Charms In Slovenian Culture

Pp. 89-99

Abstract

Nowadays, there only remains a small fraction of charms that used to exist in Slovenia. Charms seem to have become a little known relic of Slovenian culture. Despite this, some healing charms have been preserved and even published in research works by Ivan Grafenauer and Milan Dolenc. The most widely known charms in Slovenia include charms for snakebite, sprain, toothache, cramp, fever, and red rash. In those charms there are obvious German influences, though some charms still show Slavic roots. Charms are a genre that has not been studied by the Slovenian researchers as intensively as other traditional genres, like narratives. We will introduce the main charm types and their characteristics in the Slovenian culture.