Visoko Waqfnamas (Deeds of Endowment) and Documents on Religious Endowments (From the 18th to the 20th Century)

Abstract

This work focuses on waqfnamas (endowment deeds) and related Ottoman documents with regard to religious endowments in the urban part of Visoko. The introductory section provides a brief overview of the well-known religious endowments established in Visoko in the period from the 15th to the 18th century. By examining the content of the original texts of the endowment deeds, their translations, and analyses, as well as existing scholarly literature, the most significant religious endowments and their founders, benefactors, in the Visoko area are presented. Following this overview, the paper delves into the analysis of Visoko’s endowment deeds and other documents written in Ottoman Turkish, that pertain to religious endowments established in the period from the 17th to the 20th century. The analyzed endowment deeds are mainly recorded in the sijills (records) of the endowment deeds and the sijills of the Sarajevo Sharia Court. Some transcripts are also found in the Chronicle by Muhamed Enveri Kadić. During a close examination of each religious endowment, the primary approach involved a document analysis, and the research results were then presented with regard to previously unanalyzed archival materials stored in the Majlis of the Islamic Community in Visoko. In addition to endowment deeds, and on the trail of Visoko’s religious endowments, two testamentary documents (wasiyyetnamas), a hujjet, a note from the sijill, and a donation contract written in the Bosnian language were also examined. The paper aims to establish a connecting line between the moment when theses religious endowments were established and their current state.