Usmeno predanje o prahistorijskom tumulusu u Umčarima
The Oral Tale about the Prehistoric Grave Hillock in Umčari

Summary/Abstract: During my visit to one destroyed grave hillock in Kešani in 1978, had an opportunity to record a tale which describes an earlier attempt to dig up another grave hillock, located near the village Umčari, in Borjana near Čajniče. The tale tells of an army, probably Austrian, searching for a buried treasure, that came to dig up the grave hillock. Then, a huge storm arose, and another army emerged from the storm to defend the treasure. The foreigners, Austrian soldiers, started fleeing downhill, and one of them, while running, managed to seize a sword from one of the pursuing soldiers. When he came down to Luke, into safety, he realized that the sword he took had turned into a reed. It is undoutable that this is a traditional oral tale about a buried treasure which exists in many versions- A considerable number of recorded stories of this kind generally reflect beliefs in mythological protectors and guardians of buried treasure and graves, as well as beliefs in mythological creatures (an army of good ghosts, Devil’s army, processions of the dead, etc.), all of which belong to the world of the dead. This recorded tale is proof that these ancient mythological perceptions can be applied to present day tales and it shows that mythological perceptions still persist and are able to adjust to modern times and to real situations.

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