Репродуктивни практики и маркери на локална идентичност
"The Golden Apple"" and the Belt for the Birth - Ritual Reproductive Practices and Local Identity Markers

Author(s): Atanaska Madzharova
Subject(s): Christian Theology and Religion, Theology and Religion, Eastern Orthodoxy
Published by: Пловдивски университет »Паисий Хилендарски«
Keywords: apple; birth-giving belt; child birth; church; magic folklore; faith; infertility; conception; ritual; St. Mary
Summary/Abstract: Each year, two weeks before Easter, the church in the neighborhood of Gorni Voden in Assenovgrad accommodates a congregation which comes for a specific purpose - to pray for a child birth. In the countryside and throughout the country, the holiday is known as the “Golden Apple” - a name almost replacing the name of the church “Our Lady of the Assumption”. The popularity of the holiday is owing to the unique practice - the couples eat an apple as part of the ritual of conceiving a child. In addition to this practice, the women also receive a conception belt from the church. These two reproductive ritualistic practices are of interest because of the way they are carried out with new integrated elements each year.These popular customs are part of the folklore-magic tradition of Assenovgrad and have important place in the description of the history of assistance (help) in conception. What makes them so specific is that they are loaded with symbolism and serve as a link between the personal and collective attempts to tackle the problem of infertility. Considered useful and helpful in overcoming sterility, these practices remain persistent over time, and are still relevant.

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