Świętowanie na Kujawach w świetle słownictwa gwarowego

Abstract

The article aims at describing celebrations in Kujawy, performed in the last centuries, and connected with religious feasts as well as with the liturgical calendar. The topic is analysed through the lens of the lexis of the Kujawy dialect. The linguistic and cultural perspective allows to discover intermingling of the sacred (sacrum) and secular (profane) elements in the folk culture of Kujawy. To a great extent, it concerns celebration of the most important Catholic feasts. For example, the rich dialectal vocabulary is related to the Easter period. In addition to forms that refer to religious rituals, such as Wstępna Środa (Prefatory Wednesday/Ash Wednesday), (boże rany) ‘God’s wounds’, Kwietna/ Wierzba Niedziela (Flower/Willow Sunday), many names and expressions describing secular customs can be found, such as wybijanie żuru (breaking a sour rye soup), chodzenie z kozą (walking with a goat), podkoziołek, wywożenie mężatek/ żeńców (taking away of the spouses), przywołówki (hailing), chodzenie po dyngusie (walking on dyngus). The newly published, first fully scientific Dictionary of the Dialect and Culture of Kujawy was edited with an idea of saving this dying world of folk culture, religiosity and customs. Renewing the knowledge of the dialectal lexis of Kujawy is aimed at strengthening the local identity and deepening the regional distinctiveness of Kujawy.

Keywords

• folk culture
• celebrating holidays
• Kujawy dialects