Magical interaction with the other world. Dealing with demons

Troeva, Evgenia (2009) Magical interaction with the other world. Dealing with demons. Acta Ethnographica Hungarica, 54 (2). pp. 397-409. ISSN 1216-9803

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Abstract

Bulgarian traditional beliefs hold that there is another world parallel to the world of humans and inhabited by a number of demonic beings with whom humans come into contact. Man’s contacts with demons take place in liminal space and time, as well as in transitional periods of the life cycle. These supernatural interrelations are used to interpret the crisis situations in human life (such as disease, poor harvest or status transition), as well as significant deviations in the behaviour, external appearance, religious and ethnic belonging of people. The expressions of otherness, which traditional society regards as a threat to its proper functioning, are classified as “demonic”. The reconstructed image of the demonic actually outlines the parameters which traditional culture sets as its social and cultural frames. The variety of taboos, ritual practices and charms through which man “comes into contact” with representatives of the other world, present a distinct system for overcoming problematic moments of human life.

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