The motif of death in Slovak folk lullabies

Abstract

Although the primary function of the lullaby is coded in the very word that designates it, its secondary functions are equally important – they have been shown to have an impact on child development and mental health of the performer. The act of singing a lullaby creates a specific communicative situation in which the recipient does not fully understand its lyrics. Usually, the communicative act also only involves the performer and the child and the uniquely intimate moment that emerges creates an opportunity for the expedient to express all their thoughts – even the most unpleasant ones. The psycho-hygienic function comes to the fore and provides the performer with a space for introspection. This dimension is often reflected in the texts of lullabies in negative motifs, such as death. In various allegorical forms, death is present in as many as one in five Slovak folk lullabies. In careful interpretative analysis, it is possible to detect subtle differences in the meaning of motifs that may not originally refer to death. On this basis, death motifs can be divided into primary ones, which always symbolise death (black earth, church, river, covering/throwing, ringing of the bells, calling of a close person from the other world) and secondary ones, which acquire this meaning by updating individual motifs or whole recurring stanzas in the vertical structure of the text.

Keywords

• slovak folk song
• lullaby
• death motif
• recurring stanza