engleski

Across the Mountains High, Across the Waters Deep

To motivate and stimulate abundance and fertility in each new yearly cycle, the people of Međimurje mimic astral movement in yearly processions. They thereby initiate and transfer, through this symbolic cult stimulation, their cosmogonic-eschatological perceptions of the heavenly macrocosm to the human microcosm. The performances, structure and content of the traditional tunes of circle-dances and of yearly folk customs, a variety of oral transmissions, the microtoponymy of Lower Međimurje, and the nearby archaeological site of the Slavic Bijelo Brdo culture, all point to the surviving traces of the pre-Christian Slavic myth, which have been scientifically reconstructed since the end of the 20th century. This paper is based on archival materials, publications and ethnographic field research, which I conducted under the auspices of the Association Matapur at the end of 2014 in Lower Međimurje and Pomurje. It follows my systematic field research of folk religiosity and the transmission of ethnic heritage in Upper Međimurje from 2010-12. I study the transfer of the personal and collective experiences of the people of Međimurje through their peculiar folklore language, a transfer that is occurring at the diachronic and synchronic levels, from the existential to the spiritual spheres. I observe the encounters, labelling, adapting, rhythmic expression, shaping, merging, contextualizing and semanticising of their experiences.

divine macrocosmos; terrestial microcosmos; traditional astronomical names; oral literature

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