Vagina

 Fear of vagina or a woman caused mythological traditions of women as a symbol of evil, manifested in the form of various demonic beings, and among the oldest ones recorded is the one about Tiamat. Origin of this irrational fear, should be initially sought in the physiognomy of the female body. Vagina is the name which comes from the eponymous Latin word which literally means "scabbard". Compared to the penis, which is protruded and clearly visible on the body, vagina is withdrawn inside the body and as such was a mystery for the human psyche and an ideal topic for all imaginative notions and fictions. Even its visual identity, primarily because of the pubic hair and clitoris, it created an impression of something mystical and full of danger, which caused fear among some creators of myths as well as extremely unreal notions. Irrational fear from a woman among men never disappeared and violence over women, especially rape, is actually one of the rudiments of that time (along with the phobia) which is contrary to the popular belief that rape is done out of uncontrollable passion and lust. Monotheism and patriarch grew up on that same fear, since all things which happened at the end of the matriarch were aimed against women, ostracized and turned against the most vulnerable members of the society.



Menstrual period is a natural occurrence and with that an authentic manifestation of the forces of nature inside humans, i.e. woman. First menstruation, which denotes a period of fertility, among girls is called menarche and in its beginning it is pretty irregular i.e. unstable which clearly alludes to certain parts of the Bosnian folk calendar. Namely, in the period from February 14th (exactly at noon - highest point of the sun) until March 14th, also until noon, the reign of Veljača (February) lasts, an extremely unstable period of winter, when according to folk belief bura (gale) north and south wind are fighting. Right after it comes the seven day period called Baba (Grandma) which is similarly fickle, unpredictable and often extreme - snow can fall during the day, wind blows and then the sun appears suddenly, etc. Both names Veljača and Baba, perfectly describe the maturing process of a woman, hormonal cycle, pre-menstrual syndrome, which finishes with Did (/Grandpa/ called by our elders Did Grgo) which comes right after Baba, Did is "good natured since inside him resides the harvest of potato!" If we agree that a potato resembles a testicle and that the laying of seeds in the earth is an act of fertilisation, then we can easily come to a conclusion as to why after Did comes a period of nine days, during which, every three days, there is a change of restless and playful beings, i.e. children, which are called by our people Stablići, Kablići and Štapići. In almost all traditional stories of our people there is mention of three sons which are the main actors in the story. Similarly, I think it's not necessary to especially emphasize that nine days represent nine months of pregnancy. It is interesting that the entire cycle extends to February, March and ends at the beginning of April when the unstoppable awakening and proliferation of nature occurs.



Folk calendar is actually a calendar of agriculture and as such follows the natural cycles which manifest through old deities of the Bosnian cult of fertility and with that it is its only authentic example.