Acta Ethnographica Hungarica
Volume/Issue:
Volume 54: Issue 2
Wolf holidays among Southern Slavs in the Balkans
Author:
Mirjam Mencej University of Ljubljana Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, Faculty of Arts Aškerčeva 2 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia

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Pages:
337–358
Online Publication Date:
12 Nov 2009
Publication Date:
01 Dec 2009
Article Category:
Journal Article
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1556/AEthn.54.2009.2.6
Keywords:
wolves; wolf holidays; St. Martin; St. Sava; folk calendar; summer-winter opposition
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The article discusses wolf holidays among Southern Slavs in the Balkans. They are celebrated for a period of 3–11 days, most often around St. Mrata’s day, in Serbia also around St. Sava and more seldom around Archangel Michael’s day. During the holidays many prohibitions are observed and many acts performed and the chief purpose of all of them is to protect the livestock (and people) from wolves. People symbolically shut the jaws of wolves, do not work with the livestock or animal products, do not knit or spin, do not go into the woods, do not mention wolves or use other names for them, etc. The last day of these holidays is believed to be especially dangerous as this is the day when the “lame wolf” is supposed to move. The paper demonstrates that these taboos, folk beliefs and practice can only be understood on the basis of folk beliefs related to the Master of wolves and more specifically legends about the Master of wolves who gives out food to wolves on his name day.

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Cover Acta Ethnographica Hungarica
Acta Ethnographica Hungarica
Print ISSN:
1216-9803
Online ISSN:
1588-2586

Senior Editors

Editor-in-Chief: Ágnes FÜLEMILE
Associate editors: Fruzsina CSEH;
Zsuzsanna CSELÉNYI
Review Editors: Csaba MÉSZÁROS; Katalin VARGHA

Editorial Board
  • Balázs BALOGH (Institute of Ethnology, Research Centre for the Humanities)
  • Elek BARTHA (University of Debrecen)
  • Balázs BORSOS (Institute of Ethnology, Research Centre for the Humanities)
  • Miklós CSERI (Hungarian Open Air Museum, the Skanzen of Szentendre)
  • Lajos KEMECSI (Museum of Ethnography)
  • László KÓSA (Eötvös University, Budapest)
  • lldikó LANDGRAF (Institute of Ethnology, Research Centre for the Humanities)
  • Tamás MOHAY (Eötvös University, Budapest)
  • László MÓD (University of Szeged)
  • Attila PALÁDI-KOVÁCS (Institute of Ethnology, Research Centre for the Humanities and Eötvös University, Budapest)
  • Gábor VARGYAS (Institute of Ethnology, Research Centre for the Humanities and University of Pécs)
  • Vilmos VOIGT (Eötvös University, Budapest)
Advisory Board
  • Marta BOTÍKOVÁ (Bratislava, Slovakia)
  • Daniel DRASCEK (Regensburg, Germany)
  • Dagnoslaw DEMSKI (Warsaw, Poland)
  • Ingrid SLAVEC GRADIŠNIK (Ljubljana, Slovenia)
  • Dmitriy A. FUNK (Moscow, Russia)
  • Chris HANN (Halle, Germany)
  • Krista HARPER (Amherst, MA USA)
  • Anya PETERSON ROYCE (Bloomington, IN USA)
  • Ferenc POZSONY (Cluj, Romania)
  • Helena RUOTSALA (Turku, Finland)
  • Mary N. TAYLOR (New York, NY USA)
  • András ZEMPLÉNI (Paris, France)

Further credits

Translators: Elayne ANTALFFY; Zsuzsanna CSELÉNYI; Michael KANDÓ
Layout Editor: Judit MAHMOUDI-KOMOR
Cover Design: Dénes KASZTA

Manuscripts and editorial correspondence:

Acta Ethnographica Hungarica
Institute of Ethnology
Research Centre for the Humanities
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
H-1453 Budapest, Pf. 33
E-mail: actaethnographicahungarica@gmail.com

Reviews:
Mészáros, Csaba or Vargha, Katalin review editors
Institute of Ethnology
Research Centre for the Humanities
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
H-1453 Budapest, Pf. 33
E-mail: meszaros.csaba@btk.mta.hu or vargha.katalin@btk.mta.hu

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2024  
Scopus  
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SNIP  
Scimago  
SJR index 0.159
SJR Q rank Q2

2023  
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SNIP 0.369
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SJR index 0.164
SJR Q rank Q2

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Acta Ethnographica Hungarica
Language English
Size B5
Year of
Foundation		 1950
Volumes
per Year		 1
Issues
per Year		 2
Founder Magyar Tudományos Akadémia
Founder's
Address		 H-1051 Budapest, Hungary, Széchenyi István tér 9.
Publisher Akadémiai Kiadó
Publisher's
Address		 H-1117 Budapest, Hungary 1516 Budapest, PO Box 245.
Responsible
Publisher		 Chief Executive Officer, Akadémiai Kiadó
ISSN 1216-9803 (Print)
ISSN 1588-2586 (Online)

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