In the surroundings of Visoko there are numerous necropolises, and in far 1970 the cultural historian Šefik Bešlagić recorded around 300 of them. However, those from the village of Šošnje, where the residents have been preserving the necropolises for hundreds of years, were not on Bešlagić’s list.
In the yard of the house of the family Čolo, there are around 15 tombstones spread across the entire yard. According to Armin Čolo who lives there, the tombstones have been there for centuries.
“The house was built here back in the time of my great-grandfather, and there are stories that these tombstones were here even when they arrived. Everyone preserved them during all this years, and we are also trying not to destroy them in any way,” Armin said.
Right next to their yard a local road passes which, according to the villagers, changed its route only to avoid moving the tombstones from their original positions. Similar situation is also in the yard of the family Čola, who adjusted everything to the tombstones.
“We are really trying not to touch them and we are careful about them when we plow the field, mow the grass and the like. It is simple, we are not trying neither to restore them or something like that, they are left to the time and the time takes care of them the most,” Armin said and added that there are tombstones at other locations as well, in the vicinity of the children’s playground, where no one touches them nor the kids have ever desecrated them.
There are 18 tombstones in total in hte village of Šošnje, and they are not included on the list of Bešlagić’s necropolises. In 1970 Bešlagić listed Gorani with 82 tombstones, Tušnjići with 69, Buzići with 30, Dvor with 25, Čifluk with 32 and Maurovići with 18 tombstones.
Six years ago, the County Museum in Visoko submitted to the Zenica-Doboj Canton a proposal for co-financing of a project of documenting tombstones in the area of Visoko, but the project has not been given the green light ever since.
The County Museum in Visoko hopes that their project will be implemented in the coming period, allowing the research on tombstones in the area of Visoko and thus improving tourism in this area.
(Source: klix.ba)
