The term cultural heritage is not only about museums, monuments, buildings, and objects but also about traditions that have been passed down from our ancestors. One of these traditional ceremonies to harvest iva grass on Mt. Ozren in Bosnia & Herzegovina that distinctive rituals involved. It’s located in central Serbia, near the town of Sokobanja, well known as a well-forested mountain, an attractive spot for picnics, especially aromatic wild herbs, and for its folk tales and customs.
Iva herb grows exclusively in mountainous areas and it must be harvested by hand, which takes a substantial amount of time. In fact, it’s collected to be used in various ways, such as tea, brandy, and honey products. For centuries, the Balkans have had an old national belief that eva grass has been used to treat mental and physical recovery after a long illness, or extremely severe physical or mental exhaustion. Also to purify the body and the respiratory tract as well as relieve pain in the stomach and soothe the skin. Additionally, the belief is that iva grass can cure any disease, which is why locals say Iva grass – is "the grass of the living from the dead makes the living."
That tea day takes place every September 11 in Ozren. On that day, the focus is on the medicinal herb Teucrium montanum (iva grass), which people harvest in groups and enjoy in tea. They have a special relationship with iva grass. They believed in its exceptional medicinal properties. They climb up Gostilij to pick eva and get into smaller groups once the harvest is done, play, dance, and sing in folk costumes of Ozren, which have long since disappeared from everyday use, are worn by many peoples that day. In the afternoon, the Orthodox priests climb Gostilij to consecrate iva. It can be consumed in different ways as a tea, soaked in brandy, mixed with honey for both its curative and preventative effects.
Today, as in the past, transmission occurs spontaneously within the family, with no formal forms and rules. When children or adults are sick, eva tea or honey in which eva grass has been crushed is given to them. This is done either to prevent disease or to treat it. Adults often drink a glass of brandy-soaked in willow tar. However, until today, eva grass picking is still associated with that practice, but it also symbolizes solidarity, hospitality, social integration, as well as safeguarding the costumes and songs, and games that have slowly been disappearing throughout the era.
References
(https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/picking-of-iva-grass-on-ozren-mountain-01289) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozren_(Sokobanja)) (https://seesrpska.com/en/ozren-planina-ljekovitog-bilja-i-avanturizma/) (https://www.itinari.com/bosnia-s-intangible-cultural-heritage-picking-of-iva-grass-on-mt-ozren-dc48) (https://www.philatelicpursuits.com/2020/11/13/new-issues-2020-bosnia-and-herzegovina-serbian-administration-picking-iva-grass/)