Vampires in the Carpathians: Magical Acts, Rites and Beliefs in Subcarpathian Rus

Vampires in the Carpathians: Magical Acts, Rites and Beliefs in Subcarpathian Rus. By Petr Bogatyrev. Translated by Stephen Reynolds and Patricia A. Krafcik. Biographical introduction by Svetlana P. Sorokina. New York: Columbia University Press, 1998. 188 pp. 28 [pounds sterling]/US $35.00. ISBN 0 88033 389 8

Beware catchpenny titles! The reader seeking vampires will eventually learn (pp. 119-20) that one can prevent their visits by strewing poppy seeds or by putting wood shavings and thorns in the coffin, and destroy them by decapitation; on pp. 132-3 he or she will encounter the opyr in rather unfamiliar guise, as a demonic being which scares horses at pasture, or lives beside water and tries to drown people. But the subtitle which renders the original title is a far truer indicator of this excellent book's contents; it begins with a long, systematic analysis of the principles underlying magical actions and verbal formulas, picking out the omens, divinations, and luck-enhancing actions prescribed for each date or event.

Bogatyrev (1893-1971) was an outstanding ethnographer, and the present book is a translation approach:

   Hypotheses about the origin of this or that primitive religion ... have a
   basis so fragile that it is impossible to adopt any of them. Often those
   who try to reconstruct the primitive significance of a rite neglect a
   fundamental rule: that it is necessary first to know the context in which
   the rite existed ... In the study of the beliefs and rites in Europe, in
   particular among Slavic peoples, it is high time to pass from the
   innumerable hypotheses about the primitive meaning of rites, or about
   primitive religion in the paleo-Slavic period, to the empirical study of
   the facts that we have an opportunity to observe every day (pp. 12-13).

The theory of "survivals" he sees as harmful: "Usage and beliefs have been recorded, but the study of how the peasants describe and interpret them has been neglected," producing results that are "meaningless for a synchronic study. But this energetic rejection of the aims and methods of Frazer (and many others) does not prevent Bogatyrev from using what was valid in Frazer's work, notably his classification of types of magic. He also agrees with Frazer that magic and folk-Christianity are indissolubly amalgamated in popular customs, but since he is not concerned with historical priority, he sees more clearly than Frazer did that Christianity is often the dominant partner.

The material is rich, detailed and well buttressed with interpretative comments from the informants. These often show a literal-mined simplicity, which we should bear in mind when speculating about the symbolism of our own customs. Thus, the Rusyn peasants pour handfuls of wheat or oats over a bride and groom and throw river water at them, but not as "fertility symbols"; they say the grain means the couple will be wealthy and their granary never empty; the water means that they will be as strong as the river. The fertility ritual, which takes place at the wedding meal, is quite unambiguous: "the new bride ... sets a two-year old boy on her lap and fondles his testicles so that she will bring male children into the world" (p. 104). Of course, the Rusyn peasants could not produce explanations for everything they did; some customs were just "always done," or "it would be a sin" to do otherwise. But it is refreshing to see how often they did know, quite clearly and simply, what their actions "meant." Why shouldn't our own forebears have been equally straightforward?

Vampires or no vampires, this is an important book both for its documentation of an unfamiliar region, and for the thought-provoking issues it raises.

Jacqueline Simpson, Folklore Society

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