bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew’s Seed Information Database (SID): A compilation of taxon-based biological seed characteristics or traits
Authors: Liu Udayangani , Cossu Tiziana Antonella , Dickie John
Published: June 2019

The Seed Information Database (SID) is one of the Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG), Kew's strategic databases in the public domain (http://data.kew.org/sid). SID is a compilation of taxon-based information on a range of biological seed characteristics or traits for about 52,564 seed plant taxa. Assembling and mobilizing such data involved challenges in establishing data standards for specific seed traits and taxonomy and integrating data sets from different sources. Data are derived from seed collections stored at the RBG Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) and from other published and unpublished sources. Seed traits data available in SID includes (number of records in brackets): storage behaviour (24,926), seed weights (86,287) seed dispersal (5,377), germination (54, 453), oil content (4,526), protein content (3,603), morphology (599), morphology images (1,741), halophytes (1,546) and viability constants (72). Database can be searched for any, or all of these categories by clade, order, family, genus, or species. SID also offers various online tools useful for ex situ seed conservation and storage (e.g. seed viability equation to predict the proportion of seeds in a population that are viable after any period of storage in a wide range of environments). SID data has been used by a wider community (general public, researches, conservationists, policymakers, etc.) in a range of disciplines including biodiversity conservation, food security, climate change, agriculture, and seed industry across the globe for large-scale analysis, modelling, predicting, or describing plant seed traits.
Utilising the Crowd to Unlock the Data on Herbarium Specimens at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Authors: King Sally , Pinon Juliette , Drinkwater Robyn
Published: June 2019

Digitisation of specimens at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) has created nearly half a million imaged specimens. With data entry from the specimen labels on herbarium sheets identified as the rate-limiting step in the digitisation workflow, the majority of specimens are databased with minimal data (filing name and geographical region), leaving a need to add further label data (collector, collecting locality, collection date etc.) to make the specimens research ready. We are exploring a number of different ways to complete data entry for specimens that have been imaged. These have included Optical Character Recognition (OCR), to identify meaningful specimen groupings to increase the speed of data entry and more recently citizen science platforms to provide accurate crowd-sourced transcriptions of specimen label data. We sent specimen images of the Australian flowering plants held at RBGE herbarium to DigiVol (https://volunteer.ala.org.au/institution/index/21309224), the citizen science platform developed alongside The Atlas of Living Australia. In 29 expeditions, 156 citizen scientists completed collection label data entry for RBGE’s 41,000 specimens of Australian flowering plants.

We found that 95% of the transcriptions were completed by less than a third (27%) of the volunteers. Of the four volunteer experience levels in DigiVol we found that the middle two, Collection Managers and Scientists, transcribed fewer specimens, but also made fewer mistakes. We found that by removing the filing name from the information provided with the expedition the number of errors in the Museum Details section of the transcription decreased, as the filing name was often added as the label name, regardless of whether this is the case. The feedback we provided for each expedition was used to highlight common errors to try and reduce their occurrence as well as to inform the volunteers of what their transcriptions had revealed about this part of the collection. We explore the citizen science transcription workflow, its rate-limiting steps and how we have worked to include the citizen science and OCR data on our online herbarium catalogue.
ALICE, MALICE and VILE: High throughput insect specimen digitisation using angled imaging techniques
Authors: Dupont Steen , Price Benjamin
Published: June 2019

The world’s natural history collections contain at least 2 billion specimens (Ariño 2010), representing a unique data source for answering fundamental scientific questions about ecological, evolutionary, and geological processes. Unlocking this treasure trove of data, stored in thousands of museum drawers and cabinets, is crucial to help map a sustainable future for ourselves and the natural systems on which we depend. The rate-limiting steps in the digitisation of natural history collections often involve specimen handling, due to their fragile nature. Insects comprise the single largest collection type in the Natural History Museum, London (NHM) and in many other collections, reflecting their global diversity and multiplicity. The NHM pinned insect collection, estimated at 25 million specimens, will take over 700 person years to digitise at current rates (Price et al. 2018: estimated from Blagoderov et al. 2017).

In order to ramp up digitisation, we have developed ALICE for Angled Label Image Capture and Extraction from pinned insects. This multi-camera setup (Fig. 1) and associated software processing pipeline, enables primary data capture from angled images, without removal of the labels from the specimen pin. As a result ALICE enables a single user to sustainably digitise (add a catalogue label, image and prepare images for database import) over 800 specimens per day (Price et al. 2018), allowing us to digitally unlock large parts of the insect collection (e.g., Hymenoptera, Diptera, Coleoptera) at up to seven times the previous rate.

We are continuing to refine hardware approaches to reduce specimen handling and extract data, for both human and machine interpretation, from labels without removing them from the object. More recently we are also trialing multiple mirrors in our Mirror Angled Label Image Capture Equipment (MALICE) (Fig. 2) or a rotating stage for our Vial Image Label Extraction (VILE) (Fig. 3) aimed at spirit-preserved specimens housed in vials. In this talk, we will outline the current approaches in use at the Natural History Museum, next generation prototypes, and challenges that need to be addressed before these techniques can be fully optimized.
Boring Amphipods from Tasmania, Australia (Eophliantidae: Amphipoda: Crustacea)
Authors: Hughes Lauren Elizabeth , Lörz Anne-Nina
Published: June 2019

An overview of boring Australian Eophliantidae is provided along with the description of two new species of the genus Bircenna Chilton, 1884, B.thielisp. nov. and B.hinojosaisp. nov. Interestingly, these species co-occur in samples of the bull kelp Durvillaeapotatorum (Labillardière) Areschoug, 1854 collected in Tasmania, Australia and present a number of novel urosomite and telson structures not previously recorded. An updated key to the 16 world species is given.
Jeunes et engagements au travail
Authors: Béroud Sophie , Dupuy Camille , Kahmann Marcus , Yon Karel
Published: June 2019

Les jeunes continuent à s’engager mais, parmi leurs engagements, le syndicalisme et la représentation du personnel sont peu répandus. À partir d’une enquête quantitative et qualitative sur les trajectoires d’engagement et d’apprentissage de l’activité syndicale des jeunes travailleurs, nous rendons compte des facteurs et des processus qui conduisent les jeunes à peu se rapprocher des syndicats. Nous remettons en cause l’idée reçue d’un désamour de la jeune génération envers les organisations syndicales pour montrer au contraire que les jeunes croient encore à l’action collective au travail mais sont pour partie « empêchés » d’y prendre part. Nous montrons alors quelles sont les conditions requises pour qu’un jeune travailleur franchisse ce cap en dessinant trois figures type du jeune engagé au travail.
Un contrat singulier avec l’armée
Authors: Milia Marie-Luce Monique
Published: June 2019

Cet article analyse un dispositif spécifique à l’outre-mer, le service militaire adapté, qui allie depuis les années 1960 formations militaire et professionnelle, et s’insère depuis la suspension du service national dans les politiques publiques de soutien à l’activité des jeunes âgés de 18 à 25 ans peu ou pas qualifiés. Il montre le « choix », aussi bien de garçons que de filles, de devenir volontaires au régiment du service miliaire adapté de la Martinique (RSMA-M), ce qui fait d’eux des militaires au statut singulier. Il interroge les stratégies personnelles, mais aussi une institution très présente dans l’espace public présentée et perçue comme un moyen efficace de réaliser son insertion socioprofessionnelle sur la base du savoir-être et du savoir-faire.
Entre Paul et Paul : relecture critique de la foi chrétienne dans la lettre aux Éphésiens
Authors: Matta Yara
Published: June 2019

Les conditions sociohistoriques de l’annonce de l’Évangile conduisent à une réévaluation et à un approfondissement du contenu de la foi. Ainsi, l’épître aux Éphésiens témoigne de glissements de langage, de changements de vocabulaire et d’un renouvellement des perspectives théologiques de Paul. L’héritage paulinien est ainsi l’objet d’un travail de relecture et de réinterprétation, à la lumière de situations nouvelles, auxquelles est confrontée continuellement l’Église. L’article s’attache à explorer cette nouveauté, à la fois critique et fidèle à la tradition, à travers l’ecclésiologie de l’épître, représentée par la double métaphore tête/corps et par le vocabulaire théologique du mystérion .
La tradition biblique, lieu d’émergence de l’esprit critique
Authors: Ramond Sophie
Published: June 2019

La présente contribution interroge les ressources que le texte biblique offre à la tradition chrétienne qui l’autorise à se définir comme celle d’un rapport critique à la tradition. Elle cherche à montrer que la Bible tout entière est adossée à l’exigence de l’interprétation et que la pensée critique est en fait non seulement centrale au canon mais encore promue par lui. Dans l’évangile, l’accomplissement que Jésus lui-même apporte à la loi et aux prophètes est en fait son exégèse, son interprétation actualisante. Ce qui est en jeu est le caractère toujours actuel de la communication divine par les textes, comme aussi la possibilité de se soumettre à l’autorité du canon et d’en faire pourtant une lecture actualisée.
Improving Self-Esteem and Building Self-Confidence in Adolescent Mothers: Implementation of Self-Efficacy–Focused Activity Sessions
Authors: Kim Laura M. , Manion Amy B.
Published: June 2019

Adolescent mothers have been shown to have lower self-esteem than nonparenting adolescents. The purpose of the current clinical project was to explore the feasibility of adopting a school-based support group model to provide education and skills for increasing self-esteem and self-confidence among adolescent mothers using self-efficacy–focused activity sessions. This project took place at an alternative public school for pregnant and/or parenting female adolescents. Participants attended self-efficacy–focused activity sessions, and completed the General Self-Efficacy Scale. Increased confidence in finding solutions demonstrated statistical correlation with the number of sessions attended. Development of positive self-esteem and self-confidence remain important concerns during the adolescent period. Implementing self-efficacy activities in a school-based setting is one potential approach to improving self-esteem. Further exploration into ways to foster positive mental health and build confidence in adolescents is recommended. [
Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 57
(8), 11–15.]
Veterans' Prospective Attitudes About Mental Health Treatment Using Telehealth
Authors: Goetter Elizabeth M. , Blackburn Allyson M. , Bui Eric , Laifer Lauren M. , Simon Naomi
Published: June 2019

The current study examined Veterans' attitudes about the potential use of telepsychiatry for mental health treatment in routine clinical settings. Data were collected from Veteran outpatients (
N
= 253) who completed a series of self-report screening measures as part of their initial evaluation at an outpatient clinic providing care to Veterans with deployment-related mental health problems. Using a de-identified data repository, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and stress, as well as attitudes and level of comfort with receiving treatment through telehealth were assessed. Overall interest in telepsychiatry was mixed, with 25.7% of patients being “not at all comfortable” and 13.4% being “extremely comfortable” using telepsychiatry from home. Approximately one third (32.8%) of participants indicated a clear preference for telepsychiatry compared to in-person mental health visits. There were no differences in telepsychiatry preferences by symptom severity, demographic variables, rural versus urban location, or endorsed barriers to care. Although telepsychiatry may be a viable means of increasing access, patient preference should be considered, as a substantial percentage of Veterans in this study preferred in-person visits. [
Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 57
(9), 38–43.]
Pentagram vo sredniot vek – preliminarni istražuvanja vrz osnova na balkanskite primeri
The Pentagram in the Middle Ages – Preliminary Researches into Its Meanings

Authors: Zorova Orhideja
Published: June 2019

The idea of researching the pentagram or the five – pointed star as a decorative and symbolical motif, and its possible meanings, emerged from the use of this sign/symbol as a decorative or symbolical matrix depicted on various kinds of objects dating from the Middle Ages. Accent is given to the Balkan examples from the early to the late Middle Ages. Thus the interweaves of christian and pagan layers of the pentagram are detected. Different objects of the material culture having the pentagram as a distinguishing feature, are used as examples – rings, pottery, mosaics, plastic art, fresco – paintings, graffiti, funeral monuments and ethnological examples. The results given by this research are just a preliminary attempt at demystification of the pentagram and its decorative or symbolical meanings.
Mitologiziranoto gumno vo slovenskata tradicionalna kultura - I
The Mythologized Threshing Floor in Slavic Traditional Culture - I

Authors: Čausidis Nikos
Published: June 2019

This work is pointed towards the semiotic and mythological aspects of the threshing floor in Slavic culture, including the period from the Middle Ages till the contemporary folklore. According to the real form and the functions of the threshing floor, its dynamical cosmological symbolic is stressed, accenting its celestial character: - threshing floor = sky/heaven; - the hinge = axis mundi; - the circular movement of the animals = cyclical dynamics of the celestial bodies. A few myths referring to this particular object are elaborated. “The threshing Floor where the Birds are threshing Immortelle” is explicitly represented in the stories from Macedonia and Bulgaria, while implicitly its presence can be noticed in the Balkan rituals connected with the “Christmas Straw” and the legends of “The Milky Way” (“Godfather`s Straw”/”Kumova slama”). The relation between the mythologized threshing floor and the faries is elaborated through the components “Fairies' Threshing Floor” (“Vilino gumno”, “Judinsko horo”), present throughout toponyms and legends. The second part of this work will give elaboration to the motif of the “Metallic Threshing Floor”.
«Kurica ne ptica …» Demonologičeskaja ornitologija v krosskul'turnom prostranstve
Demonološka ornitologija v medkulturnem prostoru

Authors: Belova Olga , Petrukhin Vladimir
Published: June 2019

The article is devoted to the comparative analyses of mythological motifs spread in the folk Slavic and Jewish traditions and connected with the beliefs about the bird-like demons.The authors examine the legends and superstitions from the regions of close ethniccultural contacts, such as Western Ukraine, Western Belarus, and Poland, where the Slavic tradition had long-lasting interconnection with non-Slavic cultures. The aim of the investigation is to find parallels with the Slavic folklore evidences of bird features, which are attributed to some supernatural creatures in folk culture.In particular folk beliefs about the bird-legged demons, which can be identified by their footprints, may have their roots in the Talmud tradition. We can suppose that these motifs came to the Old Russia literature (treatises against the pagans) through the Byzantine mediation. As for the Ukrainian and Byelorussian folk beliefs about the bird-like demons, some of them could have been borrowed from the folklore of their neighbors – the Jews.This investigation was made in the framework of the research project “The Slavic Mythology: Results and Perspectives of Interdisciplinary Studies” supported by the Russian Foundation of Basic Research (grant 06-06-80095).
Telesni načini škodovanja čarovnic
Bodily Harm Inflicted by Witches

Authors: Mencej Mirjam
Published: June 2019

Discussed are the ways of inflecting harm by exuding envy through different parts of witch’s body (the evil eye, evil speech, evil touch, evil gift ), and protective measures against the evil eye and against intentional praise in eastern part of Slovenia.
The Destiny of Traditional Demonological Beliefs in Contemporary Ukrainian Society
Razvoj tradicionalnih demonoloških verovanj v sodobni Ukrajini

Authors: Britsyna Olesya , Golovakha-Hicks Inna
Published: June 2019

Researched are the survivals of traditional pagan beliefs in contemporary society. It is considered that these elements of traditional culture are among crucial moments for an understanding of modern performers and their texts in contemporary agricultural and urban Ukrainian communities.
Rekonstrukcija svetega prostora na primeru lokacije sv. Hilarija in Tacijana pri Robiču
Reconstruction of a Sacred Place. The Location of St. Hilarius and Tacian near Robič (Western Slovenia)

Authors: Kravanja Boštjan
Published: June 2019

In the present article, I am examining different folk stories and legends that are attached to a small medieval church of st. Hilarius and Tacian in Western Slovenia not far from Slovenian-Italian border. I try to do this according to different variables, such as historical background of the wider area and archaeological findings, church history, toponimy, morphology and last but not least, comparative Slavic mythological findings. The expected result is a more or less exhaustive reconstruction of a sacred place that can serve as another case-model for researches of South Slavic (pre) Christian landscapes.
Kognitywna definicja Marzanny – Próba rekonstrukcji fragmentu tradycyjnego mitologicznego obrazu świata Słowian
Cognitive Definition of Marzanna – An Attempt at Reconstruction of a Fragment of the Traditional Mythological Appearance of the Slavic World

Authors: Łuczyński Michał
Published: June 2019

The author analyses Marzanna, a figure which is correlated to the folk magical rituals of the Slavs, and focuses on that problem as a part of Slavic mythologic worldviews. Theoretically and methodologically it is based on the model of cognitive definition as proposed by Jerzy Bartmiński.
The Original Homeland of the Slavs
Praojczyzna Słowian

Authors: Mańczak Witold
Published: June 2019

In the late seventies, the author proposed a new method of linguistic and ethnogenetic research, namely, the method of comparing the vocabulary in parallel texts. Using this method, he examined relationships between different languages (Gothic, Old Church Slavic, and Lithuanian; German, Polish and Lithuanian; Polish, Old Prussian, and Lithuanian, etc.) and finally arrived at the conclusion that the original homeland of the Slavs was in the basin of the Oder and the Vistula rivers.
Zmajsko seme: topografija slovenskega izročila o Kresniku
Dragonseed: The Topography of the Slovene Lore of Kresnik

Authors: Šmitek Zmago
Published: June 2019

The article explores the ways in which the memory of Kresnik, a Slovenian mythic hero who defeated the dragon, has been embedded in the countryside around the Vurberk castle in the area of Lower Styria, and the extent of the folk tradition connected with it. An analysis of related toponyms was an important criterion of this research. Ascertaining that the subject in question reflects in the periphery, where the author also discovered certain parallels, all of which opens up new possibilities for further research of the myth about Kresnik.
Slavenski mitski trokut i legenda o Kamenim svatima
The Slavic Mythical Triangle and the Legend about Kameni svati (Petrified Wedding Guests)

Authors: Đermek Anđelko
Published: June 2019

The legend of wedding guests who were turned to stone is interpreted as an echo of the Slavic myth about the incestuous wedding of Mare and Jarilo, the divine twins. The myth had been reconstructed by V. Belaj and R. Katičič. In the vicinity of Kameni svati there is a complex of sacred triangles clustered around the toponym Babožnica. Beside the previously mentioned angle of 23.5° the author of this article also defines the angle that represents a deviation between the azimuth of the sun setting (or rising) on the equinoxes and the solstices. Suggesting that the traditional custom of building artificial trees for bonfires and the huts is connected to the sacred tree as described in Vita Otonis, the author proves that these were the very structures that had once been situated on the pinnacles of the sacred triangle.
Mifologičeskaja sostavljajuščaja slavjanskoj ihtiologičeskoj terminologii
Mythological Component in the Slavic Ichthyological Terminology

Authors: Razauskas Dainius
Published: June 2019

The author discusses the Slavic ichthyological terminology which is either directly connected with some well-known mythological beings or indicates a mythological imagery scarcely characteristic to common living conditions of fi sh. Such ichthyonyms are explained according to the appearance of the fish and its behaviour. Nevertheless, in some cases, semantics of these ichthyonyms conforms to a corresponding mythological motives so well that the influence of mythological world-view on their origin is undoubted.
Hrenova pridiga ob polaganju temeljnega kamna za kapucinski samostan v Ljubljani
Hren's Sermon upon Setting of the Foundation Stone for the Capuchin Monestary in Ljubljana

Authors: Visočnik Julijana
Published: June 2019

The author presents a draft for a sermon or a speech, which was given by Tomaž Hren at the consecration on 25th April 1607 of the foundation stone for the new Capuchin monastery in Ljubljana (today park Zvezda in the centre of Ljubljana). This draft was quoted and used primarily as a proof for the existence of pagan beliefs in old Slavic gods even in the 17th century. Since the mentioned draft has not yet been presented as a whole, the context of mentioning Lada, Plejn, and Poberin has not been known; therefore scholars were left on their own for interpretation. The author wants to bridge this gap. Since we have only a draft of Hren’s sermon, we do not know the text that was actually spoken. Therefore it will never be clear how much of his attention was actually dedicated to the Slavic gods, which are only mentioned in the draft.
Simbolika niti in predenja v evropski folklori
The Symbolism of Spinning and Yarn in the European Tradition

Authors: Mencej Mirjam
Published: June 2019

The article focuses on the symbolic role of spinning and yarn in the European tradition.
Od staroslovanskega Svarožiča/Radogosta do slovenskega Kresnika
From the Ancient Slavic Svarožič/Radogost to the Slovene Kresnik

Authors: Šmitek Zmago
Published: June 2019

The mythological figure of the god Svarožič/Radogost is known from relatively recent sources dating from the period from the eleventh to fourteenth century. These sources suggest that eastern and western Slavs venerated him as the deity of fire, Sun and war, and ethnological and linguistic data point to his presence in the territory of southern Slavs as well. Since the name and the function of Svarožič/Radogost is so widespread, a more detailed explanation is needed, based both on the etymological research of François Cornillot and an analysis of Slovene folk songs about a young prince joining his worshippers during midsummer festivities. The Slovene oral tradition of the royal hero Kresnik can also be included within this conceptual framework.
Opis poganskega obreda v spodmolu Triglavca
Description of the Pagan Ritual in the Triglavca Rock Shelter near Divača Village

Authors: Čok Boris
Published: June 2019

The paper describes a Slav pagan ritual of fertility, which took place in the rock shelter of Triglavca near Divača (Slovenia). It was being performed by individual families from the village of Prelože pri Lokvi until the end of the 1830s. The essential element of the ceremony was the ritual entreaty of either the mythological being deva or the divinity Deva to protect the crop on the fields in the forthcoming year from the evil female demon of mora.
Einige Anmerkungen zur slowenischen mythopoetischen Tradition im rahmen der slawischen Mythologie
Alcune osservazioni sulla tradizione mitopoietica slovena nella cornice della mitologia slava

Authors: Mikhailov Nikolai
Published: June 2019

The treatise deals with certain questions concerning some data on the reconstruction of Slavic mythology.
Folk Storytelling between Fiction and Tradition: The “Walled-Up Wife” and Other Construction Legends
Ljudsko pripovedništvo med fikcijo in tradicijo: “Zazidana žena” in druge zgodbe o gradnji

Authors: Kropej Monika
Published: June 2019

Discussed are folktales and songs about the building of important constructions, which include the motifs of human or animal sacrifice or the immuration of other objects, as well as the narratives in which the master mason is a supernatural being. The origins of these stories were interwoven into the myths and different beliefs and cosmogonic presumptions and were at the time of their formation considered to be credible, but in the process of spreading them around they lost their plausibility.
»Voda! Jaz ti darujem, od dna do dna …« Pesemske sledi verovanja v nadnaravno moč vode
“Water! I Sacrifice to You, from Bottom to Bottom …”: Belief in the Supernatural Power of Water Reflected in Song

Authors: Klobčar Marija
Published: June 2019

This paper examines beliefs in the supernatural power of water as expressed or preserved in folk songs, and at the same time addresses the study of this heritage. The study of belief in the supernatural power of water reflected in song thus takes place at two levels: on the one hand, it seeks aspects of this belief in the lyrics of folksongs that connect water with the supernatural, and on the other hand it uses preserved songs to determine what directed and shaped the transcribers’ relationship to this heritage.
Rekonstrukcija mifopoetičeskogo obraza utki (Anas) (po dannym pis'mennyh istočnikov i fol'klora baltijcev, slavjan i drugih I-E narodov)
Reconstruction of the Mythopoetical Image of a Duck (Anas) (According to the Written Sources and Folklore Data of Baltic, Slavic and the Other I-E Peoples)

Authors: Kregždys Rolandas
Published: June 2019

The article deals with the reconstruction of the mythopoetical image of a duck (Anas) according to the written sources and folklore data of Baltic, Slavic and the other Indo-European peoples. It also presents an etymological analysis of Russ. dial. анчýтка ‘devil, demon; Antichrist; hobgoblin, water-sprite, familiar, sylvan; trollop; poor person; pickle; curse’.
Pričevanje o bogu Kresu: Prelože pri Lokvi
A Narrative from Prelože by Lokva about God Kres

Authors: Čok Boris
Published: June 2019

The text examines a narrative from Prelože by Lokva that speaks about Kres, god of fire, light, and lightning. However, the lore about the kresnik, or Kresnik, is unknown among the local population.
Determination of Cardinal Directions and the Gesture of Orant
Določitev strani neba in drža oranta

Authors: Mareš Jiří J.
Published: June 2019

The paper is devoted to an interesting question closely related to the orientations of graves and archaeoastronomical objects in Central Europe, namely, to the determination of cardinal directions during the period ranging from Hallstatt era to Early Middle Ages. Using exhaustive procedure, we have shown that the most likely method for the determination of cardinal directions was that based on the horizontal observation of Sun sets and rises. The intrinsic part of this method is the angle–halving which can be performed either with or without instruments. Reconstruction of the later possibility, supported also by the experimental verification, led us to the conclusion that the hypothetical attitude used for the angle–halving is to be practically identical with the so called gesture of orant, usually interpreted as a posture of early Christian prayer. Interpreting then the burial orientation as a charitable gift, we further claim that the gesture of orant, being originally used for orientation in the unknown terrain, might develop quite naturally into a ritual gesture. Cultural, historical and technical arguments in favour to this idea are given.
Predilkata so zoo-antropomorfni i demonski obeležja vo slovenskite mitski tradiciii
The Spinner with Zoo-Anthropomorphic and Demonic Features in the Slavic Mythic Traditions

Authors: Čausidis Nikos
Published: June 2019

Five fragmented tiles originating from the 15th century and found in Prague are the research topic of this text. A woman and another zoo-anthropomorphic figure spinning in front of a spindle can be seen on the better preserved examples. An attempt has been made to connect the second figure with: (1) some forest or house female spirits from the Slavic folklore that are linked to the textile activities; (2) the initiation rites of girls into adult women through symbolic transformation from the natural sphere (animal, bear, forest) into the cultural (a wife, a house-socium) through the act of spinning and other textile activities.
Pravljične junakinje v oglasih na Slovenskem
Fairy Tale Heroines in Slovene Advertisements

Authors: Klaus Simona
Published: June 2019

Throughout the decades, folklore has proven to be a valuable resource for advertising. There are many folklore motifs, elements and features that are used in ads to enhance their communication with customers. Fairy tale heroines, like Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel are one example of such folklore use. The aim of this article is to review and analyse such examples in Slovene advertisements in a ten-year period from 2003 to 2013. Most often folklore elements are forced to adapt their content and form to the characteristics of advertising, mainly to the fact that adverts must be short and concise, which leads to a variety of modifications. Stereotyped image of the heroines, unexpected twists and fragments of the most famous fairy tales today still manage to retain a certain degree of recognition and of its original meaning, which is vital to its usage in adverts.
Slovenske ljudske pravljice na višji stopnji slovenske osnovne šole
Slovenian Folktales at the Upper Level of Slovenian Primary Schools

Authors: Novak Petra
Published: June 2019

This article presents, with the help of comparative analysis, fairy tales included into Slovenian curriculum and textbooks of various publishers for upper level of primary school. The main part of the discussion represents all the texts with fairy-tale elements that are included in the analysed literary learning books from the genre and motif point of view. Each interpretation of the text includes didactic and literary instruments that present fairy tale elements to pupils.
Pohoval'ni pam'jatki slov'jans'kogo času Plisnes'kogo arheologičnogo kompleksu
Burial Monuments of the Slavic Times in the Plisnesk Archeological Complex

Authors: Filipčuk Mihajlo , Solovij Galina
Published: June 2019

This article deals with the burial monuments (middle-late 7th c. - late 10th c.) that are located on the territory of the Plisnesk archaeological complex (Western Ukraine). The materials from two ancient burial grounds with the typical burial ritual and the separate ritual burial places of the Old Slavic sanctuary cult complexes are analysed. Close and distant analogies of burial monuments of Plisnesk are provided.
«Zemlja neznaema» i iranskij substrat «Slova o polku Igoreve»
The Unknown Land and the Iranian Substratum in the Tale of Igor’s Campaign

Authors: Rakhno Kostyantyn
Published: June 2019

This article deals with the semantics of the image of the Unknown Land in the Tale of Igor’s Campaign. It is proposed to examine it in the light of the warriors’ classification of lands peculiar to the Ossetians and reflected in the Ossetian Nart sagas. The ancestors of the modern Ossetians, the Alans, were the closest neighbours and allies of the Slavic population of the Kievan Rus. Therefore many folklore motifs and religious conceptions of the Iranian peoples are present in the above-mentioned epic poem, including the direct parallels with the Nart epos. Some characters of the poem, for example, the bard Boyan, who turns into a weasel, a wolf or an eagle and is apostrophized as Veles’s grandson, could not be explained correctly without bringing the Ossetian epic and mythology into the picture.
Znaczenie odciętych głów w obrzędowości pogańskiej wczesnośredniowiecznych Słowian zachodnich
The Meaning of Severed Heads in Ritualism of Early Medieval Western Slavs

Authors: Kajkowski Kamil
Published: June 2019

The author of this paper analyses the sources of the early medieval Western Slavs that point to the existence of the beliefs that connected heads with the essence of the life – the spirit/soul, and considered the head as the most important part of the human body, also possessing a mediatory nature. The head was believed to encompass the most significant aspects of human personality and individual skills. It could also have had supernatural qualities that were manifested through its ability to speak, give advice, warn against danger or foresee the future. This article presents the results of the investigations on the role of the head in Slavic societies and offers new hypotheses.
The Good, the Bad and the Outcast: On the Moral Ambivalence of Folk Heroes
Dobro, zlo in izobčenec: O moralni ambivalenci ljudskih junakov

Authors: Lunaček Izar
Published: June 2019

This article examines the common traits of popular folk heroes in order to demonstrate their common misconception as powerful individuals fighting against an evil threatening their community. In fact, folk heroes often prove to be tiny, seemingly insignificant aberrations the system, who gain their special status by rebelling against the rules governing their respective societies, thus becoming radical social outcasts whose characters border on the monstrous. Even when heroes are explicitly pitted against apparently evil monsters threatening their societies, their relationships with monsters prove to be highly ambivalent: they have to take on some of the monsters’ qualities in order to be able to beat them and the later occasionally even prove to be uncomfortably related to them. In order to prove its point, this paper examines two of the most popular folk heroes in Slovenia: Martin Krpan and King Matjaž as well as a host of heroes and tricksters from across the globe, paying special attention to the worldwide motif of the miser and the thief, where the roles of hero and monster hold a particularly high degree of exchangeability.
Krvoločni osvajalci in hudičevi vojaki: »Turki« kot »barbari« v ideoloških diskurzih in slovenski folklori
The Bloodthirsty Conquerors and the Devil’s Soldiers: “the Turks” as “Barbarians” in Ideological Discourses and Slovene Folklore

Authors: Mlakar Anja
Published: June 2019

This paper presents and compares the image of “the barbaric Turk” in the politicalideological discourses and the perception of “the Turk” as a dangerous, cosmos-disturbing Foreigner in Slovene folklore. The centuries-old concept of “the barbarian”, ideological propaganda and the archaic fear of the threatening Outsider in traditional culture all contributed in the process formation of a certain imagery of “the Turk”.
Pravljične pošasti in pošastno v oglasih
Fairy Tale Monsters and the Monstrous in Advertising

Authors: Klaus Simona
Published: June 2019

In folklore, evil has always been represented by monsters in various shapes and sizes. Through cultures, the demonic world has been the fearsome counterpart of the good, the two worlds coexisting in a constant struggle. In folklore, many fairy tales, tales and other narratives speak of this battle between good and bad. It does not come as a surprise that this motif also appears in advertisements, which shape our everyday way of life. This article addresses the issue of how advertisements use monsters to represent various fears, i.e. disease or bacteria, and the advertised product as an instant, magic means to overcome it.
The Feminine Imaginarium in Traditional Legends about Fate (The Predestined Death – ATU 934)
Feminini imaginarijum u predanjima o sudbini (Predodređena smrt – ATU 934)

Authors: Radulović Nemanja
Published: June 2019

This paper deals with the presentation of female characters in legends about fate (ATU 934) from Serbian sources. They appear as the Fates, a bride, or a sister, and express various aspects of the feminine imaginarium. The Fates are chthonic in character and appear in a negative aspect. If the legends are reviewed in the light of rites de passage, they prevent the separation of a male hero from the chthonic world towards the status of a bridegroom. In some variants, the figure of a bride appears, as another aspect of the feminine imaginarium that sacrifices a part of her life, thus bringing about the hero’s successful separation and new integration.
Liutprand z Cremony o magii połabskich Słowian
Liudprand of Cremona on Polabian Slavic Magic

Authors: Łuczyński Michał
Published: June 2019

The author analyses Liudprand of Cremona’s Report of his Mission to Constantinople (in 968), a neglected source text on the history of Slavic Pagan Religion. This article is devoted to the interpretation of the Pre-Christian Slavic summer fests mentioned in the work of Liudprand. According to the author it shows the practices and beliefs of Morzyczanie, one of the West Slavic tribes conquered by Otto I.
Zu einigen Legenden und Überlieferungen von Wasserquellen in Bulgarien
Myths and Legends About Water Sources in Bulgaria

Authors: Kolev Nikolai
Published: June 2019

In this article the author analyses Bulgarian myths, legends and festive rites to illustrate the traditional beliefs and pagan notions about water, which lie at the core of many myths and legends about water sources, elves, dragons and water bulls as well as in Christian legends about gods and saints: Perun, Jesus, the Virgin Mary, St. George, St. Ivan Rilski, St. Naum, and others.
What do Birds Sing? On Animal Language in South Slavic Folklore
Kaj ptiči pojó? O živalski govorici v južnoslovanski folklori

Authors: Šmitek Zmago
Published: June 2019

Contemporary scientific studies of ecosystems encompass different aspects of vocality, including the communication systems (“languages”) of individual animal species. Current theoretical and experimental insights into “talking nature” call for a redefinition of such basic terms as “nature”, “culture”, “speech”, “music”, etc. In this context, it is therefore important to draw attention to intuitive and practical knowledge from within traditional and archaic cultures. The most interesting – and understudied – are the folk traditions about “animal language”, “silent language” or “bird’s language”, which were supposedly known only to a few adepts, and could open the path to wisdom and success for them. We can find folklore motifs of this sacred or magical knowledge in folk-tales (ATU 670, 671 and 673 for instance) with their roots in animistic and shamanistic lifeworlds across different parts of the Eurasian continent. This paper will specifically focus on the south Slavic material, continuing the research first done and presented in a pioneering synthesis by the Macedonian ethnologist and professor Branislav Rusić.
Gorodišče u s. Kara-Jakupovo v Baškirii – novyj ob'ekt sakralizacii arheologičeskogo pamjatnika
The Site of an Ancient Settlement Near Karayakupovo Village in Bashkiria as a New Object of the Sacralization of an Archeological Site

Authors: Tuzbekov Ainur I.
Published: June 2019

In this paper, the author, with the example of the Kara-Yakupovo settlement, considers the process of the formation of new sacred spaces around archaeological heritage sites in the Southern Urals. In achieving this goal, the author has used his field research results, analyzed the scientific literature and various groups in social networks. Using the obtained data, the author has traced the process of formation of sacred visualizations about the site, established the main initiators and participants of the sacralization process, as well as developed the negative consequences of this phenomenon. As a result of the conducted studies, the author has revealed one of the models of sacralization of fortified settlements (hillforts) in the early Iron Age and the Middle Ages in the Cisurals.
Letenje demona u slovenskom folkloru i književnostima 19. veka
Das Fliegen von Demonen in der slawischen Volksüberlieferung und Literatur des 19. Jahrhunderts

Authors: Ajdačić Dejan
Published: June 2019

The author analyses the characteristics of the flight of demons in the folklore and 19th century literature of the Eastern and Southern Slavs.
Altslawische Kultstrukturen in Pohansko bei Břeclav (Tschechische Republik)
Staroslovanske kultne strukture na Pohanskem pri Břeclavu (Češka republika)

Authors: Macháček Jiří , Pleterski Andrej
Published: June 2019

This piece discusses the first stages of research, conducted with the aid of metric analysis, on the ancient Slavic site of Pohansko near the city of Břeclav in the south-east region of the Czech Republic. This analysis includes two pagan sanctuaries, grave sites, an early medieval church, dwelling structures and defense ramparts. A unified system of orientation is determined, dependant on the calendar direction of the solstice rising and setting of the sun and moon. Furthermore, the module employed to define the cult enclosure, the configuration of buildings and the course of the defense ramparts was also established in this fashion.
The Tenth Child in Folk Tradition
Desetništvo v ljudskem izročilu

Authors: Kropej Monika
Published: June 2019

The tenth male (desetnik) or female child (desetnica), but also the ninth, the twelfth or the thirteenth child, have been preserved in the folk heritage of the Slavic, the Irish and the Baltic nations. The folk tradition of other nations contains several similarities in the stories abouth the seventh child of the same sex. Such a child is supposed to be a deity, a demonic creature, or a wizard. Researchers of folk epic and narrative tradition have discovered that Zeleni Jurij and Marjetica were marked as the tenth children as well. Zeleni Jurij is a deity which, according to folklore, brings renewal and fertility in spring, while his sister Marjetica is dedicated to the female counterpart of this deity. In folk songs the tenth son and the tenth daughter are either the tithe destined to the deities Perun and Mokoš, or else represent the two deities themselves.
The Way of the Táltos: A Critical Reassessment of a Religious-Magical Specialist
Pota taltosov: Kritično ovrednotenje posvečenca v religijo in magijo

Authors: Kürti László
Published: June 2019

For a long time, Hungarian scholars debated the origin and structure of Hungarian folk religion and folk beliefs. This article considers the relevance of shamanism to Hungarian folk belief, especially the complex surrounding the táltos. This Hungarian magical practitioner reveals connections both with historical magical specialists and with recent ethnographical materials. There are, however, important questions that must be answered: for example, how does the táltos figure in Hungarian religion, magic, and folkloric practices appear? What are the specific connections with neighbouring South Slavic, Romanian and western magical practices? And, finally, how does the táltos belief relate to linguistic, symbolic and bodily expression in Hungarian traditional culture? This article attempts to answer some of these questions by focusing on body symbolism, the mythical horse symbolism, and possible altered states of consciousness phenomena.
Saint Sisinnius in the Twilight Zone of Oral Literature
Sveti Sisin v somraku ustnega slovstva

Authors: Detelić Mirjana
Published: June 2019

This paper deals with a translation model of a saint motif from hagiological context to folklore. This is exemplified by St. Sisinnius’ legend and apocryphal prayer for children and parents health, especially against fever. The analysis is done from the poetological point of view, focusing on mutual genre influences along the passage from the prayer to a fairy-tale.
The Festivities of St. Barbara, St. Ignatius – the God Bearer and Nativity Eve in the Area of the Town of Kratovo
Praznovanja sv. Barbare, sv. Ignaca - Božje rojstvo in božični večer v okolici mesta Kratovo

Authors: Svetieva Aneta
Published: June 2019

On the bases of the empirical material we can conclude that the New Year’s Eve festivities and rituals begin in the period of the winter solstice, on the day of St. Barbara (4th of December in the Old Style Calendar) and St.Ignatius (20th of December in the Old Style Calendar), when the women from the older generations perform some magical actions in the agrarian rituality. These days are in direct relation with the agrarian character and the folk calendar. They denote the turnover of the trace of the Sun, a period when according to the folk beliefs the sun rises again in the sky and the day becomes longer. During the festivity of the nativity eve the women symbolically show all the phases of the agrarian activity through magic rituals, which initiate good atmospheric influences for the vegetation and the welfare on all the levels. Because of this they give to the fire a vegetative sacrifice from raw, holy tree (oak), cereal sacrifice (ritual breads), a plough (as substitute for the plowing and the fruitfulness), there is symbolical ritual sowing (with a mash of different cereals), they communicate with magic oral formulas etc.
Pravno-kultne strukture v prostoru Altenerdinga na Bavarskem
Juridical-Cult Structures in the Region of Altenerding in Bavaria

Authors: Pleterski Andrej
Published: June 2019

The article presents the juridical-cult structures that existed at the Bavarian cemetery of Altenerding near Munich during the second half of the 5th century and the first half of the 6th century. The direction of the sunset and sunrise during the solstices set the main course of orientation at the cemetery. The ritual angle of natural equilibrium was also set by this course. The central cult and juridical locality of the former Westergau was also at this cemetery. Old Gallic-Roman measuring units were applied to aid in the process of organization of space. Furthermore, the influence of Pythagorean symbolism is also evident.
The Orgiastic Elements in the Rituals Connected with the Cult of the Moon Among the Balkan Slavs
Orgiastični elementi v ritualih povezanih s kultom lune pri balkanskih Slovanih

Authors: Risteski Ljupčo S.
Published: June 2019

The author analyzes extensiveness and diversity of the Balkan–Slavic ritual of stealing milk in rites with a pronounced erotical component.
Ṛgvedske himne Varuṇi in vprašanje moralnosti v stari vedski religioznosti
Rigvedic Hymns to Varuṇa and the Question of Morality in Old Vedic Religion

Authors: Škof Lenart
Published: June 2019

The article discusses Varuṇa hymns of the Rigveda and specifically the presence of moral consciousness within the vedic religion together with its impact on human religious life. A personal relation between the vedic poet Vasiṣṭha and the merciful and compassionate god Varuṇa as presented in the rigvedic hymns is also reflected.