SLFK 215, September 9, 2003
Finish body integrity beliefs
Proper cycle of a NORMAL human includes decay of the flesh
Soft tissue goes, bones remain and they must all be there
If something is different from the normal cycle
Either flesh does not decay
Or not all the pieces/bones there
Then person is special
Special could be special good or special bad
Special good include minstrels and the hermit monks
Couple words on hermitting
Enclosure in a cave cell, like a tomb
Dark, cannot see, like minstrels
Mortification of the flesh, like loss of eyes
And you could argue that the wandering of the minstrels is mortification
A culture that would be into this form of monasticism would be one with beliefs in the connection between the flesh and sanctity
Or rather disjuncture between the two
This will be important with the sects and their desire not to reproduce
After body integrity unit, EYE BELIEFS
Eye is special
It is not just an orifice
More like a window or a portal
The inner spirit, force, power of the human comes out through the eye
This can be good or bad
And sometimes bad feelings like jealousy, cannot be control and can be inadvertently transmitted through the eye
Did jealous eye as a category
Acquiring evil eye, even if you don't mean to &endash; actually, mom gives it to kid without meaning to
Looking and not looking making eye contact
Importance of the window or the portal
Looking THROUGH a window or a portal magnifies the power of the eye
Looking at the funeral procession through a window gives the dead access to you
Looking through a knot hole in aspen wood allows you to see witches
Looking through a mirror allows you to see the future, but you really shouldn't
No stories of curing by looking
Just of cursing by looking
Eye can let in bad things &endash; like when you look at something you should not see
Make eye contact with that person, being, spirit that has evil intent
But cannot emit good
A blind person cannot in any way or under any circumstances cast the evil eye
They have INSIGHT only
Look into the world of the spirits
And it is a world of spirits that is good &endash; no malefice
Minstrels have to do with health and well-being
With helping reestablish order and harmony
They will do it with their songs
And by acting as a conduit to the world of the spirits
What sort of health and well-being, order and harmony do minstrels affect?
Go back to idea of life as cycle
Already did that cycle needs to take place
Person lives a life
Is born, marries, has children, dies
His body becomes one with the soil while the bones remain
Body nourishes future generations
What if something goes wrong?
Body part missing
Or whole body missing, as in fire
Or body lost, as in drowning
What if person does not complete cycle?
Dies young and before his or her time?
Dies violently
Dies unmarried
Suicides esp. bad &endash; cannot be buried in a normal funeral
Before &endash; could not be buried in a normal place
At border of graveyard, not with other deceased
Need to say prayers or have prayers said for a long time
"Buy" prayers in a monastery or nunnery
Very strong belief in unquiet dead that persists now
Small things missing
Dead come back in dreams and tell you about it
Small things missing are glasses
Low-heeled and comfy shoes
Sweater or other warm clothing &endash; land of the dead is cold
You give them the things they want/need
Pass along through the next person to die &endash; place in coffin
Give to the poor
Special category of person who dies unmarried
Regular procedure of wedding for the dead
Describe
Another semi-regular category is soldiers killed in battle
The special ritual towel
Bigger problems &endash; like the suicides above
Require bigger measures
You need a professional who deals with the world of the spirits, like the monks and nuns
Or you give money to a minstrel
Have him sing songs
If you look at begging songs, giving money to minstrels good for all sorts of unquiet dead beliefs
Special category of the unquiet dead is the rusalka
Woman who commits suicide because she is pregnant outside wedlock
Note DOUBLE problem
Unmarried
And suicide
There is not a whole lot that can be done about her
Interestingly, you (any unmarried man) can marry her and things will be fine, at least for a while
And please note that rusalki are typically pictured as having very strange eyes
Man who dances with the rusalki and effect on him
Children who die unbaptized
Special burial
Belief that they become rusalki
You CAN undo their problem with a cross around the neck
Unquiet dead in US
Some of the same traits
Note Sixth Sense
It is a child that sees
Use of children in Russian and Ukrainian culture
Maybe not unquiet dead, but certainly for giving things to the dead in general
Ascension Day
Giving to the dead through children in the West at Halloween
Minstrels do social healing as well as individual