„Preludium rewolty”. Bunt kobiet w poezji Joanny Mueller

Author(s): Monika Glosowitz / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1 (21)/2023

The aim of this article is to answer the question about the causes of oversights, silences and shifts in the critical-literary reception of Joanna Mueller’s poetry. The author analyses discussions of the poet’s successive books and demonstrates the workings of what she calls the ‘double standard’ of the language of criticism; this mechanism has enabled repeated gestures to discredit the importance of this poetry, and has its origins in critics’ specific elaboration of the experience and subject of motherhood, whose poetic thematisation is often met with negative critical commentary. This analysis is juxtaposed with an alternative proposal for reconstructing the main line of Mueller’s poetic story of motherhood, a story in which individual personal experience becomes the basis for building a community of women based on experiencing the oppression they share. Joanna Mueller’s work has certainly been recognised by critics and has been widely (albeit irregularly) commented on and described, so the writer functions in the broad field of literary production and popularisation in Poland.

Poganek rutowaty (Peganum harmala L.) w tradycjach ludów Azji Środkowej i jego popularność w dobie pandemii COVID-19 – perspektywa antropologii medycznej

Author(s): Danuta Penkala-Gawęcka / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2023

yrian rue (Peganum harmala L.) has been traditionally used in Central Asia for medical purposes, e.g. for treating skin diseases, joint pain, sore throat and cough. It is also applied as an apotropaic means – fumigation with the smoke of burning dried twigs of Syrian rue is commonly practised to ward off evil spirits, “evil eye” and other malevolent forces. According to the other explanations, it has purifying effects and kills microbes. In this article I briefl y outline early descriptions of Peganum harmala in the medical texts of scholars and physicians representing Greek- Arabic-Persian medicine, and focus on the role of this plant in people’s everyday life in Central Asia, based on my field materials from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and literature. In addition, I present the career of Peganum harmala in Central Asian countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, when fumigation with its smoke has been widely practised to protect against the coronavirus. Syrian rue was also used – beside several other plants – by some heads of state, who promoted local traditional medicines at time when they were failing to tackle the pandemic crisis. Applying an anthropological perspective, I pay particular attention to the wider context of these developments and analyse socio-cultural, political and economic factors that have contributed to the increased popularity of Peganum harmala. I also point out possible benefits of testing traditional herbal medicines as potential treatments for COVID-19 and other viral infections and refer to Asian traditional medical systems, especially traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), whose contribution to overcoming the pandemic has been recognised by the WHO.

Drzewa w ludowym obrazie świata. Przyczynek do badań nad wierzeniami ludowymi o drzewach, ich stosowaniu w magii i lecznictwie

Author(s): Elżbieta Szot-Radziszewska / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2023

The subject of the article are folk beliefs concerning trees and their use in magic and medicine. The source basis for the presented descriptions, analyzes and interpretations are materials obtained during ethnographic field research in the Kielce region, which I conducted in 2010–2021, and published works. In the article I present cultural images of selected trees functioning in the minds of the inhabitants of Kielce villages. The analysis of the acquired ethnographic materials made it possible to find out how people think about trees as important elements of the cultural landscape, how they perceive them, what beliefs they connect with, and in the treatment of what ailments they use them. The phenomenon of a tree in folk culture results both from the mythical worldview, i.e. specific attitudes of rural residents towards natural phenomena, as well as from the specific features that trees have.The most important aspect determining the place of trees in the folk image of the world is their personification, ascribing to them the mediating features of the cosmic tree and the tree of life. Hence their significant position in the mental picture of the world and rich symbolism manifested in magical and religious rituals, vegetation rituals and healing practices with the participation of trees.

Etnobotanika, etnomedycyna i etnografia w Polsce

Author(s): Zbigniew Libera / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2023

The article describes a selected ethnologist’s point of view on ethnobotany and ethnomedicine: 1. by what citeria are Possible assessments of the rationality and effectiveness of plant medcines in folk culture, 2. what are the folk justifications for choosing plants for specific purposes, for medicinal purposes.

ВОЙНАТА КАТО НЕСЛУЧИЛА СЕ СВАТБА: ВЪОРЪЖЕНАТА КОЛИЗИЯ КАТО НЕУСПЕШНО РОДНИНСКО СВЪРЗВАНЕ В АНТИЧНАТА МИТОГРАФСКА ТРАДИЦИЯ

Author(s): Vyara Kalfina / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 22/2023

The mythological treatment of wars usually presents them as a personal conflict between two or more warriors. Even the most conspicuous war campaign of the distant past – the Trojan war – is thought of as a family issue, reaching unexpectedly large dimensions. The mythological narratives regarding war use a stock motives and often share a common structure. One particular motif is the love of a local maiden which leads to betrayal of her family home, city or of the whole country. The first part of the analysis focuses on the most representative among such stories: the myth of princess Ariadna and her beloved Theseus. 262 Deprived of its mythological elements this story appears to reflect the collision between the Cretan royal court, i.e. between the Minoans and the continental Greeks, personalized by the figure of the young Athenian ephebe. The famous monster Minotaur basically: 1. Is the son of the queen and the bull – the sacred animal of the Minoans, probably the zoomorphic code of the king himself. 2. Has the name of the king as part of its name. 3. Lives in the so called Labyrinth. Despite its contemporary meaning, the word etymologically means “a place where the labrys is kept”. The Minoan labrys is a sacred tool often represented graphically and in sculpture, hence is a symbol of the royal court, too. That makes the Labyrinth of the myth nothing more than the royal palace. Being a descendant of the queen, bearing the name of the king and living in the royal palace makes the monster Minotaur the actual Cretan prince. The whole monster-themed myth based itself on the later miscomprehension of the sacred tools and, probably, myths surrounding the royal rituals on the island. The second part of the analysis is dedicated to rather unknown stories of unfulfilled marriage between a Greek hero and a foreign maiden/princess. The stories are to be found mostly in Hellenistic mythographers or in the works of their Roman successors: Nikander (i.e. Antoninus Liberalis), Parthenius, Ps.-Apollodorus, Hygin, etc.

ЕЗИКЪТ НА ХРИСТАКИ ДРАГАНОВИЧ (Граматични особености)

Author(s): Ivo Bratanov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 22/2023

The report is written in connection to the language of Bulgarian translation of the drama “Napoleon Bonaparte”, who is performed by Christaki Draganovich and published in Constantinople during 1850. The report exposes important morphological peculiarities of the language of this text. The review shows that Christaki Draganovich contributes to the approval of a series of norms, inherent to the contemporary Bulgarian language.

Użytkowe i symboliczne znaczenie roślin leczniczych na planie opactwa Sankt Gallen (pocz. IX wieku)

Author(s): Norbert Mojżyn / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2023

The world of the Latin Middle Ages was marked by the spiritual-corporeal binomial: the real space was connected with many threads with the spiritual space. Religious symbolism and imagination played a huge role in this binomial. A particular concentration of symbolic and mystical-allegorical meanings was present in the monastic space (Latin claustrum). Monks living in monasteries were separated by a double barrier from the world: real – by walls and symbolic – internal discipline (rule). This separation was archetypal – in monasteries there was a border between the cosmos and chaos, between the earthly paradise (paradisus terrestris) and the damned world (terra damnata). In such an antithetical, terrestrial and supernatural key, the culture of the Middle Ages read various elements of monastic life, defi ned by the vectors of time and place, ranging from the symbolism of the temple as the eschatological Heavenly Jerusalem, through buildings and monastery gardens (biblical Eden), ending with the plants cultivated in them. Plants were grown in monasteries for functional (edible and medicinal) reasons, as well as for spiritual reasons (they were attributed apotropaic properties) and for aesthetic reasons (beauty was also considered a spiritual factor). Medicines were seen in medicinal plants for the body and soul. They had an important symbolic and religious meaning in the monastic life, they symbolized virtues or sins. Such an understanding of plants can be found in an important document that was created in the Carolingian era, the plan of the Benedictine abbey in Saint Gall. The abbey plan provides precise information not only about the structure of the monastery buildings, but also about medicinal plants, individual species and places of their cultivation within the monastery walls.

Morwa biała (Morus alba L.) w ujęciu naukowym i kulturowym. Od jedwabnictwa do papieru

Author(s): Joanna Grześkowiak,Anna Maria Brandys / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2023

Sericulture dates back to ancient China. Today it is defined as a branch of agriculture dealing with the cultivation of mulberry for the purpose of silkworm farming and the production of silk. Due to the fact that the mulberry silkworm larvae eat white mulberry leaves, it is a plant inextricably linked with silkworm farming and, consequently the production of silk. Although white mulberry is mainly associated with the cultivation of mulberry silkworms, thanks to its numerous and unique properties, it is a plant that can be used in various branches of the economy, as well as a research object of interest to scientists representing various fields of science. Thanks to the content of many bioactive substances, micro- and macroelements and vitamins, it has been used in herbal medicine, pharmacology and medicine. The richness of bioactive compounds makes it also an attractive raw material for the food and cosmetic industry. At the same time, due to its high energy value, mulberry belongs to the group of energy crops. Both the unique properties of mulberry and the traditions associated with its cultivation have made it a plant appreciated not only by science, but also left its mark in culture, as it has accompanied people for centuries. It is not surprising, therefore, that mulberry was recorded in poems, folk proverbs and on painting canvases, including the most famous brush by Vincent van Gogh – “Mulberry Tree in Autumn”. On the other hand, the processing of mulberry silkworm cocoons into high-quality yarns, and ultimately into delicate but durable fabrics, had a significant impact on the development of art. Both in terms of the so-called applied arts, but also those referred to as beaux-arts. And although the definitions of art have changed throughout history – regardless of period or era – silk was invariably appreciated by artists and craftsmen. Thanks to its properties, quality and aesthetics, silk fiber offers a wide range of possibilities for use in papermaking, which is also important in the cultural context.

Zastosowanie kapusty głowiastej białej w polskim lecznictwie ludowym

Author(s): Robert Gruszecki,Magdalena Walasek-Janusz / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2023

White cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) was one of the staple food plants in ancient rural communities. It was not only the main ingredient of many dishes, but even a symbol of abundance. The high availability of this plant, both fresh and pickled, throughout the year, created great opportunities to use it not only as food but also as a medicinal plant. The aim of the study was to present the medicinal uses of raw materials obtained from white cabbage in Polish folk medicine. The available studies show that traditional Polish folk medicine not only used fresh cabbage leaves, but also fermented leaves or sauerkraut juice. Sometimes the use of seed, stalks and fresh leaf juice were recommended. Unlike most medicinal plants, dried raw material was used very rarely. The most commonly used raw materials were fresh or lacto-fermented without prior preparation, rarely before use they were crushed, roasted, made into infusions, boiled or soaked in vinegar. It was believed that cabbage provides health and strengthens the body, and children who eat cabbage grow quickly. For medicinal purposes, this plant was used for numerous ailments and parasites of the digestive tract: abdominal pain, constipation, stomach and liver diseases, gastric and duodenal ulcers, and hemorrhoids. It has also been used in dermatological problems and as an analgesic, e.g. for headaches and rheumatic pains. The properties of cabbage were also used in the treatment of female ailments related to pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding. The collected information indicates that white cabbage has been used in folk medicine in many ways, and its various applications should not escape the attention of modern medicine.

Medykamenty roślinne w szlacheckich regestrach zakupów, receptach i poradnikach medycznych w XVIII wieku

Author(s): Bożena Popiołek / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2023

“Pharmacy expenses”, prescriptions, herbariums and medical handbooks are important sources for research on the history of medicine and pharmacy. They give an idea of both the level of pharmacy and court health care, as well as cultural trends in the field of health care, which were adhered to by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth’s society, and which were largely based on plant products. However, these sources are often fragmented, undated and anonymous, scattered in various collections, which we are not able to attribute to specific persons. It is also worth paying attention to the herbariums and pharmacopoeia, printed in mass since the mid-17th century, which are a kind of guide for pharmacists and medics who prepared drugs and prescribed medications to their patients. In the court’s libraries we can find medical handbooks that contained easy-to-prepare recipes, usually based on popular herbs found in the country, and served as first aid pharmaceuticals. Although the phytotherapeutic knowledge of this period was still based on the works of ancient authors, it was supplemented by the information about treatment possibilities of the new raw materials of herbal and mineral origin, which was caused by Europe’s opening to new continents and wide trade exchange with Asia, Africa and the Americas.

Czy ziołolecznictwo ludowe jest ludowe? Na marginesie dziewiętnasto- i dwudziestowiecznych debat wokół korzeni fitoterapii

Author(s): Joanna Partyka / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2023

The question of the direction of information fl ow related to herbal treatment has been a topic of interest for researchers for centuries. However, “infl uenceology,” which involves identifying mutual relationships and dependencies, can be misleading, especially when seeking one-way solutions as a desirable form of response to issues related to broadly defi ned cultural phenomena. The term “infl uence-ology” was coined by literary scholars criticizing the positivist methodology derived from evolutionism. This methodology focused on fi nding all possible infl uences between literary works, resulting in often unwarranted and even ridiculous conclusions, and above all, leading to the squandering of what is the essence of literature. It seems that an ethnologist tracing infl uence in the context of herbal medicine loses sight of what is the essence of folk culture. The question “Is folk herbalism folk?” assumes a historical and source nature and contains an evolutionary desire to determine a one-way infl uence. Although poorly posed, it opens up the fi eld for presenting arguments that the parties used in the discussion. These considerations are the subject of this article.

Źródła wiedzy panien apteczkowych: tradycje słowiańskie czy śródziemnomorskie?

Author(s): Iwona Arabas / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2023

In the 19th century, the medicine cabinets at the manors of Polish nobility became a legitimate presence in the Polish provinces: defi ned in encyclopaedias and dictionaries and included in the laws on pharmacies. Their caretakers (“panny apteczkowe”) obtained their knowledge from home silva rerum, herbal books or their copies. The women taking care of the household medicine cabinets grew herbs themselves or bought them from rural herbalists with whom they exchanged information about the healing effect.It remains an open question whether the knowledge of medicinal plants considered folk belongs to our Slavic tradition or to the Greco-Latin civilisation.

SEARCHING FOR AUTHENTICITY: CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF GENDER ROLES AND RADICAL MOVEMENTS IN PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY

Author(s): Elena Trifan / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

Personal development has become an industry in neoliberal capitalism, used to help employees adapt to the constant pursuit of growth, such as increased productivity, creativity, time management and business development. As part of my doctoral research, I documented how this type of practice works and how it restructures individuals’ social lives and their perspectives on the world. Personal development, as shaped by neoliberalism, serves as a tool for personal empowerment and adaptation to the restructuring of the welfare state. It is also a means of promoting neoliberal values among people. However, during the containment measures during the pandemic, criticisms of this growth-based approach emerged, leading to a resurgence of ideas about personal care. Self-care developed particularly in marginalised communities, where it was defined as a form of resistance to capitalism through caring for oneself as a member of an oppressed community, with Audre Lorde (1988) defining the concept as having a power of resistance to capitalism. In this presentation, I will explore what happens to personal development, which is a key factor in the construction of capitalist ideology, if neoliberalism is coming to an end. I will also consider whether this is a good time to reclaim personal development and how it can be used to create tools for self-building beyond the intrinsic individualism of the process.

ФОЛКЛОРНИ ЕЛЕМЕНТИ У ЗБИРЦИ ПРИПОВЕДАКА "ИЗ ТАМНОГ ВИЛАЈЕТА" МОМЧИЛА НАСТАСИЈЕВИЋА

Author(s): Milica Ž. Jelenić / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 79/2022

The paper interprets the short stories from the collection From the Dark Vilayet in order to decode the mythical and folklore layer in the narrative world of Momčilo Nastasijević. Examining the storytelling technique, the presence of motifs from folk tradition, ritual and mythical symbolism, the archaic character of Nastasijević’s prose is pointed out as its peculiarity, and the phenomenon of modernist prose in folklore clothing is observed. Folkloric elements figure as an indispensable segment for understanding and interpreting the creativity of Momčilo Nastasijević.

СЕНИ ЗАБОРАВЉЕНИХ ПРЕДАКА

Author(s): Miloš D. Mihailović / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 79/2022

(Младен Милосављевић, Језава, Београд, Бедем књиге, 2020)

Alexandre’as Kojève’as ir Carlas Schmittas: politiškumas, teologija ir istorijos pabaiga

Author(s): Linas Jokubaitis / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 2 (110)/2023

The aim of the article is to demonstrate that Carl Schmitt’s and Alexandre Kojève’s ideas about the political and the end of history have to be seen in the light of their theological presuppositions. The article defends the position that Schmitt’s The Concept of the Political is based on attempts to look at the problems of political anthropology from theological perspective, in which the dogma of original sin plays a central role. Kojève’s anthropotheistic system presents an inversion of this perspective, his ideas about the end of politics and history are inseparable from attempts to reduce theology to anthropology. His atheistic system of immanence provides a confirmation of Schmitt’s idea that the disappearance of the political is incompatible with the dogma of original sin. Kojève’s notion of the end of history and his concept of universal homogeneous state are formed by attempts to look at the concept of the political ex negativo. For Schmitt Christian theology provides a guarantee that the world will not be depoliticized, that enmity between humans will not be overome. French philosopher’s political theory is based on the idea that the end of history and the disappearance of the political would mark the actualisation of secularized Christian teaching. Kojève’s revised ideas about the destiny of humanity at the end of history, his position that humanity will return to animality, have to be understood in the context of his discussions with Schmitt.

The work and commercial networks of Bulgarian and Albanian rag and bone traders in the open-air rag and bone market in Athens today

Author(s): Georgios Kouzas / Language(s): English Issue: 20/2022

When most people hear of rag and bone traders, they think of socially and economically marginalised individuals. However, this is a highly distorted picture owed to the media. Rag and bone men began their activities in Athens towards the end of the 1960s.In the early 1990s, they founded a professional body, Hermes, which in 2015 included some750 members. With the onset of the financial crisis of 2010, several migrants and refugees became resorted to taking up this occupation. As a means of dealing with the insecurity of employment, they turned to gather metal items they found in the streets. In this study, I will focus on the commercial networks of Bulgarian and Albanian rag and bone traders who are active in Athens’s open-air rag and bone market today. They are far from being a marginal group; migrant rag and bone traders make up what is a professional body, with extensive commercial networks in Greece and the Balkans that facilitate the transport of objects,particularly items of folk art, such as carpets, dishes or pieces of wooden furniture, to toony countries in the Balkans and eastern Europe. Most rag and bone traders are involved in collecting metal items, either iron or copper, or old furniture pieces.

Архивен прочит на видими и невидими образи и следи от (или за) социалните грижи и здравеопазването в България в периода 1945 – 1989 г.

Author(s): Mariyana Piskova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2023

The article seeks answers to the question of how the state policy in Bulgaria towards disabled and disadvantaged people, adults, and children in institutions in the years after the Second World War until the end of the 1980s is reflected in the archival photo documents. The study is based on 143,740 descriptions of photo films from the fund of “Bulgarian Photography” stored in the Central State Archive.

„Да вържем мартеница“ – изложба в Националния етнографски музей.

Author(s): Stela Nenova,Elena Vodinchar / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2023

Шестнайсети конгрес на SIEF “Living Uncertainty” в Бърно, Чешка Република, 7 – 10 юни 2023.

Author(s): Zlatina Bogdanova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2023