THE ROLE OF THE SERPENT IN THE SLOVENIAN FOLKLORE PROSE

Magistrsko delo opisuje vlogo kače v slovenski folklorni prozi. Zanimalo nas je, kakšna sta njen simbolni pomen in vloga v prozi slovenskega folklornega slovstva, ali je njena simbolika pretežno pozitivna ali negativna ter značilnosti njenih pojavitev v različnih folklornih proznih vrstah, folklorni pravljici, povedki, bajki in legendi. Nekaj besed smo namenili razlagi termina folklorno slovstvo in njegovih zvrsti, nato pa smo raziskali simboliko in različne vloge kače. Predstavili smo njen položaj v krščanstvu, antiki, umetnosti, čarovništvu, ljudski medicini idr. ter nekatere izmed njenih pojavnih oblik, kot so vodna kača, veles, kačja kraljica oz. kralj, dahovine, brzolišček, duhovin ipd. Omenili smo tudi kačo v vlogi mitičnih prednikov, njihovih duš in vil ter njeno povezavo z zmajem. Kača se pogosto pojavlja tudi v vsakdanjem besednjaku, zato smo spregovorili še o tem. V drugem delu naloge sledi analiza slovenskih folklornih proznih del, v katerih se njen lik pojavlja. Prej omenjena teoretična spoznanja smo v sklepnem delu nato povezali z različnimi pojavitvami kače v besedilih. Ugotovili smo, da kača v slovenskem folklornem proznem slovstvu nastopa kot bela kača, brzolišček, dahovina, duhovin, kačja kraljica oz. kralj, kača v človekovem telesu, kača, ki sesa mleko živali oz. gre za njim, kača velikanka, hišna kača, varuhinja zaklada, v kačo ukleta duša, največkrat pa je vanjo uklet človek. Prav tako je prisotna v motivu stvarjenja sveta in cerkvenih pregovorih, pripovedi pa opisujejo tudi kačje atribute. Njena vloga je največkrat pozitivna, kot negativen lik pa se pojavlja kot kazen za zla dejanja, Kresnikov sovražnik ali pošast. V folklornih pravljicah je kačji lik izrazito pozitiven, v pripovedkah sta zastopana oba pola, v bajkah in legendah pa je njena vloga negativna. Svoje temeljne značilnosti ohranja, njen negativen značaj izrazito vpliva le na podobo kače kot pošasti, do razlik pa prihaja še v poimenovanju.This master\u27s degree thesis describes the serpent\u27s role in the Slovenian folklore prose. We were interested in its symbolic meaning and its role in the prose of Slovenian folklore literaturewhether its symbolism is mainly positive or negative and the characteristics of its appearances in different folklore prose types, a folklore fairy-tale, a tale, a myth and a legend. We also included the explanation of the term folklore literature and its types and then we explored the symbolism and different serpent\u27s roles. We presented its role in Christianity, Antiquity, art, witchcraft, folk medicine, etc. and some of its forms of appearance as a water serpent, a ‘veles’ (god of the underworld), a serpent queen or king, a ‘duhovin’ (a child born in the form of a snake), a ‘brzolišček’ (a type of a snake) etc. We also mentioned the serpent in the role of mythical ancestors, their souls and fairies and its connection to a dragon. A serpent is often used in the everyday vocabulary, so we also included that. In the second part of the thesis, we analysed the Slovene folklore prose fiction where the character appears. The before mentioned theoretical findings were then connected to different appearances of the serpent in the texts. We established that in Slovene folklore literature a serpent appears as a white serpent, a ‘brzolišček’, a ‘duhovin’, a serpent queen or king, a serpent in the human body, a serpent sucking animal’s milk or following it, a serpent giant, a house serpent, a guardian of a treasure, a soul cursed into a serpent, or most commonly a human cursed into a serpent. It is also present in the world creation theme and in church proverbs and the tales also depict the serpent’s attributes. Its role is mostly positivebut it appears as a punishment for evil actions, as an enemy of Kresnik or as a monster when it is a negative character. In folklore fairy-tales the serpent’s character is distinctively positivein tales both poles are represented, whereas in myths and legends its role is negative. Its basic attributes are retained, its negative character only has a distinct influence on the serpent’s appearance as a monsterthere are also differences in the denomination