New book explores stories of over 6,000 Bosnian settlements

The book “Names of Settlements in Bosnia and Herzegovina” is the result of four years of research by Professor Indira Šabić from the Department of Bosnian Language and Literature at the Faculty of Philosophy in Tuzla. She has devoted her life, as she says, to names, often unnoticed. Knowing that the names of settlements conceal the reason why Bosnians and Herzegovinians have formed a deeper and more loyal connection to their land, she undertook the task of collecting and analyzing oikonyms (settlement names).

Thus, this book emerged as a response to the challenge of mastering 6,141 settlement names, the number confirmed in Bosnia and Herzegovina according to the 2013 Census, CE Report quotes FENA.

“However, the harsh reality of mathematics is reflected in the fact that 542 settlements were recorded as uninhabited, 590 settlements had up to ten inhabitants, and as many as 1,696 settlements did not have a three-digit population. These numbers refer to 2013, and in the meantime, the negative trend of depopulation has continued, making the figures even more alarming. The displacement of the population, caused by forced migrations during the 1990s war or later economic migrations, was one of the motivations for writing this book. Why? Because a settlement can survive without many things, but not without people. Therefore, it was necessary to document and describe them so that we do not lose them, as has happened to many in the past,” said onomastician Indira Šabić, author of the book.

She explains that, following the simplest definition, oikonyms are the names of inhabited places, and the book approaches these names in terms of their formation, motivation, meaning, origin, renaming, and so on.

“Contextually, the book can also be read as a collection of stories about settlements as symbols of survival and strength, about Bosnians and Herzegovinians who, despite hardships, patiently built them. Thus, apart from the onomastic analysis, this book is perhaps more importantly a layered story of human perseverance, of small homelands through which one can see the greatness of the small. Over six thousand names are included, which in my understanding is the poetry of mathematics and the beauty of history, onomastics, and geography,” Šabić said.

She emphasizes that much oikonymic heritage, along with settlements, has disappeared due to wars, fires, floods, epidemics, and other disasters, leaving behind only foundations buried under layers of soil.

“The conclusion is that here settlements age and disappear; some die, others are reborn, and new ones emerge. Time stands still if a person does not move. But since Bosnians and Herzegovinians are not held in place by a single location—forced into exile or leaving for other reasons—they scatter and take pieces of their homeland with them. That is how settlements die. And we, Bosnians and Herzegovinians, full of misunderstandings, wars, falls, and rises, past everything, including former settlements, should be filled with fear of death, that we may die without having been good to those who deserved it—towards people as well as towards the land, because neglected, it appears cursed. Clearly, this book cannot convince people to stay or prevent the emptying of villages and towns, but it can hope that it can. If one did not believe in a better society, there would be no written word,” the author stated.

Writing about the significance of standardizing geographical names, Šabić notes that as early as 1967, at a meeting of experts on geographical names in Geneva, a universal list of terms for standardization was proposed. The list was later converted into a dictionary, which has been published in several editions, but not in Bosnian.

Šabić explains that while the science flourished worldwide, spreading results and improving research methods, in Bosnia and Herzegovina it often had to deal with existential questions. This, she says, has in many ways hindered and slowed scientific research and the integration of Bosnian studies into European and global onomastic circles. She stresses that such a significant project should not be undertaken by an individual, but by a university or academic institution.

The author also touches on cases where different settlements have the same name. She points out an incident at the beginning of the war in Ukraine, when, due to a navigation system error, a drone was misprogrammed and fell on Jarun in Zagreb instead of Yarun in the Zhytomyr region of Ukraine.

Discussing such names in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Šabić notes that one could easily get lost in settlements named Novo Selo or Slatina, of which there are twelve, Gradina or Odžak, of which there are eleven, ten Gradac settlements, or one of eight Kamenica settlements.

“Suppose one might wander indiscriminately. However, to be fair, the existence of multiple settlements with the same name in a small area like Bosnia and Herzegovina does indeed pose a problem. Some may wonder why our ancestors were not more careful or creative. The fact is that in the past, people had a smaller range of movement, usually limited by the first mountain or larger river as a natural boundary. In this way, the same names did not create the risk of misunderstanding,” she emphasized.

Šabić adds that Slovenia solved the problem of oikonymic homonymy by using syntagmatic extensions, giving frequent settlement names distinctions such as Bistrica ob Dravi, Bistrica ob Sotli, and Bistrica pri Tržiču.

“However, this naming method goes against the principle of linguistic economy. By nature, people strive to conserve effort, wanting to achieve goals with minimal effort. The same applies to speech. Yet between these two opposing forces in language, priority should be given to communicative needs,” she believes.

In her interview with Fena, she also mentioned examples of interesting settlement names in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region:

“It seems sufficient to mention our ‘bridges,’ for example Bosanski Brod, Martin Brod, Šićki Brod, and ‘harbors,’ such as Banja Luka, Olovske Luke, Oštra Luka. The impression of the sea and harbors would certainly be wrong. In earlier stages of our language, ‘brod’ referred to a place where one could cross a body of water, while ‘luka’ meant fertile land by the water. Names such as Grabova Draga, Brezova Kosa, Ljubače, Ljubinje, and similar may sound impressive, even romantic. Yet we are mistaken if we do not know that ‘draga’ originally meant a valley, ‘kosa’ a slope or hillside, and the root ljub indicated muddy land. There are many such examples that can mislead; one thing shows and speaks, another thing is and means,” Šabić explains.

Interesting facts from the book include that, according to popular tradition, the oikonym Kladanj was named during the Ottoman conquests when locals had to build a bridge of logs (klada meaning short, thick pieces of wood) to cross the Drinjača River. The name of Blagaj was associated by historian Orbini with treasure (blago), while Goražde may come from the word “gorenje” (rising or burning), Samobor from the tradition of a single pine, and Stolac interpreted through the motif of medieval Bosnian rulers’ thrones.

Šabić emphasizes that these ad hoc folk interpretations of oikonyms point to the complexity of understanding the meanings of settlement names.

“As a system of free etymological interpretation, folk theories have no scientific basis. However, they do not necessarily have negative consequences for scientific truth. They certainly stimulate imagination and lively storytelling about naming, but a serious researcher must turn to more expert interpretations,” she said.

Regarding the importance of the science of place names in studying the linguistic and cultural heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Šabić notes that names testify to humans and the spaces with which they coexist. They represent cultural-historical heritage, regional identity, and uniqueness.

“Toponyms are all the more important because they transform physical-geographical reality into historical and social experience. For this reason, they are a significant feature of national and territorial identity. And what better reason is there to study them? The public’s interest in this topic shows how necessary such works are for our society. Human life is short, so settlements and books are proof that some things endure over time,” she emphasized.

The publisher of “Names of Settlements in Bosnia and Herzegovina” is the Museum of the Bosnian Kingdom.

Indira Šabić is an Associate Professor at the Department of Bosnian Language and Literature, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Tuzla. She earned her doctorate at the Faculty of Philosophy, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University in Osijek (Croatia), obtaining a PhD in Humanities in the field of Philology.

She is also the author of the books “Anthroponymy and Toponymy of Medieval Bosnia”, “Surnames in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, “Names of Settlements in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, and more than forty scholarly articles published in domestic and regional journals (Austria, Montenegro, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Serbia). She has participated as a speaker at numerous domestic and international scientific conferences, symposia, and round tables.

Foto: Indira Šabić/lična arhiva