APOTROPAIC MAGIC AGAINST "MANA" IN THE MOUNTAINOUS REGION OF BIHOR
APOTROPAIC MAGIC AGAINST "MANA" IN THE MOUNTAINOUS REGION OF BIHOR

Summary/Abstract: In the mountains of Bihor the ancient beliefs about mana have been well preserved. The term has been subjected to multiple interpretations but in the aforementioned region the notion in question refers to nourishment and abundance, thus to life as a divine gift. In the meanwhile, mana is seen as an invisible force, responsible with the milk prosperity which is of particular importance in the mountainous area. At the same time, it is a force vulnerable to witchcraft, that is, to those people believed to engage in the “theft” of milk. The research made in the region revealed various methods of stealing mana from milk, as well as others aimed to preserve or recover it. The analysis of folkloric texts, namely incantation counterspells, as well as of their associated rituals, has revealed a threefold dimension of the belief phenomenon: the belief in this invisible force, the folkloric text also known as the incantation and the associated ritual, all three found at the convergence of the sacred, the profane and the mythic.

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