5 Medallions of Croatian History mural looking for a home 

Marija Miletic Dali with her mural (Private album)

A large Croatian mural painted over 50 years ago is looking for a new home. 

The Five Medallions of Croatian History mural was painted by Marija Miletic Dail and donated to the Croatian Church in Toronto in 1965 and is now in danger of being removed.

The mural, painted on vinyl tiles and put together onto a wooden base secured into the wall, is 3 metres wide and 10 metres long. The frame is a 6 inch wide sheet of steel, wrapped around the edges.

The mural features poems in gold letters. 

“I composed the poem for each panel in the form of folk “deseterac” (decasyllable), printed it in gold letters on thick transparent vinyl and secured it under glass in the lower corners of each panel,” Marija explains, before adding.

“The first panel was named “Seoba Hrvata” (Croatian Migration), the second “Krstenje Hrvata” (Christening of Croats), the third “Matija Gubec” (Matija Gubec crowning with red-hot crown) the 16th century revolutionary, put to death. The fourth “Ante Starcevic – Otac Domovine” (Ante Starcevic, the father of our homeland), and the fifth “Alojzije Stepinac”, our cardinal and Blessed Martyr, imprisoned by communists, as he is pointing people toward Christ, who wants to embrace them and keep them away from the abyss. I painted my mother into the last panel, as well as my children and brother, Ante Miletic, who was also imprisoned by communists and died young as a consequence of that ordeal. Father Kamber, who let me paint the mural, is pictured in the fourth panel.”

Marija on the ladder touching up the mural (Private album)

Marija says that she wishes to preserve this art.

“It may need some renovation, and it needs a large, preferably Croatian public hall, to be displayed in, in case it is not wanted where it sits today and has resided for over 40 years,” Marija said. 

To find out more about the mural you can contact Marija on email at [email protected] or [email protected].

Marija in front of two panels of the mural (Private album)

The poems which feature on the mural are below. 

SEOBA HRVATA  
(Sedmo stoljece)

Hrvati davno, legenda kaze, 
Otisnut htjede se od Karpata,
Al’ bratu tesko ostavit brata;
Zato sav narod hrvatski stade,
U zelji silnoj za novom zorom
Sa srcem punim mladjahne nade
Al’ vodje treba za puta duga,
To bijase Klukas,Sabel i Muhlo,
Kosenjec, Hrvat, petero brace,
Te sestre njih’ve ; Tuga i Buga.
Udjose tako u zemlju Ilira,
Prodju Velebit, ugledase more.
Mladjahna nada odluku rodi:
Tu ostat ce narod i uzivat vazda,
Suncane zrake Jadranske zore.

CIRIL I METOD
(826-869  i  820-885)

Zemaljske vodje dodju i prodju
Nekojih povijest jedva se sjeca…
Narodi dodju, narodi prodju, 
Kamo li idu i sto ih tjera?
Dal’ za njih negdje postoji sreca?
Ciril i Metod, dva brata draga
Na put se dadu u devetom vijeku,
U namjeri svetoj da uniste vraga:
Krst ce da sire, ljude da uce
Da znadu i za njih da gori luce
Sa desne strane Gospoda Boga.
Covjek se radja, covjek umire,
Kamo li ide i sto ga tjera?
Odgovor daje mu al’ samo vjera:
Spoznaja, mir i srca mladost
U Kristu ceka uz vjecnu radost!

MATIJA GUBEC
(1548  –  1573)

Matija, sine, zvala ga majka,
Matija, brate, seljani klicu,
Matija, vraze, zvali ga oni,
Kojima rijec “glad” bijase strana,
Kojima objest nuzna je mana.
Zazeli plemstvo sad njegove glave,
Te smisli, objesno, da mu stave
Zivoga pakla na glavu krunu,
Da naplate prvu Seljacku Bunu!
Mati Gubec povijest ga zove,
Matija Junak, vijek ce se zvati,
Dok ima svijeta, dok smo Hrvati!

ANTE STARCEVIC
(1823  –  1896)

Tko ce odrzati ponosni nam narod,
Ako ne ce majka sa devet sinova,
Ako ne ce otac sa devet svatova?
Tako majka rodi ponosnoga sina,
Koj’ Hrvatsku svoju ljubljase do groba,
Stiteci joj tijelo od vukova gladnih,
Ljubeci joj oci – da se ne zatvore,
Slusajuc joj pjesmu – da se ne zamukne,
Vjerujuc mudrosti – kojom odjekuje.
U miru i slozi sa susjedom zivi,
Jer mrznja jos nikog usrecila nije;
Ljubi brata svoga. podvori si gosta,
Postuj tudja prava ali svakom zgodom,
I ponosan budi sto si Hrvat rodom.
Svak se rado sjeca davnih skolskih dana,
Trcanja po polju punom ivancica,
Njeznost majke drage nad djecom sto brine;
Isto tako rado svak ce da se sjeca
Ante Starcevica – Oca Domovine!

ALOJZIJE STEPINAC
(1898  –  1960)

Otkad Hrvati povijest imadu,
Otkad za Isusa Krista znadu,
Otkad nam Sava vjerno zubori,
Otkad nam pjesma iz grla ori,
Otkad nam majke sinove rode,
Otkad nas oci k istini vode,
Hrabre smo vodje Hrvati znali,
Koj’ svojom djecom narod su zvali.
Stepinca Hrvati takvoga znadu,
Brigu sto brine o svome stadu,
Te ga usmjeri ka pravome putu,
Sretno da izmakne sudbinu ljutu.
Ko kamen stanac u gore krahu,
Vjeran nam osta u zadnjem dahu!