The Ritual Places of Contemporary Pagans in Kraków Cover Image

Miejsca rytuałów współczesnych pogan w Krakowie
The Ritual Places of Contemporary Pagans in Kraków

Author(s): Joanna Malita-Król
Subject(s): Sociology of Religion
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: Neopaganism; rituals; spatial analysis; places; Krakow;

Summary/Abstract: In the following article I describe ritual places used by four Kraków Neopagan groups (Native Polish Church, Group Mir, Free Rodnovers of Kraków, and Reformed Druids of Gaia Poland). The most important locations include the surroundings of Krakus Mound (along with the Liban quarry below and the ‘sacred circle’ on the opposite site of the quarry) and Grove by the Wilga river. The used sites and their context are analysed, as well as the reasons why a particular place was chosen. I focus on the perspective of my interviewees, using Kim Knott’s spatial analysis and the combination of the three approaches by Belden C. Lane. Based on participant observation and semi-structured interviews with members of the studied groups, I distinguish three categories of reasons (physical; connected to culture and tradition; metaphysical), which show the multidimensional character of the decisions made and many perspectives in which ritual places are perceived.

  • Issue Year: 55/2022
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 69-84
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: Polish