Author: Maximilian Palmesano

The gates of winter: โ€œ'i cicciโ€ (the seeds), the meal and the host of the dead

Published on: Last updated on: Written by: Categorized into: Anthropology, Atlas, folklore, History of Religions

Although in the Italian and European subaltern cultures the beliefs around the survival of the dead cannot be reduced to a single model, it is however possible to trace constants of a morphological and narrative character that delimit the great space of the relationship between living and dead. Here we focus mainly on its cultural and folkloric manifestations in the Campania area, relating to the celebrations of late October / early November and closely connected with the so-called "agrarian mysticism" of which Mircea Eliade wrote.

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The witches of Alicudi: notes of Aeolian folklore

Published on: Last updated on: Written by: Categorized into: Anthropology, Atlas, Esotericism, folklore, Psychedelia, History of Religions

In the popular Aeolian tradition the name of Alicudi has always been associated with fantastic and mysterious stories: 'mahare'(witches) who fly to Palermo or even Africa, human beings who turn into animals, fishermen who know magic formulas to' cut 'the sea trumpets, fortune tellers, oracles and other enigmatic presences.

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The magic of the Mainarde: on the trail of the Janare and the Deer Man

Published on: Last updated on: Written by: Categorized into: Anthropology, folklore, Shamanism, History of Religions

A visit to Castelnuovo al Volturno, in Molise, allows us to give a face to the characters of local folklore, the Janare and "Gl'Cierv", and to resume some central mythical-traditional aspects ofย Cosmic-agrarian cults of ancient Eurasia.

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