Мотивът за змееборството при хетеродоксните мюсюлмани у нас
The Motif of Dragon Fight among Heterodox Muslims in Bulgaria

Summary/Abstract: The existence of the universal dragon fight motif among the heterodox Muslims in Bulgaria is related to the penetration of the Iranian epic and mythic tradition in Islam culture. The motif is usually connected with Ali ibn Abu Talib, a central figure in Shii Islam. His image of a warrior and fighter of monsters has probably served as a model and has facilitated the stabilisation of the motif in the folklore of heterodox Muslims in Bulgaria. The article investigates oral and written variants of the legend (in which the Muslim saints Sari Saltik and Demir Baba a fight against the dragon) from North-east Bulgaria and from Albania. The texts could be classified in two groups: short and long versions. The short ones are restricted to the presentation of the central motive, while the long ones follow the structure of the fairy tale and contain additional tests of the hero. The short ones are typical for both of the heroes, while the long ones are known only about Sari Saltik. The combat with the dragon is well presented and contains two stages: in the first one the hero is passive, and in the second one – active. He gains a victory over the dragon not because of his own physical power, but because of his supernatural abilities or because of the help of a fairy helper. The place of the combat is always a boundary space, a one between the Christian and the Muslim world. Sari Saltik is better known as a missionary of Islam faith and Demir Baba – as a defender of the Muslims. Most probably this is to be explained with the different time in which the legends were formed. Close to the dragon fight motif is also a legend in which the buffalo of Demir Baba with its iron horns wrought by the saint gains victory over a monster called “water Taurus”. The saint’s buffalo resembles the personage of the cultural hero transforming the wild space into a dwelling one. The dragon fight motif is also well known in the ritual songs of the Bulgarian heterodox Muslims. There it is endowed with specific philosophic and ethic meanings.

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