A folklorist in dialectologists’ field: How mapping method helps research mythology

Abstract

The article analyses the application of dialectological methods in studies of Slavic mythological system, as exemplified by the parallels between Polesie, the Carpathians and the Balkans. Possibility of implementing dialectology in the field of folklore studies is connected to the concept of ethnocultural area – a set of features, characteristic for a tradition, that are common in a certain area and stable geography-wise. The article considers dialectal distribution in Polesie of the following four motives: 1) «a snake that no one has seen acquires mythological features»; 2) a dead man becomes “walking dead”, if an animal has jumped over the body; 3) to keep the dead man from “walking” someone tells him nonsense; 4) a man turns into a werewolf, if his parents violated any prohibitions. Mapping of these motifs on the territory of Polesie demonstrates that their distribution is noted exclusively in central Polesie and, partially, in western Polesie. The density of these motives in the Polesie region is small, while in the Carpathian region they are represented widely. The presented material demonstrates the links between these regions. The mapping method allows us to understand the formation of Polesie mythological system and to solve the problem of diachronic description of the East Slavic tradition.