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In the Slavic folk tradition, the cat has ambiguous symbolism and demonic functions. It correlates with the dog, being combined with it by some features and opposed by other (when perceived as pure or impure). The cat and the dog constitute a symbolical parallel to a pair of wild animals - the bear and the wolf. Cat appearance marks other characters of the folk demonology: the devil, “zmora”, the death, the vampire. In the folk zoology, the cat together with some other fur animals (the squirrel, the fox etc.) is to some extent ranked as a mustelid with a specific complex of ideas they represent. What brings the cat together with them is first of all the female and erotic symbolism (its connection to a maiden, a bride in the folklore, the cat name for female genitals), the motif of weaving, and the functions of a patron of the house and the cattle ( domovoy turning into a cat, the choice of cattle coat cover according to the color of the cat etc.) Some ideas bring the cat together with the hare (cf. the Polish kot ‘hare’, the Serbian belief that the hare originates from the cat, their beneficial influence on the sleeping). The cat is used in the folk magic and medicine: to get an enriching spirit, to be used in case of cattle death, to treat tuberculosis. The image of cat is attested in many folklore genres, in proverbs, in riddles, folktales, games, etc. The cat’s behavior is connected to an enormous number of everyday life and meteorological superstitions, it is often used as an offer in the bargaining between the humans and the world of spirits. |
