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No funny comments today, just a shout out to purple-confusion

They always reblog these folklore post with the funniest fucking tags

I love them and I also love everyone who comments or likes these

I love making these and the fact that people like these makes me really fucking happy

Anyway!

Baba Milenka's Stories present:

The Book of Magic

from bulgarian slavic folklore

There once was a young man, whose mother was a witch.

They lived a good life together with his father and siblings.

But soon their peaceful life was interrupted

For a war had begun

Motivated, as youth often are, the young man joined the army.

Heartbroken, but understanding, his mother gave him some of her most powerful and precious magic items

As a someone studying magic, he happily accepted the gifts.

And he went to war.

Sometime later, he was stationed in a small town

and in this small town he took a lover.

Although she was a "shameful woman",

that's what Baba Milenka called sex workers

the witch's son had taken her as a lover and even asked her to marry him.

And one day, when he was out on patrol,

she came to visit him.

Upon finding his room empty, she decided to wait for him

Looking for something to do, she picked up one of his many books.

Opening it, she saw it was only a list of names.

After reading for a little amount of time,

she raised her head and saw that the room was full of diabolical looking beings.

Stuck with terror and not knowing what to do, she continued to read.

Again she read and again she looked and again the spirits had increased.

And again she read and having finished the book, looked around again.

The number of spirits had increased so much that there was barely space for them. Some even sat on each other's shoulder and they all watched her every move

She saw that the situation was serious, so she shut the book and shut her eyes and waited anxiously for her lover to return.

As soon as she shut the book, the spirits rushed forward, crying

"Give us work to do... quickly!!!"

After thinking for a second, she said

"Clean all the baths in the town and fill them with warm, clean water."

The spirits flew away and returned two minutes later.

"It is done! Give us work to do... quickly!"

"Pull down the Governor's house, brick by brick for during the day he mocks my sisters and I."

The spirits flew away but returned two minutes later demanding more work.

"Build up the Governor's house back up the way it was before, for during the night he pays my sisters and I."

The spirits flew away but returned two minutes later demanding more work.

"Go and count every grain of sand that lies on the bottom of the river, every every drop of water and every fish that swims within it, from it's source to it's mount."

Again, the spirits flew away but this time they took only a minute to return

Thus before the young woman could think of a new task, the old one had already been finished.

And when she took a moment to think,

they threatened her with instant death if she did not give them something to do. Becoming exhausted and with no sign of her lover's return, she began to try and think of ways to be rid of the spirits. Then she remembered that when she was reading, the spirits did not bother her. But as she began to read the book again, more spirits appeared. Restless and insulted, the spirits became more violent.

Shouting or pulling at her whenever she hesitated on a word or paused for a rest

"Give us work to do! Give us work!"

Seeing this was making things worse, a thought occurred to her.

Turning the book around,

She began to read the book backwards.

To her relief and utter delight,

she saw the number of spirits decreasing.

She read and read until she had read them all away.

A little while later, her lover returned from patrol

And she told him all that had happened.

"It is fortunate."

He said while holding her tenderly

"That you began to read the book backwards. For had you not read them away by midnight, they would have eaten you."

The End

I am tired.

/End text.

Traditional braiding and hair decorations of Bulgarian girls and beliefs related to them

(Translation of this article by Anelia Krumova)

Little girls belonged to the group of so-called podevki. They usually held their hair in two braids around their ears and scalp, which were tied at the nape of the neck in one or two braids. The order in which the little girls' hairstyles were styled followed the growth of the hair, aiming to achieve a maiden's hairstyle. Braiding began around the ears, catching the short, not yet grown side hair. As the girl grew older, the braid continued to the nape of the neck, and the lower braids were finally formed. In the Sofia region, for example, two kukunduka were made for 9-10 year old girls, then three kukunduka for 13-14 year olds, in order to move on to proper maiden's braiding.

Girls, who reached marriageable age, marked their affiliation with a specific hair styling that immediately distinguished them from bangs. They differed in their open hair and hairstyles from numerous braids, which were complex and difficult to do, but comfortable to wear.

„Lesata“ was a common hairstyle in different areas of Bulgaria. The hair was parted in a straight line, braiding the hair around it. The braids passed along the ears, the nape of the neck and finally on the back, gathered in a common braid. The number of braids was about 22, and the final braid included 6, 9, 12 floors. Another common type of maiden entanglement was that of "rows", which consisted of a large number of small braids - about 60, which went down the shoulders and back, and sometimes reached the knees. The length of the hair and the small entanglements made both types of hairstyles very difficult to perform. Therefore, they were made by skilled women from the family or went to special "weavers".

To make these intricate and beautiful hairstyles, the girls did not rely only on their natural hair, but resorted to attaching additional braids, such as ones made out of fallen hair spun on a distaff for example. This is how the favorite maiden ornament kosichnik/ kosatnik was created at that time. It imitated natural hair and included, in addition to the braids of the girl's own hair, braids woven from threads, embroidered with coins and beads, and even garlic cloves. The kosichnik covered the back and waist, finding the role of a symbol of female fertility.

To give even more beauty to the girl's hair, a variety of woolen ribbons in red were used, on which numerous beads were strung, as well as pompoms, coins, snails, balls of untwisted wool. These strips were placed on the forehead or between the braids. All of them had an "apotropaic" function - the ability to repel evil forces. Because it was believed that the hair, which was exclusively on display for the girls, had to be protected from bad looks, envious or admiring, which carried the so-called uroki - unfriendly forces. For this reason, bright, pierced, shiny, smelly and jingling objects - strong and well-known apotropaic - were attached to the hair. This was done so that people's attention could not be on the hair, but on the decoration, which was able to withstand bad looks.

A maiden, that would make a kitka ( a single or several flowers gathered together) to demonstrate love, and the bachelor, who'd steal it from her if she was in his heart, were symbols of traditional love relationship of the past. This is why, the kitka was invariably present as an element of maiden decoration. Placed behind the year, the kitka symbolised entering marriageable age.

Another maiden's decoration was peacock's feather. It was considered to be the bearer of ancient mythical messages and was used by girls in transition rituals such as lazaruvane, kumichuvane, engagement and wedding. The rest of the time, the feathers of ordinary poultry were used as a substitute. In Sofia area, the expression "girl under a feather" was understood as a girl who is ready to get married.

In conclusion, the girls' hairstyles can be said to be a sign, a message to the public about the readiness, desires and preferences of the girl.

Adding a few more images of kosichnitsi (from the Bulgarian National dress book by M. Veleva and Evg. Lepavtsova)