Орехът в традиционната народна култура
The Walnut in Traditional Folk Culture

Summary/Abstract: In this paper are examined Bulgarian traditional folk beliefs and notions about the walnut, and also its "role" in folk feasts and customs. Folk songs reveal the idea, that in many occasions, the walnut fulfils the functions of the Cosmic tree. A similar idea is confirmed also by Christmas rituals. The leaves and the nuts of the walnut in some occasions are considered "a road" to the world of the dead and the ancestors. On Commemoration days the graves are covered with walnut leaves, and during the ceremony women kneel on them, spread on the church floor. Thus they believe the contact with their deceased kinsmen would be easier. Sometimes the walnut is thought to be a "demonic" ("samodivski") tree, and evil spirits gather under its branches in the night. In this aspect the walnut is again percepted as a cosmic model, ensuring the connections between the worlds.

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