{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_52165/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_52165","id":"gutenberg_52165","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52165","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Archaeology & Anthropology","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Superstition"],"text":"TRANSYLVANIAN SUPERSTITIONS.\n\n\nTransylvania might well be termed the land of superstition, for nowhere\nelse does this curious crooked plant of delusion flourish as\npersistently and in such bewildering variety. It would almost seem as\nthough the whole species of demons, pixies, witches, and hobgoblins,\ndriven from the rest of Europe by the wand of science, had taken refuge\nwithin this mountain rampart, well aware that here they would find\nsecure lurking-places, whence they might defy their persecutors yet\nawhile.\n\nThere are many reasons why these fabulous beings should retain an\nabnormally firm hold on the soil of these parts; and looking at the\nmatter closely we find here no less than three separate sources of\nsuperstition.\n\nFirst, there is what may be called the indigenous superstition of the\ncountry, the scenery of which is peculiarly adapted to serve as\nbackground to all sorts of supernatural beings and monsters. There are\ninnumerable caverns, whose mysterious depths seem made to harbour whole\nlegions of evil spirits: forest glades fit only for fairy folk on\nmoonlight nights, solitary lakes which instinctively call up visions of\nwater sprites; golden treasures lying hidden in mountain chasms, all of\nwhich have gradually insinuated themselves into the minds of the oldest\ninhabitants, the Roumenians, and influenced their way of thinking, so\nthat these people, by nature imaginative and poetically inclined, have\nbuilt up for themselves out of the surrounding materials a whole code of\nfanciful superstition, to which they adhere as closely as to their\nreligion itself.\n\nSecondly, there is here the imported superstition: that is to say, the\nold German customs and beliefs brought hither seven hundred years ago by\nthe Saxon colonists from their native land, and like many other things,\npreserved here in greater perfection than in the original country.\n\nThirdly, there is the wandering superstition of the gypsy tribes,\nthemselves a race of fortune-tellers and witches, whose ambulating\ncaravans cover the country as with a network, and whose less vagrant\nmembers fill up the suburbs of towns and villages.\n\nOf course all these various sorts of superstition have twined and\nintermingled, acted and reacted upon each other, until in many cases it\nis a difficult matter to determine the exact parentage of some\nparticular belief or custom; but in a general way the three sources I\nhave named may be admitted as a rough sort of classification in dealing\nwith the principal superstitious afloat in Transylvania.\n\nThere is on this subject no truer saying than that of Grimm, to the\neffect that 'superstition in all its manifold varieties constitutes a\nsort of religion, applicable to the common household necessities of\ndaily life,'[1] and as such, particular forms of superstition may very\nwell serve as guide to the characters and habits of the particular\nnation in which they are prevalent.\n\nThe spirit of evil (or, not to put too fine a point upon it, the devil)\nplays a conspicuous part in the Roumenian code of superstition, and such\ndesignations as the Gregynia Drakuluj (devil's garden), the Gania\nDrakuluj (devil's mountain), Yadu Drakuluj (devil's hell or abyss), &c.\n&c., which we frequently find attached to rocks, caverns, or heights,\nattest the fact that these people believe themselves to be surrounded on\nall sides by a whole legion of evil spirits.\n\nThe devils are furthermore assisted by witches and dragons, and to all\nof these dangerous beings are ascribed peculiar powers on particular\ndays and at certain places. Many and curious are therefore the means by\nwhich the Roumenians endeavour to counteract these baleful influences,\nand a whole complicated study, about as laborious as the mastering of\nany unknown language, is required in order to teach an unfortunate\npeasant to steer clear of the dangers by which he considers himself to\nbe beset on all sides. The bringing up of a common domestic cow is\napparently as difficult a task as the rearing of any dear gazelle, and\neven the well-doing of a simple turnip or potato about as precarious as\nthat of the most tender exotic plant.\n\nOf the seven days of the week, Wednesday (Miercuri) and Friday (Vinire)\nare considered suspicious days, on which it is not allowed to use needle\nor scissors, or to bake bread; neither is it wise to sow flax on these\ndays. Venus (called here Paraschiva), to whom the Friday is sacred,\npunishes all infractions of this rule by causing fires or other\nmisfortunes.\n\nTuesday, however (Marti, named from Mars, the bloody god of war), is a\ndecidedly unlucky day, on which spinning is totally prohibited, and even\nsuch seemingly harmless pursuits as washing the hands or combing the\nhair are not unattended by danger. On Tuesday evening about sunset, the\nevil spirit of that day is in its fullest force, and in many districts\nthe people refrain from leaving their huts between sunset and midnight.\n'May the _mar sara_ (spirit of Tuesday evening) carry you off,' is here\nequivalent to saying 'May the devil take you!'\n\nIt must not, however, be supposed that Monday, Thursday, and Saturday\nare unconditionally lucky days, on which the Roumenian is at liberty to\ndo as he pleases. Thus every well educated Roumenian matron knows that\nshe may wash on Thursdays and spin on Saturdays, but that it would be a\nfatal mistake to reverse the order of these proceedings; and though\nThursday is a lucky day for marriage,[2] and is on that account mostly\nchosen for weddings, it is proportionately unfavourable to agriculture.\nIn many parishes it is considered dangerous to work in the fields on all\nThursdays between Easter and Pentecost, and it is believed that if these\ndays are not set aside as days of rest, ravaging hailstorms will be the\ninevitable punishment of the impiety. Many of the more enlightened\nRoumenian pastors have preached in vain against this belief, and some\nyears ago the members of a parish presented an official complaint to the\nbishop, requesting the removal of their _cur\u00e9_, on the ground that not\nonly he gave bad example by working on the prohibited days, but had\nactually caused them serious material damage, by the hailstorms his\nsinful behaviour had provoked.\n\nThis respect of the Thursday seems to be the remains of a deeply\ningrained, though now unconscious, worship of Jupiter (Zoi), who gives\nhis name to the day.\n\nTo different hours of the day are likewise ascribed different\ninfluences, favourable or the reverse. Thus it is always considered\nunlucky to look at oneself in the glass after sunset; also it is not\nwise to sweep the dust over the threshold in the evening, or to give\nback a sieve or a whip which has been borrowed of a neighbour.\n\nThe exact hour of noon is precarious on account of the evil spirit\n_Pripolniza_,[3] and so is midnight because of the _miase n\u00f3pte_ (night\nspirit), and it is safer to remain within doors at these hours. If,\nhowever, some misguided peasant does happen to leave his home at\nmidnight, and espies (as very likely he may) a flaming dragon in the\nsky, he need not necessarily give himself up as lost, for if he have the\npresence of mind to stick a fork into the ground alongside of him, the\nfiery monster will thereby be prevented from carrying him off.\n\nThe finger which ventures to point at a rainbow will be straightway\nseized by a gnawing disease, and a rainbow appearing in December is\nalways considered to bode misfortune.\n\nThe Greek Church, to which the Roumenians exclusively belong, has an\nabnormal number of feast-days, to almost each of which peculiar customs\nand superstitious are attached. I will here only attempt to mention a\nfew of the principal ones.\n\nOn New Year's Day it is customary for the Roumenian to interrogate his\nfate, by placing a leaf of evergreen on the freshly swept and heated\nhearthstone. If the leaf takes a gyratory movement he will be lucky, but\nif it shrivels up where it lies, then he may expect misfortune during\nthe coming year. To ensure the welfare of the cattle it is advisable to\nplace a gold or silver piece in the water-trough, out of which they\ndrink for the first time on New Year's morning.\n\nThe feast of the Epiphany, or Three Kings (_Tre crai_) is one of the\noldest festivals, and was solemnised by the Oriental Church as early as\nthe second century, fully 200 years before it was adopted by the Latins.\nOn this day, which popular belief regards as the coldest in the winter,\nthe blessing of the waters, known as the feast of the Jordan, or\n_bobetasu_ (baptism) feast, takes place. The priests, attired in their\nrichest vestments, proceed to the shore of the nearest river or lake,\nand bless the waters, which have been unclosed by cutting a Greek cross\nsome six or eight feet long in the surface of the ice. Every pious\nRoumenian is careful to fill a bottle with the consecrated water before\nthe surface freezes over, and preserves it, tightly corked and sealed\nup, as an infallible remedy in case of illness.\n\nParticularly lucky is considered whoever dies on that day, for he will\nbe sure to go straight to heaven, the door of which is supposed to stand\nopen all day, in memory of the descent of the Holy Ghost at the baptism\nof Christ.\n\nThe feast of St. Theodore, 11th of January (corresponding to our 23rd of\nJanuary), is a day of rest for the girls, and whichever of them\ntransgresses the rule is liable to be carried off by the saint, who\nsometimes appears in the shape of a beautiful youth, sometimes as a\nterrible monster.\n\nThe Wednesday in Holy Week is very important. The Easter cakes and\nbreads are baked on this day, and some crumbs are mixed up with the\ncow's fodder; woe to the woman who indulges in a nap to-day, for the\nwhole year she will not be able to shake off her drowsiness. In the\nevening the young men in each home bind as many wreaths as there are\nmembers of the family: each of these is marked with the name of an\nindividual and thrown up upon the roof. The wreaths which fall down to\nthe ground indicate those who will die that year.\n\nSkin diseases are cured by taking a bath on Good Friday, in a stream or\nriver which flows towards the east.\n\nIn the night preceding Easter Sunday witches and demons are abroad, and\nhidden treasures are said to betray their site by a glowing flame. No\nGod-fearing peasant will, however, allow himself to be tempted by the\nhopes of such riches, which he cannot on that day appropriate without\nsin. On no account should he presume to absent himself from the midnight\nchurch service, and his devotion will be rewarded by the mystic\nqualities attached to the wax candle he has carried in his hand, and\nwhich when lighted hereafter during a thunderstorm will infallibly keep\nthe lightning from striking his house.\n\nThe greatest luck which can befall a mortal is to be born on Easter\nSunday while the bells are ringing, but it is not lucky to die on that\nday. The spoon with which the Easter eggs have been removed from the\nboiling pot is carefully treasured up, and worn in the belt by the\nshepherd; it gives him the power to distinguish the witches who seek to\nmolest his flock.\n\nPerhaps the most important day in the year is St. George's, the 23rd of\nApril (corresponds to our 5th of May), the eve of which is still\nfrequently kept by occult meetings taking place at night in lonely\ncaverns or within ruined walls, and where all the ceremonies usual to\nthe celebration of a witches' Sabbath are put into practice.\n\nThe feast itself is the great day to beware of witches, to counteract\nwhose influence square-cut blocks of green turf are placed in front of\neach door and window.[4] This is supposed effectually to bar their\nentrance to the house or stables, but for still greater safety it is\nusual here for the peasants to keep watch all night by the sleeping\ncattle.\n\nThis same night is the best for finding treasures, and many people spend\nit in wandering about the hills trying to probe the earth for the gold\nit contains. Vain and futile as such researches usually are, yet they\nhave in this country a somewhat greater semblance of reason than in most\nother parts, for perhaps nowhere else have so many successive nations\nbeen forced to secrete their riches in flying from an enemy, to say\nnothing of the numerous veins of undiscovered gold and silver which must\nbe seaming the country in all directions. Not a year passes without\nbringing to light some earthern jar containing old Dacian coins, or\ngolden ornaments of Roman origin, and all such discoveries serve to feed\nand keep up the national superstition.\n\nIn the night of St. George's Day (so say the legends) all these\ntreasures begin to burn, or, to speak in mystic language, to 'bloom' in\nthe bosom of the earth, and the light they give forth, described as a\nbluish flame resembling the colour of lighted spirits of wine, serves to\nguide favoured mortals to their place of concealment. The conditions to\nthe successful raising of such a treasure are manifold, and difficult of\naccomplishment. In the first place, it is by no means easy for a common\nmortal who has not been born on a Sunday nor at midday when the bells\nare ringing, to hit upon a treasure at all. If he does, however, catch\nsight of a flame such as I have described, he must quickly stick a knife\nthrough the swaddling rags of his right foot,[5] and then throw the\nknife in the direction of the flame he has seen. If two people are\ntogether during this discovery they must not on any account break\nsilence till the treasure is removed, neither is it allowed to fill up\nthe hole from which anything has been taken, for that would induce a\nspeedy death. Another important feature to be noted is that the lights\nseen before midnight on St. George's Day, denote treasures kept by\nbenevolent spirits, while those which appear at a later hour are\nunquestionably of a pernicious nature.\n\nFor the comfort of less-favoured mortals, who happen neither to have\nbeen born on a Sunday, nor during bell-ringing, I must here mention that\nthese deficiencies may be to some extent condoned and the mental vision\nsharpened by the consumption of mouldy bread; so that whoever has during\nthe preceding year been careful to feed upon decayed loaves only, may\n(if he survives this trying _r\u00e9gime_) be likewise the fortunate\ndiscoverer of hidden treasures.\n\nSometimes the power of discovering a particular treasure is supposed to\nbe possessed only by members of some particular family. A curious\ninstance of this was lately recorded in Roumenia relating to an old\nruined convent, where, according to a popular legend, a large sum of\ngold is concealed. A deputation of peasants, at considerable trouble and\nexpense, found out the last surviving member of the family supposed to\npossess the mystic power, and offered him, unconditionally, a very\nhandsome sum merely for his assistance in the search. The gentleman in\nquestion, being old, and probably sceptical, declined the offer, to the\ngreat disappointment of the peasant deputation.\n\nThe feast of St. George, being the day when flocks are first driven out\nto pasture, is in a special manner the feast of all shepherds and\ncowherds, and on this day only it is allowed to count the flocks and\nassure oneself of the exact number of sheep. In general, these numbers\nare but approximately guessed at, and vaguely designated. Thus the\nRoumenian shepherd, interrogated as to the number of his master's sheep,\nwill probably inform you that they are as numerous as the stars of\nheaven, or as the daisies which dot the meadows.\n\nThe throwing up of wreaths on to the roofs, described above, is in some\ndistricts practised on the feast of St. John the Baptist, the 24th of\nJune (July 6th), instead of on the Wednesday in Holy Week. Fires lighted\non the mountains this same night are supposed to protect the flocks from\nevil spirits.\n\nThe feast of St. Elias, the 20th of July (August 1), is a very unlucky\nday, on which the lightning may be expected to strike.\n\nIf a house struck by lightning begins to burn, it is not allowed to put\nout the flames, because God has lit the fire and it would be presumption\nif man were to dare to meddle.[6] In some places it is believed that a\nfire lit by lightning can only be put out with milk.\n\nAn approved method for averting the danger of the dwelling being struck\nby lightning is to form a top by sticking a knife through a piece of\nbread, and spin it on the floor of the loft during the whole time the\nstorm lasts. The ringing of bells is likewise very efficacious,\nprovided, however, that the bell in question has been cast under a\nperfectly cloudless sky.\n\nAs I am on the subject of thunderstorms, I may as well here mention the\n_Scholomance_, or school supposed to exist somewhere in the heart of the\nmountains, and where all the secrets of nature, the language of animals,\nand all imaginable magic spells and charms are taught by the devil in\nperson. Only ten scholars are admitted at a time, and when the course of\nlearning has expired and nine of them are released to return to their\nhomes, the tenth scholar is detained by the devil as payment, and\nmounted upon an _Ismeju_ (dragon) he becomes henceforward the devil's\naide-de-camp, and assists him in 'making the weather,' that is to say,\npreparing the thunderbolts.\n\nA small lake, immeasurably deep, lying high up among the mountains to\nthe south of Hermanstadt, is supposed to be the cauldron where is brewed\nthe thunder, and in fair weather the dragon sleeps beneath the waters.\nRoumenian peasants anxiously warn the traveller to beware of throwing a\nstone into this lake lest it should wake the dragon and provoke a\nthunderstorm. It is, however, no mere superstition that in summer there\noccur almost daily thunderstorms at this spot, about the hour of midday,\nand numerous cairns of stones round the shores attest the fact that many\npeople have here found their death by lightning. On this account the\nplace is shunned, and no Roumenians will venture to rest here at the\nhour of noon.\n\nWhoever turns three somersaults the first time he hears the thunder will\nbe free from pains in the back during a twelvemonth, and the man who\nwishes to be ensured against headache has only to rub it against a stone\nor knock it with a piece of iron.\n\nThe Polish harvest custom of decking out a girl with a wreath of corn\nears, and leading her in procession to the house of the landed\nproprietor, is likewise practised here, with the difference that instead\nof the songs customary in Poland, the girl is here followed with loud\ncries of 'Prihu! Prihu!' or else 'Priku!'[7] and that whoever meets her\non the way is bound to sprinkle the wreath with water. If this detail be\nneglected the next year's crops will assuredly fail. It is also\ncustomary to keep the wreaths till next sowing time, when the corn is\nshaken out, and mingled with the grain to be sowed will ensure a rich\nharvest.\n\nThe feast of St. Spiridion, the 12th of December (corresponding to our\n24th), is an ominous day, especially for housewives, and the saint often\ndestroys those who desecrate his feast by manual labour.\n\nThat the cattle are endowed with speech during the Christmas night is a\ngeneral belief, but it is not considered wise to pry upon them and try\nto overhear what they say, or the listener will rarely overhear any\ngood.\n\nThis night is likewise favourable to the discovery of hidden treasures,\nand the man who has courage to conjure up the evil spirit will be sure\nto see him if he call upon him at midnight. Three burning coals placed\nupon the threshold will prevent the devil from carrying him off.\n\nChristmas carols and dramas are also usual among the Roumenians, under\nthe name of Kolinda, supposed to be derived from Kolinda or Lada,\ngoddess of peace.[8] Amongst the parts enacted in these games, are those\nof Judas, who stands at the door and receives the money collected, and\nthat of the bull, called Turka or Tur,[9] a sort of vague monster\nfantastically dressed up, half bull, half bear, with a clattering wooden\nbill, and a dash of Herod about his character, in so far as he is\nsupposed to devour little children, and requires to be propitiated by a\ncopper coin thrust into his bill.[10] In many districts the personating\nof these characters is supposed to entail a certain amount of odium upon\nthe actors, who are regarded as unclean or bewitched by the devil during\na period of six weeks, and may not enter a church nor approach a\nsacrament till this time has elapsed.\n\nA leaf of evergreen laid into a plate of water on the last day of the\nyear when the bells are ringing will denote health, sickness, or death,\nduring the coming year, according as it is found to be green, spotted,\nor black on the following morning.\n\nThe girl whose thoughts are turned towards love and matrimony has many\napproved methods of testing her fate on this night.\n\nFirst of all she may, by cracking the joints of her fingers, accurately\nascertain the number of her admirers, also a freshly laid egg broken\ninto a glass of water will give much clue to the events in store for her\nby the shape it adopts. To form a conjecture as to the shape and build\nof her future husband, she is recommended to throw an armful of firewood\nas far as she can from her; the piece which has gone furthest will be\nthe image of her intended, according as the stick happens to be tall or\nshort, broad or slender, straight or crooked. If these general\nindications do not suffice, and she wishes to see the reflection of his\nface in the water, she has only to step naked at midnight into the\nnearest lake or river. Very efficacious is it likewise to stand at\nmidnight on the dunghill with a piece of Christmas cake in her mouth,\nand listen for the first sound of a dog's barking which reaches her ear.\nFrom whichever side it proceeds will also come the expected suitor.\n\nOf the household animals, the sheep is the most highly prized by the\nRoumenian, who makes of it his companion, and frequently his counsellor,\nand by its bearing it is supposed often to give warning when danger is\nnear.\n\nThe swallow is here, as elsewhere, a luck-bringing bird, and goes by the\nname of _galinele lui Dieu_ (fowls of the Lord). There is always a\ntreasure to be found near the place where the first swallow has been\nespied.\n\nThe crow, on the contrary, is a bird of evil omen, and is particularly\nominous when it flies straight over the head of any man.[11]\n\nThe magpie perched upon a roof gives notice of the approach of\nguests,[12] but a shrieking magpie meeting or accompanying a traveller\ndenotes death.\n\nThe cuckoo is an oracle to be consulted in manifold contingencies. This\nbird plays a great part in Roumenian poetry, and is frequently supposed\nto be the spirit of an unfortunate lover.\n\nIt is never permissible to kill a spider, as that would entail\nmisfortune.\n\nA toad taking up its residence in a cow-byre is assuredly in the service\nof a witch, and has been sent there to purloin the milk. It should\ntherefore be stoned to death; but the same liberty must not be taken\nwith the equally pernicious weasel, and if these animals be found to\ninhabit a barn or stable, the peasant must endeavour to render them\nharmless by diverting their thoughts into a safer channel. To this end a\ntiny threshing-flail must be prepared for the male weasel, and a distaff\nfor his female partner, and laid at a place the animals are known to\nfrequent.\n\nThe skull of a horse placed over the gate of the courtyard,[13] or the\nbones of fallen animals, buried under the doorstep, are preservatives\nagainst ghosts.\n\nThe place where a horse has rolled on the ground is unwholesome, and the\nman who steps upon it will be speedily attacked by eruptions, boils, or\nother skin diseases.\n\nBlack fowls are always viewed with suspicion, as possibly standing in\nthe service of a witch, and the Brahmaputra fowl is curiously enough\nconsidered to be the offspring of the devil with a Jewish girl.\n\nIf a cow has gone astray it will assuredly be eaten by the wolf, unless\nthe owner remembers to stick a pair of scissors in the centre rafter of\nthe dwelling-room.\n\nAs a matter of course, such places as churchyards, gallow-trees, and\ncross-roads are to be avoided, but even the left bank of a river may\nunder circumstances become equally dangerous.\n\nA whirlwind always denotes that the devil is dancing with a witch, and\nwhoever approaches too near to this dangerous circle may be carried off\nbodily, or at the very least will lose his head-covering.\n\nBut the Roumenian does not always endeavour to keep the evil one at\narm's length; sometimes, on the contrary, he invokes the devil's\nassistance, and enters into a regular compact with him.\n\nSupposing, for instance, that he wishes to ensure a flock, garden or\nfield against thieves, wild beasts, or bad weather, the matter is very\nsimple. He has only to repair to a cross-road, at the junction of which\nhe takes up his stand, in the centre of a circle he has traced on the\nground. Here, after depositing a copper coin as payment, he summons the\ndemon with the following words:--\n\n'Satan, I give thee over my flock (garden or field) to keep\ntill----(such and such a term), that thou mayest defend and protect it\nfor me, and be my servant till this time has expired----'\n\nHe must, however, be careful to keep within the circle he has traced,\nuntil the devil, who may very likely have chosen to appear in the shape\nof a goat, crow, toad, or serpent, has completely disappeared, otherwise\nthe unfortunate wretch is irretrievably lost. He is equally sure to lose\nhis soul if he die before the time of the contract has elapsed.\n\nAn apothecary of this town (Hermanstadt) told me that he was frequently\napplied to for a magic potion called _spiridusch_, which is said to have\nthe property of disclosing hidden treasures to its lucky possessor. Only\na few weeks ago he received the following letter, published in one of\nthe local papers, and which I have here translated as literally as\npossible.\n\n   Worthy Sir,--I wish to ask you of something I have been told by\n   others--that is, that you have got for sale a thing they call\n   _spiridusch_, but which, to speak more plainly, is the devil\n   himself. And if this be true, I beg you to tell me if it be really\n   true, and how much it costs; for my poverty is so great and has\n   brought me so far that I must ask the devil to help me. Those who\n   told me this were weak, silly fellows, and were afraid, but I\n   have no fear and have seen many things in my life before;\n   therefore I beg you to write me this, and to take the greeting of an\n   unknown man.--N. N.\n\nHere, as elsewhere, thirteen is an ominous number.\n\nIt is unfortunate to meet an old woman or a Roumenian Pope; the meeting\nof a Protestant or Catholic clergyman is indifferent, and brings neither\ngood nor evil.\n\nIt is bad luck if your path be traversed by a hare, but a fox or wolf\ncrossing your road is a good omen.\n\nLikewise, it is lucky to meet a woman with a jug full of water, while an\nempty jug is unlucky; therefore, the Roumenian maiden who meets you on\nthe way back from the well will, smiling, display her brimming pitcher\nas she passes, with a pleased consciousness of bringing good luck; while\nthe girl whose pitcher is empty will slink past shamefacedly, as though\nshe had a crime to conceal.\n\nEvery orthodox Roumenian woman is careful to do homage to the\nwater-spirit, the _wodna zena or zona_, which resides in each spring, by\nspilling a few drops on the ground, after she has emptied her jug. She\nwill never venture to draw the water against the current, for that would\nstrike the spirit home and provoke her anger.\n\nThe Roumenian in general avoids the neighbourhood of deep pools of\nwater, especially whirlpools, for here resides the dreadful _balaur_, or\nthe _wodna muz_, the cruel waterman who lies in wait for human victims.\n\nEach forest has likewise its own particular spirit, its _mama\npadura_,[14] or forest mother. This fairy is in general supposed to be\ngood-natured, especially towards children who have lost their way in the\nwood. Less to be trusted is _Panusch_ (surely a corruption of the Greek\ngod Pan?), who haunts the forest glades and lies in wait for helpless\nmaidens.\n\nRavaging diseases, like the pest, cholera, &c., are attributed to spirit\ncalled the _dschuma_, to whom is sometimes given the shape of a fierce\nvirgin, sometimes that of a toothless old hag. This spectre can only be\ndriven away if a red shirt, which must be spun, woven, and sewed all in\none night by seven old women, is hung out at the entrance of the\nafflicted village.[15]\n\nThe body of a drowned man can only be found again by sticking a lighted\ncandle into a hollowed-out loaf of bread and setting it afloat at night\non the river or lake. There where the light comes to a standstill will\nthe corpse be found. Until this has been done the water will continue to\nrise and the rain to fall.\n\nAt the birth of a child each one present takes a stone, and throws it\nbehind him, saying, 'This into the jaws of the Strigoi,' which custom\nwould also seem to suggest Saturn and the swaddled-up stones. As long as\nthe child is unbaptised, it must be carefully watched over, for fear of\nbeing changed or otherwise harmed by witch. A piece of iron or a broom\nlaid under its pillow will keep evil charms away.\n\nEven the Roumenian's wedding day is darkened by the shade of\nsuperstition. He can never be quite sure of his affection for his bride\nbeing a natural, spontaneous feeling, since it may or will have been\ncaused by the evil influence of a witch. Also at church, when the priest\noffers the blest bread to himself and his new-made wife, he will\ntremblingly compare the relative sizes of the two pieces, for whoever\nchances to get the smaller one must inevitably be the first to die.\n\nBut nowhere does the inherent superstition of the Roumenian peasant find\nstronger expression than in his mourning and funeral ceremonies, which\nare based upon a totally original conception of death.\n\nAmong the various omens of approaching death are the ungrounded barking\nof a dog or the crowing of a black hen. The influence of the latter may,\nhowever, be annulled and the catastrophe averted if the bird be put in a\nsack and carried thrice round the house.\n\nRoots dug up from the churchyard on Good Friday are to be given to\npeople in danger of death. If, however, this and other remedies fail to\nsave the doomed man, then he must have a burning candle put into his\nhand; for it is considered to be the greatest of all misfortunes if a\nman die without a candle--a favour the Roumenian durst not refuse to his\nmost deadly enemy.\n\nThe corpse must be washed immediately after death, and the dirt, if\nnecessary, scraped off with knives, because the dead man is more likely\nto find favour with God if he appear before Him in a clean state. Then\nhe is attired in his best clothes, in doing which great care must be\ntaken not to tie anything in a knot, for that would disturb his rest;\nlikewise, he must not be allowed to carry away any particle of iron\nabout his dress (such as buttons, boot nails, &c.), for this would\nassuredly prevent him from reaching Paradise, the road to which is long,\nand is, moreover, divided off by several tolls or ferries. To enable the\nsoul to pass through these a piece of money must be laid in the hand,\nunder the pillow, or beneath the tongue of the corpse. In the\nneighbourhood of Fogaras, where the ferries or toll-bars are supposed to\namount to twenty-five, the hair of the defunct is divided into as many\nplaits, and a piece of money secured in each. Likewise, a small\nprovision of needles, pins, thread, &c., are put into the coffin to\nenable the pilgrim to repair any damage his clothes may receive on the\nway.\n\nThe mourning songs, called _Bocete_, usually performed by paid mourners,\nare directly addressed to the corpse and sung into his ear on either\nside. This is the last attempt made by the survivors to wake the dead\nman to life, by reminding him of all he is leaving, and urging him to\nmake a final effort to arouse his dormant faculties--the thought which\nunderlies all these proceedings being, that the dead man hears and sees\nall that goes on around him, and that it only requires the determined\neffort of a strong will in order to restore elasticity to the stiffened\nlimbs, and cause the torpid blood to flow again within the veins.\n\nIn many places two openings, corresponding to the ears of the deceased,\nare cut out in the wood of the coffin to enable him to hear the songs of\nmourning which are sung on either side of him as he is carried to the\ngrave.\n\nThis singing into the ears has passed into a proverb, and when the\nRoumenian says, _i-a-cantat la wechia_ (he has sung into his ears), it\nis tantamount to saying that prayer and admonition have been used in\nvain.\n\nThe _Pomana_, or funeral feast, is invariably held after the funeral,\nfor much of the peace of the defunct depends upon the strict observance\nof this ceremony. At this banquet all the favourite dishes of the dead\nman are served, and each guest receives a cake (_colac_) and a jug\n(_ulcior_), also a wax candle, in his memory. Similar _Pomanas_ are\nrepeated after a fortnight, six weeks, and on each anniversary for the\nnext seven years; also, whenever the defunct has appeared in dream to\nany member of the family, this likewise calls for another _Pomana_; and\nwhen these conditions are not exactly complied with, the soul thus\nneglected is apt to wander complaining about the earth, and cannot find\nrest. These restless spirits, called _Strigoi_, are not malicious, but\ntheir appearance bodes no good, and may be regarded as omens of sickness\nor misfortune.\n\nMore decidedly evil, however, is the vampire, or _nosferatu_, in whom\nevery Roumenian peasant believes as firmly as he does in heaven or hell.\nThere are two sorts of vampires--living and dead. The living vampire is\nin general the illegitimate offspring of two illegitimate persons, but\neven a flawless pedigree will not ensure anyone against the intrusion of\na vampire into his family vault, since every person killed by a\n_nosferatu_ becomes likewise a vampire after death, and will continue to\nsuck the blood of other innocent people till the spirit has been\nexorcised, either by opening the grave of the person suspected and\ndriving a stake through the corpse, or firing a pistol shot into the\ncoffin. In very obstinate cases it is further recommended to cut off the\nhead and replace it in the coffin with the mouth filled with garlic, or\nto extract the heart and burn it, strewing the ashes over the grave.\n\nThat such remedies are often resorted to, even in our enlightened days,\nis a well-attested fact, and there are probably few Roumenian villages\nwhere such has not taken place within the memory of the inhabitants.\n\nFirst cousin to the vampire, the long exploded were-wolf of the Germans\nis here to be found, lingering yet under the name of the _Prikolitsch_.\nSometimes it is a dog instead of a wolf, whose form a man has taken\neither voluntarily or as penance for his sins. In one of the villages a\nstory is still told (and believed) of such a man, who driving home from\nchurch on Sunday with his wife, suddenly felt that the time for his\ntransformation had come. He therefore gave over the reins to her, and\nstepped aside into the bushes, where, murmuring the mystic formula, he\nturned three somersaults over a ditch. Soon after this the woman,\nwaiting in vain for her husband, was attacked by a furious dog, which\nrushed, barking, out of the bushes and succeeded in biting her severely,\nas well as tearing her dress. When, an hour later, this woman reached\nhome alone she was met by her husband, who advanced smiling to meet her,\nbut between his teeth she caught sight of the shreds of her dress which\nhad been bitten out by the dog, and the horror of the discovery caused\nher to faint away.\n\nAnother man used gravely to assert that for more than five years he had\ngone about in the form of a wolf, leading on a troop of these animals,\nuntil a hunter, in striking off his head, restored him to his natural\nshape.\n\nA French traveller relates an instance of a harmless botanist who, while\ncollecting herbs on a hillside in a crouching attitude, was observed by\nsome peasants at a distance and taken for a wolf. Before they had time\nto reach him, however, he had risen to his feet and disclosed himself in\nthe form of a man; but this, in the minds of the Roumenians, who now\nregarded him as an aggravated case of wolf, was but additional motive\nfor attacking him. They were quite sure that he must be a Prikolitsch,\nfor only such could change his shape in such an unaccountable manner,\nand in another minute they were all in full cry after the wretched\nvictim of science, who might have fared badly indeed, had he not\nhappened to gain a carriage on the high road before his pursuers came\nup.\n\nWe do not require to go far for the explanation of the extraordinary\ntenacity of life of the were-wolf legend in a country like Transylvania,\nwhere real wolves still abound. Every winter here brings fresh proof of\nthe boldness and cunning of these terrible animals, whose attacks on\nflocks and farms are often conducted with a skill which would do honour\nto a human intellect. Sometimes a whole village is kept in trepidation\nfor weeks together by some particularly audacious leader of a flock of\nwolves, to whom the peasants not unnaturally attribute a more than\nanimal nature, and one may safely prophesy that so long as the real wolf\ncontinues to haunt the Transylvanian forests, so long will his spectre\nbrother survive in the minds of the inhabitants.\n\nMany ancient Roumenian legends tell us that every new church or\notherwise important building became a human grave, as it was thought\nindispensable to its stability to wall in a living man or woman, whose\nspirit henceforward haunts the place. In later times people having\nbecome less cruel, or more probably, because murder is now attended with\ngreater inconvenience to the actors, this custom underwent some\nmodifications, and it became usual in place of a living man to wall in\nhis shadow instead. This is done by measuring the shadow of a person\nwith a long piece of cord, or a ribbon made of strips of reed, and\ninterring this measure instead of the person himself, who, unconscious\nvictim of the spell thrown upon him, will pine away and die within forty\ndays. It is an indispensable condition to the success of this proceeding\nthat the chosen victim be ignorant of the part he is playing, therefore\ncareless passers-by near a building place may often hear the warning cry\n'Beware, lest they take thy shadow!' So deeply engrained is this\nsuperstition that not long ago there were still professional\nshadow-traders, who made it their business to provide architects with\nthe necessary victims for securing their walls. 'Of course the man whose\nshadow is thus interred must die,' argues the Roumenian, 'but as he is\nunaware of his doom he does not feel any pain or anxiety, so it is less\ncruel than walling in a living man.'\n\nThe superstitions afloat among the Saxon peasantry of Transylvania\nrelate oftenest to household matters, such as the well-being of cattle\nand poultry and the success of the harvest or vintage. There is more of\nthe quack, and less of the romantic element to be found here, and the\ninvisible spiritual world plays less part in their beliefs.\n\nSome of the most prevalent Saxon superstitions are as follows:\n\n1. Whoever can blow back the flame into a candle which has just been\nextinguished will become pastor.\n\n2. In going into a new-built house one must throw in a dog or a cat\nbefore entering, otherwise one of the family will soon die.\n\n3. If a swallow fly under a cow straightway the milk will become bloody.\n\n4. Whoever enters a strange house should sit down, were it only for a\nsecond, otherwise he will deprive the inhabitants of their sleep.\n\n5. Whoever has been robbed of anything and wants to discover the thief,\nmust select a black hen, and for nine consecutive Fridays must, as well\nas the hen, abstain from all food. The thief will then either die or\nbring back the stolen goods. (This is called taking up the black fast\nagainst a person.)\n\n6. It is not good to point with the finger at an approaching\nthunderstorm; likewise, whoever stands over-long gazing at the summer\nlightning will go mad.\n\n7. A person ill with the fever should be covered up with nine articles\nof clothing, each of a different colour and material: he will then\nrecover.\n\n8. Another way to get rid of the fever is to go into an inn or\npublic-house, and after having drunk a glass of wine to go out again\nwithout speaking or paying, but leaving behind some article of clothing\nwhich is of greater value than the wine drunk.\n\n9. Drinking out of seven different wells is likewise good for the fever.\n\n10. Or else go into the garden when no one is looking, shake a young\nfruit tree and return to the house without looking back; the fever will\nthen have passed into the tree.\n\n11. Any article purposely dropped on the ground when out walking will\nconvey the fever to whoever finds it. This method is, however, to be\ndistrusted (we are told by village authorities), for the finder may\navert the illness by thrice spitting on the thing in question. Spitting\non all and every occasion is in general very efficacious for averting\nspells and other evils.\n\n12. A hailstorm may sometimes be stopped by a knife stuck into the\nground in front of the house.\n\n13. A new servant must be allowed to eat freely the first day he or she\nenters service, otherwise their hunger will never be stilled.\n\n14. It is bad luck to rock an empty cradle.\n\n15. When someone has just died the window must be opened to let the soul\nescape.\n\n16. It is not considered good to count the beehives or the loaves when\nthey are put into the oven.\n\n17. When the master of the house dies, one must go and tell it to the\nbees, and to the cattle in the stables, otherwise some new misfortune is\nsure to happen.\n\n18. If the New Year's night be clear the hens will lay many eggs during\nthe year.\n\n19. It is not good to whitewash the house when the moon is decreasing,\nfor that produces bugs.\n\n20. Who eats mouldy bread will be rich and longlived.\n\n21. Rubbing the body with garlic is a preservative against witchcraft\nand the pest.\n\n22. Licking the platter clean at table will bring fine weather.\n\n23. A funeral at which the bells are not rung brings hail.\n\n24. When foxes and wolves meet in the market-place then prices will rise\n(naturally, since wolves and foxes could only be so bold during the\ngreatest cold, when prices of eggs, butter, &c., are always at their\nhighest).\n\n25. To keep sparrows off a field or garden it is only necessary to\nsprinkle earth taken at midnight from the churchyard over the place.\n\n26. A broom put upside down behind the door will keep away the witches.\n\n27. It is bad luck to lay a loaf upside down on the table.\n\n28. In carrying a child to church to be christened it is important to\ncarry it by the broadest streets, and to avoid narrow lanes and byways,\nelse when it is big it will become a thief.\n\n29. If a murderer be confronted with the corpse of his victim the wounds\nwill begin to bleed again.[16]\n\n30. Avoid a toad, as it may be a witch.\n\n31. Little children's nails should be bitten off instead of cut the\nfirst time, lest they learn to steal.\n\n32. An approved sort of love charm is to take the two hind legs of a\ngreen tree-frog, bury these in an anthill till all the flesh is removed,\nthen tie them up securely in a linen handkerchief, and whosoever touches\nthis linen will be seized at once with love for its owner.\n\n33. To avert many illnesses which may occur to the pigs, it is still\ncustomary in some places for the swineherd to dispense with his clothes\nthe first time he drives out his pigs to pasture in spring. A newly\nelected clergyman, regarding this practice as immoral, tried to forbid\nit in his parish, but was sternly asked by the village bailiff whether\nhe was prepared to pay for all the pigs which would assuredly die that\nyear in consequence of the omission.\n\n34. The same absence of costume is likewise recommended to women\nassisting a cow to calve.\n\nThe night of St. Thomas (21st of December) is the date consecrated by\nSaxon superstition to the celebration of the games which elsewhere are\nusual on All-Halloween. Every girl puts her fate to the test on this\nevening, and there are various ways of so doing (too lengthy to be here\ndescribed), with shoes, flowers, onions, &c. For the twelve days\nfollowing it is not allowed to spin, and the young men who visit the\nspinning-room of the girls have the right to break and burn all the\ndistaffs they find, so it has become usual for the maidens to appear\nwith a stick dressed up with wool to represent the distaff instead of a\nreal spinning-wheel.\n\nSome of the Saxon customs are peculiarly interesting from being\nobviously remnants of Paganism, and are a curious proof of the force of\nverbal tradition, which in this case has not only borne the\ntransplantation from a far distant country, but likewise weathered the\nstorm of two successive changes of religion.\n\nA very strong proof of the tenacity of Pagan habits and train of thought\nis, I think, the fact, that although at the time these Saxon colonists\nappeared in Transylvania, towards the second part of the twelfth\ncentury, they had already belonged to the Christian Church for more than\nthree hundred years, yet many points of the landscape in their new home\nbaptized by them have received Pagan appellations. Thus we find the\n_G\u00f6tzenberg_,[17] or mountain of the gods, and the _wodesch_ and the\n_wolnk_ applied to woods and plains, both evidently derived from Wodan.\n\nMany old Pagan ceremonies are still clearly to be distinguished through\nthe flimsy shrouding of a later period, and their origin unmistakable\neven through the surface-varnish of Christianity which was thought\nnecessary to adapt them to newer circumstances, and like a clumsily\nremodelled garment the original cut frequently asserts itself, despite\nthe fashionable trimmings which now adorn it. In many popular rhymes and\ndialogues, for instance, it has been clearly proved that those parts now\nassigned to the Saviour and St. Peter originally belonged to the old\ngods Thor and Loki; while the faithless Judas has had the\npersonification of a whole hoard of German demons thrust upon him. It is\nlikewise strongly to be suspected that St. Elias who in some parts of\nHungary, as well as in Roumenia, Servia, and Croatia, is considered the\nproper person to be invoked in thunderstorms, is verily no other than\nthe old thunder god Thor, under a Christian mask.\n\nOne of the most striking of the Christianised dramas just mentioned is\nthe _Todaustragen_, or throwing out the Death, a custom still extant in\nseveral of the Transylvanian Saxon villages, and which may likewise be\nfound still existing in some remote parts of Germany. The feast of the\nAscension is the day on which this ceremony takes place in a village of\nthis neighbourhood. It is conducted in the following manner:--\n\nAfter forenoon church on that day, the school-girls of the parish repair\nto the house of one of their companions, and there proceed to dress up\nthe 'Death.' This is done by tying up a threshed-out corn-sheaf into the\nrough semblance of a head and body, while the arms are simulated by a\nbroomstick stuck horizontally. This done, the figure is dressed up in\nthe Sunday clothes of a young village matron, the head adorned with the\ncustomary cap and veil fastened by silver pins; two large black beads,\nor black-headed pins, represent the eyes, and thus equipped the figure\nis displayed at the open window, in order that all people may see it, on\ntheir way to afternoon church. The conclusion of vespers[18] is the\nsignal for the girls to seize the figure and open the procession round\nthe village; two of the eldest girls hold the 'Death' between them, and\nthe others follow in regular order two and two, singing a Lutheran\nChurch hymn. The boys are excluded from the procession, and must content\nthemselves with admiring the _Sch\u00f6ner Tod_ (handsome Death) from a\ndistance. When all the village streets have been traversed in this\nmanner, the girls repair to another house, whose door is locked against\nthe besieging troop of boys. The figure Death is here stripped of its\ngaudy attire, and the naked straw bundle thrown out of the window,\nwhereupon it is seized by the boys and carried off in triumph to be\nthrown into the neighbouring stream or river. This is the first part of\nthe drama, while the second consists in one of the girls being solemnly\ninvested with the clothes and ornaments previously worn by the figure,\nand like it, led in procession round the village to the singing of the\nsame hymn as before. This is to represent the arrival of summer. The\nceremony terminates by a feast given by the parents of the girl who has\nacted the principal part, from which the boys are again excluded.\n\nAccording to popular belief it is allowed to eat fruits only after this\nday, as now the 'Death,' that is, the unwholesomeness, has been expelled\nfrom them. Also the river in which the Death has been drowned may now be\nconsidered fit for public bathing.\n\nIf this ceremony be ever omitted in the villages where it is customary,\nthis neglect is supposed to entail the death of one of the youths or\nmaidens.\n\nThis same ceremony may, as I have said, be found still lingering in many\nother places, everywhere with slight variations. There are villages\nwhere the figure is burnt instead of drowned, and Passion Sunday (often\ncalled the Dead Sunday), or else the 25th of March, are the days\nsometimes chosen for its accomplishment. In some places it was usual for\nthe straw figure to be attired in the shirt of the last person who had\ndied, and with the veil of the most recent bride on its head. Also the\nfigure is occasionally pelted with stones by the youth of both sexes;\nwhoever hits it will not die during the year.\n\nAt Nuremberg little girls dressed in white used to go in procession\nthrough the town, carrying a small open coffin, in which a doll was laid\nout in state, or sometimes only a stick dressed up, with an apple to\nrepresent the head.\n\nIn many of these German places, the rhymes which are sung apply to the\nadvent of summer and the extinction of winter, such as the following:--\n\n   And now we have chased the death away\n   And brought in the summer so warm and so gay;\n   The summer and the month of May\n   We bring sweet flowers full many a one.\n   We bring the rays of the golden sun,\n   For the dreary death at last is gone.\n\nor else,\n\n   Come all of you and do not tarry\n   The evil death away to carry;\n   Come, spring, once more, with us to dwell,\n   Welcome, O spring, in wood and dell!\n\nAnd there is no doubt that similar rhymes used also to be sung here,\nuntil they were replaced by the Lutheran hymns.\n\nSome German arch\u00e6ologists have attempted to prove that 'death' in these\ngames is of more recent introduction, and has replaced the 'winter' of\nformer times, so as to give the ceremony a more Christian colouring by\nthe allusion of the triumph of Christ over death, on His resurrection\nand ascension into heaven. Without presuming to contradict the many\nwell-known authorities who have taken this view of the case, I cannot\nhelp thinking that it hardly requires such explanation to account for\nthe presence of death in these dramas. Nowadays, when luxury and\ncivilisation have done so much towards equalising all seasons, so that\nwe can never be deprived of flowers in winter, nor want for ice in\nsummer, we can with difficulty realise the enormous gulf which in olden\ntimes separated winter from summer. Not only in winter were all means of\ncommunication cut off for a large proportion of people, but their very\nexistence was, so to say, frozen up; and if the granaries were scantily\nfilled, or the inclement season prolonged by some weeks, death was\nliterally standing at the door of thousands of poor wretches. No wonder,\nthen, that winter and death became identical in their minds, and that\nthey hailed the advent of spring with delirious joy, dancing round the\nfirst violet, and following about the first cockchafer in solemn\nprocession. It was the feast of Nature which they celebrated then as\nnow--Nature mighty and eternal--which must always remain essentially the\nsame, whether decked out in Pagan or Christian garb.\n\nAnother remnant of Paganism is the _Feurix_ or _Feuriswolf_, which\nlingers yet in the mind of these people. According to ancient German\nmythology the _Feuriswolf_ is a monster which, on the last day, is to\nopen his mouth so wide that the top jaw touches the sky, and the lower\none the earth; and not long ago a Saxon woman bitterly complained in a\ncourt of justice that her husband had cursed her over strongly, in\nsaying, 'Der w\u00e4rlthangd saul dich frieszen;' literally, 'May the\nworld-dog swallow thee!'\n\nThe gipsies take up a different position as regards superstition from\neither Roumenian or Saxon, since they may be rather considered to be\ndirect causes and mainsprings of superstition, than victims of credulity\nthemselves. The Tzigane, whose religion is of such an extremely\nsuperficial nature that he rarely believes in anything as complicated as\nthe immortality of the soul, can hardly be supposed to lay much weight\nupon the supernatural; and if he instinctively avoids such places as\nchurchyards, gallow-trees, &c., his feelings are rather those of a child\nwho shirks being reminded of anything so unpleasant as death or burial.\n\nThat, however, these people exercise a considerable influence on their\nSaxon and Roumenian neighbours is undoubted, and it is a paradoxical\nfact, that the same people who regard the gipsy as an undoubted thief,\nliar, and cheat, in all the common transactions of daily life, do not\nhesitate to confide in him blindly for charmed medicines and\nlove-potions, and are ready to attribute to him unerring power in\ndeciphering the mysteries of the future.\n\nThe Saxon peasant will, it is true, often drive away the fortune-teller\nwith blows and curses from his door, but his wife, as often as not, will\nsecretly beckon to her to come in again by the back door, in order to be\nconsulted as to the illness of the cows, or to beg from her a remedy\nagainst the fever.\n\nWonderful potions and salves, in which the fat of bears, dogs, snakes\nand snails, along with the oil of rain-worms, the bodies of spiders and\nmidges rubbed into a paste, and many other similar ingredients, are\nconcocted by these cunning Bohemians, who will sometimes thus make\nthrice as much money out of the carcass of a dead dog as another from\nthe sale of three healthy pigs.\n\nIt has also been averred that both Roumenian and Saxon mothers, whose\nsickly infants are thought to be suffering from the effects of the evil\neye, are frequently in the habit of giving the child to be nursed for a\nperiod of nine days to some gipsy woman, who is supposed to be able to\nundo the spell.\n\nThere is not a village which does not boast of one or more\nfortune-tellers, and living in the suburbs of each town are many old\nwomen who make an easy and comfortable livelihood only by imposing on\nthe credulity of their fellow-creatures.\n\nThe gipsies, one of whose principal trades is the burning of bricks and\ntiles, are often accused of occasioning lengthy droughts to suit their\nown purposes. When this has occurred, and the necessary rains have not\nbeen produced by soundly beating the guilty Tziganes, the Roumenians\nsometimes resort to the _Papaluga_, or Rain-maiden. This is done by\nstripping a young gipsy girl quite naked, and dressing her up with\nwreaths of flowers and leaves which entirely cover her up, leaving only\nthe head visible. Thus adorned, the Papaluga is conducted round the\nvillages in procession, to the sound of music and singing, and everyone\nhastens to water her copiously.\n\nIf also the Papaluga fails to bring the desired rain, then the evil must\nevidently be of a deeper and more serious nature, and is to be\nattributed to a vampire, who must be sought out and destroyed in the\nmanner described above.\n\nThe part of the Papaluga is also sometimes enacted by a Roumenian\nmaiden, when there is no reason to suspect the gipsies of being\nconcerned in the drought. This custom of the Rain-maiden is also to be\nfound in Servia, and I believe in Croatia.\n\nIt would be endless were I to attempt to enumerate all the different\nsorts of superstition afloat in this country; for besides the three\nprincipal definitions here given, the subject comprises innumerable\nother side branches, and might further be divided into the folk-lore of\nshepherds, farmers, hunters, miners, fishermen, &c., each of these\nseparate callings having its own peculiar set of signs, customs, charms,\nand traditions to go by.\n\nSuperstition is an evil which every person with a well-balanced mind\nshould wish to die out, yet it cannot be denied that some of these\nfancies are graceful and suggestive. Nettles and briars, albeit\nmischievous plants, may yet come in picturesquely in a landscape; and\nalthough the stern agriculturist is bound to rejoice at their uprooting,\nthe softer-hearted artist is surely free to give them a passing sigh of\nregret.\n\n                                                            E. Gerard.\n\n----------\n\n[Footnote 1: 'Der Aberglaube in seiner Mannigfaltigkeit bildet\ngewissermassen eine Religion f\u00fcr den ganzen niederen Hausbedarf.']\n\n[Footnote 2: This would seem to suggest a German (or Celtic) origin.\nDonar, as god of marriages, blesses unions with his hammer.]\n\n[Footnote 3: This spirit corresponds to the Polednice of the Bohemians\nand the Poludnica of the Poles and Russians. Grimm, in speaking of the\nRussians, in his German Mythology, quotes from Boxhorn's _Resp.\nMoscov._: 'D\u00e6monem meridianum Moscovit\u00e6 et colunt.']\n\n[Footnote 4: This is also usual in Poland, Moldavia, and the Bukowina.]\n\n[Footnote 5: The Roumenian peasant does not wear shoes or stockings, but\nhas his feet swaddled up in linen rags, which are kept in their place by\na rough sandal made of a flat piece of leather.]\n\n[Footnote 6: Also believed in Poland.]\n\n[Footnote 7: Arch\u00e6ologists have derived this word from _Pri_, which in\nSanscrit means fruitful, and _Hu_, the god of the Celtic deluge\ntradition, also regarded as a personification of fruitful nature.]\n\n[Footnote 8: The Council of Constantinople, 869 A.D., forbade the\nmembers of the Oriental Church to keep the feast of the Pagan goddess,\nKolinda, occurring on the shortest day.]\n\n[Footnote 9: Called Turon by the Poles, who have many similar games.]\n\n[Footnote 10: This detail would seem to bear some resemblance to Saturn\ndevouring his children, and being cheated by stones thrown into his\njaws.]\n\n[Footnote 11: Likewise in Bavaria.]\n\n[Footnote 12: Also believed by most Slav nations.]\n\n[Footnote 13: The original signification of this seems to have gone\nastray, but was probably based on former worship of the horse, long\nregarded as a sacred animal by Indians, Parsees, Arabs, and Germans.]\n\n[Footnote 14: So in India the Matris, also known amongst the Egyptians,\nChaldeans, and Mexicans. A corresponding spirit is likewise found in the\nScandinavian and Lithuanian mythologies; in the latter under the name of\n_medziajna_.]\n\n[Footnote 15: Also practised in Poland.]\n\n[Footnote 16: Also believed by the Roumenians.]\n\n[Footnote 17: The word _G\u00f6tzen_ in German signifies Pagan deities.]\n\n[Footnote 18: Afternoon church is always called vespers by the Saxon\nvillager, though I believe it has no resemblance to the chanted vespers\nof the Roman Catholics.]\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber's Notes\n\n\nThe original text was published in: The Nineteenth Century, Kegan Paul,\nTrench & Co., London, July-December 1885, pp. 130-150.\n\nThe transcriber made a very few changes to the text in order to correct\nobvious errors (before/after):\n\n   [p. 135]:\n   ... This is also usual in Poland, Moldavia, and the Bukowinq. ...\n   ... This is also usual in Poland, Moldavia, and the Bukowina. ...\n\n   [p. 147]:\n   ... is the Todanstragen, or throwing out the Death, a custom\n       still extant ...\n   ... is the Todaustragen, or throwing out the Death, a custom\n       still extant ...","title":"Transylvanian Superstitions: From: The Nineteenth Century (Vol. 18), London, July-December 1885, pp. 130-150","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":10557}