Page 132 - Hrobat Virloget, Katja, et al., eds. (2015). Stone narratives: heritage, mobility, performance. University of Primorska Press, Koper.
P. 132
stone narratives
on wooden, stone or brick pillars; those in houses of the wealthy were sometimes con-
structed of chiselled stone blocks, artistically designed and decorated with geometric or
plant motifs. The second part of the paper presents the usage and the meaning of fireplac-
es in everyday life, as well as their metaphoric dimensions, i.e. memories, representations
and images, formed through daily practices and on the basis of the ascribed or agreed
upon meanings.
Keywords: fireplaces, the Vipava Valley, stone construction
Planting, growing and breeding stones
Bojan Baskar
The beliefs that the stones grow (in the soil) and multiply are studied in this paper. This
kind of beliefs can be traced on most continents. The richest evidence of these beliefs, how-
ever, is available for Europe which seems to have had a primacy in this regard. Before they
were pushed in the background by modern science, these beliefs significantly impacted the
thinking of Early Modern philosophers, chemists, physicists, mineralogists and others. For
this reason, they are richly documented in the scientific literature up to the 18th century.
This European tradition is compared in the paper with the ethnographic and folkloristic
evidence from various continents.
Key words: belief, rocks, growing stones, metals, Early Modern science, ethnography
Mythical tradition in the stone: The snooty Babas as elements
of rites of passage and social control
Katja Hrobat Virloget
This paper explores the folklore of stone Babas (Hags), which represent personifications
of a repulsive old woman. The perception of stones as animate beings resembles similar
perceptions of non-Western cultures according to which the form of the object is life-giv-
ing. The paper presents new findings about stone Babas from the Karst, Brkini and Istria.
It summarizes recent findings regarding the mythological context of the Babas. In the
folklore, beliefs and rituals associated with a certain archaic female mythical figure pos-
sessing both vital and fertile as well as degraded and elderly traits can be discerned. Al-
though the figure of the Baba is widespread throughout the Slavic world, the grotesque
children’s folklore of kissing a slimy stone Baba on one’s first visit to a town, piece of land
or forest is found only in certain regions extending from the Upper Adriatic to France.
Stone Babas are included in certain yearly rituals. This specific folklore tradition (legends
and rituals) can be linked to remnants of certain initiation rites upon one’s first entrance
to a specific area or leaving one’s own area, which could be further interpreted in the con-
text of territorial and social rites of passage. At the same time these kinds of figures were
used as a powerful element of social control of children. Therefore, the tradition of the
Babas gives a richer meaning to parts of the landscape and in turn enculturates the social
individual by restricting one’s movement within the landscape and determining one’s so-
cial status.
Key words: animate stone, Baba, Hag, rites of passage, initiation rite, folklore, Karst
130
on wooden, stone or brick pillars; those in houses of the wealthy were sometimes con-
structed of chiselled stone blocks, artistically designed and decorated with geometric or
plant motifs. The second part of the paper presents the usage and the meaning of fireplac-
es in everyday life, as well as their metaphoric dimensions, i.e. memories, representations
and images, formed through daily practices and on the basis of the ascribed or agreed
upon meanings.
Keywords: fireplaces, the Vipava Valley, stone construction
Planting, growing and breeding stones
Bojan Baskar
The beliefs that the stones grow (in the soil) and multiply are studied in this paper. This
kind of beliefs can be traced on most continents. The richest evidence of these beliefs, how-
ever, is available for Europe which seems to have had a primacy in this regard. Before they
were pushed in the background by modern science, these beliefs significantly impacted the
thinking of Early Modern philosophers, chemists, physicists, mineralogists and others. For
this reason, they are richly documented in the scientific literature up to the 18th century.
This European tradition is compared in the paper with the ethnographic and folkloristic
evidence from various continents.
Key words: belief, rocks, growing stones, metals, Early Modern science, ethnography
Mythical tradition in the stone: The snooty Babas as elements
of rites of passage and social control
Katja Hrobat Virloget
This paper explores the folklore of stone Babas (Hags), which represent personifications
of a repulsive old woman. The perception of stones as animate beings resembles similar
perceptions of non-Western cultures according to which the form of the object is life-giv-
ing. The paper presents new findings about stone Babas from the Karst, Brkini and Istria.
It summarizes recent findings regarding the mythological context of the Babas. In the
folklore, beliefs and rituals associated with a certain archaic female mythical figure pos-
sessing both vital and fertile as well as degraded and elderly traits can be discerned. Al-
though the figure of the Baba is widespread throughout the Slavic world, the grotesque
children’s folklore of kissing a slimy stone Baba on one’s first visit to a town, piece of land
or forest is found only in certain regions extending from the Upper Adriatic to France.
Stone Babas are included in certain yearly rituals. This specific folklore tradition (legends
and rituals) can be linked to remnants of certain initiation rites upon one’s first entrance
to a specific area or leaving one’s own area, which could be further interpreted in the con-
text of territorial and social rites of passage. At the same time these kinds of figures were
used as a powerful element of social control of children. Therefore, the tradition of the
Babas gives a richer meaning to parts of the landscape and in turn enculturates the social
individual by restricting one’s movement within the landscape and determining one’s so-
cial status.
Key words: animate stone, Baba, Hag, rites of passage, initiation rite, folklore, Karst
130
