In this edition of Folk studio Associate Prof. Vihra Baeva from the Institute for Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences presents the folklore image of the dog in fairytales, legends, sayings and riddles.

Dogs were among the first pets in the dawn of mankind, archaeology says. The dog used to be a sacred animal in the religion of the proto-Bulgarians, it was considered a totem of the tribe. Some researchers suggest that there was a year of the dog in the calendar back then, similar to the Chinese one – with cycles of 12 years. The altar doors of Medieval churches have preserved graffiti with images of dogs, as well as along the fences – obviously due to its function as a guard.

A folklore legend explains the deep relation between the human and the dog. When God made the man out of mud, he left him to dry in the sun. The Devil passed by with envy and spat on the work of God. The spittle happened to fall in the middle of the man’s stomach. When the angels told Him on the Devil’s deed, God ordered the spittle to be removed – thus the navel appeared. When He ensouled His deed the small piece of mud also came to live – that was the dog. “This is why the dog loves his man so much, even if he beats it,” the legend ends. Hence for the belief that a dog never betrays his man and the saying “faithful as a dog”.

Another story tells that God once helped a shepherd graze his herd. The wolf came and wanted the best sheep as tax. God offered to him a weak and ill animal, but the wolf tried to steal his selection. Then God created shepherd’s dogs – from His gloves or two small stones and ordered them to chase away wolves and protect the herd. Again we have the creation of God versus the one of the Devil – the wolf, as the dog has become a first friend, helper and protector of the man.

The popular beliefs also have it that the dog feels the intentions of each guest of the home and tries to tear apart evil people, while the good ones only suffer a bit of barking. There are many stories written down with dogs protecting their people from burglars and killers in the night.

The dog is also believed to chase away evil powers. The Saturday-born animals are really precious, as well as those with four eyes – i.e. two bright spots in the fur above their eyes. Those are considered to see vampires, diseases and other demons, keeping those at a distance. The riddle “it works night and day” testifies on the important job of dogs.

Those are also part of customs and traditions. On Christmas’ Eve, as well as on St. George’s Day, a special ritual bread is prepared, called koshara. It depicts a shepherd with is club, sheep and dogs. The bread balls, designed as dogs are believed to protect and cure rabies. The first day after Shrove when the Great Lent starts, is called Pessy Ponedelnik (or Dog’s Monday) – it is the fest of dogs. Gourds with ashes are tied to the tails of the dogs, or the animals are swayed with special swings – the so-called swinging, curing or trichane custom. The tradition is still preserved at the Strandja village of Brodilovo, but it has caused harsh arguments between locals and environmental organizations’ representatives.

Just like many other folklore images, the one of the dog can also be dual, with its negative features. Vampires and ghouls are believed to appear sometimes in the image of a black dog and if a dog jumps over a dead man he will turn into a vampire. As a figure of speech the dog means animal life, unbearable coldness, loneliness even death… A bitch means something even more negative – it says that the woman is mean and evil, or indecent, while the son of a bitch expression is considered a serious insult.

The dog might have the human qualities of aggressiveness or anger, as the bark verb in Bulgarian may also mean that one quarrels. Hence for the phrases: He barks like a dog, They fight for the bone etc.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev