The Riddle: An Example of Circulating Water
The Riddle: An Example of Circulating Water

Summary/Abstract: A riddle from the Croatian Renaissance poem by Petar Hektorović, Fishermen and Fishing Talk, is compared in this paper with the riddle from the Vedic Hymn RV I 164. The riddle has typological similarity in that they deal with the theme of circulating water. The cosmogonic riddle, the metaphor and the annual cycle are also discussed in the text. In the first part of the paper, a brief outline is given of the issues connected with the relationship between the riddle and other genres, as well as a short description of the literary-theoretical aspects of the metaphor. This is followed by excerpts and examples of cosmogonic riddles with the theme of circulating water and the annual cycle, presented through the image of the World Tree, in which such riddles are observed in the ritual context of archaic social structures. The final passages deal with examples from modern times.

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