Variante croate ale legendei meşterului Manole. Mitul jertfei zidirii
Croatian variants of the Master Manole legend. The myth of building by sacrifice

Summary/Abstract: The author discusses recent Croatian variants of the myth of building by sacrifice, where a human being, usually a woman, preferably young mother, has to be buried alive in the walls of the building to prevent it from falling apart. Unless the builders agree to sacrifice one of their wives − the first to come in the morning with the meal for her husband, hence the most faithful and loving one − the building will never be accomplished. The motive is widely spread in Central and South Eastern Europe but is treated differently in each national folklore tradition.

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