The village of Gojevići near Fojnica is todays center of frog hunting in Bosnia. Sometimes the frogs in these regions were caught and burned because the lack of food, and today they are considered delicates for those with a deeper pocket. This year, the hunting season in Gojevici started earlier, and our team was following a far-reaching frog fighter, Sumbulka Miličević, or Sumba, a living legend of this area.



Orders come from all over the world

When first rhythm of the TBF song  "Ništa mi neće ovi dan pokvarit" begins in the car from the local radio, just before we enter  Fojnica from Kiseljak, our team turns from the main road in the direction of the village Gojevići. Although it does not appear on the table, we know that the village is six kilometers away. While the bad asphalt is tested by the shock absorbers, and the holes on the road briefly break the cockpit, this is not enough to spoil this evening to us. Much greater danger to the story we have been referring to here could be the temperature that dangerously and rapidly approaches to zero.


But we do not have time to think about it because we are already entering the village. Following the instructions we had previously been given over the phone, we find the house of Miličević without any problems. Her housband Tomislav and couple Ivica and Ruža Stanić are waiting for us in their home.


- I've been catching frogs since early childhood. My grandfather, and perhaps my great grandfather, were catching them, and then my father continued. At that time there was a lack of food and this was the best alternative to  meat. For this family, tradition of more than a hundred years, have been passed to 11 brothers and sisters. In the meantime, they all gave up, and now I am the only one who keeps this tradition in my family - Sumbe reveals the reason of our visit. Then note that it she originated from nearby Šćitova, and the tradition of hunting on the frogs continued, after she married, in Gojevići.


"After war, I had a bar for a decade, where we offered frog specialties. Today I prepare them only for my friends who are coming from all over the world. From Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Sweden, and even from Australia. Many people call me these days to obliterate their frogs because they plan to come here for Easter. So these frogs end up in the stomachs all around the world. Of course, they can not get out of the country so they eat them here. The hunting season lasts only two or three months, so they are ordered in advance - says our consultant.

A hundred pounds of frogs catched in one season


The season beginning with the spring, with the increasing temperature and it lasts for two, three months. Thanks to the mild winter, the hunting season started earlier this year, but we have chosen the coldest evening in the last few days.


- After we clean them, we freeze them in the bags where we leave some water, so when the we unfreeze them, they are really fresh. Frozen without water they will remain a bit dry - Sumbe discovers the storage procedure to us .


According to her, the catch has been considerably smaller in recent years, as many of the bars are crushed or dried. Still, thanks to the earlier start of the season, this year, in the freezer of Sumbe, she has already archived fifteen kilos of cleaned frogs.


- I can catch up to 100 pounds throughout the season. Depending on the size, about 30 to 40 frogs per kilogram should be caught, and females are much larger than males. I usually catch them with my bare hands, even though I wear a hounting net. Of course, I need good batteries and deep boots. After capturing frogs, we keep them  alive in water before preparation. That part,is not what I do, we call someone to do it. If we see that they need to lay eggs,  we return the eggs. After removing the head, the intestines and the tips of the arms, practically everything else is eaten, and the bats are famous, as there are is ofcourse the most meat on them - Sumbe says.


The night was already dark and it was he time to go. We will head to the nearby White Sand site, the former quarry where there are now seven, eight bars, the hosts tell us. After 15 minutes of uphill we reach the hunting ground. "There is no one here," Sumbe summarizes the first bare look, while neighbour Ivo, collects what she catches. Sumbe then snatched the sleeves, and the catch bucket became more heavy, but they are not satisfied.


- They lie at the bottom of the water, which means that it is cold and that tonight there will not be much. When the weather is warmer, you do not even have to go down into the water, because you can catch them in the way - concludes Ivo, but they continue on. One hour later, the whole quarry is thoroughly searched, but the catch is slim. The night is deep and we have to try the specialties, so there is no time to go to the other locations.

Frog tastes like ...

In return Sumbe says that tonight's catch is going to be left alive in buckets with water to see if it will be any eggs which are then returned to the water because, as they say, they have to think about "what we will hunt next year." She will demonstrate her culinary skills with already prepared and treated frogs. For Ivo,this is a sport for which beggining he is waiting all year.

- We leave everything behind and go frog hunting. My brother, who lives in Germany, loves frogs, so we always leave some for him. Many are skeptical about the frogs, but these are really nice and you do not have any feeling of discomfort when you hold them in your hand. There exist only two types of frogs, and are hunting forest frogs. There's a toad, which we do not hunt, but they are much larger. However, we chased toads a couple of times for medical institutes in Sarajevo. We had a couple of students who went hunting with us - says Ivo. While we take pictures of our dining table, they are waiting for our reaction after the first try of this delicacy.

- Many people tried frogs for the first time here. Like with everything else, some like it, and some do not. While I had a cafe, SFOR were able to come here for frogs, but they started to come only when they tried them accidentaly for the first time. I remember one of them, I do not know which country he was from , but he said he would run away as soon as we put them on the table. Later it turned out that he ate the most of the food from the table. Now I'm doing it just for friends, for our people.- says Sumbe.

While the excitement was great, just like prejudice, impressions after a handful of frogs are actually very positive. Taste and feeling is the closest to the chicken meat, only the bites are smaller because there is less meat and more bones. After another mouthful, you forget what are you eating, in that historic moment when you first tried this, for our culture, unusual meat.

- It is interesting that the monks are very fond of frogs and considered them specialty. Although they once may have been the food of the poor, except monks, frog are considered delicacies for bosses, wealthy people, doctors ...