Divine thus good, devilish thus bad? Folk linguistic perceptions about plants and their characteristics in Polish folklore.

IF 3.7 2区 医学 Q1 BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION
Olga Kielak
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Introduction: According to folklore, some plants are created by divine beings and holy persons, while others appear on earth through demonic intervention. It is commonly believed that plants of divine origin are "good" plants, useful to humans, while plants of devilish origin are "bad" and not useful.

Aim of the study: This article analyses folk beliefs regarding the origins of selected plants, identifies which of them are considered to have a divine origin and which a demonic one, and examines whether the perceived divine or demonic origin of a plant influences its usefulness or harmfulness to humans.

Methods: This article first compares folk beliefs regarding the origins of selected plants, identifies their divine and demonic origins, and then evaluates the characteristics of these plants (edible/inedible, desirable/undesirable in cultivation, used in folk medicine, used in rituals, blessed throughout the year, used in apotropaic practices, associated with the devil/used in black magic). The aim is to determine whether there are any correlations between these characteristics and the plants' divine or demonic origins.

Results and discussion: The analyses carried out have shown that a given plant's divine or devilish provenance does not determine its usefulness or lack thereof, because in popular folkloristic imagery about plants we can find many characteristics that "escape" the sharp division into "good" and "bad" plants. Plants whose origin in folk imagery is associated with the activity of divine agents are edible plants, desirable to man, commonly used in (annual and family) rituals and in folk medicine, while plants associated with the devil are plants that are often poisonous, harmful, dangerous, stinging and prickly, undesirable as crops and classified as weeds, representing a dwelling place for forces hostile to man on the one hand, yet used in an apotropaic capacity on the other. At the same time, "devilish" plants were sometimes eaten as famine food, blessed and used in folk medicine, while "divine" plants, treated as weeds, were considered the abode of demons and used in black magic.

Conclusion: The study shows that the divine or devilish provenance of plants can be interpreted as information about the source of a plant's power-either divine or devilish. The article provides new insights for research on the perception of plants in Polish folk culture and also helps to promote Polish ethnolinguistic studies within the international academic discourse.

Abstract Image

神如此好,魔鬼如此坏?波兰民间传说中关于植物及其特征的民间语言认知。
根据民间传说,一些植物是由神和圣人创造的,而另一些植物是通过恶魔的干预出现在地球上的。人们普遍认为,源于神的植物是“好”植物,对人类有用,而源于魔鬼的植物是“坏”植物,对人类无用。研究目的:本文分析了有关选定植物起源的民间信仰,确定其中哪些被认为具有神圣起源,哪些被认为具有恶魔起源,并研究了植物的神圣或恶魔起源是否会影响其对人类的有用性或有害性。方法:本文首先比较了关于选定植物起源的民间信仰,确定了它们的神圣和恶魔起源,然后评估了这些植物的特征(可食用/不可食用,种植中可取/不可取,用于民间医学,用于仪式,全年受到祝福,用于辟邪实践,与魔鬼有关/用于黑魔法)。目的是确定这些特征与植物的神圣或恶魔起源之间是否存在关联。结果和讨论:所进行的分析表明,一种植物的神圣或邪恶的起源并不能决定它的有用与否,因为在流行的关于植物的民俗意象中,我们可以发现许多特征“逃脱”了“好”和“坏”植物的尖锐划分。在民间意象中,起源与神的活动有关的植物是可食用的植物,对人类来说是可取的,通常用于(年度和家庭)仪式和民间医学,而与魔鬼有关的植物通常是有毒的,有害的,危险的,刺和多刺的,不受欢迎的作物,被归类为杂草,一方面代表了对人类怀有敌意的力量的住所,另一方面又用于驱邪能力。与此同时,“魔鬼”植物有时被当作饥荒食物食用,受到祝福并用于民间医学,而“神圣”植物被视为杂草,被认为是恶魔的住所,用于黑魔法。结论:研究表明,植物的神圣或邪恶来源可以被解释为有关植物力量来源的信息——无论是神圣的还是邪恶的。本文为波兰民间文化中植物感知的研究提供了新的见解,也有助于推动波兰民族语言学研究在国际学术话语中的发展。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
7.30
自引率
16.70%
发文量
66
审稿时长
>12 weeks
期刊介绍: Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine publishes original research focusing on cultural perceptions of nature and of human and animal health. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine invites research articles, reviews and commentaries concerning the investigations of the inextricable links between human societies and nature, food, and health. Specifically, the journal covers the following topics: ethnobotany, ethnomycology, ethnozoology, ethnoecology (including ethnopedology), ethnogastronomy, ethnomedicine, ethnoveterinary, as well as all related areas in environmental, nutritional, and medical anthropology. Research focusing on the implications that the inclusion of humanistic, cultural, and social dimensions have in understanding the biological word is also welcome, as well as its potential projections in public health-centred, nutritional, and environmental policies.
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