ON THE SILVER BULLET IN THE BULGARIAN FOLK SONGS WITH A MOTIF “A VIRGIN RESCUES MALTA”

Abstract

The report examines the silver bullet as a common ground between Bulgarian folk songs with the motif “A Virgin rescues Malta” and those from the cycle about Stoyan Indzhe voivode, and traces its appearance and usage in our folklore. Furthermore, the report investigates the silver bullet theme analysed in the studies of Bulgarian traditional culture. The research presented here is based on the analysis of two groups of folk songs with 61 published variants from one group and 368 records from the other. The conclusion of this report is that for the first time in Bulgarian folklore the silver bullet was used as a special instrument in the songs about Indzhe voivode, from where it accidentally passed into the already existing songs about Malta and about Delyo voivode spreading in the same geographical area and circulating between the same singers and audience. Later, the silver bullet was included in the circle of beliefs and practices among Bulgarians related to the killing of vampires looks more like a late phenomenon from the end of the 20th century – the result of an influence external to the folk culture.