Original scientific paper
SOME ELEMENTS OF THE SPIRITUAL CULTURE OF BUNJEVCI FROM THE COAST
NEVENA ŠKRBIĆ
Abstract
This article has been the result of field researches in some villages beneath Kapela and Senjsko Bilo aiming to describe some themes from the spiritual culture of Bunjevci from the Coast, in this particular case their believings in supernatural beings and also some elements from their funeral habits.The two themes are in fact closely linked one with the other. For instance, it is believed that the transformation of one person into a supernatural being depends partially also on some details on the funeral. Numerous inhabitants of this region used to believe, and some believe even nowadays, in series of supernatural beings such as: pixies, vampires, witches, werwolfes. The main distinction among them is whether they come from the "God's side" or not and whether they belong to a human race. There are also some other funeral habit elements described in this work such as: death predictions, dressing of the deceased person, contributions into a chest, funeral of an unmarried girl or an unmarried boy. All these particulars display that in the habits of Bunjevci from the coast were preserved some very old forms. Of the exceptional importance has also been the fact that the inhabitants of this region keep up to the habits not only for the continuance of tradition, but because very often the single act in their eyes is having exactly determined function. Therefore, additional researches of the spiritual culture of Bunjevci from the coast is certainly required either for better documentary evidence of the traditional culture of this region or because some particulars can help in explaining significance of the particular habit in some other regions, where such elements have already been forgotten.
Keywords
the spiritual culture; Bunjevci from the coast; supernatural beings; funeral habits
Hrčak ID:
29232
URI
Publication date:
2.10.2000.
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