ФОЛКЛОРНАТА БАЛАДА „ДЕВЕР И МЕЧКА СТРЪВНИЦА“ (Инвариантни идеи и митопоетична образност)
THE FOLK BALLAD “BROTHER-IN-LAW AND BEAR’S SNOUT” (Invariant Ideas and Mythopoetic Imagery)

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with the problem of the invariant of the ballad’s folklore plot, in which a bear fights a bear. In the variants of the song, this happens during the return of the wedding to the bride, and after the victory the bridegroom takes her as his wife. The possibility of replacing the bridegroom with a son-in-law arises from the fact that in the mythoritual invariant they are most likely a pair of twin brothers, which encodes the dual nature of the shamanic-type priest (the division of “soul” and “body”). In such a case, the fight with a bear is localized at the point of transition through the celestial axis guarded by the constellation Ursa Major. After defeating the bridesmaid (the more active and dynamic “soul”), he can replace the passive “body” and take his bride. In general, the song is an echo of an ancient mythopoetic plot that describes a shamanic-type wedding priest with his magical (heavenly) choice.

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