Vuk u folkloru Hrvata
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Date
2012
Authors
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Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM
Title alternative
Wolf in the Folklore of Croats
Abstract
The paper focuses on the significant role of wolf in the Croatian folklore that has been confirmed
by a series of analyses over the thirty contemporary original field records. The socalled
wolf processions were still performed in many places of the country just before the
Homeland War in 1991. Often described in a word vukavarski, the processions were always
initiated by an act of killing the wolf since the animal was traditionally assumed as a symbol
of evil and subsequently as a cause of severe damage. In order to celebrate such an act, the
wolf killer, accompanied by a small group of hunters, had to march through the village. The
group was obliged to sing or recite spells, derived from an apotropaic rite, in front of the
country houses. As for the hosts, they were satisfied to receive the procession (such a satisfaction
was usually expressed by different rewards) since all the neighbourhood had got rid
off another dangerous animal.
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Keywords
wolf processions, spells, wedding wolves, wolves from Deževice, apotropaic character
Citation
Poznańskie Studia Slawistyczne, 2012, nr 3, s. 45-59
ISBN
978-83-232-2473-0