4 64 • 2016 ARTICLES FOLK EXPLANATIONS OF BLOOD-LANDS: THE MAP OF MASSACRES AND BESTIAL CRUELTIES MOJCA RAMŠAK Mojca Ramšak, Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, Zavetiška 5, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; e-mail: mojca.ram -
[email protected] Blood is not solely a body part and a medicinal substance; it’s likewise a metaphor for life. Blood as a social concept has mainly been explored as a symbol of kinship, genetic heritage and lineage, nationalism, race, taboo, in rituals, and blood dona - tions. Besides that, ethnic or national survival is also written on the map with bloody place-names. When the soil is soaked with blood of patriotic defenders and endan - gering others, the collective memory creates new bloody geographical names. They record the evidence of historically important harsh events, remind us of heroic bat - tles, neighbouring antagonisms, or, provide an insight into religious changes in the area. The stories of violent killings and bloodshed in defence of a country, enriched with fears, imagination and prejudices towards the bloodthirsty foreign invaders, such as Turks or French, upset people’s blood. Though the base kri , blood, Blut , krvav , blutig is proportionally rare in Slovene toponymics, these geographical names describe historic episodes of groups and a nation. The tales about the origin of bloody place-names and about the horrific blood spill, which stops the blood in the veins, became a part of the nation’s cultural heritage. Key words: blood, cultural perceptions of blood, blood-lands, ethnology, anthropolo - gy of space and place I.