In the past it was believed that stuhe or zduhači were male witches. They possessed magical powers and they were clairvoyant. They usually helped people by performing various miracles and protecting some place from ill weather. They usually moved at night. Amongst the people there are a lot of tales about fights between stuha when there was a fight between the good ones and the bad ones. The most famous zduhači in Bosnia and Herzegovina were Gaibija and Suljo Aganović from Foča.
In the XVII century in Bosnian Gradiška there lived a man by the name of Hasan Effendi called Gaibija, according to folk belief he was one of zduhača or clairvoyants who were always present in Bosnia. He was well respected among the people and especially among the Turks. Even the great vizier Kara-Mustafa heard of his prophecies while he was getting ready to take over Vienna once again. He asked him if his conquest will be successful. It is said that the great vizier received the following answer from Gaibija: "Kara-Mustafa will arrive happily to Vienna, but in the end he will suffer tremendously!" He discouraged the other Turks, who were going from Bosnia and Slavonia into the viziers camp, from going into the war, because it would be their certain doom. That caused him to be exiled, he then moved to Bosnian Gradiška where he spent the rest of his life.
In the biographies of Great Turkish writers (Tezkyerek mešahiri Ottomans) the following was writen about him: " Hasan Effendi oracle or muabir was born in Mostar. His father was Bey Omer Alajbegović. He was an art professor and later a public teacher of a mosque in Istanbul. He visited the holy places Mecca and Medina. Oracle Effendi Hasan was an epitome of infallibility and kindness and in his forty years of clairvoyance and dream interpretation he was flawless. During the siege of Vienna he foresaw that Kara-Mustafa will not make it back alive, this angered Kara-Mustafa, and when he heard that he tried discouraging the soldiers from going into the war, he banished him from Adrianople, the oracle never returned to Istanbul."
Oracle Gaibija was killed by Turkish soldiers in 1688. A mystic legend surrounds the murder: On a quiet night, after the nightly prayer, the oracle crossed from Bosnian Gradiška onto side of Slavonia into a forest to rest a while. Fate wanted his prophecy to be fulfilled: "Sava border - Gaibija's back". There on the Austrian and Turkish border, drunk soldiers murdered Gaibija. Acting on the order of the commander of the fort of Bosnian Gradiška, his remains were carried to the place where he was murdered, and still today there lies his tomb (turbe).
In the XVII century in Bosnian Gradiška there lived a man by the name of Hasan Effendi called Gaibija, according to folk belief he was one of zduhača or clairvoyants who were always present in Bosnia. He was well respected among the people and especially among the Turks. Even the great vizier Kara-Mustafa heard of his prophecies while he was getting ready to take over Vienna once again. He asked him if his conquest will be successful. It is said that the great vizier received the following answer from Gaibija: "Kara-Mustafa will arrive happily to Vienna, but in the end he will suffer tremendously!" He discouraged the other Turks, who were going from Bosnia and Slavonia into the viziers camp, from going into the war, because it would be their certain doom. That caused him to be exiled, he then moved to Bosnian Gradiška where he spent the rest of his life.
In the biographies of Great Turkish writers (Tezkyerek mešahiri Ottomans) the following was writen about him: " Hasan Effendi oracle or muabir was born in Mostar. His father was Bey Omer Alajbegović. He was an art professor and later a public teacher of a mosque in Istanbul. He visited the holy places Mecca and Medina. Oracle Effendi Hasan was an epitome of infallibility and kindness and in his forty years of clairvoyance and dream interpretation he was flawless. During the siege of Vienna he foresaw that Kara-Mustafa will not make it back alive, this angered Kara-Mustafa, and when he heard that he tried discouraging the soldiers from going into the war, he banished him from Adrianople, the oracle never returned to Istanbul."
Oracle Gaibija was killed by Turkish soldiers in 1688. A mystic legend surrounds the murder: On a quiet night, after the nightly prayer, the oracle crossed from Bosnian Gradiška onto side of Slavonia into a forest to rest a while. Fate wanted his prophecy to be fulfilled: "Sava border - Gaibija's back". There on the Austrian and Turkish border, drunk soldiers murdered Gaibija. Acting on the order of the commander of the fort of Bosnian Gradiška, his remains were carried to the place where he was murdered, and still today there lies his tomb (turbe).
