A Collection about Erotic Folklore

Dejan Ajdacic Belgrade

This fall the collection Erotsko u folkloru Slovena (The Erotic in the Folklore of the Slavs)

will be published by the Belgrade publisher "Stubovi kulture." Although the collection was

prepared in I995, the first two authors unfortunately did not live to see its publication.

Nikita Tolstoi writes about the appearance of a naked woman on walls during a siege in the

context of the Serbian ritual of driving out demons. Phallic figures and ritual acts of defense and

healing with the phallus among Balkan peoples are examined by Tatomir Vukanovic The

symbolic and magical function of the male sexual organ is reconstructed in Ljubinko

Radenkovic's text through links with the devil, stone and conception as an arrival from the other

world. Nikos Chausidis demonstrates the interconnection of human and agrarian fertility in the

use of the rhombus as a vulvic or fertility symbol on woven artifacts and in sculpture. Naum

Celakovski treats a Christmas carnival game from one region of Macedonia that imitates coitus.

Ana Plotnikova reveals the erotic elements of South Slavic mummers' rounds. The orgiastic

elements in the magical "tipping" (disrobing) of the Moon in Balkan Slavic sources and archival

records of Macedonian authors are the topic of Ljupc Risteski's article. Liudmila Vinogradova

examines the erotic relationships of demons and human beings. Olga Belova points out the male,

female and erotic symbolism of mushrooms. Lidija Stojanovic links the dragon as a kidnapper

of maidens with folk beliefs and rituals. Anco Kalojanov interprets erotic motifs in a drawing on

the walls of the ninth-century Preslav fortress as traces of old shamanic rites. Jan Chesnoc

speaks about the characteristics of the space in which newlyweds acquire their first sexual

experiences. Ta(jana Agapkina, in a long contribution, treats terms for menstruation, beliefs and

magical acts connected with the female cycle. Andjelka Elijana Grujic places a description of the

procuring and erotic songs performed in a Ukrainian ritual in a broader Slavic context and moves

beyond the rituals themselves. The symbolism of virginity (the color red, whole or broken

crockery) and acts surrounding announcement of whether the bride is a virgin are the topic of

Svetlana Tolstaia's study. Ermis Lafazanovski devotes attention to traces of hierogamy in

folktales of the Balkan Slavs. Biljana Sikimic and Djordje Otasevic offer linguistic and

folkloristic analysis of erotic tongue-twisters. Mihailo Scepanovic links the Hercegovinian

surname "Piceta" not with its obscene folk etymological interpretation, but with a

transformation of the name Pilip -- Pidzha. Peter Grzybek calculates the frequency of use of

200 erotic proverbs in A. Mitrovic's list from the beginning of the century and from his own

field research. Bone Velichkovski (writing on Macedonian songs), Eva Krekovicov (Slovak

songs) and Dobroslawa Wezowicz-Ziolkowska (Polish songs) consider erotic themes and motifs.

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 SEEFA Journal 1998, Vol. III No. 2



Zoja Karanovic examines brother-sister incest and its significance, while Mirjana Detelic queries

the place of the erotic in the Serbian oral epic. Marta Bjeletic analyzes Polish linguistic and

folkloric material from Karus's journal "Antropophyteia" from the beginning of the century.

Plamen Bockov reads the story of the establishment of relations between the male and female

sexual organs, under the title Naida, as an educational text. Boris Uspenskii writes about the

famous collection of Russian "zavetnyi" erotic folktales. Evgenia Miceva indicates the typical

generational differences between individual erotic jokes. Dejan Ajdacic inquires into types and

distinctions of humor in erotic stories, along with their (im)moralism. Stanoy Stanoev discusses

Bulgarian sexual jokes, while Rosen Ma\cooev examines Bulgarian projects of investigation into

vita sexual is. Dagmar Burkhart brings Pusookin's story in verse, "Tsar' Nikita and his Forty

Daughters," into the context of folklore genres, particularly that of the riddle. Georgii Levinton

investigates obscene expressions and allusions in the novels of Dostoevsky.

As another result of the collection's delayed publication, some of the texts are given in their

original languages, while a few have been specially translated into Serbian.

(Translated by Sibelan Forrestor)

page 37 Fall 1998

 SEEFA Journal 1998, Vol. III No. 2