THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF CURSES IN ORAL AND WRITTEN EPIC POETRY

Analizom epskih pjesama u zborniku V. Bogišića objašnjava se upraba kletvi kao jednog od poetičkih načela usmene epike. Kriteriji analize bili su odnos adresanta i adresata kletve (na osnovi vjerske i rodne pripadnosti) te subjekta i objekta u samoj kletvi. Rezultati analize pokazuju apsolutnu prevagu kršćanskih adresanata nad muslimanskim, ali i znatno češću pojavu muških nego ženskih adresanata, što se objašnjava imanentnim zakonitostima epskoga žanra. Dobiveni su rezultati uspoređeni s epskim pjesmama u djelu Razgovor ugodni naroda slovinskoga A. K. Miošića te je određen stupanj usmenoepskih interferencija u tome pisanome djelu hrvatske pretpreporodne književnosti.This paper analyses epic poetry on the examples found in V. Bogišić’s collection of early oral poetry, attempting to explain the usage of curses as one of the poetic principles in oral epics. The two criteria employed in this analysis were the relation of the addresser and the addressee – based on religious and gender affiliation – and the relations of subjects and objects in the curses. The results show strong dominance of Christian addressers over Moslem ones and also more frequent occurrence of the male addresser in comparison to the female, which can be interpreted within the immanent regularities of the epic genre. The results were compared to epic poems from Razgovor ugodni naroda slovinskoga [Pleasant Conversation of Slavic Folk] by A.K. Miošić in order to determine the degree of oral-epic interference in this volume belonging to Croatian literature dating from before the Croatian National Revival