Traces of the Virgin Mary in Post-Communist Europe, 2020
The chapter presents Marian worship in one of its specific local manifestations – the cult to the... more The chapter presents Marian worship in one of its specific local manifestations – the cult to the Virgin in the region of Asenovgrad, Central Southern Bulgaria. The fact that it is the most representative example of the vital and well-developed Marian cult within present-day Bulgaria, as well as authors' long-term fieldwork in the region (started 1996), influenced the choice of Asenovgrad as the focus of their attention. The methodological framework is based on the concept of local religion (Christian 1989: 3), reformulated by the authors into the concepts of local religiosity and local religious culture. The local Marian cult in Asenovgrad region is used as an example of how to understand this local and cultural embeddedness of religiosity, presented via (1) devotional sites and the images belonging to them (in this case, miracle-working icons of the Virgin); (2) local feasts and ritual practices; and (3) local and personal religious narratives. The authors regard places, ritua...
In this article I present a contemporary local cult from Southern Bulgaria, popularly known as th... more In this article I present a contemporary local cult from Southern Bulgaria, popularly known as the 'Golden Apple', which combines elements of official Orthodox Christianity with peculiarities of local cul - ture and folklore. It represents a specific form of Marian devotion with idiosyncratic ritual practices for conception and childbirth. I dwell on the apple as a key symbol in the system of the local cult and analyze its meanings in Christian tradition and in folk culture. On this basis I discuss the interaction of the universal and the local as sources for the formation of religious culture, and, more generally, the mechanisms of its formation and functioning. In my view, the example of this concrete symbol is indicative of the mecha- nisms of formation and functioning of religious cultures in general: a constant process of exchange, op- position and adaptation between the universal and the local, the official and the folkloric, continuity and change.
This paper is dedicated to a specific religious community, a women's Orthodox association fou... more This paper is dedicated to a specific religious community, a women's Orthodox association founded in the early twentieth century in a southern Bulgarian town with mixed population and complex cultural history. We explore the place visions and miracles played in the establishment of the association and its present‐day role in the local society. The impact of this small group of women, united in a moral community, on the religious and social life of a Balkan town is explained with attention to what might be described as “politics of divine intervention” in a world of continuous political, ethnic and religious strife. The stories of miracles, dreams narratives and other accounts of divine intervention in the broadest sense allow us to articulate the interweaving of hidden history, social order and religious life.
Като цяло статусът на бабата се свързва с напреднала възраст и следователно с асексуалност и инфе... more Като цяло статусът на бабата се свързва с напреднала възраст и следователно с асексуалност и инфертилност. В традиционната култура обаче съществуват и редица случаи, в които този образ получава специфичен смисъл, който не само не изключва сексуалното, но дори го подчертава и хиперболизира. Настоящият текст има за цел да задълбочи наблюденията върху еротичните аспекти в образа на бабата и да потърси техните митологични корени и основания. За тази цел привличам материал от словесния фолклор, както и от някои традиционни ритуали, в които бабата присъства като обреден персонаж и/или като митологична фигура: Бабинден, маскарадните игри и ритуалите и вярванията около Баба Марта и 1 март. Разглеждам и възможната връзка на образа на бабата с персонажа Бабо/ Баубо от гръцката традиционна култура и античната митология.
Савремена српска фолклористика VI. Зборник радова. Београд – Тршић, 2019
Статията разглежда актуалната тема за местните култове като поле за взаимодействие на каноничната... more Статията разглежда актуалната тема за местните култове като поле за взаимодействие на каноничната религия с локалните традиции и унаследените фолклорни модели. Предложените анализи и изводи се базират на три конкретни случая от центъра на българската столица София: почитта към св. Терапонтий в църквата „Св. Петка Стара”, свързана с неговото „дърво”; почитта към сръбския крал Стефан Урош Милутин, чиито мощи се пазят в храм „Св. Неделя” и култът към „най-новия” светец Архиепископ Серафим Соболев (канонизиран през 2016 г.), погребан в криптата на Руската църква „Св. Николай Мирликийски Чудотворец”. Във фокуса на вниманието са специфични ритуални практики като поклонението пред дървото на св. Терапонтий, преобличането на мощите на св. Крал и писането на писма до отец Серафим. Същевременно ритуалните действия се разглеждат като неотделима част от системата на местния култ, който включва още празници, образи, чудотворни обекти, разкази и вярвания. Набелязват се и фолклорни паралели на разглежданите обредни действия. Ключови думи: местен култ, град София, мощи, св. Терапонтий, св. Крал, Стефан Милутин, св. Серафим Софийски Чудотворец, дърво на св. Терапонтий, преобличане на мощи, писма с желания
САВРЕМЕНА СРПСКА ФОЛКЛОРИСТИКА VII. Зборник радова=, 2020
Статията разглежда един непроучен досега аспект от фолклорния образ на змея – представата, че той... more Статията разглежда един непроучен досега аспект от фолклорния образ на змея – представата, че той може да бъде воин и да участва пряко във войните на хората. Тези представи намират място в текстове на вярвания, предания, устни разкази и отчасти песни, регистрирани към края на 19 и началото на 20 в. по българските земи и запазени до най-ново време в района на Сакар. Различни мотиви и сюжети насочват към съществуването на пряка връзка между змея и войната във фолклора. На тази основа неговия образ се родее с персонажи като епическия юнак, ангелското войнство и неговият предводител св. Архангел Михаил, както и светци воини като св. Георги, св. Теодор Тирон, св. Теодор Стратилат и др. Част от тези светци се оказват и змееборци, което допълнително указва на тяхната генеалогична близост с митичния образ на змея. Разбирането на войната като борба на змейове позволява и осмислянето на мотива „два са змея бият”, който е повтарящо се начало на редица песни за юнак в тъмница и до момента остава донякъде енигматичен за изследователите.
HOLY WATERS: RELIGIOUS DEVOTION
AND HEALING PRACTICES IN A BALKAN
CONTEXT
In this article I discu... more HOLY WATERS: RELIGIOUS DEVOTION AND HEALING PRACTICES IN A BALKAN CONTEXT In this article I discuss the veneration of waters and the related healing practices in interdisciplinary context and in diachronic perspective in Balkan milieu. I endeavor to delineate the main cultural models which influence the pattern of contemporary religious culture in one of its particular aspects: the healing practices with water. Those models are the religious systems of Antiquity in their Greek-Roman and Thracian variants; the culture of folklore; and Christian doctrine and practice. For the purposes of analysis I draw on a broad range of diverse material: published research, folklore texts, popular religious literature, an ethnographic film, images, internet sources and personal fieldwork including observations and interviews. In the final part I also consider a particular case: the Church of the Annunciation of Mary of the Fish in the small town of Asenovgrad in Southern Bulgaria. This case gives me an interesting example of the interweaving of universal and local in the devotion to a water source and in the ritual practices performed there. It also gives me grounds to suggest the term crypto-cult to denote a specific form of cultural interaction observed there. By outlining and summarising the versatile expressions of water devotion and healing rituals I point out some characteristic features and tendencies of these phenomena and argue that despite their specifics, Antiquity tradition, folklore and Christianity operate with similar attitudes and patterns.
HOLY WATERS: RELIGIOUS DEVOTION
AND HEALING PRACTICES IN A BALKAN
CONTEXT
In this article I discu... more HOLY WATERS: RELIGIOUS DEVOTION AND HEALING PRACTICES IN A BALKAN CONTEXT In this article I discuss the veneration of waters and the related healing practices in interdisciplinary context and in diachronic perspective in Balkan milieu. I endeavor to delineate the main cultural models which influence the pattern of contemporary religious culture in one of its particular aspects: the healing practices with water. Those models are the religious systems of Antiquity in their Greek-Roman and Thracian variants; the culture of folklore; and Christian doctrine and practice. For the purposes of analysis I draw on a broad range of diverse material: published research, folklore texts, popular religious literature, an ethnographic film, images, internet sources and personal fieldwork including observations and interviews. In the final part I also consider a particular case: the Church of the Annunciation of Mary of the Fish in the small town of Asenovgrad in Southern Bulgaria. This case gives me an interesting example of the interweaving of universal and local in the devotion to a water source and in the ritual practices performed there. It also gives me grounds to suggest the term crypto-cult to denote a specific form of cultural interaction observed there. By outlining and summarising the versatile expressions of water devotion and healing rituals I point out some characteristic features and tendencies of these phenomena and argue that despite their specifics, Antiquity tradition, folklore and Christianity operate with similar attitudes and patterns.
Traces of the Virgin Mary in Post-Communist Europe, 2020
The chapter presents Marian worship in one of its specific local manifestations – the cult to the... more The chapter presents Marian worship in one of its specific local manifestations – the cult to the Virgin in the region of Asenovgrad, Central Southern Bulgaria. The fact that it is the most representative example of the vital and well-developed Marian cult within present-day Bulgaria, as well as authors' long-term fieldwork in the region (started 1996), influenced the choice of Asenovgrad as the focus of their attention. The methodological framework is based on the concept of local religion (Christian 1989: 3), reformulated by the authors into the concepts of local religiosity and local religious culture. The local Marian cult in Asenovgrad region is used as an example of how to understand this local and cultural embeddedness of religiosity, presented via (1) devotional sites and the images belonging to them (in this case, miracle-working icons of the Virgin); (2) local feasts and ritual practices; and (3) local and personal religious narratives. The authors regard places, ritua...
In this article I present a contemporary local cult from Southern Bulgaria, popularly known as th... more In this article I present a contemporary local cult from Southern Bulgaria, popularly known as the 'Golden Apple', which combines elements of official Orthodox Christianity with peculiarities of local cul - ture and folklore. It represents a specific form of Marian devotion with idiosyncratic ritual practices for conception and childbirth. I dwell on the apple as a key symbol in the system of the local cult and analyze its meanings in Christian tradition and in folk culture. On this basis I discuss the interaction of the universal and the local as sources for the formation of religious culture, and, more generally, the mechanisms of its formation and functioning. In my view, the example of this concrete symbol is indicative of the mecha- nisms of formation and functioning of religious cultures in general: a constant process of exchange, op- position and adaptation between the universal and the local, the official and the folkloric, continuity and change.
This paper is dedicated to a specific religious community, a women's Orthodox association fou... more This paper is dedicated to a specific religious community, a women's Orthodox association founded in the early twentieth century in a southern Bulgarian town with mixed population and complex cultural history. We explore the place visions and miracles played in the establishment of the association and its present‐day role in the local society. The impact of this small group of women, united in a moral community, on the religious and social life of a Balkan town is explained with attention to what might be described as “politics of divine intervention” in a world of continuous political, ethnic and religious strife. The stories of miracles, dreams narratives and other accounts of divine intervention in the broadest sense allow us to articulate the interweaving of hidden history, social order and religious life.
Като цяло статусът на бабата се свързва с напреднала възраст и следователно с асексуалност и инфе... more Като цяло статусът на бабата се свързва с напреднала възраст и следователно с асексуалност и инфертилност. В традиционната култура обаче съществуват и редица случаи, в които този образ получава специфичен смисъл, който не само не изключва сексуалното, но дори го подчертава и хиперболизира. Настоящият текст има за цел да задълбочи наблюденията върху еротичните аспекти в образа на бабата и да потърси техните митологични корени и основания. За тази цел привличам материал от словесния фолклор, както и от някои традиционни ритуали, в които бабата присъства като обреден персонаж и/или като митологична фигура: Бабинден, маскарадните игри и ритуалите и вярванията около Баба Марта и 1 март. Разглеждам и възможната връзка на образа на бабата с персонажа Бабо/ Баубо от гръцката традиционна култура и античната митология.
Савремена српска фолклористика VI. Зборник радова. Београд – Тршић, 2019
Статията разглежда актуалната тема за местните култове като поле за взаимодействие на каноничната... more Статията разглежда актуалната тема за местните култове като поле за взаимодействие на каноничната религия с локалните традиции и унаследените фолклорни модели. Предложените анализи и изводи се базират на три конкретни случая от центъра на българската столица София: почитта към св. Терапонтий в църквата „Св. Петка Стара”, свързана с неговото „дърво”; почитта към сръбския крал Стефан Урош Милутин, чиито мощи се пазят в храм „Св. Неделя” и култът към „най-новия” светец Архиепископ Серафим Соболев (канонизиран през 2016 г.), погребан в криптата на Руската църква „Св. Николай Мирликийски Чудотворец”. Във фокуса на вниманието са специфични ритуални практики като поклонението пред дървото на св. Терапонтий, преобличането на мощите на св. Крал и писането на писма до отец Серафим. Същевременно ритуалните действия се разглеждат като неотделима част от системата на местния култ, който включва още празници, образи, чудотворни обекти, разкази и вярвания. Набелязват се и фолклорни паралели на разглежданите обредни действия. Ключови думи: местен култ, град София, мощи, св. Терапонтий, св. Крал, Стефан Милутин, св. Серафим Софийски Чудотворец, дърво на св. Терапонтий, преобличане на мощи, писма с желания
САВРЕМЕНА СРПСКА ФОЛКЛОРИСТИКА VII. Зборник радова=, 2020
Статията разглежда един непроучен досега аспект от фолклорния образ на змея – представата, че той... more Статията разглежда един непроучен досега аспект от фолклорния образ на змея – представата, че той може да бъде воин и да участва пряко във войните на хората. Тези представи намират място в текстове на вярвания, предания, устни разкази и отчасти песни, регистрирани към края на 19 и началото на 20 в. по българските земи и запазени до най-ново време в района на Сакар. Различни мотиви и сюжети насочват към съществуването на пряка връзка между змея и войната във фолклора. На тази основа неговия образ се родее с персонажи като епическия юнак, ангелското войнство и неговият предводител св. Архангел Михаил, както и светци воини като св. Георги, св. Теодор Тирон, св. Теодор Стратилат и др. Част от тези светци се оказват и змееборци, което допълнително указва на тяхната генеалогична близост с митичния образ на змея. Разбирането на войната като борба на змейове позволява и осмислянето на мотива „два са змея бият”, който е повтарящо се начало на редица песни за юнак в тъмница и до момента остава донякъде енигматичен за изследователите.
HOLY WATERS: RELIGIOUS DEVOTION
AND HEALING PRACTICES IN A BALKAN
CONTEXT
In this article I discu... more HOLY WATERS: RELIGIOUS DEVOTION AND HEALING PRACTICES IN A BALKAN CONTEXT In this article I discuss the veneration of waters and the related healing practices in interdisciplinary context and in diachronic perspective in Balkan milieu. I endeavor to delineate the main cultural models which influence the pattern of contemporary religious culture in one of its particular aspects: the healing practices with water. Those models are the religious systems of Antiquity in their Greek-Roman and Thracian variants; the culture of folklore; and Christian doctrine and practice. For the purposes of analysis I draw on a broad range of diverse material: published research, folklore texts, popular religious literature, an ethnographic film, images, internet sources and personal fieldwork including observations and interviews. In the final part I also consider a particular case: the Church of the Annunciation of Mary of the Fish in the small town of Asenovgrad in Southern Bulgaria. This case gives me an interesting example of the interweaving of universal and local in the devotion to a water source and in the ritual practices performed there. It also gives me grounds to suggest the term crypto-cult to denote a specific form of cultural interaction observed there. By outlining and summarising the versatile expressions of water devotion and healing rituals I point out some characteristic features and tendencies of these phenomena and argue that despite their specifics, Antiquity tradition, folklore and Christianity operate with similar attitudes and patterns.
HOLY WATERS: RELIGIOUS DEVOTION
AND HEALING PRACTICES IN A BALKAN
CONTEXT
In this article I discu... more HOLY WATERS: RELIGIOUS DEVOTION AND HEALING PRACTICES IN A BALKAN CONTEXT In this article I discuss the veneration of waters and the related healing practices in interdisciplinary context and in diachronic perspective in Balkan milieu. I endeavor to delineate the main cultural models which influence the pattern of contemporary religious culture in one of its particular aspects: the healing practices with water. Those models are the religious systems of Antiquity in their Greek-Roman and Thracian variants; the culture of folklore; and Christian doctrine and practice. For the purposes of analysis I draw on a broad range of diverse material: published research, folklore texts, popular religious literature, an ethnographic film, images, internet sources and personal fieldwork including observations and interviews. In the final part I also consider a particular case: the Church of the Annunciation of Mary of the Fish in the small town of Asenovgrad in Southern Bulgaria. This case gives me an interesting example of the interweaving of universal and local in the devotion to a water source and in the ritual practices performed there. It also gives me grounds to suggest the term crypto-cult to denote a specific form of cultural interaction observed there. By outlining and summarising the versatile expressions of water devotion and healing rituals I point out some characteristic features and tendencies of these phenomena and argue that despite their specifics, Antiquity tradition, folklore and Christianity operate with similar attitudes and patterns.
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Ключови думи: местен култ, град София, мощи, св. Терапонтий, св. Крал, Стефан Милутин, св. Серафим Софийски Чудотворец, дърво на св. Терапонтий, преобличане на мощи, писма с желания
Разбирането на войната като борба на змейове позволява и осмислянето на мотива „два са змея бият”, който е повтарящо се начало на редица песни за юнак в тъмница и до момента остава донякъде енигматичен за изследователите.
AND HEALING PRACTICES IN A BALKAN
CONTEXT
In this article I discuss the veneration of waters and the related healing
practices in interdisciplinary context and in diachronic perspective in
Balkan milieu. I endeavor to delineate the main cultural models which
influence the pattern of contemporary religious culture in one of its
particular aspects: the healing practices with water. Those models are
the religious systems of Antiquity in their Greek-Roman and Thracian
variants; the culture of folklore; and Christian doctrine and practice.
For the purposes of analysis I draw on a broad range of diverse material:
published research, folklore texts, popular religious literature,
an ethnographic film, images, internet sources and personal fieldwork
including observations and interviews. In the final part I also consider
a particular case: the Church of the Annunciation of Mary of the Fish
in the small town of Asenovgrad in Southern Bulgaria. This case gives
me an interesting example of the interweaving of universal and local
in the devotion to a water source and in the ritual practices performed
there. It also gives me grounds to suggest the term crypto-cult to denote
a specific form of cultural interaction observed there. By outlining
and summarising the versatile expressions of water devotion and
healing rituals I point out some characteristic features and tendencies
of these phenomena and argue that despite their specifics, Antiquity
tradition, folklore and Christianity operate with similar attitudes and
patterns.
AND HEALING PRACTICES IN A BALKAN
CONTEXT
In this article I discuss the veneration of waters and the related healing
practices in interdisciplinary context and in diachronic perspective in
Balkan milieu. I endeavor to delineate the main cultural models which
influence the pattern of contemporary religious culture in one of its
particular aspects: the healing practices with water. Those models are
the religious systems of Antiquity in their Greek-Roman and Thracian
variants; the culture of folklore; and Christian doctrine and practice.
For the purposes of analysis I draw on a broad range of diverse material:
published research, folklore texts, popular religious literature,
an ethnographic film, images, internet sources and personal fieldwork
including observations and interviews. In the final part I also consider
a particular case: the Church of the Annunciation of Mary of the Fish
in the small town of Asenovgrad in Southern Bulgaria. This case gives
me an interesting example of the interweaving of universal and local
in the devotion to a water source and in the ritual practices performed
there. It also gives me grounds to suggest the term crypto-cult to denote
a specific form of cultural interaction observed there. By outlining
and summarising the versatile expressions of water devotion and
healing rituals I point out some characteristic features and tendencies
of these phenomena and argue that despite their specifics, Antiquity
tradition, folklore and Christianity operate with similar attitudes and
patterns.
Ключови думи: местен култ, град София, мощи, св. Терапонтий, св. Крал, Стефан Милутин, св. Серафим Софийски Чудотворец, дърво на св. Терапонтий, преобличане на мощи, писма с желания
Разбирането на войната като борба на змейове позволява и осмислянето на мотива „два са змея бият”, който е повтарящо се начало на редица песни за юнак в тъмница и до момента остава донякъде енигматичен за изследователите.
AND HEALING PRACTICES IN A BALKAN
CONTEXT
In this article I discuss the veneration of waters and the related healing
practices in interdisciplinary context and in diachronic perspective in
Balkan milieu. I endeavor to delineate the main cultural models which
influence the pattern of contemporary religious culture in one of its
particular aspects: the healing practices with water. Those models are
the religious systems of Antiquity in their Greek-Roman and Thracian
variants; the culture of folklore; and Christian doctrine and practice.
For the purposes of analysis I draw on a broad range of diverse material:
published research, folklore texts, popular religious literature,
an ethnographic film, images, internet sources and personal fieldwork
including observations and interviews. In the final part I also consider
a particular case: the Church of the Annunciation of Mary of the Fish
in the small town of Asenovgrad in Southern Bulgaria. This case gives
me an interesting example of the interweaving of universal and local
in the devotion to a water source and in the ritual practices performed
there. It also gives me grounds to suggest the term crypto-cult to denote
a specific form of cultural interaction observed there. By outlining
and summarising the versatile expressions of water devotion and
healing rituals I point out some characteristic features and tendencies
of these phenomena and argue that despite their specifics, Antiquity
tradition, folklore and Christianity operate with similar attitudes and
patterns.
AND HEALING PRACTICES IN A BALKAN
CONTEXT
In this article I discuss the veneration of waters and the related healing
practices in interdisciplinary context and in diachronic perspective in
Balkan milieu. I endeavor to delineate the main cultural models which
influence the pattern of contemporary religious culture in one of its
particular aspects: the healing practices with water. Those models are
the religious systems of Antiquity in their Greek-Roman and Thracian
variants; the culture of folklore; and Christian doctrine and practice.
For the purposes of analysis I draw on a broad range of diverse material:
published research, folklore texts, popular religious literature,
an ethnographic film, images, internet sources and personal fieldwork
including observations and interviews. In the final part I also consider
a particular case: the Church of the Annunciation of Mary of the Fish
in the small town of Asenovgrad in Southern Bulgaria. This case gives
me an interesting example of the interweaving of universal and local
in the devotion to a water source and in the ritual practices performed
there. It also gives me grounds to suggest the term crypto-cult to denote
a specific form of cultural interaction observed there. By outlining
and summarising the versatile expressions of water devotion and
healing rituals I point out some characteristic features and tendencies
of these phenomena and argue that despite their specifics, Antiquity
tradition, folklore and Christianity operate with similar attitudes and
patterns.