The Wolf: Human/Non-Human Relations on the Basis of Etiologies and Verbal Communication
The Wolf: Human/Non-Human Relations on the Basis of Etiologies and Verbal Communication

Summary/Abstract: The article examines the attitudes towards wolves reflected in Estonian folklore and their etiological and religious motifs: the emergence of wolves, wolf incantations, wolves’ food from heaven / from the ruler, pieces of clouds, and taboo names of wolves as expressions of mythological and religious relations. The number of grey wolves (Canis lupus), whose habitat once covered the entire Northern Eurasia including India, Japan, and Arabian Peninsula, has declined in most of central and southern North America, as well as almost all of Western Europe, and they are no longer known in Scandinavia, India, the United Kingdom, and Japan. The article demonstrates the parallels between Slavic and Finno-Ugric traditions.

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