The Body, the Soul and the Animal Other
The Body, the Soul and the Animal Other

Summary/Abstract: This paper deals with the concept of changes that human beings can undergo after death in relation to the transformative potential of the human body and everything it holds within, as it appears in different Croatian folk culture practices, such as folk songs and beliefs. The concept of the transformative potential of the human form involves different folk culture conceptions of the body, the soul and particular animalistic beliefs in which animals often assume the role of the Other. These issues will be discussed on two examples: folk songs that reveal the connection between water, fish and the dead as well as folk beliefs about a specific type of supernatural beings, werewolves.

• Details
• Contents