Orgiastic Elements in the Rituals Connected With the Cult of the Moon Among the Balkan Slavs

At the beginning of my exposition, I feel obliged to explain the term used in the title, to redefi ne it and to determine its essence. Namely, in my work I am discussing a traditional magic ritual performed by women during the vegetation cycle of nature, closely connected with the infl uences of the moon, which is used with a unique aim i.e., to stimulate the fertility, but what is more important is the taking of its power by others and using it for personal aims. I am discussing the Balkan magic rituals for fertility, connected with the cult of the Moon. Th e term orgy (Gr.τα οργια, lat. Bacchanalia), in the cultures of the old Hellenes and Romans denoted religious rituals accompanied with music and dancing, eating of raw meat from bull and calf, sacrifi ced in honor of the Great Mother (Cibela, Demetra) and Dionysus (bacchanalia) .1 In “Rječnik simbola”2 (Dictionary of symbols), the term orgy is explained as: “orgiastic activities, bacchanalia or even simpler forms of vulgar orgies, regressive development and returning to the chaos of drinking, singing, lechery extreme behavior, masking (dressing of men in women’s clothes and vice versa) or losing of reasonable control; on the other hand they are a kind of returning to the sources, discovering the elementary forces of life, aft er the daily spending and boredom, the elegance and the education. It is oft en mentioned that the orgies preceded the festivals dedicated to the sowing, harvesting...” Th e term orgiastic is usually used in its basic, semantic meaning, connected to the ancient rituals, cults and the pantheon, denoting in that way the sacrifi ce to the Gods, secret ceremony in the honor of the Gods. Some authors, ethnologists and others, used this and described the numerous ritual activities of the peoples who express the free behavior, the naughtiness and the games with erotic content. Th e psychoanalyst Vojin Matič, defi nes the orgy as: “ a typical cultural phenomenon in which predominate the pre-genetic orientations, with attempts for the same to be activated again or to renew their mystical activities, because some communities have already put aside some of their asocial tendencies and prevented them from fi nding


Th e Orgiastic Elements in the Rituals Connected With the Cult of the Moon Among the Balkan Slavs
Ljupčo S. Risteski Th e author analyzes extensiveness and diversity of the Balkan-Slavic ritual of stealing milk in rites with a pronounced erotical component.
At the beginning of my exposition, I feel obliged to explain the term used in the title, to redefi ne it and to determine its essence.
Namely, in my work I am discussing a traditional magic ritual performed by women during the vegetation cycle of nature, closely connected with the infl uences of the moon, which is used with a unique aim i.e., to stimulate the fertility, but what is more important is the taking of its power by others and using it for personal aims.I am discussing the Balkan magic rituals for fertility, connected with the cult of the Moon.
Th e term orgy (Gr.τα οργια, lat.Bacchanalia), in the cultures of the old Hellenes and Romans denoted religious rituals accompanied with music and dancing, eating of raw meat from bull and calf, sacrifi ced in honor of the Great Mother (Cibela, Demetra) and Dionysus (bacchanalia) . 1 In "Rječnik simbola"2 (Dictionary of symbols), the term orgy is explained as: "orgiastic activities, bacchanalia or even simpler forms of vulgar orgies, regressive development and returning to the chaos of drinking, singing, lechery extreme behavior, masking (dressing of men in women's clothes and vice versa) or losing of reasonable control; on the other hand they are a kind of returning to the sources, discovering the elementary forces of life, aft er the daily spending and boredom, the elegance and the education.It is oft en mentioned that the orgies preceded the festivals dedicated to the sowing, harvesting…" Th e term orgiastic is usually used in its basic, semantic meaning, connected to the ancient rituals, cults and the pantheon, denoting in that way the sacrifi ce to the Gods, secret ceremony in the honor of the Gods.Some authors, ethnologists and others, used this and described the numerous ritual activities of the peoples who express the free behavior, the naughtiness and the games with erotic content.
Th e psychoanalyst Vojin Matič, defi nes the orgy as: " a typical cultural phenomenon in which predominate the pre-genetic orientations, with attempts for the same to be activated again or to renew their mystical activities, because some communities have already put aside some of their asocial tendencies and prevented them from fi nding their personality.Most typical in that way are the orgiastic mysteries… Th e periodical disorganization of the structure of the personality, in a kind of orgiastic attack, is conditioned from facing the reality, i.e. the frustrations, which are stimulated by the reality on a certain level of the development of the person.Th e orgy appears in many kinds, at diff erent levels of the development and the social relations conditioned by the psychological organization and in the same time its characteristics." In those orgiastic episodes what becomes evident are the killing and masochistic tendencies, as well as a whole range of abnormal sexual intentions which are usually suppressed, and are a reaction of the infantile sexual hypothesis of the connection with the gods in the ritual of fertility.In that way we can make a distinction between the shamanic, mystical, black magical, carnival and pathological orgies. 3yway, it must be admitted that the term orgies has diff erent meanings, and it is almost always used with a negative connotation.
I have done a lot of thinking about its use and meaning in this work.Despite all this I decided to use it, since there is neither a more appropriate nor a more terminological concept for the contextual depth of the rituals that I am researching and their true signifi cance.
In short, under the term "orgy" or orgiastic elements in the rituals I understand the intensive magic infl uence of women on certain occasions with special accent on the nakedness, the sexuality, the kind of ritual dancing and accent on the sexual organs, mimics of sexual pleasure (orgasm), with an unique aim -to inspire nature to similar activity but for their personal use.Namely, what the people of a community will get, they adapt for themselves with help of the magic.
It is possible that the ritual I am analyzing has more orgiastic elements related to the ancient meaning of the term.Th ese elements are of mysticism and secrecy during the performance.Th e lack of data for mystic rituals of the ancient times is the result of the hiding of the rituals, because this was considered as the only condition for successful fi nishing of the same.
Th e same thing happens to this ritual.Its keeping in secrecy, the mysticism of the ritual or at least in its most important parts (the ritual dancing with intense sexuality and the magic of the word) are conditions for its fulfi llment.
Th e negative connotation is mostly noticeable at the ethno-explicit level, as an ethical approach in terms of disturbing the relations in the community.
In this work I shall use ethnographic materials of the Balkan Slavs because they are more familiar and more accessible to me.
What actually is this work about?I intend to analyze and research the rich and multivariable ritual complex of taking over, stealing or cheating of the milk, where we have examples of the ritual actions of the women with an erotic accent, ritual orgiastic behavior always in the context of communication with the Moon.

Ethnographic materials a) Macedonians
K. Šapkarev wrote quite briefl y that the day before Đurđovden (6.05, the day of St.George, the Victorious Great Martyr) the cows are kept " nekoj da ne bi so magii da im go zeme mlekoto" (so that no one will take away the milk from them) and to "navrati" (to take it, to direct it) from a cow that gives a lot of milk to another woman who has a little or no milk while breast feeding. 4n the "Zbornikot za narodni umotvrenija"5 (Collection of Folklore works), there are registered beliefs and rituals for the taking over "mamenjeto" (the cheating) of the milk from cattle.Th e women that performed the ritual were called "mamjački" or "mađesnici" (witches).We can fi nd similar data for the villages in the area of Lerin in the Aegean part of Macedonia. 6n his study of the area near the city of Gevgelija, Stevan Tanovič, writes about the belief of the people that on the day before St.George the milk can be taken over from the cattle, only by "prejasana" woman (woman who does not intend to have any more children), on midnight, naked, riding a weaving "peam" (part of the loom) in the middle of the village She rotated three times around the village fountain, without wetting her legs, directing herself toward the yard or the stables in order to take the "maksulot" (blessing) of the cattle.Before she enters the stables she also rotates around it three times, spreading out ashes that she has with her.Th en she enters the stables, milks a little milk of each of the cows or sheep, and at the entrance of the stables she "ispoganuvala" (excrement), utters nasty words: "Na mene mlekoto i maslo, na tebe gomna" (I will have the milk and honey, you will have the excreta) She returned silently home, by the same way she came.As a condition for the successful work of the witch was the "svaljuvanje na mesečinata" (taking off the moon).Behind the house she would turn round three times with her head on the ground, holding herself with her hands, and then she would excrete.She would ride the peam, rotating around the excrement, looking at the moon saying "Jas sum tele ti si krava" (I am a calf, you are a cow) and she would rotate around the excrement again.As a result of this the Moon would descend, large as a threshing-fl oor, in the form of a cow, roaring.When the witch would touch the Moon, she would become invisible.She would repeat the rotation around the excrement, eating from it, and addressing the Moon "Jas sum žena ti si mesečina; jas sum dole ti si gore" (I am a woman, you are a Moon; I am down, you are up).Once the woman had said this magic formula three times, the Moon would start lift ing up, roaring like a cow in pain, and the woman with the peam and the pot with ashes continued her magic work. 7t is also noted that certain women took the Moon down and breast-fed her. 8 M.S.Filipović, J.Hadzi Vasilević and A.Petrović in the villages of the Skopje's Monte Negro noticed magic rituals of women (somnambulist), who could take down the moon and draw the milk from the cattle.It was believed that the old women could milk the Moon as a cow and take her up to the sky, again (she will put a lot of eff ort into doing it) 9 .Similar examples can be found in the works that deal with the rituals in spring, taken as a complex process or individual parts. 10n the Archive of the Institute of Folklore "Marko Cepenkov" -Skopje, I found an article from the region of Veles in which it is stated how: " I vatile dve ženi, sproti Đurđovden, ugol -goli slečeni.Majka i ćerka bile i vatile okolu trlo kaj šo vrtele, vikale i se udirale gas so gas, se čuknuvale napred i vikale: "Ja i Đurđa gas i gas matkata kitanova v gas" Tova trebalo da se reče tri pati.Tri pati zavrtuvale okolu nivnoto trlo, na brata e, da mu go zemat mlekoto.
Na sekoe zavrtuvanje okolu trloto trebalo da se čuknat so gazovite i da rečat taka.Zatoa ovčarite okolu Đurđovden držele straži po trlata." 11 (Two women, mother and daughter, the night before Đurđovden, naked ran around the stables, screamed, touched their sexual organs and said magic words.Th ey were supposed to do this three times.Because of fears of these spells the Shepherd kept guard around the stables during the night) During the fi eld researches of the Institute of the Old Slavic culture from Prilep 12 , in the year of 1994, the following materials, unpublished till now, were recorded: " Na Đurđeen vo s.Kadino Selo starite kažuvaa izleguvale (ženi) so krosna, šetale, velele nešto i taka mlekoto ke mu go soberele.Ko dete ko bev, edni veleja bila magesnica, stara zena.Komu mlekoto ke mu go zemela i mesečinata duri ja smetnuela.Ama zato 4 godini ne možeše da umri.Kako kučka vijaše.Veleja, magesnicata grevojte gi otpeva od narodot." 13 (Before the holiday, women went out from the houses and claimed that they could take the milk.It was believed that the witches could not easily die and suff ered a lot before the death -in this way they paid for the sins) "Na Đurđeen, utre ako e Đurđeen, večerta tije šo znaat, goli slečeni i krosna zele pa se čukale po gas i velele: " Gas i gas kaca mas".Se tie znaat da prezimaat, i jagnjina i mleko i deca duri.
Nekoja, pak, druga magesnica od Ohrid, bila prva magesnica vo okolinata, ja vatila ja smetnala mesečinata.Ama sega ne mojt da ja kačit.Samo polojna se kačila.Ama od magijata se odštrbnala mesečinata, i vistina i denes je odštrbnata mesečinata." 15 (Th ose women were called witches.Th ey could not become witches until they had eaten from their excrement.Th ey took the milk over on the holiday of St.George.Th ey were usually mother and daughter with magical abilities.Th ey would rotate around the stables, but they were also supposed to take down the moon.Th ey managed to do this but now they could not return it where it belonged -in the sky.Th ey took a peam and wine, wetted the peam with wine and sprinkled it around.On the top of the peam they bound a piece of cloth in order to sparkle the wine, and to return the moon to its place.When they were taking the Moon down they would put metal objects on the threshingfl oor.It was neccessary for them to be naked.Th e ritual was performed in the middle of the threshing-fl oor, near the hinge.Th ey decorated the hinge with fl owers.According to the stories of the old people the women were touching themselves around their intimate parts.
Young people, aged 17 -18, guarded the threshing-fl oors on the nights before St.George.Th ey were told that a naked woman was going to come to take over the milk and they were supposed to catch her.
In the area of the town of Ohrid lived a witch, who managed to take down the Moon, but she could return her only the half way up.During the process of the ritual the Moon lost a part from it, and remained like that until today.) In the region of Mariovo the magic ritual of taking the milk over was also present -"prezimanje": "Edna teta imaše, na tatko mi sestra, taja ako vide negde ogan da svete, ako je bačilo će mu ja prezeme blagotata i doma ke si dojde kaj nea.Ako je žetva, vo nejna niva ke pojde semeto, rodot.Ako mate nekoj, ona ke prezima i ke se nap'ne ečmeno vo mlekoto.
Tie ženi si znajat, bajat.Na mojata majka, taja zolva bila, i imalo edna niva, namu Vrteška se vikalo mestoto.Storila šes nedeli ič ne se promenila, edno aličce od grbot ne go slekla.Na šes nedeli ja viknale numkata da ja raspromene vo nivata nevestata.Da bidela darlija nevestata.Taja ke se slečela posle, noće, vo dvorot, ke ja zatvorela portata i ke vikala: "Dojdi vamu kaj nas, dojdi vamu kaj nas" i blagosta ke dojdela kaj nim." 16 (I had an aunt, a sister of my father, who performed magic rituals.Wherever she saw a fi re, she went there.If there were stables she would take the blessings from them and bring them into her house.She also took the crops from the fi elds and the milk from the animals. Th ose women can perform magic rituals.In order to take the blessings a women would go to sleep in the fi eld for six weeks, wearing the same clothes.Th en aft er six weeks another woman would take her clothes off and the women was considered to have magic power.During the night she was able to collect the blessings.) "Na Đurđovden, spored Đurđovden, odile tie šo prezimaat (mleko, žito), ama eden se zatckril i i videl Bešiškite ženi kako došle, dve ženi, da prezimaat.Se slekle goli, i tri pati se zavrtile okolo pato (raskrsnicata) ednata odavde; drugata odande, grb so grb, pa posle mej so mej se stavale do tri pati.Ama dedot Kole mu i zel košulite.Odile tie nešto si baile.Tri pati se vrtele i velele: "Gas i gas se kaj nas, pič i pič na oračot/ovčarot ič" Tie a siminjale mesečinata, ama toa bilo mnogu grešno.Koa a siminjale taja ko krava mukala duri da se kačela.So basni ja smetnuvale.Mesečinata na zemi rikala kako krava od maka.Posle pak so basni a kačuvale.Mnogu grevno bilo toa." 17 (On the day of St.George the women who were able to take over milk or crops performed their magic rituals.While doing this they were seen by an older man who stole their shirts and saw and heard what they were saying.Th ey were naked and stood on the opposite sides of the crossroad touching at fi rst their asses and then their bellies.Th ey rotated around the crossroad three times and said the magic words.Th ey took down the Moon but it was very sad because it roared like a cow in pain.Th ey took the Moon down with fairytales and then again with fairytales returned her.) "Ženi znaele i na seidbata da "prezivaat' .Okolu Đurđoen ke vrti okolu nivata i daro ke i go zeme.Taa znae da bae.Će vrte okolu nivata, ke vrte i nivata ke padne seta, ke ostanat tri klasje.Taja odma trčaj da gi skine trite klasje, da ako i zavtasa da i skine, ako ne pak ke se vrte okolu nivata.Noćno vreme na polnok.Će i skine i ke si i nosila na nejnata sedba.Gola soblečena.Tamu ke se sleči." 18 (Th e woman also knew how to take over the crops.On the day of St. George she would go near the fi eld in order to take the crops.She knew magic spells.She would rotate around the fi eld and all the crops would fall down, only three would remain.She would pick them up and carry them to her fi eld.Th is was performed at midnight and the woman was naked.)" Imalo edna baba vo komšiite ovde, na Đurđovden, ja videle zad crkvata, tamu beše seto poseano, gola-prao gola, šetala po nivjeto, prezemala žito.
Ima i dve ženi da igraat na gumno, da prezimaat žito, igraat, peat, si velat nekoi nivni pesni, ama ne možat da se čuat.Zad crkvata pred sonce na sam den Đurđoen, togaj faćalo naj mnogu.Imaše pak edna baba Cveta od Veprčani, taja a smetnuvala mesečinata, i togaj kako govedo revela, znaci mesečinata." 19 (Th ere was a woman, who on the day of St. George would go behind the church, in the crops, and naked would take over the crops. Two other women danced on the threshing-fl oor, at the same time singing, but could not listen to each other.Th ese spells had most of their eff ect before the sunrise on the day of St. George.An old lady was able to take down the Moon, which roared like a cow.) In the area of Demir Hisar the ritual of taking over the milk and the crops was performed by women who used a reaping-hook and magic words: " Noće ke mu go vidat imanjeto i ke mu go zemat.Goli.Na mestoto ke pojdat i ke vrtat, ke go soberat mlekoto...Tri ili dve zeni.Kotle nosele so trici, so nego maft ale i vrtele okolu kuća.Ja smetnuvale togaj i mesečinata i taja rikala kako krava." 20 (Th ese women performed the ritual during the night.Th ey were naked.Th ere were usually two or three women.Th ey carried a pot with fl our and rotated around the house.Th ey were also able to take down the Moon, which roared like a cow.) "Imalo babi šo znaele, baele vo mesečinata i ka će ja smetnele mesečinata go babele mlekoto.Goli treba da bidat, a mesečinata da grei.Polna mesečina." 21 (Some old ladies were able to take down the Moon, during which performances they were naked, and it was necessary for it to be full Moon.)

b) Serbs
Th e ethnographic materials show the existence of diff erent variants of this ritual complex on the territory of Serbia as well.From the numerous published ethnographic materials from the ethnographic areas of the Serbs, we will take only a few, because they are numerous and already published.Th e aim of this is to show the existence of the same ritual in the areas with a Serb population.
Th e taking over of the milk 22 in those areas is also performed by women called "magesnici, magionice, činilice, ciljarice" -witches.At midnight, naked, riding a peam they made magic circles around the stable: " U noć uoči Đurđevdana, one raspletu kosu i nage, ko od majke rođene, pođu po selu jašući na vratilo.Kada dođu do tora sopstvenika od čije stoke hoće da oduzmu mleko, one tri puta obiđu oko tora, uđu i baje oko stoke.Poskakujući oko vratilu izgovaraju: hop, hop, hop Stameni (the name of the host) trop, a meni mleko i mast" 23 (During the night before St. George the women with disentangled hair enter the stables and tell magic charms.Th ey rotate three times around the stables and with the help of the words and their magical power they take over the milk.) In the area of the river Morava, near the city of Leskovac there are evidences of taking over the crops from the fi elds: " U oči Đurđevdana, žene koje znaju da magicaju, svuku se gole pa uzjašu vratila i " povrataljke" (parts of the loom), i idu po tuđim njivama... Prića se da su to radile i neke žene u arary grada Leskovca.Njih je bilo tri, sve gole.Napred su išle njih dve, a ona je treća išla za njim jašujući na vratilu.One ce dve s vremena na vreme da je pitaju: "Što rabotiš toj?" Ona im odgovora: "Obiram beriket u ovu njivu pa prenosim u našu" 24 (Th e night before St. George, women who know how to perform magic rituals undress and naked, riding on the peam, enter other peoples fi elds.Th e stories tell that there were three women.Th is even happened in the area of the city of Leskovac.All of them were naked.Two of them were going fi rst and the third followed riding on the peam.She was the one telling the magic spells in order to take over the crops from the fi eld and to take them into their fi eld.) In the rituals of the taking over of the milk, in Serbia, there are elements of the cult of the Moon. 25n the village of Žepce, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the "Voice of the National Museum" from 1911 there are also beliefs for taking over the milk: "U Stocu.. Zatekli su jednu ženu sasvim golu, gde mete mlijeko u štapu i govori: "Gola ja, golo mu bilo i maslo (i.e. may she have more)" 26 (In the village of Stocu there was a women who naked performed the ritual in order to get more milk from her cattle.) In Vlasenica, at dawn on the day of St. Elijah, a Turkish woman performed a similar ritual: "Sa rukatom u ruci tora svog komšije, skinula jednu nogavicu sa gaća sa noge onda uzjahala na vratnice od tora, kao na konja, bacila nogavicu na glavu, te kroza nju gledala na mal i govorila: " Od Riste Vukovića nekoliko, a od Petre Stojšića svekoliko... " (She would tear apart the pants and with one part of them she would ride the peam.She would put part of the pants on her head and look through the hole so that the blessings of her neighbors would come to her) Aft er that she dug a hole putting sour milk in it saying something, and then she would go on the fountain of that house and bathe herself naked.
Very oft en on the holidays of St. Barnaba, St. George, St. Luke and St. Isidore women riding on peams would enter the fi elds saying:" You will have less and I will have more" In Kraina during the night before St. George, the witches rotate naked around the wells, saying: "Kako u ovom bunaru bilo vode, onako u moje krave mrkulje mlijeka, kako ovo vrelo nikad ne presušilo, onako i moja mrkulja mlijekom nikad ne presušila.. " (As there is always water in this well, may my cow have always milk.As the water will never run dry, may my cow have always milk.) In the areas near the river Drina, in the dawn before St.George, "pred zoru dvije stare žene došle na Drinu, tu se svukle, uhvatile poruke i igrale.Onda uze svaka po kravljaču, koji su sobom donjele zagaze u vodu, zgrabe malo u kravljaču , i stanu po vodi pljuskati i nešto govoriti.Čuo je kako samo jedna reče;" Ovliko je onaj... Ljetos mlijeka imao", a zagrabiv punu kravljaču:" Ovliko meni i mojoj kući ljetos svaki dan.Zatim se obadvije okupaše, obukoše i odoše kući." 27 (Before dawn two women go to the riverbank, get undressed; join hands and dance.Th ey take the pots they brought with them and put a little water in them saying words that the neighbors may have a little, and fi ll the pot with water so that they will have a lot.) Similar data for the ritual of taking over the milk were also noticed in the travelogue of Alberto Fortis 28 , the study of R. Filipović-Fabijanić "Folk medicine and folk beliefs", called "sihrobasice" 29 and also in R. Kajmaković for the inhabitants of Derventa (Serbian, Croatian and Muslim Groups). 30n the area of Janj (Serbian population): "viještice se mažu nekom tečnošću koju obično čuvaju ispod ognjišta.Noću uzjašu na vratilo, metlu, mašu ili neki drugi predmet u kući i jašući na tim predmetima mogu brzo stići gde su naumile." 31 (Th e witches use an ointment on their bodies, which is kept near the fi replace.During the night, they ride on the peam, the broom or on an other object from the house and riding on those objects they can reach the wanted destination.) For the analyzed ritual there are also some sayings which have been changed. 32

c) Croatians
In the ethnic area of Croatia, the women who perform the magic ritual of taking over the milk, mostly from the cattle were called "nastornica, ćinilica, ćornica, stanarica ćornica" -witches. 33Tako isto na Đurđevo već pre sunca rano ide gazdarica svetom di svetinom vodom.Ako izvraća to ona Đurđevo do zore, raspletene kike i raspasana ko noćna vještica, udeba se u komšisku štalu ili ti okol, di u strućak svezatim travama sicka svaku komšisku kravu -dojaću, a povrativ se doma isto tako sicka i njene krave, pa maže i im vime mladim maslima, koje je tu noch izbila, da njenim kravama sise ne pucaje i da dadu mleka... " 34 (Early before the sunrise on St.George's day the hostess goes and sprinkles around with water.If she manages, at dawn she enters the stables of the neighbors, with disentangled hair and with grass touches the cows of the neighbor.Aft er that she returns to her house doing the same with her cows putting on them fresh ointment so that they will give more milk.)

d) Bulgarians
Th e taking over of the milk as a ritual is spread all over Bulgaria.Th e ritual there is also performed by women who in the north-east, the centre and the north of Bulgaria are called: džadia, magesnica, izmamnica; in the south-east and the south part of Bulgaria: mamnica, mainica, vešterica, primamnica; and in the south -west, west and north-west Bulgaria: mamjačka, vražalica, znaiorica, vračka, bajarija-names for witches. 35 will quote the whole exposition of taking over the milk and taking down the Moon that D. Marinov used in his huge work " Folk religion and religious folk customs", previously published in SbNY, so that one can compare the structure and the form of the same in Bulgaria: Magii za obirane na žito mljako i med.Tova sa magii da obirat žitoto od nivite, mljakoto ot stadata i meda ot košarite.
V bjal kotel sa magosničeskite bilki, a do kotela imi i sito.Kato bajat v kotela i okolo sitoto, i kato prasjat s taja voda okolo sebesi -mesecot e omagosan i počne da se gubi na nebeto, a da sveti v kaštata, dato se pravjat magiite.. Toi se priblizava do magos-nicite v obraza na krava, kojato te izmalzavat.S mljakoto koeto ima goljama magičeska sila, te pravat naisilni magii.Samo palen mesec moze da se malze, zatova i samo palna svešt svaljat.Kato go izmalzjat, puštat go toi pak leka poleka se izkačva na nebeto, no samo če sega e mnogo bleden i svetlinata mu e slaba." 36 (Th ese are magic spells for taking over the milk, the crops and the honey.With the power of the magic a witch can take the blessings from one fi eld and take it into another.Th is happens on the night of St. George.Th e witch takes water and in the night goes to the fi eld, gets undressed, sits on the peam so as to put the spoon in her bottom.She goes around the fi eld.All the corns cobs fall and she picks them up in order to carry them to another fi eld or to her house.
Th e women also with spells can take over the milk from the cows and transfer it to other cows or to a woman.Most diffi cult is the magic that takes down the moon from the sky.In order to do this the witch must be naked and sit on the peam.Th e witches have to be mother and daughter, both of them breast-feeding small children.
Th ey use a kettle fi lled with plants and a bolter.As they say the spells they pour from the water around them and the bolter, the light of the Moon in the sky becomes weaker and stronger in the house.Th e Moon approaches in the form of a cow, and they milk it.With the milk that has strong magical power they make the strongest magic.Th is can be done only when the Moon is full.When they fi nish their job they let the Moon to go back to the sky.Its light is weaker and the Moon looks very pale.)Th e most detailed and rich study of the rituals performed during St. George is the one provided by T. Koleva "St.George among the South Slavs", which refers to the spring rituals of the South Slavs.In this study there are materials that show new ethnographic data for the ritual of the taking over of the blessings, in which there is a special accent on the part connected with the taking down of the Moon and its relation with the taking over of the milk. 37isregarding the numerous variations of the ritual, in Bulgaria38 it is mostly performed by women, with disentangled hair, always naked.It is oft en mentioned that the witch has a chicken under her arm in order to perform the ritual. 39In many of the variants the participants in the ritual are mother and daughter who are still breast feeding.An important condition for the taking over is the taking down of the Moon, and during the ritual they always ride on peam or spoke .40

I. Basic elements of the ritual
From the rich fact-sheet material and the numerous variants, we could idealistically formulate the ritual complex of taking over the milk and taking down the Moon as the magical activity of women, mother and daughter, always naked in active sexual and birthgiving power, who are still breast-feeding (this is considered as the oldest form of the ritual), who at the threshing fl oor, near the hinge perform a ritual dance where they will put the accent on their sexual power, potency, which with the ritual dancing will be brought to the phase of culmination, during which ritual the Moon attracted by the act of going on down to Earth, comes down to share the pleasures, and at the same time the women will get additional power from the Moon in order for this to be of use for their personal needs.Riding on the peams, naked they have power to take over the blessings and the milk from others.
From this extreme sexual explication of this very complex magic ritual, we can summarize its basic elements, which will be of great help in the further analysis of the structural elements.
Because of the theme given in the title, and the spatial limits, for the time being we will avoid the genesis of the ritual, although there already are certain tendencies for establishing the layers, the roots and the directions of the development of this ritual complex.
From the numerous descriptions, we can already conclude that certain participants perform ritual activities during: exact time and spatial limits, with typical tools, placing special accent on the ritual behavior, on the full activity of the organisms, on the orgiastic elements which the actors use to inspire nature to similar activity.
1. Time of organizing the ritual: -St.George -night, midnight -at full Moon 2. Space of acting/performing: -on threshing fl oor, near the hinge; -in the stables, around them, in fi elds 3. Participants: -women, mother and daughter, breast-feeding; -one woman (in fewer cases); -a woman and a man (only few cases) 4. Ritual tools: -Weaving peam -spoke; -pot with ashes/ointment; -excrement; 5. Magic action: Magic transmission of the ritual -orgiastic behavior of the participants; -ritual nakedness; -riding of the peam; -ritual dancing of naked woman, orgiastic elements Taking over the milk/corn

II. Semiology of the ritual
1. Time and space of the ritual In order for the ritual to be successfully performed, i.e. its intentions, it is very important for the action to happen at the right time and place.
Because this is a case of ritual in which the dominant tendency is to place the accent on fertility, in accordance with the mythological roots of the ritual, the unique time for it to take place is during the night.Th is is because the most important condition for taking over the milk is the infl uence of the Moon.Th e communication with the Moon is possible only during the night.It is the only witness of the events: "Mesečko, jasen mesečko, ti greeš dene i noše, vide li stado golemo."41 (O you moon that shine night and day have you seen a great fl ock) Only the Moon is active during the day and the night.What is important is that the Moon only during the night can give power to someone, to put accent on his/her sexuality, to make him/her fertile.
In accordance with the mythological concepts of the people, the Moon's character, in the sense of gender is ambivalent.Th e Moon is male-female.Th e Moon is female (full Moon), but the young Moon is male (it is also in accordance with the Macedonian grammar).Its mythological characteristics in the area of the Balkans do not remain only in the chthonic cults, for the Moon is the symbol of the fertility, of richness in harvest, or at least it is considered as the renewer of the Nature.
Th e problem lies in the question -how to communicate with the Moon?By whom, when and where can this be performed.Th e answer to these questions lies in the ritual itself.Th e ritual -taking down of the Moon.
In order for the contact to be successful, the witches chose the appropriate place -the threshing-fl oor, hinge, fi eld, stable.A space, which is not only symbolical, but is also connected with fertility, with the generosity of nature.

Participants
All the above mentioned is not enough, because the power and the ability to make contact with the Moon is wanted by everyone, but not possessed by everyone.Th ey can be attributed in a specifi cally traditional way -the person must be ritually prepared to fulfi ll certain conditions.Th e fertility will be extremely active and powerful if the participants, mother and daughter are breast-feeding at the same time.Th ey are fertile, breast-feeders, proven in their abilities.Th ey have the dignity to communicate with the Moon.Th e actors of the ritual are attributed special ritual conditions.42 3. Ritual tools One can notice from the description that diff erent tools are used in the ritual, some of which have great signifi cance during the performance of the ritual, while others are inserted in the ritual itself.
Th e most used tool in the ritual (noticeable from its constant mentioning in the descriptions) is the peam.It is part of the weaving loom, attributed with great magical power in the traditional/folk culture. 43Its real function and power can be discovered while analyzing the ritual.Th e women considered as witches ride on it.On it they bind magic items.Th e form of the peam and its ritual use indicate that it is actually a substitute for the phallus, the male principal.Symbolizing the phallus, the only place where its function can be fulfi lled is between the legs of the woman.Th e ritual spinning, binding of the peam participates in the collecting, attacking crops, milk, and people, symbolizing at the same time the fructifi ed power of nature. 44h e ritual activity of women with the spake is connected with the use of wine.Its symbolism of life, living power and fertility is used very appropriately.In some variants of the ritual there is the use of the reaping-hook in order to take down the Moon or take over the milk.Th e use of the reaping-hook indicates connection with the cult of the Moon, and its form indicates the relation with the Moon and the gaining of fertility.It is used to reap the corn, it makes the corn fall down, and it symbolizes blessings.It is close to the lunar symbolism, and is oft en a sign of the female principle. 45

Magic action Magical transmission in the ritual
One of the most important characteristics of magic is its transmission-ability to take the power to someone or something else.In the theory of magic it is already established that the transmission is simple and mythical. 46It is especially important that these two characteristics of the magic usually go together, helping each other in the ritual.One of them is more connected with analogy, and the other with transformation of the information at the level of symbols.
" Th e magical mimesis as the fi rst form of the human understanding of nature and the infl uence on it, is in the root of the ritual." 47 Th e magical activity shows man's active reaction to the objective reality.Th e model of successful magic implies established rules connected with appropriate performance of certain steps and accurate pronunciation of the magic formulas.
Th e motives of the people to perform magic are their wishes.It is important to understand that man has remarkable trust in the power of his/her wishes.Basically what man does with the help of magic is what he/she wants to do.Yet the wishes are complemented by one more segment of the human existence -the will, which should show satisfaction by physical hallucination. 48ccording to the principles of the magic actions, the participants should infl uence the Moon and the fertility. 49In context the most important things are: the orgiastic activity, the female principle and the fertility.

Ritual nakedness
Th e feminine way of cultural action is connected with the ability to make communication and understand nature, through getting into the intimate structure of the objects and leading in the wanted direction. 50h e woman is always in an intimate contact with nature, and yet she is able to rule with it.
During the contacts between the woman and nature there is a throwing-away of every obstacle that come in the way of realization of the intimate contact.Th is is why the women during the ritual have to be naked, because the clothes (as a cultural value) create a distance between them.woman = nature vs. culture naked woman dressed According to the norms of the traditional culture, nakedness is forbidden in the profane world.On the other hand the magic rituals realized in specifi c time, unconditioned by human-nights, the deaf hour, require that the participants be naked, because the nakedness makes the connection with the other, "the sacred world".Th is means that the performers of the ritual have to be naked in order to reach the other, the received power, in order to fulfi ll the wanted communication. 51ght > sacred world >magical power to fulfi ll intentions From this, we can conclude that the power, organized and performed by women on St. George, has one aim -the transmission of the power of the Moon in order to take the blessings of the other people in a strictly given ritual structure, order and intensive magic.
During this ritual, they energetically modulate their bodies, extremities, with ritual orgiastic accenting of two, sexually active women, who through erotic games, touching their sexual organs, want in an ambivalent way to take down the Moon.In its base this modulated game symbolizes life, activity and at the same time stimulates life." Life is born through game", especially if this is done with intense sexual power and wish, in the moment of ambivalence, during "sexual intercourse".Th e moment of the ritual dancing of women, the hitting with the peam, the spoiling of the wine with a towel bound on the top of the peam, is an imitation of sexual intercourse, of orgasm, i. e. fertilizing the female principle generally in nature.Th e Moon is the witness of these mystical, orgiastic acts, performed on the threshing fl oor, near the hinge (symbol connected with fertility, placed in the middle of the threshing-fl oor) which symbolize the sexual call for mutual play and communication with the Moon in order to attribute its power.Th e women want this communication so that they will fi nd out the secrets of the world, and will accumulate mystical power.Th e taking down of the Moon symbolizes contact with the earth, with the fi elds.

Moon > woman -orgy > fertilizing > the Earth
What is the essence of the mystical power of the Moon?"Th e Moon is eternal, able to renew itself through time".Like every celestial body it becomes smaller and disappears, but never dies.Th e Moon has the power to renew its form and is regarded as an item that has the same rhythm as life has.It directs all the cosmic levels which are under the law of cyclic evolution: water, rain, vegetation, fertility.
Th e mythological concept made people put the Moon in an ambivalent position.Th e Mitoses speak as "a male and a female at the same time".On the one hand it is connected with fertility, birth and growing, and on the other with death.Th e Moon is a natural symbol of life and death.Th e fertility of women (menstruation) is in accordance with the life (changes) of the Moon.
Basically, the magic of taking down the Moon, and taking over the milk, reveals special mythological views based on the cosmic understandings in which the abstract ideas of power are the basic condition for the existence of the world.Th e magic ritual is ambivalent.Th e ambivalence is seen in the attempt to unite with nature, but also to take control over it.A typical example of ambivalence is the extreme, untypical behavior.Th e condition for successful ritual is connected with the untypical behavior, against time and spatiality, the irrational and the sacred world.