The Poppy Seed Motif in Slavic Incantations

The present article is devoted to the similarities between the Balkan-Slavic and East Slavic incantations, namely the poppy seed motif present in these traditions. East Slavic parallels to the corresponding Serbian motif are found mainly along the line form south-west to north-east: in the Carpathians (among the Rusyns, in Pokutye), in Podolia and central Ukraine, as well as in the Pripyat–Dnieper interfluve and in the north-east Belarus. There are three versions of this motif – «to be / to become smaller than a poppy seed», «to disperse / to break into poppy seeds» and «to roll out of somebody of like a poppy seed». Each versions has semantic and pragmatic parallels in traditional culture beyond the boundaries of this incantations’ motif and is recorded in separate areas within the territory of Eastern Slavia outlined above.