Tijelo, duša i životinjski Drugi

This paper deals with the concept of changes that human beings can undergo after death in relation to the transformative potential of the human body and everything it holds within, as it appears in different Croatian folk culture practices, such as folk songs and beliefs. The concept of the transformative potential of the human form involves different folk culture conceptions of the body, the soul and particular animalistic beliefs in which animals often assume the role of the Other. These issues will be discussed on two examples: folk songs that reveal the connection between water, fish and the dead as well as folk beliefs about a specific type of supernatural beings, werewolves.U radu se razmatraju preobrazbe kojima je nakon smrti podložno ljudsko tijelo na primjerima pojedinih vjerovanja i praksi hrvatske tradicijske kulture. Smrt potiče propitivanje stabilnosti ljudskoga lika, njegovu potencijalnu drugost te granice između životinjskog i ljudskog. Analizirane usmene pjesme na kojima se rad temelji upućuju na predodžbu o vodi kao liminalnoj sferi između svijeta živih i svijeta mrtvih, a animalni simbol – riba – moguće da je povezan s idejom o posmrtnom postojanju ljudske duše. Sljedeći razmatrani korpus tekstova o vjerovanju u vukodlake, nadnaravna bića u koja se čovjek najčešće može preobraziti nakon smrti, otkriva predodžbe o životinjama kao potencijalnom Drugom. One mogu utjecati na preobrazbu ljudskog lika nakon smrti ili ga čak i utjeloviti u sferi nadnaravnog. Ipak, u sagledanim južnoslavenskim poimanjima o mogućim postmortalnim pretvorbama ljudskih bića, njihovih tijela i/ili duša, životinja ne figurira samo kao potencijalna drugost ljudskog lika već njenim posredstvom dolazi do destabilizacije ljudskog tjelesnog identiteta, transgresije njegovih granica te povezivanja besmrtne duše s prirodnim svijetom

The Role of Animals in Conceptions about Death and the Afterlife in Croatian Ethnographic Material

U članku autorica istražuje vjerovanja o životinjama u hrvatskoj etnografskoj građi, odnosno ulogu životinja u tradicijskim predodžbama o smrti i zagrobnom životu. Životinje su, kao i predodžbe o njima, bile prisutne u svim segmentima tzv. narodnoga života. Namjera je ovoga rada istaknuti povezanost čovjeka i životinje koja se ne odnosi samo na svakodnevni zajednički život već i na njihovu vezu u području onostranoga.The paper is devoted to beliefs about animals found in Croatian ethnographic material, with particular emphasis on the role of animals in concepts connected with death and the afterlife. Animals and animalistic conceptions were present in all segments of folk life. The aim of this work is to emphasise the relationship of humans and animals which does not refer only to the everyday life they shared together, but also to their relationship in the future beyond mortal existence. For the purposes of this article, eight monographs about particular places, having their place in earlier Croatian ethnographic material from the end of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century, were analysed: Josip Lovretić’s Otok, Kata Jančerov’s Trebarjevo, Vladimir Ardalić’s Bukovica,Father Frane Ivanišević’s Poljica, Vatroslav Rožić’s Prigorje, Josip Kotarski’s Lobor, Luka Lukić’s Varoš and Milan Lang’s Samobor. In the animalistic conceptions mentioned in this paper, animals most frequently appear as heralds of impending death, are connected with the incarnation of a dead person, and are offered as sacrificial animals, while the soul of the deceased can take an animal form. Selected examples from rich and complex ethnographic material highlighted the need for further research of both published and unpublished (archive manuscripts and field work data) ethnographic material which would provide new data and broaden our knowledge about the discussed theme

Subadult Stress in the Medieval and Early Modern Populations of Continental Croatia

Svrha rada jest analiza učestalosti i distribucije dva pokazatelja subadultnog stresa (cribrae orbitaliae i hipoplazije zubne cakline), njihove međusobne korelacije i njihova odnosa s pokazateljem nespecifičnih zaraznih bolesti – periostitisom. U radu je analizirano 415 kostura iz kontinentalne Hrvatske, s nalazišta Crkvari, Ivanec, Mala Črešnjevica, Prozorje, Nova Rača, Suhopolje, Tomaš i Torčec, koja se datiraju u srednji i novi vijek (12.-18. st.). U analiziranom uzorku muškarci su živjeli značajno duže od žena (37,2 prema 33,6 godina). Učestalost cribrae orbitaliae u ukupnom uzorku iznosi 37,2%. Djeca pokazuju statistički značajno višu učestalost cribrae orbitaliae od odraslih osoba, a poremećaj je nešto češći kod žena nego kod muškaraca. Odrasle osobe kod kojih je uočena cribra orbitalia u prosjeku žive 6,5 godina kraće od osoba kod kojih ovaj poremećaj nije prisutan. Učestalost hipoplazije zubne cakline u analiziranom uzorku iznosi 44,6%, a nešto viša učestalost zabilježena je kod žena na svim analiziranim zubima. Učestalost nespecifičnog periostitisa iznosi 48,4% s nešto višom učestalošću kod žena u odnosu na muškarce. Značajna pozitivna korelacija između cribrae orbitaliae i nespecifičnog periostitisa prisutna je na razini čitavog uzorka. Znatno kraći životni vijek, viša učestalost cribrae orbitaliae, hipoplazije zubne cakline i periostitisa kod žena sugerira da su žene bile sklonije epizodama biološkog stresa, što može biti posljedica smanjenih zaliha željeza kod žena kao rezultat reproduktivnih funkcija ili lošijeg tretmana djevojčica, posebice tijekom najranijeg djetinjstva (tijekom dojenja). Skeletni uzorak, analiziran u ovom radu, odlikuje se lošim životnim uvjetima i niskim zdravstvenim standardom koji je najvjerojatnije bio posljedica sinergističkog djelovanja anemije izazvane nedostatkom željeza, zaraznih bolesti, neodgovarajuće prehrane i parazitskih infekcija.The purpose of this paper is to analyze the frequency and distribution of two indicators of subadult stress (cribra orbitalia and enamel hypoplasia), their correlation and their relationship with an indicator of non-specific infectious diseases – periostitis. The paper contains an analysis of 415 skeletons from continental Croatia, from the sites of Crkvari, Ivanec, Mala Črešnjevica, Prozorje, Nova Rača, Suhopolje, Tomaš and Torčec, dated to the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period (12th-18th cent.). Males in the analyzed sample lived significantly longer than females (37.2 vs. 33.6 years). The frequency of cribra orbitalia in the total sample is 37.2%. The frequency of cribra orbitalia in subadults is significantly higher than in adults, and females are affected somewhat more frequently than males. Adults that exhibited cribra orbitalia lived 6.5 years shorter on the average than the individuals without this disorder. The frequency of dental enamel hypoplasia in the analyzed sample is 44.6%, with a somewhat higher frequency registered in females on all analyzed teeth. The frequency of non-specific periostitis is 48.4%, with a somewhat higher frequency in females than in males. A significant positive correlation between cribra orbitalia and non-specific periostitis is present at the level of the entire sample. A significantly shorter life span, a higher frequency of cribra orbitalia, enamel hypoplasia and periostitis in females suggests that females were more prone to the episodes of biological stress, which may have been a consequence of diminished stocks of iron in females as a result of their reproductive function or poorer treatment of young girls, particularly during earliest childhood (during breastfeeding). The skeletal sample analyzed in this paper is characterized by poor living conditions and low health standard, which was most likely a consequence of a synergic action of iron deficiency anemia, infectious diseases, inadequate diet and parasitical infections