A book about the tradition of sicanje
Sicanje
A tradition that speaks without words.
A centuries-old heritage of faith and identity, told in the words of 24 women of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Buy the bookI.About the book
A story that reaches back to the Illyrians — and still lives on the skin.
Sicanje is a traditional form of hand-tattooing that the Catholic women of Bosnia and Herzegovina nurtured for generations. This book is the first to systematically record their testimonies — of the faith, fear, pride and belonging they carried beneath their sleeves, often keeping their own story untold for a lifetime.
Through twenty-four conversations, authors Josipa Karača and Marija Maračić assemble a portrait of a vanishing tradition — before the last bearers of this knowledge fall silent forever.
24
Interviewees
1
One language, one tradition
2026
Year of publication
Every prick had a meaning. Every cross, its own story — pressed where words dare not go.
The spirit of the testimonies from the book
II.Authors
Marija Maračić
Cleveland / Kraljeva Sutjeska
Marija Maračić comes from Kraljeva Sutjeska near Kakanj. During the war, she and her family fled to Germany, and in 1999 she emigrated to the USA, where she earned a master's degree in art history at Cleveland State University. She wrote the book to preserve the voices of women whose stories history rarely records.
I am less proud of the book as an object than of what it carries within: a line of knowledge passed from woman to woman.
Josipa Karača
Austrija / Rama
Josipa Karača was born in Donja Vast near Prozor/Rama. She has lived in Austria since 1990, where in 2014 she graduated in education from the University of Innsbruck. Today she works as a trainer at an educational center for deaf and hard-of-hearing people, and through her writing she keeps the stories of her homeland from being forgotten.
What sets me apart is multilingualism, a strong bond with my homeland, and a creative way of working.
A vanishing craft
A needle, soot and faith — without a single machine.
For centuries, sicanje was passed from generation to generation as a sign of faith, belonging and courage: with a needle dipped in a mixture of soot and milk, the rite of sicanje was performed. Today the last bearers of this knowledge grow ever fewer, and the book seeks to record their words before the tradition falls silent forever. The book also captures that process — just as it was described by the women who lived through it.
Invitation to the event
Book launch
6 September 2026
Prozor / Rama
House of Culture
19:00
Reception of guests
20:00
Programme and launch
II.Order book
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