The Dionysian motives directly related to the theme – divine child, or in folklore, the suffering child, presenting another part of the initially symbolic process, contains also a ballad where the mother „destroys“ her own „baby son“ left by the father as „a year old baby“ before he left to work in a foreign country. Just before the father arrives, the mother decides on to perform the Dionysian „crime“ ritual…
„Obeyed Angja her neighbours,
dressed in new clothes
And she slaughtered her son
And Angja put him in a pie“.21F
This family drama, basically, is very tragic. It reminds a great deal of the behaviour of Tantalus the King of Phrygia who killed his little son Pelops, tearing him apart and preparing him for a feast for the gods. The guests despised his intention by abstaining from eating. In order to revive the innocent boy back into life, the gods boiled the torn pieces in a cauldron. Only the arm was missing because Demitrus ate them carelessly, but Hermes replaced that part with an elephant bone.22F In that sense, in this Macedonian folk song in the role of the invited incidentally the father appears, who curiously asks: „Where is, Angje, my little Mihail?“. A false answer follows: „He is, Stojan, in the neighbourhood“. But in this song, the child victim finds the strength to speak up, and to tell the truth: „He spoke up from that colorful pie:/ It’s me, dad, in the colorful pie“. This is just one more example of the „destructive“ energy of Dionysus nature for which in this research we point out one more example. It refers to a male child, who „talks about all the he sees“. This is an unacceptable trait for the mother’s lover (illegitimate husband), so he advises her the following way:
„Hej, Maro, landlady,
slaughter your son,
take out his liver,
and make me a pie,
and boil his guts,
make them a tasty soup“23F
Apart from the ballads, the Dionysus motif is also recognized in a clear lyrical form governed by the conflict of the infinite and finite24F. Thus, the existing dialogue, is another prove that maybe their evolution might lead to the roots of the ritual. Namely, the fear of the girl, caused by knowledge that her brothers might find out about her love relationship, is the reason for this conversation to take place:
„My nine brothers,
Are quite bad, oh my dear,
God kill them all,
If they hear you, oh my dear,
They will cut your head off,
Cut you into pieces, oh my dear,
Bite by bite,
Bite by bite, oh my dear,
Crumb by crumb,
The biggest crumb, my dear,
That an ant can carry.“25F
A similar Dionysus theme can be found in the verses:
„–If they find you, – they will cut you up,
they will cut you up, – bite by bite
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
– If they catch me, girl, let them cut me up,
let them cut me up, – bite by bite,
the biggest bite be, – that an ant can carry;
pick me up, – in you lap,
sow me, – in the garden.
I will sprout, – all kinds of flowers
all kinds of flowers, – white, red;
white, red, – blue, green“.26F
Similar lyrical hidden whispers of the youngsters can also be found in the following verses:
„Burn fool, burn, burn up completely,
burn up into ashes,
I will collect you in a blue dish
will sow you in a dewy garden,
you will sprout into a white flower“27F
However, in the Zbornik from the brothers Miladinovci from Struga, we find a lyrical song where the spirit appears unbeatable spirit and in different forms of immortality. Endeavoring to win human inferiority to fate, the anonymous author, in the time of separation, strives for the Dionysian relation towards existence – where there is no complete and true dying but only potentials (forms) of immortal passages. That’s why he recommends to his beloved: „Do not mourn, do not cry“ because here immortality is an eternal movement, cosmically understood as „time that does not stop, but always circulates“.28F This poem about victory over life, victory of human love over death, in such an outstanding and dignified way presents the transfiguration through time and space. The dynamics of the spirit and the synergic attempt of the will amazes in this poem as well as the thirst for many forms expressed through the big game and plentiful metarmophoses. The essential Dionysus art that wants to convince us in the everlasting enjoyment of existence stands behind all this:29F
„If I die don’t grieve
Don’t grieve don’t weep;
Put me on your lap,
Put me on a boat,
throw me into the sea.
I will become a fish,
trawlers will catch me,
trawlers or fisherman,
They will put me out on the market;
You should come out to buy me,
To boil me, to fry me.
I will become dust and ashes,
Collect me in your best scarf,
Go into your garden,
Sow me there.
I will appear as basil,
That the girls wear,
The girls wear in their laps;
I will appear as a white flower,
That the heroes wear,
Heroes under their veils“.30F
This quotation of the lyric poem with distinguished Dionysian elements of feelings and passions, has kept the projection of the four forms of metamorphoses (future dead person – fish – ash – world) in its structure. It is obvious that the underworld with which the dead get in touch, he will be transformed into a fish. This symbol of the element of the water has been connected with the birth and cycle of restoration. His fascinating ability of reproduction, makes him a symbol of life and fertility, a phallic symbol found on the engraving on bones in the early Paleolithic age.31F Furthermore, the metamorphoses in the song continue with the help of heat „to boil me, to fry me“ by which ritual decays and restores from one form to another, through the fire that symbolizes purification and rebirth.32F The ashes from the process, sown in a garden will give the last, fourth metamorphosis, this time in the flora region – the basil with white flower.
This kind of metamorphosis, performed by fire, can be seen in short lyric songs, torsos, of course reduced in its ritual performance. For example, it can be a result of a three years desire for the beloved, the unreturned love that makes him act in such a way, „dry maple tree“ for what he himself says:
„Throw it in a big fire
To turn into ashes,
To sow it into the garden,
To grow up into fine basil,
Basil, bouquet of flowers“33F
These lyrical medallions or specific poems – fragments, most probably originated from a larger piece and became independent, are characterized by compact expression. Its lyrical core at the same time can be conceptualized as a poetical portray, but also as a relic from a rudimental mythical layer about the torn and burnt character:
„You burned me up, your scalded me, in my youth.
You even turned me into a dried up tree,
Your brother came, and cut me up,
He put me into a mighty fire,
–And made me white ashes,
You distributed me to the soapworkers,
With their hands to make me a soap,
–So the girls can wash,
Wash their white cheeks.“34F
#b
21. Македонски народни печалбарски песни, Скопје, 1979, песна бр. 182, стр. 198.
22. Rechnik grchke I rimske mitologije, Beograd, 1979, 329.
23. Македонските мелографи од крајот на 19 век, Институт за фолклор, Скопје, 1962; песна бр. 333, стр. 267.
24. Fridrih Vilhelm Jozef Sheling, Filozofija umetnosti, Beograd, 1989, 304.
25. Македонски народни песни. Текст и мелодии записал Коста Ц’рнушанов… песна бр. 112, стр. 73.
26. К. А. Шапкарев, Избрани дела III, Скопје, 1976, песна бр. 527, стр. 210.
27. Двогласни македонски народни песни, Институт за фолклор Марко Цепенков, Скопје, 1988, песна бр. 20, стр. 23.
28. Carl Gustav Jung, Psihologija I alkemija, Zagreb, 1984, 191.
29. Fridrih Niče, Rođenje tragedije. Beograd, 1983, 103.
30. Димитрија и Константин Миладиновци, Зборник на народни песни, Скопје, 1983, песна бр. 505, стр. 426.
31. J. Chevalier – A. Cheerbrant, Rijechnik simbola, Zagreb, 1983, 558.
32. Исто, 740.
33. Миладиновци, песна бр. 290, стр. 344.
34. Исто, песна бр. 318, стр. 356.