The Bride as a Mediator and a Gift: Aspects of "Woman's" Kinship in Bulgarian Folklore Epics Cover Image
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Невястата като медиатор и дар: аспекти на „женското" родство в българския юнашки епос
The Bride as a Mediator and a Gift: Aspects of "Woman's" Kinship in Bulgarian Folklore Epics

Author(s): Nikolai Vukov
Subject(s): Customs / Folklore
Published by: Институт за етнология и фолклористика с Етнографски музей при БАН

Summary/Abstract: Holding a central position in the folklore songs about epic marriages, the figure of the bride has a key role in expressing and delivering meanings to the representations of kinship relations in Bulgarian epics. The bride is the chief mediator and a symbolic bridge between kin groups, and the only epic figure possessing the magical power to overcome the cutting line between separate kin circles. Having the role of a major giftgiver in the songs about epic marriages, she is also the reward presented to the bridegroom for his heroic deeds, the precious gift, which has to be guarded and fought for in the marriage procession. This complex representation of the bride as a mediator and a symbolic link, as a gift-provider and herself a gift, reveals the bride's status as the highest one in the system of kinship relations in epic songs. By paying attention to the specific roles and symbolic meanings, ascribed to the bride in Bulgarian epics, the article attempts to shed light on the characteristic interpretation of "woman's" kinship in folklore culture, as well as on some important aspects of folklore's representations of kinship in general.

  • Issue Year: XXVII/2001
  • Issue No: 4
  • Page Range: 17-29
  • Page Count: 13
  • Language: Bulgarian