Proximity/distance at the meeting on “the other side”
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Date
2012
Authors
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Publisher
Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM
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Abstract
Folk healers and their ability to heal can be connected with death or the being owned by
death. This deeply archaic structure is evident in how knowledge is acquired, namely that it
is passed on from mother to daughter or granddaughter/grandson in a place that suggests a
connection to the other world (water, bridge). It is also evident in the fact that the women
performing charms must be postmenopausal. Also important is the fact that when knowledge
is acquired through dreams and visions, the soul of the initiate or the initiate him- or herself
must be in touch with the other world and then return to life by passing over a thin line: a
bridge as wide as a hair or a straw. This is a condition akin to death followed by eventual
recuperation. Another important point is the difference in physical appearance to those
treated, for example, old, white, a pale face, piercing eyes, small, slouching, etc. All these
incorporate the idea that the communication with the “other world”, “the other side”, is
always given to those people that somehow were in touch with the other world, which from
that perspective are far from us, but originating from our environment and transferring the
message that they are also close to us. The connection with the other side, with the other,
distanced world was also seen in the time-space structure on the charms.
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Keywords
Proximity/distance, Folk healers, Charms and incantations, Space, Time
Citation
Poznańskie Studia Slawistyczne, 2012, nr 2, s.231–249
ISBN
978-83-232-2409-9