Puračić, a small Bosnian town located in the north-east of Bosnia and Herzegovina with around 4,500 inhabitants, has been a place of special people, events and meetings since its inception until today.
At the very entrance, you will be greeted by one of the symbols of the town, a row of scented linden trees over a hundred years old. In addition to the tree line, there are also sights such as two national monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the old Bosnian house with a veranda “Ćamdžić House” and the “Temple of the Holy Prophet Ilija.”
The uniqueness of this place is also the ethnic room “Puračka sehara” which depicts the interior of a traditional house from this region, then the widely known gastronomic specialty “Puračka ćaska”, but also the event which represents the largest national gathering in north-eastern Bosnia – the Puračić Fair with a tradition longer than 160 years old. It takes place every year from October 12 to 14 and is visited by nearly 200,000 visitors.
The Fair, throughout history, has been considered a true little oasis of nurturing tradition, cultural heritage and activism accompanied by song, dance and delicious traditional food.
In the following lines, we will find out more about Puračić, about the local works and philanthropy present in this Bosnian town and the activities implemented by a group of activists gathered within the Association of Citizens Cultural Art Society “Puračić” (KUD „Puračić“).
I had the opportunity to talk with Mr. Hazim Osmanović, who talked about the work of this wonderful group of people who started working as a cultural and artistic society, and today have accomplished numerous successes in different fields.
The work of this society started again in August 2010. Since then it has been a symbol of positive changes in the local community.
According to the president of the Association, from 2010 until today, over 400 members have passed through KUD “Puračić”, and currently 120 of them of all ages are active. Together, throughout the year, they organize a series of events and activities that have enriched and strengthened their local community:
A gathering with ćetenija called Puračko sijelo is already becoming traditional. The gathering is about the preparation of sweets in which the entire group of people participates. Earlier, the preparation of ćetenija was indispensable in every environment, while today this custom has almost disappeared.
Ćetenijada or the preparation process is done during winter and low temperatures, and those gathered taste the prepared dessert with song and dance. This event is a unique opportunity for several dozens of lovers of tradition from this region to gather in a positive atmosphere and thereby start or open the season of activities for the current year.
In addition, a large iftar for fasting citizens and guests has also become part of the tradition in this area. For years, during the month of Ramadan, the KUD “Puračić” in the local Cultural Center has been organizing a joint iftar (a dinner where Muslim men and women break their day-long fast). Iftar is a special joy for everyone from the local community, but also beyond. Iftar, where all the traditional dishes characteristic of this area are served, is also one of the symbols of the town’s spirit of diversity, coexistence, but also an indicator of the strength and unity of a local community. Several hundred attendees are encouraged and motivated by an event like this to promote the idea of solidarity, respect for diversity and openness.
The gastronomic event “Puračić ćaskanje” is another event that our interviewee, as well as the entire community, is proud of. In 2020, ” Puračić ćaskanje – the art of preparation and serving” was named as the fourteenth element on the list of intangible cultural heritage of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This very status is a step towards being on the Representative List of World Heritage created by UNESCO. The great team from KUD “Puračić” receives the credit for this success, since the team is actively working to strengthen the transmission, promotion and preservation of cultural heritage from oblivion. And one of the ways to do that is precisely the aforementioned gastronomic event. In the traditional dishes book “Puračić Sofra” the central place is occupied by the recipe for the famous “Puračić časkanja”. The publisher of this book, which preserves all the traditional food recipes from oblivion, is once again the Cultural and Artistic Society “Puračić”. The event, which is named after this specialty, consists of the competitive preparation of this dish, but also various other activities such as round tables, lectures on nutrition and a healthy lifestyle, and a series of other sports and entertainment events. Every year, the event is attended by several hundred citizens, as well as dignitaries from public and cultural life and experts from various fields.
The International Folklore Festival is an event where a series of activities and events are held on the streets of Puračić, which in those days make this small town a real small capital of song, dance, singing and entertainment. Dozens of cultural and artistic societies from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the surrounding area, as well as Turkey and North Macedonia, will show the most beautiful dances from their region. The entire content of the Festival will be enriched by a ceremonial parade of participants, followed by national costume shows. The folklore festival in Puračić is included in the calendar of the CIOFF festival (International Council of Organizations of Folklore Festival and Folk Arts), the only official UNSCO partner. The Puračić festival as such is the only one in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to have this status, which puts this small community at the very top of the local action results in this field.
In addition to everything listed, this hardworking team was responsible for the implementation of a large number of environmental cleaning and landscaping actions in Puračić. The action of remodeling the picnic area in Puračić is also worth mentioning, which started a few years ago, and it is still active. Namely, within the eco project “Wake up, nature does not forgive”, KUD “Puračić” in the period from 2013 to 2014 turned the location where there was a huge garbage and vegetation dump (over 7,000 square meters of space) into a park and picnic area called Ljuštak. The space was cleaned, arranged and adapted for use, and then over 600 different plants were planted, along with many rare indigenous plant species such as indigenous fruit species and ornamental plants. After the completion of the original project, they continued the maintenance of the site with their own capacities, as well as additional arrangements of areas for picnic, places to rest and play, walking paths, parking space and more. The former garbage dump is now the perfect space for school trips, nature lessons, as well as for various other cultural and social events.
Our interviewee recalls the activities that took place in 2022, which, according to him, were very meaningful. Read more about the activities that marked the previous year in Puračić below.
10. International folklore festival “Dani ćaske – Puračić 2022” held in the period from August 3 to 7, with numerous guests from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, Turkey and North Macedonia. The festival was realized from several related activities, such as the opening concert and the opening of “Summer at the town with a soul”, and a concert by 4 foreign ensembles. As the final manifestation of the International Folklore Festival, a round table was held on the topic “National treasure on the path of life’s reality” and at the same time a promotion on „Puračić ćaskanje“ was held.
The traditional 9th Puračić ćaskanje was held at the Ljuštak excursion site on September 25, 2022. In addition to the competitive preparation of this specialty, a round table on the topic “Let’s talk about healthy eating” was held, in which professors from local universities participated, as well as Professor Dr. Drago Šubarić, Vice-Chancellor Josip Juraj Strossmayer University from Osijek, and the Minister of Health in the Tuzla Canton Government dr. Dajana Čolić.
On August 8, 2022, at CIOFF’s online marathon titled “FLAVORS OF THE WORLD” – a movie about Puračić ćaskanje titled ” Puračić ćaskanje – it’s not just a dish, it’s a way of life” was shown. The movie talks about the phenomenon of preparing this dish as the way of life that is closely related to the preparation of this dish.
During 2022, the members of KUD “Puračić” had two guest appearances at festivals in Turkey: in April in Edirne and in August in the city of Havsa. They also participated in festivals in Čitluk, Srebrenica, Teočak, Tojšići, Tuzla. These, as well as all earlier festivals, provided an opportunity to exchange experiences, energy and improve activities and work at all levels.
Also in 2022, reforestation and celebration of the World Cleaning Day in the month of September continued. As a result, they planted 500 new seedlings.
The end of the year was marked by the collection and distribution of New Year gifts for children at the Tuzla Clinical Center. During the visit to the Clinic for Children’s Diseases, Tuzla Clinical Center, 80 gifts were given to children who were staying in the hospital.
Throughout the year, in addition to concrete work and activities, work was also done on promoting the values and strength of the local community through guest appearances on television shows and filming of KUD activities. With these activities, they wanted to inspire and encourage individuals and groups who share the values of Puračić activism.
A proof that dedication, work and activism really pay off and that behind this team there are hardworking and dedicated members, are numerous awards, recognitions and successes that have been achieved until today. Mr. Hazim tells us with love and pride that KUD “Puračić” received the Honorary Charter of the Municipality of Lukavac and the Certificate on Excellence by the US Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition, in 2019, they won the prize of the expert jury at the Children’s Folklore Festival in Istanbul-Sariyer Turkey. In 2020-2021 they won the ECO Challenge in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the category of non-governmental organizations and companies.
After all listed recognitions and successes, it should be emphasized that the main driving force of all activities are women and young people, of which they are particularly proud. We will provide more about the strength of women in the local community in the following texts.
Finally, the president of the Cultural and Artistic Association “Puračić” has a message for citizens, activists:
“Love and preserve our cultural heritage, respect others and be different. Let’s wake up – roll up our sleeves and personally contribute to making our environment a beautiful and pleasant place for living.”
I would also add, visit Puračić, because Puračić is really a way of life.
Author: Nihad Suljić
