Power of Word Bajanje

The Power of the Word: Healing Charms as an Oral Genre Author(s): Barbara Kerewsky Halpern and John Miles
Foley Source: The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 91, No. 362 (Oct. - Dec., 1978), pp. 903-924 Published by: American Folklore Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/539224 . Accessed: 09/07/2013 16:04
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BARBARA
KEREWSKY HALPERN FOLEY and JOHN MILES
The Powerof the Word

as an Oral Genre* HealingCharms
of aspects of oraltradition in the Balkans,' in STUDY OFANONGOING As PART we present arestillbeingtransmitted this paper evidence that healing charms Our concern folk repertoire. orallyandcontinueas partof the contemporary hereis with process, andlinguistic.We want to discover bothcultural why as well as how oralityworks as a vital meansof preservation andtransmission. This we undertake a form of folk by examiningbajanje, curing relying on incantation. Texts of oral charms uttered basme, primarily by practitioners of this typeof medicine, havebeenreported andothers by localethnographers overthe pastfiftyyears.2 While thesefragments areof interest comparatively,
Research was carried out under a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (# RC-20505-74-552). Fieldwork resulting in the collection of the present data took place under the aegis of participationby Joel M. Halpern in an official exchange programbetween the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., and the SerbianAcademy of Sciences, Belgrade, during the summer of 1975. We acknowledge with particularappreciationthe cooperation of the host academyin endorsing the field phase of the project. J. M. Foley wishes to thank the American Council of LearnedSocieties for a 1976-1977 fellowship enabling him to carry on research at the Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literatureat Harvard University, and in particularProfessorAlbert B. Lord and Dr. David E. Bynum, curator of the collection. We also take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the following individualsfor reading and commenting on the present study: ProfessorsLydia Black, Wayles Browne, Joel Halpern, Harriet Lyons, Zdenek Salzmann, and Olga TomiL. I See John Miles Foley and BarbaraKerewsky Halpern, " 'UdovicaJana':a Case Study of an Oral Performance," Slavonic and East EuropeanReview, 54 (1976), 11-23; Foley, "The Traditional Oral Audience," BalkanStudies,18 (1977), 145-154; Halpern, "Genealogy as Genre," in Selected Paperson a as Reflectedby History,Demography, SerbianVillage:SocialStructure and Oral Tradition, ed. B. K. Halpern and Joel M. Halpern (Amherst: University of Massachusetts,1977), pp. 141-164; B. K. Halpern,J. M. Halpern, and J. M. Foley, "Traditional Recall and Family Histories: a Commentary on Mode and Method," in Selected Papers,pp. 165-198; Foley, "Research on Oral TraditionalExpressionin Sumadija and its Relevance to the Study of Other Oral Traditions," in Selected Papers,pp. 199-236; and Foley, "The Traditional Structure of Ibro BaliC's 'Alagi' Alija and Velagi' Selim,' " Slavicand East European Journal, 22 (1978),1-14. See J. M. Pavlovic, Zivot i obi'ajinarodni u KragujevackojJasenici u Sumadiji(Beograd: SrpskaKraljevska Akademija, 1921); P. Kemp. HealingRitual:Studiesin the Technique and Tradition Slavs of theSouthern i higijenske (London: Faberand Faber, 1935); A. Petrovic, Rakovica: prilike(Beograd: socijalno-zdravstvene Biblioteka Centralnog Higijenskog Zavoda, 1939); P.Z. Petrovi', Zivot i obicaji u narodni (Beograd: Gru,'i Srpska AkademijaNauka, 1948); S. Knezevi' and A. Jovanovi6,Jarmenovci (Beograd: Srpska Akademija Nauka, 1958).
2
904
FOLEY BARBARAKEREWSKY HALPERN andJOHN MILES
in orderto demonstrate it is necessary oralprocess to workfroman inventory of "complete"texts of a particular Towardthis end we havebased charm.3 madein Serbia, on our recentfieldrecordings backed the analysis by extensive in the samegeographical area.4 priorresearch In the presentstudy we first describe the culturalsetting in which such is then given in two versions,as charmsare found. A representative basma the of our fromSerbo-Croatian recorded course fieldwork; translation during the transcribed texts is the Variant follows the texts. Supplementing Table, six additional versions of the samecharm elicitedfromthe which summarizes in the course samebajalica of two visitsoveraneight-day period. ("conjurer") A structural is made on several levels, isolatinginternalframesand analysis andsymbolic linguistic Diagrammatic examining components.5 representation actionshowshow the bajanje functions andtemporally of symbolic to spatially effectthe cure. TheSetting The region of Sumadijain central Serbia is characterized by ethnic it later a subsistence homogeneity.Originallywooded, supported peasant based on a of combination a pattern economy herdingandmixedcultivation, consistentwith the needs of the multigenerational, South Slav, extendedAncestors of today'spopulation into the familyhousehold.6 beganto migrate areatowardthe end of the eighteenth controlwas on century,when Turkish
3 Of the Serbo-Croatianoral epic, as well as other oral epic traditions, Albert Lord has remarked(The Singerof Tales, [1960; rpt. New York: Atheneum, 1968], p. 101): "The song we are listening to is 'the song'; for each performanceis more than a performance;it is a re-creation. ... Both synchronicallyand historically there would be numerous creations and re-creationsof the song. This concept of the relationship between 'songs' (performancesof the same specific or generic song) is closer to the truth than the concept of an 'original' and 'variants.' In a sense each performanceis 'an' original, if not 'the' original." See also The Making of HomericVerse:the Collected Papersof Milman Parry (Oxford: Clarendon Press, HeroicSongs,vols. 1 and 2 (Cambridge, and and and Lord, coll., ed., trans., Serbo-Croatian 1971); Parry Mass. and Belgrade: Harvard University Press and the Serbian Academy of Sciences, 1953-1954) for, respectively, the original statement of the oral traditionaltheory and examples of related performancesof a range of songs by the same and different singers collected in Novi Pazarat various times. Of supplementary interest is Edward R. Haymes, A Bibliography of StudiesRelating to Parry'sand Lord'sOral Theory (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Printing Office, 1973). For detailed discussion, see J. M. Halpern and B. K. Halpern, A SerbianVillagein Historical Perspective (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1972); and note 1.
4
(New s See especiallyClaude Levi-Strauss,"The Effectivenessof Symbols," in Structural Anthropology York: Anchor Books, 1967), pp. 181-201. Compare P. Marandaand E. K. Maranda, eds., Structural (Philadelphia:University of PennsylvaniaPress, 1971). Analysis of Oral Tradition
6
See also Joel M. Halpern, A SerbianVillage,2nd ed. (New York: Harper and Row, 1967); and note
4.
HEALING CHARMS AS AN ORAL GENRE
905
the wane in that part of the Balkans. From their mountain homeland in Montenegro, they brought with them a highly structured patriarchaland patrilocalsocial order and a proud identity defined and refined by oral tradiof epics of medievalSerbianheroesfrom the time of tion-by the performance the Turkish conquest and earlier, by the sense of self in the recollection of genealogies back to the foundersof lineages, and by the practicalwisdom exlek ("folk medicine"). emplified in narodni In many respectsthe extended household was a largely self-sufficientunit, providing from within for most of the economic, physical, and emotional needs of its members. Some men were part-time tanners, carpenters, or distillers.Any elderwith a gusle,the single-stringedinstrumentused to accompany the singing of heroic epics, could be a bard. Some women were skilled in dyeing and weaving, or in healing with herbs and grasses. In Sumadijaformal religion was never crucial in shaping attitudes; being a Serb meant being a memberof the SerbianOrthodox faith. The headof a householdwas in a sense his own priest, personallyconducting the most important ritual occasion of the yearly cycle, the slavaceremony honoring his clan's patron saint. He was on comfortableterms with God, interceding directly on behalf of the entire family. and collective structure,however, It was not the function of this patriarchal to deal with magic and devilry, to banish diseases caused by mysterious chthonic powers, to counteract the evil eye, to divine, to bewitch. For this and free from work specialistswere required;their activitieswere self-directed to the Some customary responsiblilities group. performedmagic mainly by means of ritual objects (vrac'anje). Others mediatedwith the power of words, and it is this bajanje which we will examine.7 Today in ruralSerbia,as in contemporary Yugoslaviagenerally,with the inin of the creasingparticipation peasants economy of an industrializingsocialist nation, traditionalpatternsare undergoing markedchanges of all kinds. The regional markettown now providesmost peasantneeds, including the services of doctors and pharmacists."But," says one man, "for some things, what do doctors know? Injections, injections-and nothing! For some things, treba da se baje('you have to cure with charms')." People say that folk magic is now legally forbidden. However, with the tradition of secrecy surrounding these skills and the state's tolerance for limited, small-scale privateenterprise,divining and conjuringdo persistin the These villages. practicesmaintain a continuity of services in response to individualneeds. In addition, there is continuity in the traditionaloral transmis7 Note thatJuliusPokorny,in his Indogermanisches Etymologisches (Bernand Munich:A. Wmirterbuch Francke, 1959, 1969), vol. 1, 105-106, derives from Indo-European or sprechen. 2bhh-, bajati
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BARBARAKEREWSKY HALPERN andJOHN MILES FOLEY
as in mostpartsof the Balkans, sionof suchspecialized knowledge.In Serbia, have been women This sex distinctionis still exclusively.8 practitioners in the allocation of ritualroles:withinthe conventions manifest of society,the acts remains the of ritual cycle primarily regularized provinceof men; arethe domainof females. secretactivities nonregularized, items of great usefulness as an inheritance, to be Charmsare regarded andpassed on. Younggirlsaretaughtthesebasme by theirmothers preserved is actually andtheymayalsobe present whilea grandmother or grandmothers, or bride can learn from her mother-in-law performing.An in-marrying in recalls a a her sixties Consider how woman acquiring grandmother-in-law.9 toldme, 'Go sit somefifty-five charm fromhergrandmother yearsago: "Baba in the corner,child,andpayattention!'So I did. Latershe told me what the whisperingand mumbling meant. She taught me, so I learnedit and remembered it, andthat'show I know how to sayit." A womannow in her "When I was preparing to marry, a similar describes mid-forties experience: is for 'This nice and she me this mother said, you to have, gave my [charm] With it you canhelpothers.It will be sevap'('a gooddeed').ThusI daughter. lines of transreceived it. And now," she adds, "I can use it." Unbroken or affinal, are felt by villagers to be mission, whether consanguineal and pass on their specialknowledgeto selected important,10 practitioners receivers only." clean(thatis, While a femaleof anyage maylearna charm,only a ritually This convention woman may actively practice bajanje. postmenstrual) or so to of a time duringwhich she is years span up thirty-five designates and herwithinthe ancient thecharm.It thusplaces fromperforming restricted
See, for example, J. Obrebski, Field notes on researchin a Macedonianvillage (unpublished),University of MassachusettsLibraryArchives; and Kemp, Healing Ritual.
8
9 A survey of brides' villages of origin indicates that approximately two-thirds of rural brides marry outside their natal villages and within a radius of 20-25 miles (A SerbianVillage, p. 190). 10 Hour:theLoreandCulture of CrisisandMystery Compare Richard Blum and Eva Blum, The Dangerous in Rural Greece(New York: Scribner, 1970), p. 351. Obrebski observed a similarbelief in a Macedonian village: ". .. to be fully effective the spells must be transmittedin the performer'smother's line, 'from my faith and from my blood.' " ("Social Structure and Ritual in a MacedonianVillage," ed. and trans. B. K. Halpern, posthumous paperpresentedat the 1969 meeting of the AmericanAssociation for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, Boston, Massachusetts). 11Often in the course of fieldwork we reassuredinformants that the tapes were being recordedfor our use only, that we were interested in the charms as examples of traditionalpoetry and as part of history. "Well, if that's the way it is," one woman agreed. "But you know what it's like here in the village-if that black Radojka were to find out that I know this charm, she'd be jealous, and who knows what evil spell she'd work on me!"
HEALING CHARMSASAN ORALGENRE
907
beliefsystemin whichfemales of childbearing as a widespread age aredefined in of dual sacred and related to the class, special possession powers-one so similar to the mysteries of nature, andthe otherpolluting cyclical properties andnegative.12 are seen as a factarticulated Bothaspects potentially dangerous, evenby contemporary Another withinthe consideration, villagers. particularly structure of a strongly is that these a patriarchal society, during years womanis viewedas partof a procreative unit andnot as anindividual. (In manypartsof the Balkans, a bride's name is and uponmarriage given dropped, herfirstname becomesthe possessive inflectedform of her husband's.) Only menopausal are as mediators with the nether world. At women,therefore, nonthreatening the sametime, the effectiveness of old women as healers drawson theirexin traditional female roles as nurturers and perience protectors. reinforcement the even Despite occasional by hearing charmand perhaps the of restriction on actual raises init, transmitting prescribed period bajanje with regardto retention.13 In our analysis of the basma terestingquestions we examine and features which serveto below, presented linguistic prosodic comtrigger recall. These featuresincludelargerthematicand structural the connective links between and the more subtle facthem, smaller, ponents, tors of assonance and stress.The languageof the charmand the societal motivation to preserve andtransmit within a still largely tradiit, functioning tionaloralculture,share in accounting for the abilityto recollect withoutactive use over so long a time periodin a woman'slife. TheConjurer Desanka we introduce a practicing Sheis a Desanka, Againstthisbackground bajalica. womanof fifty-seven. Unlikemostvillagewomenof robust,pleasant-looking that age, she goes aboutherhousehold work with herheaduncovered. Were it not for hercalloused hands andbarefeet, Desanka wouldresemble an urban matron.Fromherappearance, so unlikethatof the stereotype of the wrinkled Balkan cronepeering out fromthe foldsof a darkkerchief, one wouldnot surmisethatsheis a conjurer of considerable localrepute.Herfamilial positionis that of an elder femalein a four-generation householdof which her aged father-in-law is the titularhead.The othermembers areherhusband andtheir
elder son, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren.Their younger son is a factoryworker in Germany,and Desankahas been to visit him there. He took
12 Compare Mary Douglas, PurityandDanger(London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1966); and Victor W. Turner, The Drumsof Affliction(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1968). " See also A. Petrovih, p. 79.
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BARBARA KEREWSKY HALPERN andJOHN MILESFOLEY
her to a doctor to treat her recurrentarthritis. "Their aspirinis better than ours," she maintains. Desankais recognizedas a specialistin dealingwith diseasescalledthe "nine winds." Villagers perceivethese illnesses as both borne on and causedby the powers of the wind (vetar).Although the terminology involved is no longer part of the contemporarylexicon, a classificatorysystem of winds persists, assigning qualities ("sprightly," "gusty," and so forth) and designating colors as synonymous with a class of skin disorders. For example, they call erysipelasthe "red wind," eczemathe "white wind," and anthraxthe "black wind." When we stopped by to visit (on July 30, 1975), Desanka was pasturing pigs. Following traditions of hospitality, she ushered us inside the whitewashed, mud-brick house and offered ritual servings of slatko (sweet preserves), homemade brandy, and Turkish coffee. Eventually, reassuredby the presenceof her husband, who had come in from the hay field, she raced through a recitationof the charm to dispel the red wind (crveni vetar).When she hesitatedat one point in this first performance,her seven-year-old grandson Marko promptedher. The resultantuneven pace provideda logical reason A third version was elicited by asking for to ask Desanka to repeatthe basma. clarificationof a certainpassage;in orderto retrievethat small section, she had to go back and start from the beginning. This third version (A3) is the former below. of the two transcribed After making a preliminary analysisof the three charmtexts, we returnedto Desankaeight dayslater, explainingthat some of the archaiclanguagewas unbetter the folk interpretafamiliarto us. In this mannerwe came to understand as mediator, attitudes toward psychic healing, tions of the role of the bajalica notions of wind-bornediseases,and the dynamicsof transmission.During this session we obtainedon tape five additionalversionsof the same charm, one of which (Bl) serves as our second example below. In the course of this second visit, daughter-in-lawNada was presentmost of the time. Toward the end of the interview she suggested fetching Desanka'spribor ("equipment"), so that of the afflictedperson in role with Nada the a "real" reenact could cure, they kneeling before the conjurer. The result was an irregulartext of the charm (B5), a situation recognized by Desanka herself, preoccupied as she was illustratingthe use of the conjuringtools (feather,knife, stone, and coal scuttle with a live ember14). Conscious of enunciating for the tape recorder,she ex14Desanka's equipment was an essentialpart of enacting the charm. During performanceshe held each of the objects in turn over the head of the person kneeling before her (the person to be cured), proceeding from one implement to the next as she changed frames within the charm (see analysisof frame structure below). Two of these, the feather (lako kao pero, "light as a feather") and the stone (Bezi pod kamen,
HEALING CHARMSASAN ORALGENRE
909
to thinkingof the words: "When I'm plainedthat she was not accustomed it for it's like real, whispering.I recallthe words, andwhat I don't saying recallI dreamat night." The Textsof theCharm All versions of thecharm reveal a composite structure of a series of internally andexternally coherent related as follows: units, which we enumerate a - horse andrider b- as/so
c - carry
d - animal catalog
e - Christian catalog
banishment
f-
g - cow
h - hen i - purification names j- symbolic k - inverted counting
I- wolf
These framestend towardprosodic units of four octosyllabic lines eachand demonstrate uniform actualization from one version to the next. relatively Variations the of the the textualenframe, immediate dependupon identity situation.Using A3 and B1 as basesfor vironment,and the performance Tablebelow for a summary of the other six vergeneralization (see Variant the inventory of unitswhichmakeup the charm, sions),we isolateanddiscuss on their and rolethateachplays commenting linguistic dynamics the structural in the largercontext.
Version A3 (7/30/75)15 a 1. Otud ide crvenikonj, Version Bl (8/7/75) 1. Otud ide crvenikonj,
"Begone under a stone"), are mentioned in the text itself, and their actual materialpresence serves as a kind of metonymy or symbolic dimension in the rite. All four objects suggest the exorcism process and the purity which the bajalica seeks to effect, both through the power of the words of the charm and the power of its visual symbolism.
Is The occasionaldeviations from standardSerbo-Croatianresult from (1) differencesbetween ruraland urban speech patterns, and (2) the exigencies of the oral compositional process, which at times subordinates morphology to formulaic patterns.
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BARBARAKEREWSKY and HALPERN FOLEY JOHN MILES 2. Crveni ?ovek, crvena usta, 3. Crvene ruke, crvene noge, 4. Crvena grifa, crvene kopita.
2. Crveni?ovek, crvena usta, 3. Crveneruke,crvenenoge, 4. Crvenagrifa,crvenekopita. 5. Kakododje,tako stile, 6. Ovu boljkuodmahdize; 7. I odnosei prenose, 8. Prekomorabez odmora9. Gde ma'kane mauce 10. Gde svinjiene gurice, 11. Gde ovce ne bleje, 12. Gde koze ne vrece, 13. Gde konj ne vri'ti, 14. Gde pile ne pi'ti, 15. Gde pevacne peva, 16. Gde koko'kane kakoce, 17. Gde (konj)pop ne dolazi, 18. Gde krst ne donosi, 19. Da se kolaw ne lomi, 20. Da se sve'e ne pali.
5. Kako dodje, tako stile, 6. Ovu boljku odmah dize; 7. I odnose i prenose, 8. Preko mora bez odmora9. 10. 11. 12. Gde maika ne mauce, Gde svinjce ne gurice, Gde ovce ne bleje, Gde koze ne vrece,
e 13. 14. 15. 16.
Gde pop ne dolazi, Gde krst ne donosi,16 Da se kolac ne lomi, Da se sve'e ne pali. Bei boljku u polje, Bei boljku u more, Bez'iboljku pod kamen; Tu ti mesta nema!
17. 18. 19. 20.
g 21. Otud ide crvena krava, 22. Crveno tele otelila, 23. Crveno mleko podojila.
21. Otud ide crvenakrava, 22. Crvenotele otelila, 23. Crvenomlekopodojila. 24. Otud ide crvenakvo'ka, 25. Padolena crvenibunjak, crvenicrvidi. 26. Pokupise 27. I odnege/ prekomora/ bez odmora
h 24. Otud ide crvena kvocka,

25. Vode devet crvenih pilida, 26. Padole na crveni bunjak, 27. Pokupile crveni crvidi. c2 28. I odnele preko mora, 29. Preko mora bez odmora.
16 A
"* Gdese krstne of this line wouldincludethe reflexive soundrealization syntactically particle
donosi." But the e frame is understood as two paired couplets. The deep structure of the second line (A3.14) is reflexive, but it is transformed at the surface under the influence of the structure of the preceding line.
CHARMSAS AN ORALGENRE HEALING
911 28. Deset, devet, osam, sedam, 29. Sest, pet, Eet'ri, tri, dva, jedan.
f2 30. (Idi) Beii vetra u polje,

31. Beli vetra u more, 32. Bei vetra; 33. Tu ti mesta nema! i -[(ime) ostaje] 34. Lako kao pero, 35. Cisti kao srebro, 36. Blaii kao materno mleko. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. Otud ide Ugimir, Ugini boljku, ugini! Otud ide Stanimir, Stani boljku, stani! Otud ide Persa, Prestaniboljku, prestani! 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. Otud ide Ugimir, Ugini boljku, ugini! Otud ide Stanimir, Stani boljku, stani! Otud ide Persa, Prestaniboljku, prestani!
k 43. Deset, devet, osam, sedam, 44. Sest, pet, Eet'ri, tri, dva, jedan. 1 45. U kurjaka'iet'ri noge, peti rep, 46. Od mog odgovora bio lek. 36. U kurjaka"'et'rinoge, peti rep, 37. Od mog odgovora bio lek.
Translation
a 1. 2. 3. 4. Out The The The of there comes the red man, red man, the red mouth, red arms, the red legs, red mane, the red hooves. 1. 2. 3. 4. Out The The The of there comes the red man, red man, the red mouth, red arms, the red legs, red mane, the red hooves.
5. As he comes, so he approaches, 6. He lifts out the disease immediately; 7. He carriesit off and carriesit away, 8. Across the sea without delay9. 10. 11. 12. Where Where Where Where the cat doesn't meow, the pig doesn't grunt, the sheep don't bleat, the goats don't low,
5. As he comes, so he approaches, 6. He lifts out the disease immediately; 7. He carriesit off and carriesit away, 8. Across the sea without delay9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. Where the cat doesn't meow, Where the pig doesn't grunt, Where the sheep don't bleat, Where the goats don't low, Where the horse doesn't neigh, Where the chick doesn't peep, Where the rooster doesn't crow,
912
BARBARAKEREWSKY and HALPERN FOLEY JOHN MILES 16. Where the hen doesn't cackle,
e 13. Wherethe priestdoesn'tcome, 14. Wherethe crossisn't borne, 15. So that ritualbreadisn't broken, 16. So that candles aren'tlit.
17. Where the (horse) priest doesn't come, 18. Where the cross isn't borne, 19. So that ritual bread isn't broken, 20. So that candles aren't lit.
17. 18. 19. 20.
Banishthe disease into the field, Banishthe disease into the sea, Banishthe disease undera stone; You haveno placehere!
21. Out of there comes the red cow, 22. She gave birth to a red calf. 23. She provided red milk. 24. Out of there comes the red hen, 25. She fell upon a red dung-heap, 26. She gathered up red worms. 27. And she carriedit off/across the sea / without delay. 28. Ten, nine, eight, seven, 29. Six, five, four, three, two, one.
g 21. Out of therecomesthe red cow, 22. She gavebirth to a redcalf. 23. She provided red milk. h 24. 25. 26. 27. Out of therecomesthe red hen, She leadsnine red chicks, She fell upon a red dung-heap, She gathered up red worms.
it off acrossthe sea, c 28. And she carried 29. Acrossthe seawithout delay.
30. 31. 32. 33.
Banishthe illnessinto the field, Banishthe illnessinto the sea, Banishthe illness; You haveno placehere!
i -[Let (name)remain] 34. Light(ly)as a feather, 35. Pureas silver, 36. Mild as mother'smilk. j 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. Out of therecomesUgimir, Kill the disease,kill it! Out of therecomesStanimir, Halt the disease,halt it! Out of therecomesPersa, Stop the disease,stop it!
30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. Out of there comes Ugimir, Kill the disease, kill it! Out of there comes Stanimir, Halt the disease, halt it! Out of there comes Persa, Stop the disease, stop it!
k 43. Ten, nine, eight, seven, 44. Six, five, four, three,two, one.
HEALING CHARMSASAN ORALGENRE 45. Into the wolf's four legs, and fifth the tail, 46. From my speaking may there be a cure! 36. Into the wolf's four legs, and fifth the tail, 37. From my speaking may there be a cure!
913
Linguistic Analysis andrider The basma beginswith the horse (a), the firstof fourotud ("out of adjuststhe color schemeto the type of disease there") frames.The bajalica the In A3 andB1, for example,the obwith which patientis afflicted. (vetar) exorcism is the redwind (crveni or erysipelas. Besides ject of the healing vetar), a substitutable for each half-line contains one of a of position color, sequence features of the horseandrider aremost descriptive figure.Thesecharacteristics in found in enumerated the order A3 and commonly Bi: horse,man, mouth, in arms,legs, mane,hooves.Note that the last fouritemsarealwayspresent in partattributable the sametwo-lineformat,a stability to the /g/-/k/ velar consonant exchange in ruke/noge and grifa/kopita. No similar mnemonic other the and our shows considerable variation in features, organizes sample the arrangement andlengthof the openingsectionof a. Suchflexibleinternal structure allowsactualizations of 4, 41/2,and5 lines,a rangewhichpointsup the identityof the half-line as an information-bearing datum.The resultant metrics of fourand account for the richness of hybrid eight-syllable patterns the charm'sprosodic organization. This two-levelprosody underlies the structure of the as/so andcarryframes in eachversionthe consequents of the a motif. In their (b andc, respectively), usualrealizations, thesetwo unitsof two linesapiece occurin succession as a of fouroctosyllables; frame c may,however,appear alonein slightly composite modifiedform (c2) later on in the recitation.At the whole-linelevel, the stiz'e/di'e is thehorseandrider of a, sealsoff rhyme,whosegrammatical subject b into an easilyrecalled At the half-line the level, couplet. rhymingkako/tako andthe assonating initialsyllables of ovu/odmah an internal mnemonic provide for eachoctosyllable. Soundrepetition also structures with the c, I/i, patterns and mora/-mora the articulation. The fact that the -nose/-nose, pre-/pre-, guiding -morasequence,unlike any of the other pairs, overridesmorphemicand differencesemphasizesthe importanceof sound in the suprasegmental of the organization charm."7 The next frame,which also dependsheavilyon auralassociation for its
is genitivesingular of the neuternoun mare 17 Mara a long fallingac("sea"), the diacritic indicating cent on the first syllable.The form 6dmora, noun bdmor genitivesingularof the masculine ("delay andnoneon -mora. AlbertB. Lord,"The Role o. pause"),bearsa shortrisingaccenton adCompare SoundPatternsin Serbo-Croatian Epic," in For Roman Jakobson (The Hague: Mouton, 1956), pp. 301-305.
914
coherence, is the animal catalog(d). Syntacticallycontinuous with b-c, and anti-world to which the horse and rider will descriptiveof the supernatural structured the this return disease, highly listing most often occurs in a double frame of eight lines, as representedin B1. Each octosyllableis generatedfrom the same formulaic template, "Gde [animal] ne [verb for animal sound]," a grid of largely syntactic definition.'s Some of the more obvious phonological bridges between lines and half-lines include the alliteration of the animal's name and sound (B1.9, 14, 15, 16), the /k/-/vr/ sequence(B1.12, 13), consonance (/6/ in 9 and 10), assonance(the penultimate /e/ in 11 and 12), and rhyme (B1.16, 17). Other associationsexist, most of them approximate(for example, kokolka/kakoie, B1.16), but all mediate paratacticallyamong individual line units by creating an aural pathway through the catalog. Thus, while the grouping of pile, pevac, and koko'ka ("chick," "rooster," and "hen," respectively)shows semanticstructure,its internalorderis determined phonologically. The Gdeformulamaintainscontinuity between d and the Christian catalog (e) which follows, with the substitutablepositions now containing four nouns of action. The common Christianprovenanceand verbs denoting the appropriate endfunction similarlyto the stizve/dive prefix and near rhyme of dolazi/donosi and alliteration on semantic first in to that b. /k/ Joined couplet by rhyme fulfillment of the frame's general theme,19 the latter two lines are bound together through a sharedcausative syntax continuous with the Gde series. Banishment (f), in which the conjurerurges the agent from the anti-world to remove the vetarfrom the ill person, begins a self-containedsemanticunit that marks the closure of the charm's first section (a-f).20 The four lines again reveal grouping by twos, both in the pattern of bilabial consonants in A3.17-20 (/b/ in boljku, /p/ in polje,/m/ in more),and in a rhythmicshift par"8 The concept of the substitutable frame at the foundation of the oral poet's art was developed by Parry, who defined the formula in Homer as "an expression regularlyused, under the same metricalconditions, to express an essential idea" (The Makingof HomericVerse,p. 13). For subsequentapproachesto and Tradithe study of the formula, see Lord, The Singerof Tales,pp. 30-67; Michael Nagler, Spontaneity tion:a Studyin the OralArt of Homer(Berkeley: University of CaliforniaPress, 1974), pp. 1-63; Gregory Studiesin Greekand IndicMeter(Cambridge, Mass.: HarvardUniversity Press, 1974); Nagy, Comparative as Seen of Ancient Greek Oral Composition Berkley Peabody, The Winged Word:a Study in the Technique Hesiod'sWorks and Days (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1975); Foley, through Principally and theFormula(Ann Arbor: Center for "Formula and Theme in Old English Poetry," in OralLiterature Coordination of Ancient and Modern Studies, 1976), pp. 207-232; and, generally, Haymes, A
Bibliography. 19For a is broken and candles description of the slava ritual, during which the ceremonial loaf (kolaY) 112-114. Historical in A Serbian are see lit, pp. Perspective, Village (sveie) 20 All sections of the charm do not exhibit the same structure, but the occurrenceof thefframe always denotes the end of one unit and the beginning of another.
915
ticularto the first two lines. The normallyunstressedprepositionand proclitic u (here "into") receivesan accent when used in a phraselike ti poljeor uimore (long rising stressin both cases);since the prepositionpodis not a proclitic, the accentualscheme of podkWmen If even (short falling stress)is quite different.21 the first half of the third line is recalled,the fourth follows without variation. The Tu ("here") refersto the realworld of the patient, into which the disease has intruded, the opposite of the nether world from which the appropriately conjured agents of removal are summoned. Two more agents now appearin succession, their descriptionsinitiated by the formula that began a, "Otud ide [color] [animal],and concernedwith the bringing forth and nourishingof their young. In the cow(g), these actionstake the form of otelila (from oteliti, "to calf") and podojila(from podojiti,"to nurse"), a rhyme which aurallyassociatesthe second and third lines. The g frameis adjustedaccordingto color, just as in the case of the first agent (a) and the hen unit (h). Most of the same narrativeand linguistic featuresthat structure g help to organize h as well. A hen hatchesher chicks and providesthem of the second and with worms as sustenance. The near-rhyme(pilita/crvici) fourth lines in h, as well as the pattern of four octosyllablesper framewhich pertainsthroughout most of the basma, suggests that the informantmay have a third failed to recall line in the cow unit. Though this consistently missing hypothesis cannot, of course, be proved empirically,the structuralsimilarities between g and h are extensive and argue strongly for the omission. Just how such an omission might have taken place is well demonstratedby the occasional absenceof the customarilyrecalledsecond line (h, B1 and B2). The next two units are variationsof others alreadyencountered.The first (c2) involves two directions of transformation in the examples quoted. In both A3 and B1 the more common c, verb odnoi'e ("carriesoff,") modulates to odnese, under of the the influence aorist form pokupi-ein the final perhaps line of h. These formalpast tenses are not a part of everydayspeech,but appear The secondc2 quite often in traditionalgenreslike the epic, lyric, and charm.22 variation, realized in B1 but not in A3, is a product of the binary prosodic system discussedin relation to the a, b, and c frames. Insteadof repeating the preko mora("across the sea") half-line as she does in A3.28-29, the bajalica
21 This differencein stressmay account for the frequentfailureto recallthe third phraseafter successfully remaking the first and second (see Variant Table).
22 The aorist form is thus a functional item in the oral poetic "dialect," a subset which is distinct from the spoken language in hypostatizing diction from earlier times amd from many geographicalareas. On the nature of the ancient Greek traditional dialect, see Parry, "Studies in the Epic Technique of Oral Verse-Making. II. The Homeric Languageas the Languageof an Oral Poetry," in TheMakingofHoImeric Verse, pp. 325-364.
916
avoids the duplicationand "telescopes" the two lines into one and one-half. Becauseof the metricalambivalence of the octosyllable,she perceivesno hiatus and thereforefeels no need to hesitate.23 A variantbanishment unit (fJ) follows c2 in A3, reflecting, in part, the sequencedesignatedas a-f above, but with an is nowhere more eviof bajanje interestingdifference.The vivid psychomachia dent than in the conjurer's substitution of "wind" (vetra, A3.30-33) for disease(boljku).This semanticshift is attenuatedby context, which makes the two terms virtually synonymous, but the syntax reveals that vetra is understoodas animate(the inanimateform would be vetar),and that the illness is invested by the tradition with an anthropomorphic identity.24 Passing temporarilyover the inverted counting(k) frame in B1 (it will be treatedbelow when it occursin A3), we considernext purification (i), in which the ritual cleansing that accompaniesthe exorcism is expounded. From its actualization in other versions we can reconstructthe name line that initializes the unit (see Variant Table): "[ime] ostaje," or "Let [name] remain." The three adjectivalphraseswhich complement the imperativeverb, conjugatedin its imperfectiveaspect to denote a continuing process, are generatedfrom the formulaic template i lakcistpero
kao
blag/l:In where the first element in eachline is adjustedto the genderof the patient.25 most versions i and the symbolicnames (j) are closely associated, whether separatedby fi, k2, kil, or actually contiguous.26As in i, the j frame, itself
23 An epic singer (guslar)whom we recorded in another village in Sumadijafrequently telescoped the
srebro materno mleko
decasyllablelines of his particulargenre from three to two and one-half musical bars by omitting the half bar of purely instrumental accompaniment. 24 The common feminine noun declension, to which boljku(nom. s. boljka)belongs, makes no + animate distinction. Vetra(nom. s. vetar),however, is a member of the common masculine noun declension, which differentiatesbetween the usual vetar(inanimateacc. s.) and the highly unusual vetra(animate acc. s.).
25 We may understandlako as a neuter adjectiveand therefore as an "error" in this context, since ?isti and bla'i clearly refer to a masculinesubject, or we may take lakoas an adverb("easily") somewhat inappropriatelyincluded with two adjectives. A less likely possibility is that the neuter inflection agrees with pero. Compare the range of morphology in Al, B3, and B5.
Version B5, where k1and 11occur between i andj, is of relativelylimited usefulness, since, as noted above, it was elicited under circumstanceswhich distorted performance.Other versions of thej frameinclude a text collected elsewhere in Sumadijawhich uses three different names and metonymic functions: "Venimir da uvene, / Sanimir da usane, / Ginimir da ugine" ('Venimir to wither, / Sanimir to carry out, / Ginimir to kill') (A. Petrovi%, p. 105).
26
917
divisible into two-line segments, does not conform absolutely to an octosyllabic configuration, largely becauseof extensive substitution throughout the six lines. The familiar "Otud ide [name]" formula begins the unit and headsits three subsections,each of which developsa symbolicname-agentinto the sound of an exorcizing verb (for example, Ugimirand ugini ["kill"]). As the first three agents were conjuredaccordingto the vetarfrom which the patient suffered,so Ugimir, Stanimir, and Persaare summonedbecauseof their that is, becausethe sounds inherent in the three names auralappropriateness, as mediator, has undertaken. match the task that the bajalica, At this point in Al and again in A2, Desanka made an "error" which revealsa great deal about the processof oral recallin performance.In Al she had pausedmomentarily just before thej frameto attendto her grandson,who was sitting on her lap during the first recitation. Before she could go on, the little boy interjected"Otud ide Stanimir," customarilythe secondin the series of names, and his grandmotherrespondedby repeating the Stanimircouplet and then proceeding to Pera and Ugimir. She maintainedthis relative 2-3-1 order through A2, and then returnedto the "standard" sequencefor A3 and B1-B5. This variance makes two theoretical points. First, the two-line elements within j are apparentlyrecalled in succession, since the conjurer moves from name no. 2 (Stanimir)to no. 3 (Pera)before returning to no. 1 (Ugimir). She seems also to understandthe triplet structureas a unit and not simply as a linear string, or Ugimir would never have been retrieved.Second, the maintenanceof the 2-3-1 order in A2, which precedesresumptionof the more usual sequencein A3, adumbratesthe role of conscious reinforcement. Having made a "mistake" in Al, Desankafirst recallsthat "mistake" in A2 before her recollection shifts from the synchronic immediacy of the performance situation back to the diachronicdepth of tradition.27 With the diseaseexorcized by the dynamicsof the charm, the bajalica now turns to the two closure units, namely inverted counting (k) and wolf(l), which in function to the a. The numeric frame is of interest not correspond initiatory only becauseof its phenomenologicalreductionof something to nothing,28but also because of the accommodationto octosyllabicconstraintsevident in the
Note that Marko has absorbedthe charm structure simply by having been present when Desanka performed the healing ritual. As a male, he would never have been formally taught the basma,and will never practice bajanje in the future. This ability to internalize traditionalgenres, even when age and sex roles preclude active performanceof the material, is characteristicof the members of an oral culture (see Foley, "The Traditional Oral Audience"). Versions of related charms collected from other women in the area include a similar frame which is most often actualizedas follows: "Od devet osam, od osam sedam, ... od dvajedan, odjedan nijedan" ("From nine eight, from eight seven, .... from two one, from one none").
28
27
918
In I the banishmentof the diseaseinto syncope of the medial syllablein Jet'ri. the wolf (kurjak)and the conjurer'sacknowledgmentof her oral role in the cure are allotted separate lines linked together by the assonance of repand lek.29 The wolf and its mediation between the world of the suffererand the antiworld, in which the diseaseoriginatesand to which it is dispelled,is discussed below. We pause at this stage of the analysisonly to stress the dual connotation of odgovor as (1) an oral process (the root govormeans "speech") and (2) in the healing ritual. With the the involvement or participationof the bajalica of the basma ends and the cure is complete. emergence lek, Many additionalvariations,summarizedin the VariantTable below, occur in A1-A2 and B2-B5. We have detailedthe sequenceand natureof the frames for each version, denoting variantunits with a subscript(2) (for example, c2,as above), and recording how each subscripted element differs from its actualizationin A3 and B1.
Table Variant VersionAl: a2, , dl, e , gi, hi, c2, i,2 f1 , j , kl , 11(47 lines) , c a2: vetar,covek, usta, nos, ruke, noge, grifa,kopita c2: I odneseprekomora, / Prekomorabez odmora. i2: Ljubica,/ Lakakao pero, / Cista kao srebro,/ Blagakao materno mleko. Pera,Ugimir j2: Stanimir,
VersionA2: a*l, bl, c1, d2, ei, f2 , j2, c2, kl, 11(331/2lines) plikoviti,/ Plavi, a*l: Otud ide viloviti, / Viloviti,orloviti, / Saroviti, (crvi?)crveni,Zuti. d2: pevacandkokolka omitted f2: Be'i boljkuu polje, / Be'i boljkuu more, / Be-i boljku;/ Tu ti mestanema! boljku,prestani! j2: Otud ide Pera,/ Sadprestani Preko morabez odmora. / c2: Idi, boljko,prekomora, above. VersionA3: See textandtranslation above. VersionBl: See textandtranslation Version , cT2, B2: a*2, bl, cl, d1, el g2 , 1 , kl, 1i(371/2lines)
a2: Otud ide aloviti, / Aloviti, viloviti, / Orloviti, laroviti, / Plavi, crn-,
crveni.
29 Compare this variation on the I frame from another source: "U kurjakac'etir' noge, dva uva, rep i zev, / U kurjakastra'an zev: boljku 6e zazenut'!" ('Into the wolf's four feet, two ears, tail, and mouth, / Into the terrible maw of the wolf: he will swallow up the disease!' (J.M. Pavlovii, p. 144).
919
g2:
Otud ide crvena (pause)krava, / (Da se) crveno tele otelila, / Crvenomlekopodojila. omitted h2: line2 of sequence / C2: I odno'e prekomora/ bez odmora.
VersionB3: a2, b2, cl, di, el,j , ki, 11 (31 lines) a2: konj, Eovek,vetar,usta, nos, ruke, noge, grifa, kopita b2:Tako stile, kakododje, / Ovu boljkuodmahdize. VersionB4: a2, 2 , d1, el, f , i2, kl, li, jj, kl, 11 (391/2lines) a2: konj, Eovek,vetar,usta, ruke, noge, grifa,kopita / Ovu boljku. b2:Kakostile, tako (di-)dodje, C2: I odnesei prenese,/ Prekomorabez odmora. omitted f2: last 2 linesof sequence i2: Zarko,/ Lakkaopero, / Cist kaosrebro,/ Blagkaomaterno mleko.
VersionB5: a2, b , l, d, f2i, ii, kl, l, j,, hi, c2 ,gl (42 lines) a2: konj,covek, vetar,ust', nos, ruke, noge, grifa,kopita omitted f2: last two linesof sequence C2: I odneleprekomora, / Prekomorabez odmora. The two a* designations meritspecial comment,sincetheseactualizations serveas alternate for A2 and B2. As in a, the frame openings beginswith an "Otud ide [color]" formula, with the remainingelements successively in the two linesthat follow. The bajalica enumerated the consistently repeats termwhichoccupies the substitutable slot of the initiating in the first formula positionof the next line andusesfouritemsfromthe five-element inventory andplikoviti),30 over 11.1-3of eachrecitation. aloviti, orloviti, 'aroviti, (viloviti, The apparent of a2maywell be a somewhat closure tacked arbitrary sequence on to an already if its lack of and unit, completed prosodic organization the hesitation involvedin its recallareanymeasure. By contrast,the omissionof the final two Gdeelementsin d (A2) was madewithout hesitation and indicates the tendency of the hybrid versification toward of octosyllables couplets within the usualfour-line unit structure b andc). In (or eight-line) (compare A2 neitherthe semantic nor the grouping /p/-alliteration (pile, pi.ti / pevac,
peva) is a strong enough mnemonic to prevent the omission. The falsestart at A3.30 (Idiinsteadof Beii) may be explainedby referenceto a unique c2 frame at A2.29-30: "Idi, boljko,preko mora,/ Preko mora bez
These are some of the archaicterms in the folk classificatorysystem of winds: viloviti("sprightly"), aloviti ("biting"), orloviti("soaring"), Taroviti ("capricious"), plikoviti("gusty").
30
920
BARBARAKEREWSKY and HALPERN FOLEY JOHN MILES
across the sea, / Acrossthe seawithoutdelay").The odmora" ("Go, disease, in the vocativesingular as opposedto the A3 A2 syntaxhas boljka (boljko), in other takenby the Be'i vetra animateaccusative singular (boljku versions) verb in A3. DesankahaltedafterIdi because continuingmeantelectionof a an aberration which would then have to be vocative form (here *vetre), occursat over variant twice more. Anotherhesitation organization repeated further in B3 andB4, but theselatteractualizations the samepoint(b2) proceed her slip: discovers beforethe bajalica B3.6-7: Tako sti'e, kakododje, Ovu boljkuodmahdize. andthe expected arereversed, of the openingoctosyllable In B3 the half-lines is couplet rhyme therebyprecluded.Such a reversal possiblebecausethe kako/tako rhyme remainsintact (if not in order);that is, becauseof the within the hybridprosodic system.The secondb2 autonomyof the half-line revealsthe strengthof the mnemonic variant systemeven moreclearly: B4.6-7: Kakostiie, tako (di-)dodje, Ovu boljku... of the b of the version Underthe influence (see the discussion just completed the half-lines within openin Al andA2 above),Desanka frame againreverses in the correct order.The kako and tako time this with but ing octosyllable, herto recall direction mnemonic rhymethencauses by the stiz-e/dile suggested And with thathalfof the of dike beforemovingon to dodje. the firstsyllable sincethereis she trailsoff afterOvubolku, realized, coupletso unsatisfactorily of completing now no possibility b2with its normalrhyme. Dynamics Symbolic The inseeksto exorcizedisease. By meansof herritualwords,the bajalica is this: an illnessfromthe anti-world itial situation "out of by otud, (denoted the natural world intruded has by tu, "here"),andhas upon (denoted there") the normalorder.Were it still force that challenges becomea destructive in that "other"place,"wherethe catdoesn'tmeow," allwouldbe as located
But it should and there would be no call for the restorativepower of bajanje. more specificalvetar, with the naturalworld disruptedby the presenceof crveni ly with the patient sufferingfrom erysipelas,the intercessionof the conjureris required.As a mediatorbetween the two worlds, she will serveas a catalystto effect a reversal of the instrusive process; that is, by means of her odgovor Desanka will remove the diseaseand consign it to its properand original domain-the anti-world.
921
In order to accomplish that removal, she summons a series of exorcizing agents, all of whom are introduced by the "Otud ide [name]" formula discussed above. The first three, the horse and rider(a), cow (g), and hen (h), are also conjuredaccordingto color; they are suited in both nature and origin to the task they are to undertake.31Ugimir, Stanimir, and Persaalso belong to the anti-world, the locus of illness, and they providemetonymic aid to the bajalica. The general movement of the charm, then, the return of the diseased person to his original healthy state, is twofold: (1) agents to match the disease are summoned to the natural world, and (2) these agents and the vetarto which they are adaptedare collectivelydispelledback to their common placeof origin. The result is a restorationof "here" and "there" order, a cure which reestablishes the phenomenologicalbalancebetween the two worlds.32 Table I illustratesthe dynamicsof the exorcism process.
Table 1. Agents and their Function Element Diseased State Cure, Step 1 vetar (Intrusion of disease) horse and rider (a) (cow) (g) hen (h) symbolic names (j) (Summoning of agents)
Cure, vetar
NaturalWorld
Anti-world
Step2
a, g, h,j
of disease) (Banishment
The four agents assistthe conjurerin variousways. The cow (g) and hen (h) are mimetic types of the bajalica herself, nurturing their young and affirming the continuity of the naturalworld. All these actions are basedon a common paradigm:
X,
cow hen
provides
X2 milk worms
to nurture
X3 calf chicks
bajalica bajanje patient This structuralrelationshipsets up some important associationsand oppositions that can be convenientlyschematizedin binarynotation, with rednessindicated by a plus (+) and lack of rednessby a minus (-) symbol.
the Profane: the Natureof Religion, trans. Willard R. Trask (New York: Harcourt, Brace, and World, 1959), pp. 20-65. See Kemp, p. 36. 32Compare Mircea Eliade, The Sacredand
31
922
BARBARA KEREWSKY HALPERN MILES FOLEY and JOHN
X,
+ +
provides
X2
+ +
to nurture
X3
+ +
+ to -
In g and h the agents, though inhabitantsof the anti-world(+), fulfill natural functions in bearing and contributing to the healthy growth of their progeny (+). For them it is fitting that rednessbe cultivated and maintainedin those assigned to their care. But the patient, who lives in this world (-), experiences redness as a disease, a destructive influence which threatens his health. His cure involves the seeking of an appropriate maternalfigure, the bawho can the provide propersustenance,bajanje jalica (-), (-), to cast out the disease(+) and return him to a healthy condition (-). Though the three actualizationsof the nurturing paradigmdiffer with respect to the :- character of their principalelements, in each case the processis consistentin its dynamics and outcome. The conjureralso summons first the horse and rider (a) and later the symbolic names (j) to help bring about the restoration of order. The man on horseback comes to actively dispel the illness and carry it "across the sea without delay" to the anti-world (a and b). Probablya mythic figure cognate with the heroes of epic tradition, he imitates the passageof the sun through the diurnalcycle. The patternof his journey coincides, for example, with that of a legendaryfigure who braved the darknessof the other world: "And he bears himself over level Kosovo, / Even then the sun began to shine through the darkness."'3Like the cow and the hen, the man on horsebackpersonifiesa naturalprocessin terms of that "other" place, for his identity is + rednessto match the diseasehe must bring back. In following an archetypal paradigm,he and order that which to wholeness too becomes a type of the bajalica, restoring has been disruptedby crvenivetar.Appropriately,then, the a frame initializes the charm through the "Otud ide [name]" formula and the horse and rider's imitation of diurnal rhythm.34 The symbolicnames, on the other hand, employ a somewhat differentmode of mimetic exorcism. As mentioned above, Ugimir, Stanimir,and Persacontain morphemes derived from the verbs to "kill," "halt," and "stop," respectively.If such homonymic agreementwere nothing more than a seriesof
(Beograd: Srpska 33These lines are translatedfrom Vuk Stefan Karad'i6, Zivot i obilajinaroda Srpskoga Knjiievna Zadruga, 1957), p. 233. our fieldwork indicates that the a ritual time of day for the practice of bajanje; 34 Conjurers identify and among diseases). Most, common, however, is po podne designated time varies (both among bajalice ("after noon"), when the sun begins its downward motion.
923
clever collocations, we might easily dismiss thej frame without furthercomment. But the threecouplets, as simple as they seem, revealthe dynamicsof bajanje at the most basic level. For behind the juxtaposition of similar syllables and the repetitionof syntacticparadigmslies a belief in the power of the word, a conviction that the ultimate curative is sound articulated in a ritually prescribedmanner. The final two lines of the basma consistentlyserve as the formaltermination to the ritual process(see 1in the VariantTable). The bajalica sends the disease away "into the wolf's four legs, and fifth the tail." The kurjak("wolf"), comediatorwith the conjurer,acts as a passagewaybetween the two worlds, a channel through which the vetaris returnedfrom the "here" to the "there." As is powerfully illustratedin a sketch (see cover and Figure 1) by a Serbian
Figure1.
folk artist, the wolf receivesthe diseaseinto his body and transfers it acrossthe chasm separatingthe world of chaos or disease from the world of order or health.35This concept of the animal as an interfaceis preservedin the protective ritual of passinga newborn child through a wolf's jawbones and back out again, thus symbolically presenting the infant to the demons of the other world and returning it to safety.36Structurally,that return fulfills the same
3 This line drawing has been closely adapted by Meredith C. Foley from the sketch by "Milid od ed. S. Kuli i6, P. Z. Petrovid, and N. Macve" in the Srpskimitolos'ki rec'nik, Pantelid(Beograd: Nolit, 1970), p. 82.
36 See Kuli'ii et al., p. 82; and Kemp, p. 143. Of related interest is Wayland D. Hand, " 'Passing Through': Folk Medical Magic and Symbolism," Proceedings of the AmericanPhilosophical Society, 112 (1968), 379-402.
924
BARBARAKEREWSKY HALPERN andJOHN MILES FOLEY
thatunderlies thejourneyof the horseandriderandthe healingartof pattern itself(seeTable1). In the assonating lastlinetheconjurer the bajanje designates of herodgovor. means of its cureas the product dual connotation of By "speakthis and term her out" role as mediator ing "participation," acknowledges sourceof the charm'smagic. betweenthe two worldsandas the immediate andProcess Transmission of rural Serbia,charmsare Unlike other genres in the oral repertoire is lines.In a patrilocal female transmitted society,by the timea female through since on she has taken her to to another, long knowledge up ready pass from the and thus who from her household of residence origin away bajalica thosewho will in turn of affinal transmission, taughther. With the exception moveout. Overgenerations, the charm fromherwill eventually receive then, to and to from is transmission a given basma subject family family placeto place. originsof charms, Just as it is not possibleto pinpointthe geographical in any synchronic recitation neithercan we datethem. Components mayinreferences and Christian and horse cludemythicsymbols (thepriest, rider) (the recentcultural basedon relatively cross,andso on), as well as symbols adaptato predominant tions, such as animalhusbandry, pastoralism (the compared the in itself manifests of oral nature The diachronic domesticated process cow). been has sometimes Oral elements. kinds of of these combination composition of available on a reassembling based asa patchwork characterized parts.In fact, in of results act each each it is muchmorecomplex: recollection, performance, of its truthof the charm,andthe source The fundamental a new composition. collective wisdom the of ritual act in the making power,lies phenomenological of the present. of the past the living inheritance
of Massachusetts University A mherst Emory University Atlanta, Georgia

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The Power of the Word: Healing Charms as an Oral Genre Author(s): Barbara Kerewsky Halpern and John Miles

KEREWSKY HALPERN FOLEY and JOHN MILES

The Powerof the Word

FOLEY BARBARAKEREWSKY HALPERN andJOHN MILES

HEALING CHARMS AS AN ORAL GENRE

BARBARAKEREWSKY HALPERN andJOHN MILES FOLEY

HEALING CHARMSASAN ORALGENRE

BARBARA KEREWSKY HALPERN andJOHN MILESFOLEY

HEALING CHARMSASAN ORALGENRE

h - hen i - purification names j- symbolic k - inverted counting

e 13. 14. 15. 16.

17. 18. 19. 20.

h 24. Otud ide crvena kvocka,

CHARMSAS AN ORALGENRE HEALING

f2 30. (Idi) Beii vetra u polje,

17. 18. 19. 20.

30. 31. 32. 33.

BARBARA KEREWSKY HALPERN andJOHN MILESFOLEY

HEALING CHARMS AS AN ORAL GENRE

BARBARA KEREWSKY HALPERN andJOHN MILESFOLEY

srebro materno mleko

HEALING CHARMS AS AN ORAL GENRE

BARBARA KEREWSKY HALPERN andJOHN MILESFOLEY

HEALING CHARMS AS AN ORAL GENRE

BARBARAKEREWSKY and HALPERN FOLEY JOHN MILES

HEALING CHARMS AS AN ORAL GENRE

BARBARA KEREWSKY HALPERN MILES FOLEY and JOHN

HEALING CHARMS AS AN ORAL GENRE

BARBARAKEREWSKY HALPERN andJOHN MILES FOLEY

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