Ragana

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Ragana is the name of the witch in Lithuanian and Latvian. The lauma , sometimes referred to as laume-ragana , also plays a similar role .

Fairy tale witch

In her role as a fairy tale witch, Ragana does not differ from other European fairy tale witches, but she is more caught up in the mystical and does not have the strong connotation of an ugly, old woman who brews potions. In the Latvian fairy tale Lāčplēsis the Bear Tearer, there is even talk of the “beautiful witch Spīdala”. She has cannibalistic traits, has a tendency to kidnap children and is superhuman. The Ragana can be reached by falling through a well or going deep into the forest. The witches dance on hills is also well known. Witches are particularly active during the calendar festivals, such as solstice, Easter, and Christmas.

Witch trials

In the files on the witch trials of the 16. – 18. In the 18th century, the accused were mostly not called ragana , but were referred to as conjurers or black books or equivalent. Most of the files were written in Chancellery Slavonic , Polish or Latin . The charges were magic spells against livestock, crop loss, diseases, false healing efforts, love spells.

Neo-paganism

Almost every post on the witch begins with a reference to popular etymology . It is said that ragana of (lit.) regėti derived 'see, perceive' and that, therefore, once one in the pagan religion seer was. Accordingly, Ragana is used as a self-designation by Wiccan witch circles.

AJ Greimas already pointed out that this etymology cannot be reconciled with folklore. A new proposal sees Ragana as a ghost or vision, especially the appearance of a deceased person. In Baltic folklore, the dream is represented as an active act of the dreamed person.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Klemens Ludwig: Latvia . Beck, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-406-44782-1 , p. 121 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
  2. ↑ Klemens Ludwig: Latvia . Beck, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-406-44782-1 , p. 26 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
  3. ↑ What the witches told each other on Midsummer Night at Zeno.org .. In: Victor von Andrejanoff: Lettische Märchen. Reclam, Leipzig 1896, p. 47.