Ethnobostronomy - ethno- botany + astronomy Ethnoastronomical aspect of traditional belarusian fitonimicon: problem statement

1. 4th INTERNATIONAL
CONGRESS
of BELARUSIAN STUDIES
ETHNOASTRONOMICAL ASPECT OF TRADITIONAL
BELARUSIAN FITONIMICON: PROBLEM
STATEMENT
Tsimafei Avilin (Minsk, Belarus)
The Center for Belarusian Culture, Language and Literature Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus
MMXIV

2. Who is who?
• Ethnobotany (1895)
vs
• Ethnoastronomy (1973/1969)
Ethnoastronomical aspect of traditional belarusian fitonimicon:
problem statement
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3. Parallels
Ethnoastronomical aspect of traditional belarusian fitonimicon:
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• Typological
vs
• Genetical
Kolosava V.B. Leksika I simvolika slavianskoj narodnoj botaniki, 2009

4. Examples: typological
interchangeability
• Wedding loaf
Ethnoastronomical aspect of traditional belarusian fitonimicon:
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5. Examples: typological
interchangeability
• Miracle dressing motive
Ethnoastronomical aspect of traditional belarusian fitonimicon:
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6. Stars as peas in riddles
• No Slavonic nominations of astronyms having
botanical context
• Instead: ‘stars = peas / reapfield’ scheme is
widespread in folk riddles
• ‘How many holes in the field, so many stars in the sky’ (reapfield)
• ‘Put a cover, strew the peas, a loaf of bread’ (the sky, the stars, the Moon)
• (these riddles might be the examples of principles of correlation
between objects in the sky and objects in the earth which are
presented in folk divinations during Koliady festival)
• ‘How many stars in the sky so many mushrooms/berries
will be in the summer’
Ethnoastronomical aspect of traditional belarusian fitonimicon:
problem statement
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7. Ethiologies
• K25A. Forbidden tuber in the heaven.
• G12B. Cultivated plants - the gift of the stars.
• G12C. The fox brings plants from the sky.
• I71. Star - plants.
• B77. Low sky, A625.2; A660.
• C1. The heaven and the earth are reversed.
(Berezkin Ju.E.)
Bel. Polesie: fern gets burn when a star falls on it
Ethnoastronomical aspect of traditional belarusian fitonimicon:
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8. Groups of fitonims nomination in
astronymical context
• Borrowing (astra, astreria, etc.)
• Loan translation (zvezdchatka, slanechnik, etc.)
• Derivatives from zorka, sonca, mesiac, etc.
• Homonyms
(St.Peter Cross – the Orion constellation
and Lathraéa squamária)
Ethnoastronomical aspect of traditional belarusian fitonimicon:
problem statement
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9. Examples: stars/star/dawn
Ethnoastronomical aspect of traditional belarusian fitonimicon:
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• Zo`rki
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• Zo`rka
Helichrysum basalticum Silene vulgaris
• Zarja`
Levisticum officinále

10. Examples: stars/star/dawn
• Gwiazdeczki
Ethnoastronomical aspect of traditional belarusian fitonimicon:
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• Zve`zdzica
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• Zvezdzianka
Anemone nemorosa L. Lysimachia vulgaris L.
Inula salicina

11. Conclusions
• Elements of genesis and typological parallels between
ethnoastronomy and ethnobotany objects are revealed and
should be deeply investigated;
• Basic groups of fitonymic nominations in ethnoastronomy
context are provided;
• Further investigating and finding of new astronyms and
fitonyms will improve and enrich Belarusian terminology of
mentioned areas;
• Such researches give new facts of understanding of
Belarusian genesis and European cross cultural
interactions in particular;
Ethnoastronomical aspect of traditional belarusian fitonimicon:
problem statement
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4th INTERNATIONAL
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12. Дзякую за ўвагу!