(Private album)
Tattooing of the hands was a widespread tradition among Catholic Croatian women in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Ottoman rule centuries ago.
This tradition originates from the places once occupied by the Turks and its purpose was to prevent young, Catholic women being kidnapped and converted to Islam. Tattooing symbols on the hand however dates even further back than that period.
The custom was mostly revived during the reign and fear of the Ottoman Empire, when Christian symbols were used for protection.
Traditional symbols included crosses, sometimes tattooed around the women’s wrist so that they looked like bracelets. The cross also has its variations in the form of a small pine tree. The kolo (circle), a motif taken from the kolo dancing in the villages, were also tattooed, which symbolised togetherness.