaluate and evaluate the material and physical quality and condition of these artifacts/Submitted photo.
On the other hand, the museum value of these artifacts continues to be examined and grow. Curators from several world museums have shown interest in them, but the most important first step before their exposure to the domestic and potentially world public is their conservation. After talking with the director of the National Museum and the expert museum staff, we decided to knock on the doors of the best experts with the hope that they would agree to evaluate and assess the material physical quality and condition of these artifacts and advise on the best way of their long-term conservation. I was overjoyed when the world's leading textile conservator, Dr. Fenella France, who built her career at the Smithsonian and is now the head of the US Heritage Preservation Office at the Library of Congress, New Zealander by birth and education, Dr. France was invited by the American government to preserve the first American flag, which dates back to 1777. After successfully conserving that national treasure, Dr. France has worked on other precious artifacts, from Abraham Lincoln's shirt that was torn and stained by a bullet but preserved as memorabilia to the personal effects of the first settlers on Ellis Island, the personal effects of the victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and then many other national treasures. With the help of my Canadian grant, I enabled Dr. France to come to Sarajevo at the beginning of May this year and get acquainted with the artifacts and, of course, with the team of experts from the museum to start the preservation process. I am delighted that she has agreed to get involved and lead that process. We will inform you further about its continuation.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has natural cultural and historical treasures like no other country. It is small geographically but extremely centrally located. Different cultures met and still meet there; small and big wars are fought, but extremely fruitful contacts and exchanges of ideas take place there. It's been like that since ancient times until today. All that charge and those encounters sometimes result in violence, but we should not forget that Bosnia and Herzegovina is a place of exceptional exchange of ideas, customs, and learning. Every society has diversity woven into it, but many hold it back, politically and ideologically. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, that restraint is impossible and undesirable. Without that diversity, in all its tension and layering, BiH would not be as interesting as it is. I would like to learn to appreciate it more and to accept diversity in all forms because it is the basis for the best and most creative energy. Darwin also pointed to it as the only constant need for a healthy ecosystem. In our cultural ecosystem, we have extremely many components that could be, and often are, an example for other societies and cultures. Foreigners return to BiH because they are delighted with the mosaic and diversity that is maintained in everything, in material and non-material culture, in the geography and nature of BiH. Nothing in BiH is monotonous. Without diminishing the dedication and dedication of all BiH cultural workers, creators, and enthusiasts, I would be very happy if more professional and pedagogical attention was paid to cultural and natural heritage. It always hurts my soul when I see the rummaging of stećak, the destruction of natural treasures through illegal and careless logging and construction, through indifference towards the common good, which is our greatest asset. Shortsighted interests must not prevail. Our identity is closely tied to what we inherited from the generations before us; we have a responsibility towards that heritage; it keeps us anchored in a small geographical area but also enables us to proudly stand with the most advanced and largest societies. If we deny ourselves these goods, we will be lost in both time and space, and the bigger and more powerful will not wait to swallow us up and take over our capital. As such a small country, we must not allow ourselves to do that. 
Bosnia and Herzegovina has natural and cultural-historical treasures like no other country. It is small geographically but extremely centrally located/Consigned photo
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