Poliški tročan<br>“Tročan” in Village Police</br>

Abstract

The Police village is situated in western Slovenia. Folklore and select characteristic toponyms communicate important spatial points. Their distribution demonstrates a well-considered arrangement of space, which may also be linked with the symbolic arrangement of the village region. The present day level of experience enables a comprehension dealing with spatial ideograms. The presented ideograms from the village Police are an expression of the age-old belief in three fundamental forces of nature (heaven-sun-fire, earth, water = tročan, the principle of a triad). The localities Roglca (=earth), Sv. Ivan in Šebrelje (=sun), and the Štribabe stones in Police (=water) compose the Major Tročan. The stones Štribabe in the middle of the Police field represent the Minor Tročan. A processional pathway enables a synthesis of the entire folklore, which until today remained preserved in mere fragments. They facilitate the reconstruction of two legends. The first clarifies the cycle of the seasons, while the second sets order to chaos in the instance of a natural disaster (drought, flood).