Мънистата в българската традиционна култура
Beads in Traditional Bulgarian Culture

Summary/Abstract: In Bulgarian traditional culture the lexeme of „bead“ serves as a collective concept for the presentation of a semantic order of meanings, related with notions of adornments and decorations. In folklore ritual texts the use of beads alternates with that of „pearl, merdjan, altin, beslic“ in their quality as means of decoration. In Christmas carols that present the cosmic order and its „earthly image“ over a „maid’s shirt“ the topography of use alternates „beads“ with „silver and gold“. The described „alternation“ of concepts equalizes semantically the mentioned lexemes and turns the beads into one of the images of „objects“ – mediators between this and the Outer World. Another evidence for the rationalization of beads as a ritual requisite is their use predominantly in texts that point at moments of transition in calendar or social plan. Except for texts for Christmas and St. Lazarus’s Day, the use of beads is fixed in songs with a pre-marriage semantics. In support for the thesis we can also indicate the folklore belief for the „blue bead“ as a main apotrope – another proof for the mediator’s function of beads in the traditional folklore thought.

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