Lunar Magic in the Modern Greek Folk Tradition

Transcript

1 322 Mare Kõiva, Andres Kuperjanov References Amrojan, I Sbornik bolgarskih narodnyh zagovorov. Tolyatti: TSU. Hobsbawm, Eric Introduction: Inventing Tradition. The Invention of Tradition, eds. E. Hobsbawm, T. Ranger. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp Kõiva, Mare Time and Space in Estonian and Bulgarian Incantations. In Balkan and Baltic States in United Europe: History, Religions, and Cultures. Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, pp Contemporary Rituals Addressing the Astronomical Bodies. Through the Ages III. Tartu: ELM Scholarly Press. Kuperjanov, Andres Eesti taevas. Uskumusi ja tõlgendusi. Tartu: Eesti Folkloori Instituut. Panina, Tatiana Slovo i ritual v narodnoi medicine udmurtov. Izhevsk: Rido-NN. Vaiskeviciene, Daiva Lietuvių užkalbėjimai: gydymo formulės, Vilnius: LLTI. Oksana Tchoekha Institute of Slavic Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia Lunar Magic in the Modern Greek Folk Tradition Abstract. The paper refers to the Modern Greek folk beliefs connected with the moon which is supposed to influence human health and routines and to lunar magic various folk practices and rituals (usually timed to a particular lunar phase), which are performed with an intention to take advantage of the Moon s strength and power. Key words: ethno-linguistics, folk astronomy, Modern Greek folklore, the moon, charms, lunar magic The paper refers to the basic areas where lunar magic is used, i.e. folk medicine practices, agricultural and household magic rituals, as well as in the different kinds of divinations. Traditional culture treats the moon as an extremely powerful creature, often personalized as a human-like being or as an animal. Appealing to the moon and asking for its help can be found in the incantations of folk healers, in the texts of the charms used by girls wondering who their match is going to be, and also in the special formulas people tend to pronounce to welcome a new moon. 1. Folk medicine believes that human health is in a large measure influenced by the moon, which is considered to be a source of malady and, on the contrary, a healer. Such relation of the moon and diseases can be sometimes either read in the very nomination of the disease (e.g. σελνιασμός, φεγγάριασμα epilepsy < σελήνη, φεγγάρι the moon ), or mirrored in the explanations of the illnesses origin and reflected in the ways of treatment (frequently coinciding with the time of a precisely chosen lunar phase). The same co-relation is also shown in the texts of the spells pronounced by folk healers. Obviously not every disease is said to be sent by the moon. Lunar diseases tend to include skin diseases, yellow disease (icterus), toothache, epilepsy and some other mental affections. The reason may be that their symptoms and signs correspond to the specific moon characteristics and features, some distinctive motives of

2 324 Tchoekha Oksana Lunar Magic in the Modern Greek Folk Tradition 325 the lunar discourse (the lunar spots, yellow colour of the limb, the weird nature of the Moon and harmfulness of the moonlight) According to the records from Naxos, one will definitely get warts if he/she does not properly greet the new moon, i.e. does not give it a bow. See in this respect the following song performed by the children when they notice the new moon: Βρε καλως το νιό φεγγάρι Προσκυνώ Τον που σε κάνει κι όποιος δεν σε προσκυνήσει αγιαθόνοι να γεμίσει ή στο μάτι ή στο φρύδι ή στο μεσακό δαχτύλι Welcome, new moon! I pay homage to Him, who creates you, and let those who don t give you a bow get covered with warts either on the eye, or on the eyebrow or on the middle finger. (Κεφαλληνιάδης 1965: 8) Therefore in some local traditions (e.g. in Crete) the treatment of warts tends to be carried out with the first appearance of the new moon. At the same time there is a common belief that the procedure of getting off warts should be done when the moon is on the wane, so that the disease gets lost (note the following line from the incantation text: ως λι(γ)αίνει το φεγγάρι / να λι(γ)αίνει τ αθυμάι how the moon is getting smaller, should the wart be getting smaller (Σόφος 1986: 65). We can see a specifically Greek motif in the texts against warts in the motif the warts are sheep / goats of the moon, the patient shepherded them and asked the moon to take them back, e.g. Καλώς το φεγγαράκι μου, το νιό παλληκαράκι μου, τα πρόβατα, που μούδωσες, για να σου τα βοσκήσου, τα βόσκησα, τα πότισα, πάρ τα, δός τα κι αλλονού. Welcome, my moon, my brave young man, You gave me sheep to shepherd them for you, I shepherded them, I watered them, Take them and give them to somebody else. (Peloponnesus) (Κάσσης 1981: 49) Apart from the warts, other lunar skin diseases include tetters, furuncles and skin sloughs. It is remarkable that King s evil, scrofula, also is taken as a skin disease (Ψυχογίος 1989: 147), a fact that may be explained by the symptoms of this illness big knotty tumors appear on the patient s neck and hands (inflammation of lymphatic nodes). That is to say that in Greek folk medicine the key symptom of skin disease appeared to be a skin growth, a tumor. Perhaps that is the reason why Greeks do not address the moon when they get off freckles and moles (birthmarks), although this practice is common among the Balkan Slavs Icterus (yellow disease) is called φεγγάριασμα (< φεγγάρι the moon ) (Οικονομόπουλος 1999: 246) or λιόκρουση / λιόκριση (liter. the full moon ) (Αραβαντινός 1909: 66), because the face of the patient gets yellow as the moon (Γρηγόρη 1953: 161). For fear of being taken ill with icterus there is a strict prescription to stand up to welcome the new moon and prohibitions on drinking or urinating facing the lunar body. The person suffered from icterus is referred as a person under the influence of the moon or full moon φεγγαριάζεται or λιοκρίζεται (Μέγας 1941: 144) and is given tea made from an herb called φεγγαρόσκονη moon powder (Ασβέστη 1962: 206). See also the text of the prayer addressed to the moon: Φεύγει το φεγγάρι φεύγει απο το χρυσό μου παλληκάρι το κιτρινοφορεμένο και το κιτρινοβαμμένο. Του Οβραίου το ταψί τηνε παίρνει τη χρυσή Στα Βαθεία τηνε πάει και στα ντάρταρα νερά, και δε θα γυρίσει επά.

3 326 Tchoekha Oksana Lunar Magic in the Modern Greek Folk Tradition 327 Go away, the moon, go away, from my golden young brave man, yellow-dressed and yellow-coloured. Put the golden disease [i.e. icterus] on the baking tray of a Jew. Let her go to the Inferno, into the waters of Tartarus and never come back again. (Κάσσης 1981: ) 1.3. It is a common belief that the moon causes human mental affections and epilepsy 1. The Cretans used to say that during the period of the neomenia when the moon cannot be seen, it spoils the water; and if a man happens to taste this water, he will lose his mind (Πολίτης 1921: 169). On lunar influence upon the human spirit, see idioms like είνι στα φιγγάρια τ (liter. one is at the their moons ) to be angry (Ταστάνη 1998: 69), καλόφεγγος (liter. good mooned ) easy going person (Κόμης 1996: 163), etc. 2. The changes of the lunar phases (the lunar calendar) also regulate agricultural works. Usually either the beginning of the lunar month (waxing moon) or the time of the full moon are supposed to be perfect to start most works. Even to imitate this start if there was no possibility to start it actually. Quite often the prescriptions can be explained by the verbal or etymologic magic when the inner form of the term (lunar phase nominations) influences the agricultural activities, e.g. seeding used to start in the period of the full moon to make the grains full. Thus in Petrokhori (Greek Thrace) birds were caponized at the time of the waxing, growing moon, so that the cocks grow and get as fat as pigs στ γιόμς τ φεgαριού, για να γιομώσ-νε και να παχαίν-νε σα dα γρουνάκια (Χουρμουζιάδης 1938: 339) and στ σώς τ φεgαριού σώντανε και δε bρόκοβαν never during the period of the waning, coming to an end moon, because otherwise they were believed to come to an end as well (ibid: 339) In Greece and in Cyprus, women do not put eggs under the brood hen on the first part of the lunar month so that the chickens do not lay in the same lunar month. If the chickens were to lay by the end of the month they got a special name one-moon-chickens μονοφεγγαρούδκια or (less common) μονομηνούδκια, μονομηνίτικα (Λουκόπουλος 1938: 25; Παναρέτου 1967: 242) and were considered to be of extremely bad health. Consequently, there were several actions to be made to protect them, e.g. in Peloponnesus the birds were drawn through the door knockers at sunrise to make them as iron as the doors knockers (Κυπριανού 1976: 38). Another option was to pretend that you were going to fry them. In Northern Greece the mistress of the house brought the chicken to the crossing of three roads where she would set a tripod and put a fry-pan with the chickens over it. A friend of hers who accompanied her would ask: What are you frying? And the mistress of the house would answer: The one-month-chickens, the-one-year-chickens. The dialogue had to be performed thrice and afterwards the women cut the chickens nails and returned home (Λουκόπουλος 1938: 25 26). Another thing that backs up the point of how important the lunar calendar and the moon itself was for Greek poultry keepers is the fact that the only non-curative incantation addressed to the moon 2 is the Cretan incantation for protecting hens from vultures and wild cats: Φεγγάρι μου λαμπρότατο καὶ λαμπροτιμημένο, εἶντά κουσες κι εἶντά μαθες ς τὸν κόσμο ποῦ γυρίζεις; Δὲν εἶδα ἄλλο τίποτα παρὰ κάτω ς τοῦ Μουετῆ τἁλώνι εἶδα χίλια ἀλόγατα δεμένα μὲ τὴν κατακουρκουμωτὴ κατακουρκουμωμένα. Ἐτσὰ νὰ κατακουρκουμωθῇ ὁ λούπαρδος κι ἡ λουπαρδῖνα, ὁ γάττος κι ἡ γάττα, καὶ νὰ λείψουν ἀποὺ το ὄρνιθες τοῦ δεῖνος. My brightest moon, what have you heard and learnt in the world you cross? Nothing have I seen but a hundred of horses at the Moueti s corn floor, that a halter is put upon. Then let a halter be put upon a vulture and a female vulture, a cat and a female cat, let them be kept away from the hens of name-to-be-spoken. (Κουκουλές 1926: 488)

4 328 Tchoekha Oksana Lunar Magic in the Modern Greek Folk Tradition Other activity largely regulated by the lunar calendar appears to be winegrowing, especially when it comes to the planting and cutting of the grape-vines. All over Greece and Cyprus they know the proverb Γενναριώτικον φεγγάρι κλάδευε και μέραν μη ξετάζεις During the moon of January cut vine and do not pay attention to the moon (Πολίτης : 540), that advises to cut a vine during the period of January because only in this month both waxing and waning moon were considered a good time for that activity. In line with the above-mentioned verbal magic (growing moon growing animal or plant) the Thracian vine dressers used to start planting the grapes at the time of the growing moon Like the moon that will grow bit by bit and get full, so will the vine grow and bring us grapes Ὅπους τοὺ φιγγάρ, ποὺ θὰ τρανέψ σιγὰ -σιγὰ κὶ θὰ πάρ γιόμ ση, ἔτσι κὶ τοὺ κλῆμα θέμε νὰ μιγαλώσ κὶ νὰ μᾶς δώσ σταφύλια (Τζομπάρης 1945: 158). Note also the winegrowing terminology derived from φεγγάρι the moon, that was recorded in Rhodos: φεγγάρισμα cutting of the grape that should be started at the time of the waxing moon (Παπαχριστοδούλου 1969: 279), φεγγαριασμένος / αφεγγάριαστος (referring to the vine) cut during the period of the waxing moon, φεγγαριάζω τ ἀμπέλι < to cut the vine during the time of the January moon < σφογγαριάζω to cut the vine for the first time, σφογγάριασμα the first cut of the vine (ibid: 80) The last corpus of prescriptions refers to wood-cutting. The best time for that, as well as for construction works, for basketwork and bow nets was considered to be the second half of the lunar month. It seems that behind prescriptions like these, there is a vision of the waning moon as an old creature (while the waxing moon is a young one), and a binary opposition young old // wet 3 -dry. It is also worthy of note that in Cyprus the recommendations are supported by the legend about Noah, who is said to have built the ark from the wood cut at the time of the waning moon: A hundred years did Noah cut the trees for constructing the arc, but it constantly rotted. Finally, God took pity on Noah and ordered him to cut the trees between the 17th and 27th lunar days because the trees cut during this period don t rot (Παναρέτου 1967: 54, 246). The next group of magic rituals relate to the common belief that the moon, that crosses the world every night, can see and learn everything. Folk songs and fairy tales contain a great number of mentions of how people ask the moon questions and get answers. The same concept of the all-knowing moon can be found in the divination practices and in the texts of the true stories about the witches, who are believed to be able to talk to the moon and even milk it. 3. An appropriate time for divination was supposed to be the first appearing of the new moon. In Arcadia a girl, after having seen the new moon for the first time, took off her belt or kerchief and threw it to the ground with the following words: Καλῶς τὸ νιὸ φεγγάρι, καὶ τ ἄξιο παλληκάρι κι ὅποιος εἶναι τῆς τύχης μου νά ρθῃ ἀπόψε ς τὸν ὕπνο μου νὰν τὸν ἰδῶ. Welcome, new moon, brave young man, let the one who is my destiny appear tonight in my dreams let me see him. Then she put the kerchief under the pillow and believed she would have a dream about her future husband (Αθανασοπούλος 1921: 566). In some local traditions the time of the full moon seemed more preferable, e.g. then Cretan girls in the hope of seeing their future husbands would take a basil stalk in their hand and look at the mirror where the lunar body was reflected, pronouncing the following: Φεγγάρι φεγγαράκι μου ποὺ μυστικά γνωρίζῃς φανέρωσε τὸν ἄντρα μου, ἀνὲ ντονὲ γνωρίζῃς καὶ πέ του πὼς ἐπᾶ μαι ἐγὼ καὶ πολὺ τὸν πεθυμῶ. The moon, my moon, who knows all secrets, Show me my husband if you happen to know him, And tell him my words that I am here waiting for him. (Φραγκάκι 1949: 9) Quite often the girls waited for the new moon of January or of March, i.e. the first moons of the new year, more powerful than usual ones. In Thrace in March they tied three knots in a kerchief

5 330 Tchoekha Oksana Lunar Magic in the Modern Greek Folk Tradition 331 in the moonlight and then addressed the moon with a question: Who will I get in with to loose the knots? Afterwards the girl put the kerchief under the pillow and was supposed to dream of her match (Παπαθανάση-Μουσιοπούλου 1979: 189). In Skiathos at the time when the new March moon appeared, girls soaped their faces and said to the moon the following: Καλῶς τοὺ νιὸ τοὺ φιgάρ κὶ τοὺ νιὸ τοὺ παλληκάρ. Τοὺ σαστ κὸ π θὰ πάρου, νὰ τούνι ἰδῶ ἀπόψ στοὺν ὕπνου μ, νὰ ρθῆ νὰ μ δώσ πιτσέτα νὰ σκουπ στῶ. Welcome, new [young] moon, Young brave man. Let him who I ll take (in marriage) appear in my dreams Let him come to give me a napkin to clean my face. Then they went to bed with the soap on their faces and hoped to see in their dream their future husband with a towel in his hands (Ρήγας 1970: 426). In Skopos (eastern Thrace) there were not only girls who took advantage of the March new moon. It was believed that if after noticing the new moon in March a man would stick a pin or a handkerchief in the wall and say Νὰ διῶ στ ὄνειρό μ τ ὰ μὲ γέν ὡς τῆ χρόν Let me see in my dream what is going to happen to me this year, they would indeed see that in their dreams (Καλοκάρδου 1946: 160). With reference to the incantations addressed to the January moon (which are less common) see, for example: Τοῦ Γενάρη τοῦ φεγγάρι, τὸ καλό τὸ παλληκάρι, πᾶσα μῆνα γεννημένο, πᾶσ αὐγή χαιρετημένο [...] Ν άρθει βράδυ νὰ μὲ ἰδεί, νὰ τὸν ἰδῶ νὰ μοῦ εἰπεί καὶ νὰ τοῦ εἰπῶ. Moon of January, brave young man, who gets born every month, and greets every dawn [ ] Let (my husband) come tonight to see me, let me see him; let him speak to me, let me speak to him (Πολίτης 1912: 48 49) Figure 1. Lekythos (end V, BC. Exposed at the British museum). Depiction of two women that are about to draw down the moon. In the center there is a full moon with its head turned right. Published in: Μουτσόπουλου Ν.Κ Οι Μαϊστρες της Μακεδονίας και της Θράκης. ΣΤ' Συμπόσιο λαογραφίας του βορειοελλαδικού χώρου: η ιστορική, αρχαιολογική και λαογραφική έρευνα για τη Θράκη, Κομοτηνή- Αλεξανδρούπολη, 7 10 Μαΐου 1989: πρακτικά: Θεσσαλονίκη. Ιδρυμα Μελετών Χερσονήσου του Αίμου.

6 332 Tchoekha Oksana Lunar Magic in the Modern Greek Folk Tradition 333 Notes 1 Hence the following epilepsy terminology: σεληνιασμός epilepsy < σελήνη the moon (Μπαμπινιοτης 2002: 1597); φεγγάριασμα epilepsy < φεγγάρι the moon (ibid: 1897). 2 According to the records in the possession of the author. 3 With reference to the interpretation of the new moon as wet, note recommendations to plant herbs, greenery and trees in the first half of the lunar month, otherwise they may dry up. References Figure 2. Depiction of the witch milking the moon that had turned into a cow with a red tongue in St. Prophet Elijah church (XIX century), community Buranovo, Bulgaria. Published in: Lyubomir Mikov Luna/Krava: Lamya/Vyatr metamorfoza i tzhdestvo. Izvestiya na istoricheski muzey, IV: Kyustendil. 4. The last group of texts referring both to the moon and magic and therefore worth being mentioned in the paper are the narrative stories about witches who turn the moon into a cow or a calf, pull it down to milk or question it about the future. The former beliefs are agreed to be of an ancient origin and the collection of the texts from Epirus published by Benekos (Benekos 1992) contains the old variants of such stories witches dressed in white play musical instruments, dance, offer the moon some food and invite it to come down to question it about the future. The references to the stories of that kind are found in Hellenistic literature and in pottery fragments. Modern Greek tradition contains, however, modifications of the story witches milk the moon turned into a cow. This motif seems to be recently new and came from the traditions of the Balkan Slavs, first of all from Bulgarian tradition where the former plot is presented not only in narrative form but also in church paintings. Αραβαντινός, Π Ηπειριωτικόν γλωσσάριον. Εν Αθήναις. Εκ του Τυπογραφείου Π. Α. Πετράκου. Ασβέστη, Μ. Β Μαγικαί και δεισιδαίμονες συνηθείαι. Λαογραφια Κ : Γρηγόρης, Κ. Π Αγρότικα έθιμα. Λαογραφια, ΙΕ : Καλοκάρδου, Ελλη Λαογραφικά Σκοπού Ανατολικής Θράκης. Αρχείον του Θρακικού λαογραφικού καο γλωσσικού θησαυρού, ΙΓ : Κάσσης, Κ. Δ Λαογραφιά της Μέσα Μάνης. Αθήνα: Τ. Β. Κεφαλληνιάδης, Ν Από την λαογραφία μας. Η Σελήνη στις Ναξιακές παραδόσεις. Νάξος. Κόμης, Δ. Λ Κυθηραϊκό λεξικό. Συλλογή λέξεων του Κυθηραϊκού γλωσσικού ιδιώματος. Επιμέλεια Δ. Λ. Κόμη. Εταιρεία Κυθηραϊκών Μελετών 5. Αθήνα. Κυπριανού, Χ. Π Λαογραφικά του Παλαίκυθρου. Λευκωσία. Κουκουλές, Φ. Ι Μεσαιωνικοί και νεοελληνικοί καταδεσμοι. Λαογραφια Θ : ; Λουκόπουλος, Δημήτριος Σύμμεικτα λαογραφικά εξ Αιτόλιας. Λαογραφια. ΙΒ : Μέγας, Γ. Α. Ζητήματα ελληνικής λαογραφίας Επετηρίς του λαογραφικού αρχείου, 3. Ακαδημία Αθηνών. Εν Αθήναις. Μπαμπινιοτης, Γ Λεξικο της Νεας Ελληνικης γλώσσας. Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας. Αθήνα. Οικονομόπουλος, Χ. Θ Ελληνικό λαογραφικό λεξικό για τη μάνα και το παιδί. Ελληνική παιδιατρική εταιρία. Αθήνα. Παναρέτου, Α Κυπριακή γεωργική λαογραφία. Εκδόσις Συνεργατικής Κεντρικής Τραπέζης, Λευκωσία. Παπαθανάση-Μουσιοπούλου, Κ Λαογραφικά Θράκης. Τ. Α. Αθήνα.

7 334 Tchoekha Oksana Παπαχριστοδούλου, Χ. Ι Λεξικογραφικά και λαογραφικά Ρόδου. Αθήναι. Πολίτης, Ν. Γ Η Σελήνη κατά τους μύθους και τας δοξασίας του ελληνικού λαού in Λαογραφικά σύμμεικτα, Β: Εκ του Εθνικού τυπογραφείου. Εν Αθήναις. Πολίτης, Ν. Γ Μελέται περί του βίου και της γλώσσας του ελληνικού λαού. Παροιμίαι. Τ. Γ. Αθήνα. Πολίτης, Ν. Γ Μαγικαί τελεταί προς πρόσκλησιν μαντικών ονείρων περί γάμου. Λαογραφία, Γ : Ρήγας, Γ. Α Σκιάθου Λαϊκός πολιτισμός. Τ. Δ.Θεσσαλονίκη. Σόφος, Α Λαογραφικά της Κάσου. Τ. Δ. Συμμεκτα. Αθήνα. Ταστάνη, Ν. Χ Λεσβιακή Λαογραφία. Λεξικό γλωσσικού ιδιώματος Παρακοίλων. Ιδιωματικές λέξεις, παροιμίες, παροιμιώδεις φράσεις. Έκδοση δήμου Καλλόνης. Αθήνα. Τζομπάρης, Φ Λαογραφικά Γλωσσικά Στενιμάχου (Β Αμπελουργικά λατρευτικά έθιμα). Αρχείον του Θρακικού λαογραφικού καο γλωσσικού θησαυρού, ΙΒ : Φραγκάκι, Ε. Κ Σύμβολη στα λαογραφικά της Κρήτης. Τυπογραφικά καταστήματα Ιωάννου Γ. Γούφα, Αθήναι. Χουρμουζιάδης, Κ Το Τσακήλι (Πετροχώρι) των Μετρών. Θρακικά, 10: Ψυχογίος, Ν Περί γοητείων και μαντείας. Ν.Ε.Λ.Ε. Ηλείας εκ παραδρομής. Λεχαίνα. Benekos, Demetrios S Die Mondmagie in Epiros. Ηπειρωτικά χρονικά, 30: Georgi Mishev Plovdiv, Bulgaria Where Do You Come From, Ash? I Come From a Pure Place. Magical Healing Practices from the Region of the Thracian Cult Center of Starosel, Plovdiv region, Bulgaria Abstract. This paper presents several magical healing practices using ash from the region of the Thracian cult center of Starosel. The rituals were recorded during field work in this region that had the aim of interpreting them through the application of interdisciplinary scientific method. Semantic analysis is done through comparison with other typologically similar magical practices from Bulgarian traditional culture. The paper draws attention to the concept of a connection between ash and the sun. An interpretation of the ash as material for a new creation according to the ancient literary sources of Orphism is proposed. Key words: healing, ritual, Thracian, Starosel, ash During my field studies 1 in the region of the Thracian cult center of Starosel 2 I had the opportunity to observe and record some living magical healing practices that are connected with the use of ash as a main carrier of purifying power and thus of healing. The rituals discussed below were recorded in the period The women practising them currently Radka Kakanasheva and Mariya Kabadzhova are perceived as healers by the local people; they have a good reputation and their help is sought not only by locals, but also by people from other villages. Before going into detailed comments on these healing practices, let me first present the ritual actions as they were described to me by those performing them. Here I would like to point out that the healers did not show any embarrassment at sharing them; on the contrary, they cooperated willingly and explained in detail both the text and the actions connected with it. Both women are hereditary healers, as the passing on of this type of knowledge was done by an elderly female relative while they were at a premenstrual age. They do not share the belief that pronouncing the words of the magical formula,

8 THE RITUAL YEAR 10 Magic in Rituals and Rituals in Magic Edited by Tatiana Minniyakhmetova and Kamila Velkoborská Innsbruck Tartu 2015

9 THE RITUAL YEAR 10 Magic in Rituals and Rituals in Magic The Yearbook of the SIEF (Société Internationale d Ethnologie et de Folklore) Working Group on the Ritual Year General Editor: Emily Lyle Editors for this Issue: Tatiana Minniyakhmetova, Kamila Velkoborská Language Editors: Jenny Butler, Molly Carter, Cozette Griffin-Kremer, John Helsloot, Billy Mag Fhloinn, Emily Lyle, Thomas McKean, Neill Martin, Elisabeth Warner Layout: Liisa Vesik Front Cover Photo: Yuri Lisovskiy Four Houses Four Seasons Front Cover Design: Andres Kuperjanov Advisory Board: Maria Teresa Agozzino, Marion Bowman, Jenny Butler, Molly Carter, Kinga Gáspár, Evy Håland, Aado Lintrop, Neill Martin, Lina Midholm, Tatiana Minniyakhmetova, David Stanley, Elizabeth Warner ISSN ISBN (paper) The Yearbook was established in 2011 by merging former periodicals dedicated to the study of the Ritual Year: 9 volumes in Innsbruck, Tartu: ELM Scholarly Press. Publication is supported by the authors and the project IRG 225, Estonian Folklore Institute. Authors SIEF Working Group on the Ritual Year Contents Foreword 13 The Ritual Year and Magical Features Lyle Emily (Edinburgh, Scotland) 19 The Cosmic Connections of the Eight Key Points in the Indo-European Ritual Year Gunnell Terry (Reykjavik, Iceland) 28 The Background and Nature of the Annual and Occasional Rituals of the Ásatrúarfélag in Iceland Håland Evy Johanne (Bergen, Norway; Athens, Greece) 41 Magical Ceremonies during the Ritual Year of the Greek Farmer Mihaylova Katya (Sofia, Bulgaria) 61 The Fortune-Telling Customs of Andrzejki and Katarzynki in the Polish Ritual Year Gierek Bożena (Kraków, Poland) 70 Rituals of the Easter Period in Poland Multari Anna (Messina, Italy) 83 Coptic Magic and Its Phases Lielbārdis Aigars (Riga, Latvia) 91 Catholic Saints in the Latvian Calendar Testa Alessandro (Pardubice, Czech Republic) 100 The Re-Enchantment of Europe: Traditional Carnivals and the Belief in Propitiatory Magic (Two Ethnographic Cases from Italy and Czechia) Mifsud Chircop Marlene (Msida, Malta) 110 Good Friday Processions on Contemporary Malta

10 Griffin-Kremer Cozette (Rambouillet, France) 121 Doing Things Rightways and Three Times. From Maying Practices to Standard Procedures Mag Fhloinn Billy (Limerick, Ireland) 130 Sacrificial Magic and the Twofold Division of the Irish Ritual Year Symbolism of Fire, Food, Ritual Objects and Magical Spaces Sedakova Irina (Moscow, Russia) 141 Magico-Religious Symbolism of a Candle in the Slavic Calendar Rituals Minniyakhmetova Tatiana (Innsbruck, Austria) 152 Ritual Fire in the Annual Cycle of Udmurt Calendar Customs Wilk Urszula (Warsaw, Poland) 162 The Valencian Festival of Las Fallas as an Example of Symbolic Violence Ek-Nilsson Katarina (Uppsala, Sweden) 171 Folk Belief and Rituals about Bread in Sweden. Some Interpretations and Comparisons with Today s Hipster Culture Ramšak Mojca (Ljubljana, Slovenia) 177 The Magic of Wine Marketing: Invented Rituals of Slovene Wine Queens Rychkov Sergey (Kazan, Russia) 187 Magic of a Toast Sánchez Natalías Celia (Zaragoza, Spain) 194 Magical Poppets in the Western Roman Empire: a Case Study from the Fountain of Anna Perenna Kuhn Konrad (Basel, Switzerland) 203 Relics from the Lost Valley Discourses on the Magic of Masks Shutova Nadezhda (Izhevsk, Russia) 213 Ritual as a Means of Organizing the Traditional Udmurt Sacred Space (The late 19th early 20th century) Khudyaev Andrey (Arkhangelsk, Russia) 220 Magic Ritual and its Spatial Structure in Archaic Cultures of the North Verebélyi Kincső (Budapest, Hungary) 230 Das Haus als geistiges Kraftfeld Innovations in Traditions Gareis Iris (Frankfurt on Main, Germany) 239 Politics and Magic in the Ritual Year: Case Studies from Pre-Columbian Peru to the Present Rancane Aida (Riga, Latvia) 248 Motifs of Sacrifice in the Context of the Present-Day Search for Spiritual Experience in Latvia: Traditions and Innovations Urboniene Skaidre (Vilnius, Lithuania) 258 The Destruction of Religious Monuments in Lithuania in Soviet Times: Stories, Magic and Beliefs Divination, Fortune-telling Voigt Vilmos (Budapest, Hungary) 269 Rebus Charms Evil Forces Magic Tuczay Christa Agnes (Vienna, Austria) 275 Necromancy from Antiquity to Medieval and Modern Times Šaknys Žilvytis (Vilnius, Lithuania) 286 Magic or Entertainment? Marriage Divination and the Ritual Year in Lithuania Klimova Ksenia (Moscow, Russia) 294 Fortune Telling in the Modern Greek Ritual Year

11 Vlaskina Nina (Rostov-on-Don, Russia) 303 The Types of Divination Used by the Don Cossacks: Highlighting Areas of Distribution Astral Objects, Plants and Magic in Healing Strategies Kõiva Mare, Kuperjanov Andres (Tartu, Estonia) 313 The Moon, Astronomic Objects and Symbolic Rites in Healing Strategies Tchoekha Oksana (Moscow, Russia) 323 Lunar Magic in the Modern Greek Folk Tradition Mishev Georgi (Plovdiv, Bulgaria) 335 Where Do You Come From, Ash? I Come From a Pure Place. Magical Healing Practices from the Region of the Thracian Cult Center of Starosel, Plovdiv region, Bulgaria Ippolitova Aleksandra (Moscow, Russia) 346 Circumscription Ritual in Russian Herbals of the 17th early 20th Centuries Sidneva Svetlana (Moscow, Russia) 356 The Magic Herbs in the Modern Greek and Italian Calendar Customs Shamanism and Neo-Shamanism, Paganism and Neo-Paganism, Cults and Wicca in the Old and New Traditions Zoric Snjezana (Seoul, Republic of Korea) 367 The Magic of Performance in Korean Shamanic Ritual gut Fehlmann Meret (Zurich, Switzerland) 376 The Earth s Unseen Powers of Growth Need to be Nourished on Images of Seasonal Pagan Rituals in Popular Culture Velkoborská Kamila (Pilsen, Czech Republic) 384 Magic as practised by the Brotherhood of Wolves (Czech Republic) Malita Joanna (Kraków, Poland) 394 Magic in Everyday Life of Polish Wiccans Reasoning of Supernatural: Theory and Practice Savickaitė Eglė (Kaunas, Lithuania) 405 Reasoning Supernatural Experiences: Rationalism and Intuition Fournier Laurent Sébastien (Nantes, France) 414 The Magic of Traditional Games: From Anthropological Theory to Contemporary Case Studies Zanki Josip (Zadar, Croatia) 422 Embodiment and Gender: Constructing Balkan Masculinities Sorcerers, Witches and Magic Practices Baiduzh Marina (Tyumen, Russia) 433 Constructing the Image of Witch in Contemporary Russian Mythological Beliefs and Magical Practices Betea Raluca (Berlin, Germany) 444 Magical Beliefs for Stealing the Milk of Animals. A Case-study on the Romanian Villages in Transylvania (18th 19th Centuries) Dillinger Johannes (Oxford, Great Britain) 453 Treasure and Drache. Ritual and Economy in the Early Modern Period Sivilova Yana (Sofia, Bulgaria) 460 Magic versus Rational Reasoning in Anecdotal Tale

12 Magic and Rituals in Family Tradition Paukštytė Šaknienė Rasa (Vilnius, Lithuania) 471 Ritual Year of Godparents and Godchildren in Contemporary Society in Lithuania Stolyarova Guzel (Kazan, Russia), 479 Danilova Olga (Yoshkar-Ola, Russia) Magic in the Traditional Culture of the Russian Population in the Mari Region Mykytenko Oksana (Kiev, Ukraine) 487 Padlock and Key as Attributes of the Wedding Ceremony: Traditional Symbolism and Contemporary Magic (on the Material of the Slavic Tradition) Rychkova Nadezhda (Kazan, Russia) 497 Magic as Communication in Family Rituals of Russians in Tatarstan Beyond the Threshold and Magic Value Pócs Éva (Budapest, Hungary) 507 The Living and the Dead at the Time of the Winter Solstice in Central Eastern European Beliefs Stahl Irina (Bucharest, Romania) 519 The Nine Miraculous Graves: Seeking Help from Beyond Neubauer-Petzoldt Ruth (Erlangen, Germany) 532 The Year of Magical Thinking Rituals and Magical Thinking in Autobiographical Literature of Mourning Analysing Magic in Rituals and New Field Researches Krasheninnikova Yulia (Syktyvkar, Russia) 547 Magic Beliefs and Practices of Holy Thursday in the Modern Tradition of the Peasant Population of the Russian North (based on materials of the XXI century) Iagafova Ekaterina, Bondareva Valeria (Samara, Russia) 557 Traditional Festive Rituals in Modern Chuvash Culture Koval-Fuchylo Iryna (Kyiv, Ukraine) 568 Ukrainian Calendar Cry: the Magical Value and Functional Features of the Tradition Graden Dorothy Clark (Valparaiso, USA) 579 Archaic Magic as Background to Artistic Inspiration and Interpretation The Authors 583 SIEF Working Group on the Ritual Year Inaugural Meeting 589 The Conferences 589 The Publications 590 Conference Memories 592