A Flow of Ideas through Symbolic Images of the Sacred Stones in Macedonian Folk Tradition
A Flow of Ideas through Symbolic Images of the Sacred Stones in Macedonian Folk Tradition

Summary/Abstract: This contribution will focus on the external image of the stone, including people’s “experiences” and “creating of ideas”. Through people’s statements we can follow the ideas developed within contemporary culture, which in turn represent the symbolic image of the stone in traditional Macedonian society. Without intending to exhaust all aspects of this issue we will try to show the external form of the stone as a symbol subject to change, a symbol that flows into different religious visions. The subject of this analysis will be several sacred stones named Dupen Kamen (Open Stone) located in the villages Držilovo (near Skopje), Košino (near Prilep), Gorno Oreovo (near Bitola), then Sproviračka in the village of Kamen Dol (Rosoman) etc. They are mostly big and usually have some hollow parts, located on a very high, lonely place. Their function, according to beliefs is to provide fertility and health for recipients of the stone’s power.

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