“Like New Year, Like Whole Year” – Lemko Folk Proverbs of the Winter-Spring Half-Year in the Village of Swiatkowa Wielka

Abstract

The paper presents the analysis of Lemko proverbs from the book Lemko Proverbs and Sayings from Swiatkowa Wielka and the Surrounding Area (2021) by Bolesław Bawolak (born 1951), as they provide a basis for reconstructing folk beliefs embedded in folk paroemias, concerning the principles of running a household, the relationship between natural phenomena and their impact on human life. The Lemko paroemias that constitute the focal part of the analysis, mainly consist of prognostics, recommendations and instructions, warnings and precautions, rules and norms, as well as other popular observations of nature and its impact on the lives of the former Lemko inhabitants of the village of Swiatkowa Wielka in the Low Beskids. Based on the fact that calendar proverbs constitute a fundamental part of the symbolic culture of nations and communities, the analysis allows to confirm that, as an integral element of non-material culture, the studied paroemias promoted best practices in running a farm, indicated preferred methods of land tillage, and defined time limits for specific activities. Thanks to them, the rural community used the knowledge and experience contained therein to maximize cultivation and harvest. Even though a substantial portion of the calendar paroemias has lost its original motivation, it remains a record of bygone culture, everyday customs, sensibility, and the way of thinking of past generations. The collection of Lemko calendar proverbs from Swiatkowa Wielka is of paramount importance as it constitutes a testimony to the culture of the people the majority of whom left their homes irretrievably between the years 1945–1947.