Symbolic Representations of the Pendulum Movement (in Polish and East Slavic Folklore and Traditional Culture) Cover Image

Kołysanie, obrzędowe huśtanie się jako symboliczne reprezentacje ruchu wahadłowego (w świetle kognitywnych badań polskiego i wschodniosłowiańskiego folkloru)
Symbolic Representations of the Pendulum Movement (in Polish and East Slavic Folklore and Traditional Culture)

Author(s): Bozena Józefów-Czerwińska, Ewa Masłowska, Inna Shved
Subject(s): Sociology of Culture
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: symbolism of pendulum movement; pendulum motion; rites de passage; magical prac- tices with rocking; swaying; swinging; archaic beliefs; myth of creation; cosmic rhythms;

Summary/Abstract: This article is devoted to the symbolic representation of the pendulum movement, such as rocking, swaying and swinging. The research covered Polish and East Slavic folklore, ethnographic and linguistic material. The analysis aims to reach the conceptual basis of pendulum motion developed from the physical experience of movement and related events such as magical practices and rituals. To interpret the material, pre-linguistic conceptual schemas and narrative study, it uses tools to reconstruct the procedures of rites de passage. Examining the contexts and associations accompanying the magical activities of pendulum motion led to the disclosure of archaic beliefs that go back to the myth of creation. The broad spectrum of issues related to the performative power of rocking, swaying and swinging allowed us to present an embodied conceptualisation of the primary movement experience as the universal model of cosmic rhythms.

  • Issue Year: 55/2022
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 1-15
  • Page Count: 15
  • Language: Polish