“It’s not just the beautiful nature that attracts many Czech tourists a year, it’s also the folklore of this place and besides the elements already mentioned I mustn’t forget the bohyně. Žítková (as well as other nearby villages) was a home to the so called bohyně who were the last “witches” and “oracles” of this area. Although the dictionaries would tell you that the word bohyně means goddesses, it would be incorrect in this case. The name of these women derives from bohovat – to perform the rituals in which they helped people and animals with their ailments using natural remedies and sometimes foretold future events. Besides that, bohyně could also give good advice and served as psychological support. The word “witch” certainly isn’t correct to describe them, although there was magic in what they did. They were medicine women who had a special connection to the nature and could feel and understand things most people couldn’t.
The last of these special women, Irma Gabrhelová, died in 2001 and with her, the era of the bohyně in Žítková ended. The village gained on popularity after the release of the fictional novel Žítkovské bohyně in 2012 (which many locals weren’t very happy about because, in short, real names were used in a fictional tale that made the locals look bad) but if you’re interested in factual literature and ordinary people’s tales, the writer Jiří Jilík has dedicated his work to this place and phenomenon and has even befriended the last bohyně. He is the author of the original Žítkovské bohyně from 2005 in which he describes the rough life in the area. He published several other books about this area and there are a few more authors on books that talk about the local folklore and life.
One more I want to mention is a book I found by a complete accident many years ago. It’s Žítkovské bohyně – Lidová magie na Moravských Kopanicích (Bohyně of Žítková – Folk Magic in Moravian Kopanice) by Dagmar Pintířová Dobšovičová who spent some time in the 1990s visiting the bohyně being their client and doing her student research.
We know that the locals don’t like discussing bohyně and we come here respecting that. On our trips there’s no asking about them and no bothering the locals with questions we know they don’t like to answer. After all, not knowing exactly is what makes the mystery of bohyně alive. Our trips are focused on enjoying the nature of the surrounding hills.”
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@poppycock-berry thank you for the video you sent me this morning. Different than, but similar to these ladies in Czechia, and of the ladies in Ukraine who also pour the wax. I look forward to reading more about the whisperers.
The Orthodox healers of Podlasie, Poland, protecting the fading ritual tradition of Slavic folklore
