VEROVANJA IN MITIENE PREDSTAVE O SMRTI
IN POSMRTNEM .IVLJENJU
BELIEFS AND MYTHOLOGICAL NOTIONS
OF DEATH AND LIFE AFTER DEATH



16

SLAVIC FOLK CONCEPTIONS OF DEATH
ACCORDING TO LINGUISTIC DATA


Svetlana M. Tolstaya 

IZVLEEEK 

Slovanski ljudski koncepti smrti glede na lingvistiena dejstva 

Avtorica navaja nekaj temeljnih idej in semantienih modelov, ki se ka.ejo v besednjaku in frazeologiji .o 
smrti. v slovanskih jezikih. 

1. Koncept du.e in interpretacija smrti kot .loeitev du.e od telesa, njen odhod iz telesa. in podobne izraze 
je mogoee najti v izrazih (povezanih z umirajoeo osebo) kot, na primer, .nekdo ima du.o v svojem nosu. 
(srb.eina), .v zobeh. (bolgar.eina) itd. 
2. Eden najpomembnej.ih konceptov v .besedilu o smrti. je ideja poti, zato smrt opisuje tako veliko glagolov gibanja. Umirajoea oseba tako .gre narazen., .leti., .potuje., .je na poti. itd. 
3. Interpretacija smrti kot vrnitve na zemljo, ki je bila element in material za ustvarjenje eloveka (primerjaj 
z Genezo), predstavlja semantieno osnovo naslednjih izrazov: .iti v erno zemljo., .iti pod erno zemljo., 
.biti poroeen s erno smrtjo., .jesti zemljo. itd. 
4. Naslednja ideja o smrti je koncept konca, sklenitev .ivljenja, izerpanje virov, .ivljenjskih moei in pripadajoeega easa. S tem v zvezi so povezani naslednji izrazi: .priti do konca., .koneati se., .biti zunaj let., 
.pojesti .ivljenje nekoga. itd. 
5. Kr.eanske koncepte smrti kot poti v novo .ivljenje ali novo rojstvo lahko opazimo v izrazih, kot so, na 
primer, .re.iti se. v bolgar.eini, roditi se, .da umre.. itd. 
6. Veasih je zunanji simptom umiranja ali specifienost pogrebne .ege uporabljen kot izrazni motiv. Na primer .zaviti z oemi., .dati roke skupaj., .imeti .kolivo. v ustih. itd. 
Kljuene besede: umiranje, umrla oseba, du.a, pogrebne .ege, pot, zemlja, besednjak o smrti 
Key words: dying, deseased person, soul, funeral rites, route, earth, vocabulary of death 

Comparative poorness of verbal representation of such an important fragment of 
the traditional world picture as folk concepts of death and the corresponding rituals and 
everyday behavior has more than once been pointed out by scholars investigating Slavic 
folk culture. Such poorness is even more evident against the background of the developed 
terminology and phraseology of the wedding ritual and matrimonial beliefs. It is normally accounted for by the consecration of the theme of death, by the danger of direct nom


Svetlana M. Tolstaya 

ination of the very phenomenon of death, the deceased, the other world etc. �The vocabulary of death� comprises mostly euphemistic designations and idioms based on non specific vocabulary, nevertheless justified by the whole system of concepts concerning life 
and death, correlated with the ritual of leave-taking of the deceased, burial and remembrance. To a considerable extend the sphere of the meanings (concepts) elaborated in the 
vocabulary and phraseology of death coincides in various Slavic languages, which fact, 
considering their etymological community, allows to reconstruct ancient Slavic beliefs 
relating to death and, so to say, the whole �text of death�. 

It seems that the only �specific� area in the Slavic vocabulary of death are the 
words containing the common Slavic root *m�r-/mer-/mor, from which the �key words� 

18 
*s�m�rt� .death. and *-m�riti .to die. represented in all the Slavic languages are derived. Nevertheless, even these words, as shown by V. V. Ivanov (E�a��� 1987) and V. N. 
Toporov (O�i�.�� 1991), in the Indo-European retrospective turn out to be not void of 
inner form, i.e. semantically derived and reduced to be primary meaning .to disappear., a corresponding verb (alongside with the meaning .to die.) heaving been registered in ancient Hittite texts. Such semantic development .to disappear. � .to die. is 
convincingly explained as an ancient euphemism (while opposite direction of semantic 
development seems unlikely). 

Such actual, for the Hittite language, i.-e. inner form has, of course, been wholly 
erased in the Slavic ground and the verb *-m�riti is undoubtedly non-motivated in 
Slavic languages. Nevertheless, the ancient semantic model .to disappear. � .to die. 
with certain semantic filiations like .be missing, be lost. � .to die. (or semantically correlated causative row: .to destroy. � .to kill, to put the death.) turns out to be actual 
also for the Slavic languages and is encountered in a considerable layer of so-called 
�secondary�, i.e. motivated vocabulary of death. I mean such verbs involved in the field 
of death as *tereti (se) .to lose, be lost., *gubiti (se)/ *g�bnoti/*gybati (se) .to destroy, be 
destroyed., *propasti/*propadati .to be missing., *tratiti .to spend., *kon�cati (se)/ 
*kon�citi (se) and some others, e.g. *gladiti. 

All these verbs with the common main meaning .to disappear, to be missing. or 
(causative) .act so that something /somebody disappears, is missing. (and their derivatives) may, in various Slavic languages, have the meaning .to die /to put to death, to 
kill.. Being unable to quote here the necessary illustrative material, I would just like to 
point out that this semantic connection .to disappear. � .to die. is confirmed and supported by the connection between opposite (antonymous) meanings: .to find /be found. 
and .to bear /be born. (words with the meaning .to find /be found. have in a few Slavic 
languages the meaning of .to bear /be born., O��noay 1997). Such correlation of 
words and meanings reflects, characteristically of the Slavic folk culture, the mirroring 
opposing concept of birth and death, two polar marks of human life (see O��noayE
1990). It should be also noted that the verbs nominating burial in the Slavic languages 
*chorniti, *chovati, *pretati are indirectly connected with the same semantic sphere of 
�losingfinding�. On the one hand, we find antonymous correlation .to lose /have 

~

lost� 
.to keep / have kept. (i.e. .not to lose. / .not to have lost.), and on the other hand 

~

there is semantic opposition .to hide..to find.. 

~


Slavic Folk Conceptions of Death According to Linguistic Data 

Such essential, for the folk tradition, category, as a contraposition of good, natural, self death to bad, unnatural death, is also reflected in the vocabulary of death. The 
very common Slavic word *s�m�rt� originally used to denote a natural, good, right 
death (which is expressed by the prefix *s�-/*su-, meaning .good. and .own.). Unnatural, bad death is denoted by the verbs *gubiti (se)/ *g�bnoti/*gybati (se) .to destroy, be 
destroyed. with the primary meaning .to bend., and further, possibly, leading to the 
notion .crooked., having stable negative connotations and interpreted as .something 
wrong, bad, dangerous. (A��e��a 1998; O��noay 1998).E

Let us briefly examine a few more motifs and semantic models reflected in the vocabulary and phraseology of the Slavic languages, being key ones the folk concept of 
death. 19 

1. Let us begin with the cardinal, for the given sphere, concept of the soul and 
interpretation of death as separation of soul from the body. According to Serbian beliefs, a living person.s soul is �tied� to the body (whence expressions �a�a�a ��oa, 
�tied, i.e. corporal soul�), while after death it frees itself from the body (it is nominated 
n������a ��oa �free soul�). See �ajea���e. 1994.5: 72. This concept interprets 
death as �separation� of the body from the soul, as the breach of the bond, which bond 
is sometimes perceived as christening or matrimonial bond, whence the Serbian expressions like .ane.anoeo� �a���aea n ��o�� �unchristen somebody with the soul�, 
n�yua��ee .ane.aue�aao �ie.a.uaa� n ��o�� �the priest unchristens the dying 
person with the soul� (Vukanovia 1986: 304). 
There exist various notions about the exact location of the soul in the body, as 
well as about the manner in which it leaves the body in the moment of death. Most frequently it.s believed that the soul leaves the body through the mouth (Serbians have a 
proverb ��oa ja��a �.aoa eia, (i.e. �there is only one door for the soul�), but it 
might also be the nose (Serbians say about a dying person ��oa i� � ��n� no�je�he 
has his soul standing in his nose�, (�ajea���e. 1994/2: 62), or ��o�a ��oa � ��nE
�the soul has come up to the nose�); cf. Serbian folk curse ��oa oe �a ��n �aE
e��a�e�a(Pirot, ��aoe��e. 1989: 32). It might also be the throat (or a hollow on the 
neck): ��o�a ��oa i�� a.��the soul has come up to the throat�; Bulgarians consider the teeth to be the last refuge of the soul before death, so they say about the dying 
person ��ne ��oaoa � ���eoa ne�he wears his soul in his teeth� or ��oaoa i� a ��E
���eoa �his soul has come up to the teeth� or ��.aa ��oaoa ne �a� ���eoa �he 
keeps his soul behind his teeth� (�.�A 1: 285-286). 

It might be the eyes: Silesian Poles used to believe that the eyes burst in the moment of death, and that is how the soul comes out of the body (Moszynski 1967: 594; cf. 
also �ajea���e. 1994/5: 108). It may be also the nails: Bulg. ��oa e i�� ��e�oE
�noay �the soul holds on but under the nail�. Czechs believe it to be the elbow: mit 
du.i v lokti �he has his soul in his elbow�, Serbians believe it to be the bones: ��o i� naE
� e�noe �a�e�his spirit has hidden in his bones�, �aiae�a i� na ��oa � e�noeiaE
�his soul has been baked in the bones�, Ja��a ��nei � e�noeia ��o� �I can hardly 
wear my soul in my bones� (�ajea���e. 1994/5: 72). Russians also consider the soul to 
gradually �run out� of the body, cf. the expression � �ai o���e� ��oa �a.aeonyE


Svetlana M. Tolstaya 

�what is there to keep the soul� (though it might also have a different inner meaning, 
underlining bodily diminution, insufficiency). Russian dial. ��oa e�.�oea noa�aE
�the soul has become short�, Ukrainian ��oa �a ���i� �eo�3 �a.aeo�ny�The soul 
holds on to a thread� (�N�I 1: 277) etc. 

East-Serbian (from Pirot) curses might also nominate the ribs as the place of 
souls the departure: ��oa oe �a .a�.� e��a��a �your soul has come to your rib� etc. 
(��aoe��e. 1989: 32). The same texts may have, in accordance with the general �lowered� stylistics of the curses and their characteristic �non-normativity�, the motif of the 
soul.s departure through the anus (��oa �a ��ia �a oe e��a�e ea� i�j�ao �a ��ejaE
n�ao - the same), which is in accordance with the folk concept of death of wizards, 

20 witches etc. 
Separation of the soul from the body can be interpreted as the action of either 
the soul itself or the dying person or some other �third� subject. In the former case, the 
soul, as a rule, �comes out� (the standard expression about death in Polesye: ��oaE
�uo�a) or �goes away� (��oa �o��eo - about the dying person, Zakarpatye, Sinevir). 
Moreover, the soul may �fly away� (East-Slavic), �fall down� (Serb. ��e i� ��oa �aE
enia��a - O.eie��e. 1967: 5), �break off� (Oaoe. 1988: 144-145); cf. also Old-Russian e�.��e ��o� e� o.a�.a oa�a (�N���� � i��e� Ea�.a�a�), Rus. Karel. ��oaE
�uia�aao �the soul falls out� about a dying person (N.AE 2: 13). When the dying 
person is the agent, he �parts with�, �separates with� the soul, �bids farewell� to it, �lets 
out, spews, exhales� the soul, �climbs down the soul� (Vologda dial. n����yaony nE
��oa��ee ni�noeo�ny-�.aae�a 1980), �o�aao ��a� ��o� �gives the soul to God�. 
Serbians say about the agony that the person �collect the soul� or �fights with the soul� 
(agony being interpreted as the fight between the angel and the death, the fight between the angel and the devil for the human soul). See AAI� 49: 163.E
�The third� party of the act may be God who takes the soul (Serb. ��ia i� ��aE
��o� �God will take his soul�), an Angel or Archangel, a saint sent by God to take the 
soul out of the person and bring it to heaven, or Death, devil, an evil spirit that �grab� 
the soul with a scythe, hooks, a knife, a sabre etc. (Byelor. Gomel. a�oa� �a i.a�uiE
��oai, �a�eno� �a �a�ui, oo� � �eo ia.ai�aa, o�� ��o� �y.�). 
Relatives of the dying person take care to, according to a folk expression, 
i.�i�noeo� ��o� �let the soul through�, while it is leaving the body, therefore unfasten the clothes, open the windows, the doors, the chests, and in the case of a difficult 
agonizing death they raise up the tie-beam, take to pieces the ceiling or the roof. The 
expression no�.�aeo� ��o� or ea.a��eo� ��o� .to guard the soul. is connected 
with the known up to now custom of putting a vessel of the water at the head of dying 
person.s bed and make sure, by the waving of the water, that the soul has left the body. 
It is quite often that in similar expressions the word ��oa .the soul. is substituted 
by ��o.the spirit.: ��o �uoa�, ��o ���, eni�noe� ��o �the spirit went out, the spirit got 
out, let the spirit out� etc. Peasants of Vologda region, while throwing some earth onto the 
coffin, used to say: ���o ���, n��o ���, �e� �����the spirit out, hearing out, seeing out�. 

The spirit, the air, the vapour, in folk concepts, are the substance of the soul, its 
material embodiment. Though sometimes similar context might echo the Christian 


Slavic Folk Conceptions of Death According to Linguistic Data 

concept of the soul based on the triad body-soul-spirit, in Polesye beliefs, expressions 
��o �a �a�� e�a, a ��oa � �ai�. �The spirit goes to the heaven, and the soul goes to 
the earth� or ��oa, ���a o��, ���a �ee��a �a i�ia�aa, �a�e�aa �the soul does not 
get anywhere, it rots� (PA, Rovno region, Glinnoye). 

2. The second essential motif of the �the text of death� is the route. The fact 
that it is not a concept introduced by scholars understanding the ritual of burial as 
rite de passage, but a category inherent in the folk culture itself, is justified by the 
vocabulary and phraseology connected with the idea of movement and route, widely 
represented in all the Slavic languages. The verb o��eo� .to go., as well as its derivatives and synonyms, is in the centre of these nominations of death. They say about 
the dying person that he �oo��eo�going off�, about the deceased person -�o�oa�E21 
�went off� (��o � �an � n�na�ee i�aee �o�oa�, i������ aua �u�). Tambov dialects have �o��eo�ny in the meaning of .to be drowned. (� �an �o��e�an� ���aE
i����a��eay, oae aa no�.��e�e), and �o�aeee are .the drowned ones.; the same 
dialects present a rare usage of the verbs ��aoao�, �o�aoao� �to fly off� in the 
meaning .to die. (� ia�y ��a i�aa ��aoa�e; �a�a� ��e.ao�ny, ��a�eo ne�.�E
��aoeo �o �an) (Iao.a�a�a 1997); it is possible that similar usage has been af-E
fected by common expressions like ��oa �o�aoa�a, ��aoa�a �the soul has flown 
off�. The verb ��.ao�ny �to be removed� is known in the same meaning: � ia�yE
nu� ��.a�ny, i������ oae�� �u�, 32 a��a �My son was removed, he was so young, 
32 years old� (Tambov). 
There is another verb noted in Polesye, �.��eo� �to wander�, denoting the state 
of the agonizing dying person. The motif of �the water route� is present in Perm dialect 
expressions ��oe �a .ae�, ��oe �a Eai�, o�o �a.aa �e�ao� �to go over the river, to 
go over the Kama, the other bank can be seen� (about the dying person) (I��.e��E
1991: 65). The way after death can be directed either upwards (Rus. Arkhangel. �aE
a�.� n��e.aaony �is going up the mountain�, about the dying person, A�N 9: 82) or 
downwards (Perm. ��oe e�e��.to die., I��.e�� 1991: 67).E

Eastern Slavs often say about the dying person that he is n��e.aaony � ��.�a�,E
�e�eony �a ��.�a� �getting ready for the journey, looking at the road� (PA, Brest region, 
Rubel), �aa �a ��.��a �already on the way� (PA, Brest region, Khoromsk), e�ao �E
�a�ae�. ��.�a� �is leaving on a far journey� (Zakarpatye, Sinevir). It was customary in 
the Vologda region to place the dying person onto the floor along the floor-boards �o��E
ai� i� i�oyi �u�� �so that he is on his way�. Bulgarians used to name the dying person 
i�o�ee �a traveller� (�aea.a�nee 1938: 258), and the special loaf of bread baked just 
after death, was called i�o�e�a, and it was believed that, after the ritual breaking up of 
the loaf, the soul of the deceased �started on its route� (���a���a 1997: 42). In Polesye, 
while nailing the coffin, they wished the deceased person �a happy journey�. All the Slavic 
traditions prohibit crying, bewailing, keening during the agony, with the stable motivation: �the dying person ought not to be disturbed on his route�. 

However, the verbs of the movement are more frequent in full constructions with 
the designated aim, the ultimate point of the route. This ultimate point is usually defined as �home�: the dying person n��e.aaony �� ��i�, �� ��i� i�a�y�aa, e�ao �E


Svetlana M. Tolstaya 

��.�a� �� ��i� �is going to leave for home, looking forward to his home, going on his 
way home�. The inevitability of death is thus alluded to: �a ��i� o.a e�e ea�en�E
�some time it is necessary to go home�, o.a�a ����i� �aa eoe ai� �he has to go 
home already� (PA Gomel region, Ruchayevka), about the deceased: iio�� �� ��i�E
(PA, Rovno region, Svaritsevichi), �aa [i�oa�] �a �a��u� ��i �already [gone] to the 
eternal home� (PA, Kiev region, Kopachi). 

The aim of the route may also be meeting one.s deceased relatives, joining the 
assembly of ancestors, described in the following expressions: i�oa� �� �a���, ��E
a��ee, �� .��u�u, i�oa� �� n��eo, �� �nao n��eo, i�oa� �� n��aa� .��a, ��E
n��aa� ��i�, �aa n �a��o�eeaie a���.uo, � i.��eaiu �a .�e� ���.��aaonyE

22 
�gone to the grandfathers, to one.s wife, to the family, to one.s own people, to all one.s 
people, gone to one.s kin, to one.s home, already talking with the deceased, greeting 
the ancestors by the hand� (PA, Brest region), �a n��� o�a� i�o�a, �a n��aE
iano�aeoa��no�� �gone to eat one.s own bread, to one.s own place of abode� (Vologda region) etc. An adapted to Christianity variant of such beliefs is reflected in 
phrases like �oi.a�e�ny e ��a� �a �a�ana, �a o�o n�ao n��.a�ny�gone to God in 
heaven, getting ready for the other world�. 

From time to time, there can be met expressions connected with archaic notions 
about the vegetable kingdom as the locus of the dead. Thus, an old woman from Oltush, a Polesye village, said about herself: � o��e� i�a�� � aa�I shall soon go to the 
grove� (PA, Brest region); in Kaluga dialects there has been registered an expression 
n��e.aaony � �a.a�ee �going to leave to the birches�, which means .close to death.. In 
Siberian dialects i��oe � �a.a���u� (� �a�a�u�) aa� �to go to the birch (green) garden� means .to die.; Russians in Lithuania say i�� �a.a�u i�.a�it is time to go under 
the birches�; in Novgorod region ��oe i�� a�e� �to go to the fir-tree� means .to die. 
(see I��.e�� 1991: 71). A Yaroslav phrase i�.a �a �a�eee �time to go to the besom� 
with the same meaning is also interesting (it is connected with the custom of putting 
besoms into the coffin). 

3. The semantic models mentioned above suppose vertical linear movement of 
the soul - from the dead body up to the heaven above. They are opposed by the phraseology understanding death, so to say, a corporeal point of view, i.e. as the way of the 
person from the face of the earth into its entrails, as coming back into the element and 
substance from which the human being has been created (cf. from the Orthodox Christian burial service �ye� �ai�y ane e � �ai�. �ou�aoe� �thou ait like the earth and 
into the earth thou shalt go�). 
Carpathian Rusyns say i��oe �� ��.��. �ai�i �go to the black earth� meaning 
.to die.; Serbians say �� ��a i�� �.�� �ai.� �he goes under the black earth�; Bulgarian curses: �o�� oa�y ��y�a �a.�ay �ai�y! �May the black earth take you!�; E�e ouE
� �a.��. �ai�.! �Go into the black earth!� etc. Slovenes say about the deceased person �he has been wed to the black earth� or �he is in the arms of the black earth�; and 
Greeks say �he has been eaten by the black earth� (see O��no�� 1997), cf. Perm. �ai�.E
�ae�.ieo� �to feed the earth� meaning .to die. (I��.e�� 1991: 62). Kashubs similarly say �he has long been grinding the earth� (Sychta 6: 221). There is a group of sim


Slavic Folk Conceptions of Death According to Linguistic Data 

ilar phrases in the Czech containing the word hlina, which in the given case also means 
.the earth.: �there is already a pile of clay upon him�, �he is in the black clay�, �he is 
grinding, puddling the clay�, �he has gone to Hlinsk� etc. All these expressions mean 
.he is already dead, in the grave. (Zaor�lek 1947: 109-110). 

Kashubs speak about old age thus: �earth is already coming upon me�, �earth is 
pulling him�, �he is growing into the earth� (Sychta 6: 221). It can be heard in Polesye 
about very old people that they �smell of earth� (PA, Kiev region, Kopachi), or they 
�getting ready to go into earth� (PA, Brest region). The Perm dialectal expression ��E
iane� �until the sadn� means .until death.; they say about very old people ian�e �aE
a�a�a nui�aony �sand is pouring onto one.s eyes� (I��.e�� 1991: 67), cf. also 
Novgorod. a�a�a iane�i �anuiao� �to pour sand onto one.s eyes�; Arkhang. iane� �aE23 
a�a�a i���aeo� �to put some sand onto one.s eyes� (A�N 9: 82) etc. 

There exists a widely spread belief, according to which a person should die on the 
ground, so it was customary in numerous local traditions to take the dying person 
down from the bed onto the ground or at least onto the floor, especially during an agonizing death. Serbians thought that the dying person should by all means �grab the 
earth�, �seize the earth�, for being separated from mother earth, he cannot die. 

Eastern Slavs and Russians in particular have an expression �ai�y �aE
i.e�eiaao �the earth won.t admit�, which represents a very ancient concept concerning good, natural, �one.s own� death and . bad, �not one.s own�, �evil� death. It was 
forbidden to bury in the earth those who died of unnatural reasons . self-murderers, 
hanged people, drowned people. Such category of the deceased people and corresponding beliefs and rituals have been thoroughly investigated by D. K. Zelenin (�a�a�e�E
1995), who, using a Northern Russian dialect term called such deceased people 
�a��a�ua. According to folk beliefs, every time a �a��a�u�deceased person is buried in the earth, he is coming back to the ground, which just is that �the earth won.t 
admit�; he is not prone to decay and, by nights, gets out of the grave and harms people. 
Such beliefs have given origin to a special burying practice: such dead bodies were not 
buried in the earth, but they were thrown out into deserted places or left on the place 
of death, heaped up with twigs and branches of trees, brushwood, stones etc. to prevent 
them from �walking�. Serbians thought that �the earth won.t admit� great sinners 
perjurers, murderers, transgressors of property laws etc. Bodies of such sinners were 
burnt after their death, and the custom was preserved in some places up to the 20th 
century (�e�ei��e� 1959). 

The corporeal image of death gives origin to nominations of death based on the 
outward observed symptoms like ��e � a�.� i���o�e �eyes gone up� (Polesye), a�a�eeE
�noa�e �eyes stopped� (Russia); �a �a�� no�.��� a�a�a �u�a.���en� �eyes turned 
out to the left� (Arhkangelsk region, anie�a 1996: 49) cf. the proverb ���aen� i��E
��.a�a �a �u��.a�e�a� a�a�a� (�lie down under the icons and turn your eyes out�, 

A�N 9: 82); ��ae i.�oy��� �stretched one.s legs� (Russia), �a�.a�� (a�ei����) ��aiE
(Byelorussia, ..�a�ea 1972: 235), Pol. zadar3 gegi �put one.s feet up�, SW) etc., as 
well as characteristic features of the very funeral rites, e.g. n��aeo� .�ee �to fold 
arms� (� ia�y i�a .a�� n��ae� .�ee � 31 a�� �My husband folded his arms early 

Svetlana M. Tolstaya 

at age of 31�, Tambov region, Iao.a�a�a 1997); o.a�a .a�e�� iaea .�ee ne�a�aoE
�one has to work until folds one.s arms�, PA, Gomel region, Ruchayevka), Rus. i��E
��.a�a �a�� (i���aeo�) �to lie/lay down under the icons�, Rus. Perm. i�.aE
i���oa��a a�o��eo�, .�ee �a a.��� i���aeo�, .anoy��o�ny ����� �a�ee�time 
to get the towel ready; to put the arms on one.s chest; to spread oneself along the 
bench�; Bulg. �he carries kolivo in his mouth� (�.�A 1: 749) etc. 

4. The next semantic model of nomination of death stresses the concept of the end, 
the completion of one.s life, of �exaustiveness� of one.s life resources (lot), of the life forces and assigned time. The verbs e��ao�and e���ao�ny are central in the group; they 
are used to denote agony and death in all the Slavic languages (let us note that the original 
24 
semantics of these verbs again brings us back to the concept of �disappearance�; both 
e���ao�nyand en�a���o� mean .to cease to exist.). Beside these verbs, there are synonymous expressions describing various aspects of the �end�, e.g. Serb. dial. i.a�.e��� n�aE
�.eaa �all his cares have been left behind him�, or �noa�e� eaoee� �put his spoon 
aside� (Oaoe. 1988: 145), Rus. Volog. �o.yo���ny �o ae��e �shuffled off life�; about 
old people: �oae�aao, ��ae�aao, ��a�� �ae ae�ao �living through the remainder 
of one.s days; living somebody else.s life� (Poles. ��a�. ae��� �aa�aao�eating somebody else .s life�), �uoa� e� a���� �run out of one.s years�; �a�a����u� �having no 
years�, cf. about one.s death �an�aony �living out the hours�. According to folk beliefs, a 
human being.s earthly existence is measured and every violation of one.s measure of time 
(not living long enough up to one.s measure or, vice versa, a too long life) is considered to 
be dangerous for the person as well as for the whole society. 

The Christian idea of death as the end of the earthly route and transition to a 
new eternal life, as a second birth is basic for such nominations of death as Bulg. nianeE
na �saved oneself�, .��e na �was born� (�aea.a�nee 1939: 10). Russian duhkobors 
�do not call a Christian.s extinction - death, but a change (e�ia�a�ea), and so do not 
say our brother is dead, but our brother has changed� (evidence of the beginning of the 
19th century, Oeo��.a��� 1862: 12 of spec. pagin.). 

A few cultural metaphors can be pointed out, being used in the vocabulary of 
death. Thus, the concept that a man has his counterparts in the world of nature has 
produced such phrases as �aeaoe�an� aa� ��a��a �one.s star has set�, primarily correlated with the phenomenon of death and connected with the belief that at the moment 
of one.s birth a new star is lighted in the sky, and at the moment of one.s death it is 
extinguished. The same image of life as light and death as darkness is present in Polesye phrases ��a�.a�a n�a�ea �the candle is gone out� (about one.s death) and �aaE
�aoa n��e�ea ��aa.u�aa �your candle is burning out� (your life is at an end) or in 
Perm. expression n�a�a i�aan�a �the candle is gone out�, i.e. .death has come. 
(I��.e�� 1991: 70). A Serbian expression i�njae�� na i� �.�� �his tree is felled� is 
connected with a folk belief, according to which a man has a counterpart in the world 
of trees, and, if the tree is felled, the man will die. 

Among the stable and widely met in the vocabulary of death metaphors is the one 
describing death as a sleep, according to the Russian proverb �n�� nia.oe n���(i.e. 
�sleep and death are closeones�). The image has served as the basis for such well-known 


Slavic Folk Conceptions of Death According to Linguistic Data 

expressions as �n��o� �a��ui n��i �fall to eternal sleep�, �n�ioe� �the late�, 
�nia�ea �Assumption� and, moreover, it is being developed as an ordinary picture of 
sleep, bed, lying in bed etc., cf. Perm. .anoy��o�ny i����� �a�ee, i�noa�eo�E
i�noa��e�, a���ui ��ay��i �e.uo�ny �to stretch oneself along the bench, to make 
one.s bed, to cover oneself with fir blanket� meaning .to die. etc. (I��.e�� 1991: 70). 

The presented examples of phraseology and vocabulary concerning death, should 
they be taken outside the ritual context and the context of beliefs, might be interpreted 
as ordinary linguistic metaphors, euphemistic substitutions of the verb �ie.ao�E
(�ia.ao�) .to die., produced by the taboo on the direct nomination of death and the 
process of dying; however, the very character of such substitutional nomination brings 
out the deep roots of such �secondary� vocabulary of death in the cultural concepts, its 25 
direct connection with the beliefs and ritual practice, its cultural foundation and semantic depth. 

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BESEDA O AVTORICI 

Svetlana M. Tolstaya, dr., je filologinja. Diplomirala je na Fakulteti moskovske univerze leta 
1961 in doktorirala leta 1993. Zaposlena je na Oddelku za slovansko etnolingvistiko in folkloro, In
.titut za slovansko kulturo, Akademija znanosti, 
Moskva. Njeno znanstveno zanimanje sega na podroeje slovanske lingvistike in ljudske kulture. Je 
ena izmed avtorjev enciklopedienega slovarja .Slovanske staro.itnosti.. Napisala je vee kot 250 
elankov o slovanski primerjalni slovnici, dialektologiji, folklori in mitologiji, kot tudi knjigo .Morfologija v strukture slavianskih jazykov. (Moskva, 
1998). 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Svetlana M. Tolstaya, Ph.D., is a philologist. 
She graduated from the Faculty of Moscow University in 1961 and finished her Ph.D. thesis in 1993. 
She is employed at the Department of Slavic Ethnolinguistics and Folklore, the Institute of Slavic 
Culture, the Academy of Sciences, Moscow. Her 
interest lies in the Slavic lingustics and folk culture. She is one of the authors of the encyclopaedic 
dictionary .Slavic antiquities.. She wrote over 
250 papers on the Slavic comparative grammar, 
dialectology, folklore and mythology and also a 
book .Morfologija v strukture slavianskih jazykov. (Moscow, 1998).