Zenica Chimburiada is now officially part of the intangible cultural heritage of our country. Thus, the Forum of Citizens of Zenica, which developed the report together with its partners, preserved this way of celebrating the arrival of spring and the new awakening of nature, with a dish of eggs on the banks of the Bosna River, for future generations.
Zenica chimburijada is now, as a brand, protected. By being included in the list of intangible cultural heritage, this tradition of welcoming spring with chimbur — an egg dish — will live on in its traditional form for generations to come.
MIRSAD MUJKIĆ, president of the Zenica Citizens’ Forum: ‘A thousand material evidences, photos, excerpts from books by Zenica authors were collected, hundreds of statements of active participants of the Chimburiade were collected who passed on the unwritten tradition of this region.’
Although legend says that it dates back to the time of the Romans, the first visible evidence dates back to the last century, as evidenced by a photograph from 1936. This is proof that on the first day of spring, along the Bosna River in this city, a čimbur (traditional Serbian pancake) must be baked. Eggs and spring onions are the main symbols of the birth of life. However, historians claim that the čimburijada also has other symbolism.
MIRZA DŽANANOVIĆ, historian:’ In an industrial city, which is specific or recognized for its industry and pollution, in the center of that city, along that polluted river, you have the practice of celebrating nature. To me, it seems like an unconscious response of the population to the environment they live in. Today we have ecological movements, but the roots of environmental protection in Zenica and BiH can be seen through the čimburijada.’
The process of making the čimburijada part of the heritage lasted two years, and the initiators were again enthusiasts/citizens. Unlike the list of tangible heritage, which has thousands of examples, we only have about thirty intangible ones.
ADNADIN JAŠAREVIĆ, director of the Zenica City Museum ‘You can’t just protect the buildings, because people lived in those buildings, the old fortresses. Here we are talking about our living ancestors who had their own customs, habits, diet, songs. We have to protect all of that. That’s actually us. Therefore, the academic community also got involved.’
ALICA ARNAUT, dean of the Faculty of Philosophy :’ We develop civic responsibility and strive to be socially useful, which is actually the task of the humanities that we primarily deal with.’
As the egg symbolizes birth, traditional manifestations symbolize the survival of the people. The best indicator that Zenica will continue to bake and eat chimbur for the next hundred years are precisely the people, whose numbers are getting more and more involved every year, BHRT writes.
