ЖУРНАЛ ЭТНОЛОГИИ И КУЛЬТУРОЛОГИИ Том XVIII 45 oficiale a timpului. Ключевые слова: А. А. Скальковский, историо- Cuvinte-cheie: A. A. Skalkovsky, istoriografie, Novo- графия, Новороссия, Бессарабия, краеведение. rosye, Basarabia, studii regionale. Summary Резюме The article deals with the contribution of Apollon В статье рассматривается вклад известного ис- Skalkovsky (1808–1898), the outstanding researcher of следователя юга России XIX в. Аполлона Александро- Southern Russia in the XIXth century, to historical stud- вича Скальковского, оставившего яркий след в деле ies of Novorossiya and Bessarabia in trarist Russia. His- изучения истории новороссийских земель и Бессара- toriographical analysis of this scholar’s works represents бии периода царской России. Историографический groundwork in the field of historical heritage as well as анализ трудов ученого представляет собой широкий demography, statistics and ethnography, a scientific direc- спектр его наработок не только в области истори- tion that was making its first steps, the area of Southern ческого наследия, но и в демографии, статистике, а Russia being of peculiar interest from the point of view of также в зарождающейся этнографической науке, для the official historiography. которой земли южной России представляли особый Key words: A. Skalkovsky, historiography, Novoros- интерес с точки зрения официальной историографии siya, historiography, area studies. того времени.

Natalya GOLANT

MYTHOLOGICAL IDEAS OF VLACHS OF EASTERN SERBIA (BASED ON MATERIALS OF EXPEDITIONS OF 2013–2014)

This article is based on field materials collected croat., slov., pol. mora, alb. morё, mod. Greek. μόρα) in 2013–2014 in the area of Eastern Serbia, primar- (Ciorănescu, 2007, 522). The use of this term to refer ily in the community of Negotin (in the villages of to the living dead is typical of the south-western re- Bukovče, Kobišnica, Raduevac, Slatina and the town gions of , while in the east of Romania morói of Prahovo) as well as in the village of Šipikovo of is commonly used to name a being, in which the soul Zaječar community and the village of Grabovica of of a deceased unbaptized baby has been embodied Kladovo community. (Hedesan, 1998, 9–10; Ciorănescu, 2007, 522). The Two major dialects of the term morói in the meaning of the “living dead” was are distributed among Vlachs of Eastern Serbia. Ac- recorded by the author among the residents of the cording to the terminology used by Romanian re- communes of Polovragi (Gorj district) and Ponoarele searchers, Vlachs of Eastern Serbia are native speak- (Mehedinţi district) in Oltenia. The reason for the ers of Oltenia and Banat subdialects of the Romanian transformation of a deceased person into the morói, language (Nestorescu, Petrişor, 1969; Panea, Bălosu, as Vlachs of Eastern Serbia believe, is the fact that Obrocea, 1996, 7-11). Residents of settlements dis- a cat “moved” through him (skipped over or passed cussed here are native speakers of Oltenia subdialect. under the table, on which the dead lay). To avoid this, In this article we will talk about mythological the room with the dead man is zealously kept free ideas of the inhabitants of this region and the simi- of any cats or dogs (town of Prahovo). This idea of larities and differences of these ideas compared to the causes of a deceased person’s transformation into those recorded by the author during field investiga- the living dead is widespread among : tions in 2006–2012 in the area of Romania, mainly in during the field research in Romania it was recorded Oltenia, as the majority of the residents of the consid- in particular in the communes of Polovragi of Gorj ered settlements are apparently descendants of im- district and Ponoarele of Mehedinţi district in Olte- migrants from Oltenia. nia (Голант, 2014, 191). In the village of Slatina of Such an important for East Romanian mythol- the community of Negotin in Eastern Serbia infor- ogy character as the living dead is designated by the mation was found, according to which, before bury- term morói in this region. This term has analogies ing a dead man, they could plunge a needle in his in a number of Slavic languages as well as in Alba- foot, so he could not come back from the cemetery. nian and modern Greek (compare with the serb., Similar “preventive measures” against the transfor- 46 REVISTA DE ETNOLOGIE ŞI CULTUROLOGIE Volumul XVIII mation of a deceased person into the “living dead” goddess Diana (Dicţionarul explicativ…, 1998, 1182). are also spread among Romanians in Oltenia. So, in Also, the term has an analogy in the Albanian lan- the communes of Melaya (Vâlcea district) and Po- guage (compare: Alb. zanё). As informants put it, lovragi (Gorj district) in the recent past they pierced they live in water and are active in summer. We came the heart of the dead, who, as was believed, could be- across the assertion that these are kind creatures, but come a vampire before the funeral; in Malaia, in ad- what exactly they do could not be found out. The dition, they could put a needle or a branch of a thorn term zấnă is, as a rule, used in the singular and is also in the coffin (Голант, 2014, 130). known to the residents of surveyed villages of Oltenia The demon devouring the moon is called here and Muntenia, but they use it in the sense of a “, vârcolác, as in all the surveyed localities of Roma- character of (literary) fairy tales”, while creatures sim- nia. Vârcolác – a term of the Slavic origin, initially ilar to are designated by the terms éle (“they”), associated with the word “wolf” (compare with the ále sfínte (“those saints”), ále frumoáse (“those beau- Bulgarian върколак, Serbo-Croat vukodlak, Czech tiful”), etc. Any ideas of the traces left behind, where vlkodlak, Polish wiłkolak, Ukrainian вовкулак, Be- these creatures danced, could not be found in the larusian воўколак, and Russian волколак). Roma- surveyed villages of Eastern Serbia, while in all the nians in general typically use the lexeme vârcolác surveyed localities of Oltenia and Muntenia there are to mean “demon devouring the moon or the sun” such ideas (Голант, 2014, 132, 193-194). (Credinţe.., 2000, 290-291; Ghinoiu, 2001, 207; The term álă(-a) recorded in the villages of Ciorănescu, 2007, 838-839; Sărbători.., 2001, 1, 355- Kobišnica and Bukovče and in the town of Prahovo 356; Sărbători.., 2003, 3, 390–391; Sărbători.., 2004, of Negotin community can apparently be interpreted 4, 398; Sărbători.., 2009, 5, 377-378). Much more sel- as a symbol of the demon of bad weather. In the Ro- dom Romanians (mainly in Transylvania) make use manian language the word álă, or hálă (from Serbian of the term in its original meaning of a “man-wolf” and Bulgarian ((h)ála), may be used not only in the or in the meaning of a “vampire” typical of many of sense of a “monster, demon”, but also as a “storm” the Balkan Slavs and Greeks (Dicţionarul explicativ.., (Dicţionarul explicative.., 1998, 442). In Kobišnica 1998, 1152; Credinţe.., 2000, 290-291; Sărbători.., and Bukovče there was recorded the phrase ála plái- 2003, 3, 390-391; Ciorănescu, 2007, 838-839). One of ului, which can be translated as the “demon of the residents of the village of Kobišnica, named Spasoe hill”. In the town of Prahovo of Negotin commu- Bulbić, explaining what vârcolac represents, said that nity a statement was written, that is a big snake. it was the same as ájdaia. As for the question what áj- According to the information from Kobišnica and daia is, the informant said: “Sti Gheórghi a omorất-o Bukovče, on the day of St. Toader, here referred to pe ájdaia” (“St. George killed ájdaia”). For compari- as Sân-Toáder or Sân-Toáger, pomána álelor (literally son we mention the fact that some of the informants “(memorial) meal of demons”) is held. In the village from the communes of Malaia in Vâlcea district in of Kobišnica women leave food at the spring on this Oltenia and Mânzeleşti in Buzău in Muntenia argued day, and in the village of Bukovče they boil corn and that the vârcolác looks like a snake. In the village of beans in the large boilers on the square in the cen- Bukovče of the same community of Negotin in East- ter of each village area. This “meal”, according to in- ern Serbia at the time vyrkolak is eating the moon, formants, is arranged to protect the countryside, to one can see the “red water” flowing from the moon to prevent ala from bringing unhappiness. Ala was also the earth. According to the information from the vil- mentioned in connection with the day of the Forty lages of Bukovče and Raduevac, when the moon was Martyrs. On this day they try to expel them, along covered by the clouds, people came out of their hous- with snakes (şérpi), from the gardens and courtyards, es and rattled the metal utensils to drive away the for this purpose making bonfires of corncobs (infor- vârcolác. According to an informant from Kobišnica, mation from the village of Šipikovo, Zaječar commu- to this end they could come out into the streets, firing nity). Bonfires and fumigation smoke for protection pistols. A custom, according to which they tried to against snakes, insects, or evil spirits, timed to the get rid of the vârcolác by rattling metal utensils, was day of the Forty Martyrs, are spread among all Roma- recorded by the author in the summer of 2012 in the nians (Sărbători.., 2001, 1, 271-272; Sărbători.., 2002, commune of Tulnici of Vrancea district in Romanian 2, 221-222; Sărbători.., 2003, 3, 285-286; Sărbători.., , on the border with Muntenia. 2004, 4, 321-322; Sărbători.., 2009, 5, 286-287). Female mythological creatures similar to South In this region there is also an idea of the serpent Slavic vila and samodiva are called here zấne(le) (pl., (zmáu) (compare with the Serb zmaj), who can en- sg. – zấnă(-a)). The termzấnă , according to some gage in sexual relations with women. So, one of the Romanian linguists, is derived from the name of the residents of the village of Bukovče told the story ЖУРНАЛ ЭТНОЛОГИИ И КУЛЬТУРОЛОГИИ Том XVIII 47

(which she, however, described as “what happened specially baked bread sprinkled with sugar and wine; somewhere far away, among the Serbs”) about a girl in Ponoarele – rolls and sweet water. who did not want to get married, because a serpent In the surveyed region we came across the idea came to see her. The father of this girl once way- of personalization of plague. Informants from the vil- laid the serpent, and, when he disappeared into the lage of Bukovče, community of Negotin, mentioned hollow of a tree, set fire to the tree. A mountain of a plague shirt (cămáşa ciúmii), which was completely snake fat (untúră de zmắu) remained at the site of the manufactured in one night. A resident of the village burned tree, which, according to the informant, is a of Bukovče, Dara Ivanovič, told a story, which alleg- medicine “for all diseases”. This text has some simi- edly had occurred many years ago, about how three larities with the text written by Romanians of Oltenia old women in order to save a sick child manufactured in the commune of Melaya, Vylča district, which re- a plague shirt in one night. After that one of them fers to lumberjacks who burned a tree, in the hollow put this shirt on to make the plague leave the child of which the serpent was hidden, and a mountain of and go after her. Shortly thereafter the child recov- snake fat also remained at the site of that tree. Infor- ered, and the old woman who wore his plague shirt mants from Melaya denoted this mythological crea- had a mental disorder, which remained for life. Ac- ture with the Romanian term zméu (Голант, 2014, cording to another informant from the same village 133). This term appears to derive from the old Slavic of Bukovče, the shirt was manufactured in one night змий (Dicţionarul explicativ.., 1998, 1189). not by three, but by nine old women, and this shirt The demons of fate are identified in the sur- was small in size – it could only be put on a baby veyed Vlach settlements with the term ursătóri(le) or a doll. Thus manufactured shirt was sold. The -in (pl.). In the same vowels this term is found among formant once bought such a shirt, because she could the Romanians of Oltenia, in particular, in the com- not get pregnant for a long time. In Romania infor- munes of Malaia, Vâlcea district, and Polovradgi, mation on a plague shirt could be recorded in the Gorj district (see, for example: Голант, 2014, 134). commune of Ponoarele, Mehedinţi district (adjacent In the literary Romanian language the demons of to Eastern Serbia). According to the legend existing fate are called ursitoáre(le) (pl., sg. – ursitoáre(a)). in Ponoarele, the plague allegedly came to the house A. Ciorănescu and the authors of the Explanatory of a widow, whose child was sick, and asked her to Dictionary of the Romanian language connect the sew a shirt. The plague promised to keep alive the son origin of the term derived from the verb a ursí (a of the widow and generally leave the village, if she ursá) – “intend for, predetermine” – with the modern managed to sew the shirt in one night. The widow Greek verb oρίξω – “define, limit” (Dicţonarul expli- convened her female neighbors and together they cative.., 1998, 1140-1141; Ciorănescu, 2007, 821). In spun, wove, cut and sewed all night, and by morn- this regard A. Ciorănescu also mentions the Bulgar- ing the shirt was ready. In Ponoarele there is a saying ian verb orisvam (Ciorănescu, 2007, 821). Vlachs motivated by this legend: “To work like on a plague of Eastern Serbia picture the demons of fate in the shirt” (Lucreáză ca la cămáşa ciúmii). It is used when form of three women who come on the third night talking about a person quickly performing a piece after the birth of a child (town of Prahovo, village of of work. Inhabitants of the commune of Ponoarele Slatina, community of Negotin). For them the table also link the celebration of the “Friday of plague” is laid, on which there are placed three small loaves (vínerea ciúmii) with the events of this legend. Each with some sweets on them. This is done in order to village of the commune has its “Friday of plague” make the demons prepare good fortune for the child. (they all fall on the period from the day of St. Elijah In the morning bread and sweets are given to three to the day of St. Paraskeva). The idea of the “plague neighborhood children (village of Slatina). The idea shirt” exists not only in Oltenia, but also in Munte- of the fate demons as the three women who come on nia, Dobrogea, Transylvania, Maramuresh, and on the third night after a baby is born is common among Bukovina (Candrea, 1999, 166; Evseev, 2001, 31, 37; Romanians everywhere and recorded in all surveyed Ghinoiu, 2001, 49; Camilar, 2007). Production of villages in Romania (see, for example, Голант, 2014, this shirt was thought to be able to stop the epidemic 134-135, 196-197). Leaving bread and sweets as of plague. The custom of making a shirt in one day treats for the demons of fate, followed by the distri- (night, 24 hours) in the event of an epidemic is also bution of them among three neighborhood children, spread among , Hungarians and Transyl- similar to the described above regarding Vlachs, was vanian Germans (Saxons) (Толстая, 2004, 487-489; recorded in the communes of Polovragi, Gorj dis- Candrea, 1999, 167). Different Slavic peoples could trict, and Ponoarele, Mehedinţi district, in Oltenia. have means against the epidemic, too: linen (Bul- So, in Polovradgi the treat for the demons of fate was garians and Macedonians) or a towel (Belarusians) 48 REVISTA DE ETNOLOGIE ŞI CULTUROLOGIE Volumul XVIII made in one night or one day (Толстая, 2004, 487- May his brood-hen on eggs long live, 489). Returning to Serbian Vlachs, it should be noted Care dă un ou, Who will give one egg, that the term ciúmă(-a) (plague) can be apparently Să-i moare un bou. May his ox die. used by them to designate any disease. Thus, in the (The text was written down in the village of Šipikovo, first example above the old woman, who has put on Zaječar community). a “plague shirt”, received mental disorder, and in the This walk around is also referred to asJoimăríca , second – the purchase of a “plague shirt” helped the and its participants – joimărícii. The tradition of chil- infertile woman get pregnant. dren or (more rarely) boys or girls walking around The last subject that will be discussed in this arti- the village with Joimăríţa, collecting eggs on Maundy cle is ideas of the beings children are frightened with. Thursday, is also spread on the territory of Roma- The residents of two villages surveyed – Raduevac, nia. It is known that it was common particularly in community of Negotin, and Grabovica, community the districts of Dolj, Vâlcea (Oltenia), and Teleor- of Kladovo, – provided the information that a bogey man (Muntenia). In some cases the participants of for children is a character called Joimăríca. The name these walks around asked the hosts questions about is derived from Jói Mári (Maundy Thursday). In the whether flocks had been spun in this house, but their village of Bukovče, community of Negotin, there was main goal was not scaring negligent spinners, but recorded a mentioning of such a character as Bába collecting as many eggs as possible (Кабакова, 1989, Jóica. This name is derived from the wordJói (Thurs- 200-201). According to the information from the day), too. Older women in this village jokingly fright- former district of Romanac (South-Eastern Oltenia), ened their friends, who had not managed to finish the participants of the walks uttered good wishes (or spinning hemp before Maundy Thursday, saying: curses) in regard to health and breeding of domestic “Bába Jóica will burn you” (Bába Jóica te opârléşte). animals, similar to those contained in the above text Allusions to the character personification of Maundy from the village of Šipikovo (Кабакова, 1989, 200- Thursday were also found among the Romanians 201). In such texts there was often the initial formula of Oltenia, who call this character Joimăríţa. Ideas “Kits-kits” (it also exists in the text from Šipikovo), about Joimăríţa being connected with the spinning which, according to G. I. Kabakova, is an imitation are completely lost by the residents of the surveyed of a mouse squeak and refers to the theriomorphic villages in Oltenia. One of the older female residents image of the spirit of spinning (Кабакова, 1989, 200- of the commune of Polovragi, Gorj district in Olte- 201). Children’s walks around the village and col- nia, said that in the days of her youth girls had been lecting eggs in the Holy Week also take place among told that Joimăríţa looked in their homes, and if she Greeks in Northern Greece, but there they fall on saw that on “her” day – on Maundy Thursday – the Good Friday (Зайковская, Зайковский, 2001, 168). house and the yard were not cleaned up, she would In general, mythological ideas of the residents of tell the boys that lazy girls lived in that house. In a the surveyed villages reaffirm their Oltenia origin. further surveyed point of Oltenia – in the commune Bibliography of Malaia, Vâlcea district, as well as in the village Голант Н. Г. Обряды весенне-летнего цикла в of Meledic, Mânzeleşti commune, Buzău district in Валахии: Очерки традиционной культуры. М.–СПб., Muntenia – Joimăríţa, like among the inhabitants 2014. of the Vlach villages of Raduevac and Grabovica Гура А. В., Левкиевская Е. К. Волколак // Толстой in Eastern Serbia, is a character small children are Н. И. (ред.). Славянские древности. Этнолингвистиче- frightened with (Голант, 2014, 104, 199). G. I. Kaba- ский словарь в пяти томах. Т. 1. М., 1995. kova considers Joimăríţa almost the only exclusively Зайковская Т., Зайковский В. Лингвистические Romanian character (Кабакова, 1989, 197- материалы из Северной Греции (с. Эратира, округ 201). But, apparently, it can be concluded that the Козани) // Исследования по славянской диалектоло- ideas of this​​ character are now better preserved by гии. М., 2001. Вып. 7 Славянская диалектная лексика Vlachs in Eastern Serbia than by Romanians on their и лингвогеография. main territory. Зечевић С. Неготинска краjина. Београд, 1970. Кабакова Г. И. Терминология восточнороманской Vlachs in Eastern Serbia have a custom, accord- календарной обрядности в сопоставлении со славян- ing to which on Maundy Thursday children walk ской: дисc. … канд. филол. наук. М.: Институт славя- around the village, collect eggs from house to house новедения и балканистики, 1989. and sing: Плотникова А. А. Материалы для этнолингви- Chiţi-chiţu, Kits-kitsu, стического изучения балканославянского ареала. М., Chiţi-chiţu, Kits-kitsu, 2009. Care dă două oauă, Who will give two eggs, Сикимић Б. Обичаj «кумачење» код Влаха и Срба Să-i trăiască cloaţa pe oauă, ЖУРНАЛ ЭТНОЛОГИИ И КУЛЬТУРОЛОГИИ Том XVIII 49

у североисточноj Србиjи и jужном Банату (проблеми Rezumat етнолингвистичких истраживања) // Исследования по Acest articol este bazat pe materiale de teren culese славянской диалектологии. Вып. 7. Славянская диа- în anii 2013–2014 pe teritoriul Serbiei de est, în satele vla- лектная лексика и лингвогеография. М., 2001. heşti comunelor Negotin, Zaečar şi Kladovo. Articolul po- Толстая С. М. Обыденные предметы // vesteşte despre reprezentările mitologice ale vlahilor (ro- Толстой Н. И. (ред.). Славянские древности. Этно- mânilor) care locuiesc pe acest teritoriu şi le compară cu лингвистический словарь в пяти томах. Т. 3. М., 2004. cele fixate de pe teritoriul României şi mai ales al Olteniei, Camilar M. Cămaşa ciumei // Crai Nou. Cotidi- pentru că majoritatea locuitorilor satelor menţionate sunt, an independent al judeţului Suceava. 19.11.2007. URL: probabil, urmaşii migranţilor din Oltenia. http://www.crainou.ro/?module=displaystory&story_ Cuvinte-cheie: reprezentări mitologice, fiinţe mito- id=13029&format=html. logice, vlahi, Serbia de est, Oltenia. Candrea I. A. Folclorul medical român comparat. Privire generală. Medicina magică. Iaşi, 1999. Резюме Ciorănescu A. Dicţionarul mitologic al limbii româ- Статья основана преимущественно на полевых ne. Bucureşti, 2007. материалах, собранных в 2013–2014 гг. на территории Dicţionarul explicativ al limbii române. Bucureşti, восточной Сербии, во влашских селах общин Него- 1998. тин, Заечар и Кладово. В статье рассматриваются ми- Evseev I. Dicţionar de simboluri şi arhetipuri cultu- фологические представления влахов (румын), прожи- rale. Timişoara, 2001. вающих на этой территории, и проводится сопостав- Hedesan O. Şapte eseuri despre strigoi. Timişoara, ление этих представлений с теми, что были зафикси- 1998. рованы на территории Румынии, главным образом в Ghinoiu I. Panteonul românesc. Dicţionar. Bucureşti, Олтении, поскольку жители рассматриваемых насе- 2001. ленных пунктов в большинстве своем, по-видимому, Nestorescu V., Petrişor M. Graiul românilor din Bre- являются потомками выходцев из Олтении. govo (regiunea Vidin, R. P. ). Craiova, 1969. Ключевые слова: мифологические представ- Panea N., Bălosu C., Obrocea Gh. Folclorul români- ления, мифологические существа, влахи, восточная lor din Timocul bulgăresc. Craiova, 1996. Сербия, Олтения. Sărbători şi obiceiuri. Răspunsuri la chestionarele Atlasului etnografic român. Bucureşti, 2001. Vol. I: Olte- Summary nia. This article is based on the information collected in Sărbători şi obiceiuri. Răspunsuri la chestionarele Vlach villages of the communities of Negotin, Zaečar and Atlasului etnografic român. Bucureşti, 2003. Vol. III: Tran- Kladovo (Eastern Serbia) in 2013–2014. The article deals silvania. with the mythological ideas of Vlachs (Romanians) liv- Sărbători şi obiceiuri. Răspunsuri la chestionarele ing in this territory. The author compares them with the Atlasului etnografic român. Bucureşti, 2004. Vol. IV: Mol- mythological ideas of Romanians from Romania and es- dova. pecially from Oltenia, because most locals are probably Sărbători şi obiceiuri. Răspunsuri la chestionarele descendants of migrants from Oltenia. Atlasului etnografic român. Bucureşti, 2009. Vol. V: Do- Key words: mythological ideas, mythological crea- brogea, Muntenia. tures, Vlachs, Eastern Serbia, Oltenia. Credinţe şi superstiţii româneşti după Artur Gorovei şi Gh. F. Ciauşanu. Bucureşti, 2000.