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THE PROPHECIES OF MITAR TARABICH THE PROPHECIES MITAR TARABICH Nineteenth-century Serbian peasant Mitar Tarabich made some uncannily accurate predictions for the 19th and 20th centuries, so only time will judge how his prophecies play out for the 21st century. itar Tarabich (1829-1899), an illiterate peasant from the small Serbian vil- lage of Kremna, experienced occasional prophetic visions. Being a religious person and having a local Serbian orthodox priest for a godfather, he told this priest about his episodes of "seeing into the future". The priest, Zaharije Zaharich (1836-1918), wrote down everything in a small notebook, which was damaged by fire in 1943 when his family home was destroyed by the occupy- ing Bulgarian Army. This text is now in the possession of the family of Zaharich's great- grandson, Mr Dejan Malenkovich. Tarabich's prophecies were literally very straightfor- ward, unlike the prophecies of Nostradamus (1503-1566) that seem to be encrypted with the latest 1,024-bit encryption technology. Tarabich's best-known prophecy has to do with a series of political events in 1 9th- century Serbia. He predicted a sequence of events, spanning a course of decades, that eventually led to the removal of the ruling Obrenovich family from the Serbian royal throne. This prophecy came to be known in the Balkan region as "the Black Prophecy", and it played out as predicted. You should note that Tarabich's words are translated from Serbo-Croatian and that the translation is not necessarily in its final form. You may notice that some of the phrasing in the quotes is awkward and rough; this is an accurate reflection of his rural accent. Tarabich's words come from conversations with his godfather Zaharich, so you should be aware that any references to "you" or "your descendants" relate to Zaharich (the priest) specifically. When Tarabich says "us" he means the Serbs, but he does not distinguish between Croats, Serbs, Slovenians, etc. To him, anyone who spoke his language was a Serb. Perhaps it is also important to note that we don't really know how much of Tarabich's prophecies was influenced by his own opinion. Some of the adjectives used to describe the people and events he saw could be a reflection of his "peasant-like" interpre- tation of those events (examples: intelligent, brave, honest, horrible, calamity, etc.). Predictions and Events up to the End of World War I (1903-1918) "After the assassination of the king and queen [Alexander and Draga Obrenovich], the Karageorgevichs will come to power. Then we will again start a war with the Turks. Four Christian states will attack Turkey, and our border will be on the River Lim. Then we shall finally conquer and avenge Kosovo." Historical Facts: * 1903 — Alexander and Draga Obrenovich were as Petar Karageorgevich became the ruler of Serbia. ¢ 1912 — The First Balkan War erupted between the Balkan Alliance (Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria and Montenegro) and Turkey (Ottoman Empire). The Balkan Alliance won, and Serbia moved its border up to the River Lim. Serbia gained Kosovo from the Turks. ssinated by their own guards, and "Soon after this war, another war will start...the Big War in which a lot of blood will be spilled. If that blood were a river, a huge stone of 300 kilograms would roll in its current easily. A mighty army from across a river, three times bigger than ours, will attack us... They will destroy everything on their way. They penetrate deep into our land... Hard times will come upon us... Our army will almost give up, but than suddenly an intelligent man on a black stallion will take command and cry out, ‘Forward to victory, my people! Forward, brother Serbs!' Our army springs to life. Its fighting spirit wakes up and the enemy is chased away across the river..." Editing and Commentary by Neo © 2005 NEXUS = 55 DECEMBER 2005 — JANUARY 2006 www.nexusmagazine.com