<< Feature Articles >> The Sacred Stone of Tekia - Standing Stone (Menhir) in North Macedonia
Submitted by GjoreCenev on Wednesday, 07 August 2013 Page Views: 12536
Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: The Sacred Stone of TekiaCountry: North Macedonia
NOTE: This site is 80.83 km away from the location you searched for.
Type: Standing Stone (Menhir)
Nearest Town: Skopje Nearest Village: Tekija
Latitude: 42.004500N Longitude: 21.659500E
Condition:
| 5 | Perfect |
| 4 | Almost Perfect |
| 3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
| 2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
| 1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
| 0 | No data. |
| -1 | Completely destroyed |
| 5 | Superb |
| 4 | Good |
| 3 | Ordinary |
| 2 | Not Good |
| 1 | Awful |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
| 4 | Short walk on a footpath |
| 3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
| 2 | A long walk |
| 1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
| 4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
| 3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
| 2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
| 1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
| 0 | no data |
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"It was an object of veneration not only to the native Muslims, but to many Christians from the surrounding regions, who made it an object of pilgrimage on St. George’s day. I visited the spot and found that the stone was contained in a two-roomed shrine under the charge of a Dervish”. Evans also made a drawing of the room (Figure 1).
In recent years, a group of researchers, members of Macedonian Research Society (MRS) led by Gjore Cenev managed to locate the village and to find the Secret Stone. Today the village is called Tekia (in Macedonian Tekija) and is located a few kilometres Northwest of Skopje, the capital city of the Republic of Macedonia. By the mid-twentieth century, the Turks inhabited the village, but then they completely migrated to the Republic Turkey. Today, Macedonian Christians who come from distant villages of Northeast Macedonia inhabit the village.
The research team found that the two-roomed shrine has been taken down and the sacred stone is located in an open space (Figure 2). The area is fenced, and the head is located near the fence (Figure 3). Near the Sacred Stone, there is a tree that is believed to be sacred too (Figure 4). The whole area around the stone and the tree is considered as a sacred space and the local inhabitants refer to it with great respect.
Despite major changes in the area, we noticed that the Sacred Stone and Sacred Tree cult are regularly performed even today, especially on St. George’s day. For a proper performance of the cult, an elderly woman called Head of the Stone takes care. Administering the Sacred Stone has been passed through the female line from ancient times. This is how the cult performance has been preserved, even at a time when the Turkish inhabitants start their migration. At that period a Muslim woman that was Head of the Stone, transferred the administration of the Sacred Stone cult to Christian woman (Figure 5). The new population that came accepted the cult and continued to respect the stone, which today they address by the name of St. George. In its basic form, the ritual consists of going three times round the stone, embracing and kissing it (Figure 6 - see top picture). According to people’s belief, the Sacred Stone helps in the realization of wishes and with the treatment of many diseases, but it mostly helps women who were unable to conceive (Figure 7). It is interesting that even today many Turks familiar with the Sacred Stone, come from the Republic of Turkey and pray at the stone.
Our research team has documented the ritual by making photographs and shooting a documentary film.
Photo credits Ljucho Ilievski. Apologies for the ordering of the images which is a side-effect the Portal's publishing system
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