Dodola (also spelled ''Dodole'', ''Dudola'', ''Dudula'' etc.) and Perperuna (also spelled ''Peperuda'', ''Preperuda'', ''Preperuša'', ''Prporuša'', ''Papaluga'' etc.), are

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

rainmaking Rainmaking, also known as artificial precipitation, artificial rainfall and pluviculture, is the act of attempting to artificially induce or increase precipitation, usually to stave off drought or the wider global warming. According to the cloud ...

pagan customs practiced until the 20th century. The tradition is found in South Slavic countries (

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

, and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

), as well as in near

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. It is a ceremonial ritual of singing and dancing done by young boys and girls in times of

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

s. According to some interpretations it was related to Slavic god

Perun In Slavic mythology, Perun (Cyrillic: Перýн) is the highest god of the pantheon and the god of sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, law, war, fertility and oak trees. His other attributes were fire, mountains, wind, iris, eagle, f ...

, and Perperuna could have been a Slavic goddess of rain, and the wife of the supreme deity Perun (god of thunder and weather in the

Slavic pantheon The pagan Slavs were polytheistic, which means that they worshipped many gods and goddesses. The gods of the Slavs are known primarily from a small number of chronicles and letopises, or not very accurate Christian sermons against paganism. A ...

Names

The custom's Slavic prototype name is ''*Perperuna'' (with variations ''Preperuna'', ''Peperuna'', ''Preperuda/Peperuda'', ''Pepereda'', ''Preperuga/Peperuga'', ''Peperunga'', ''Pemperuga'' in

and

: ''Prporuša'', ''Parparuša'', ''Preporuša/Preporuča'', ''Preperuša'', ''Barburuša/Barbaruša'' in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

; ''Peperuda'', ''Papaluga'', ''Papaluda/Paparuda'', ''Babaruta'', ''Mamaruta'' in

and

; ''Perperouna'', ''Perperinon'', ''Perperouga'', ''Parparouna'' in

; ''Perperona/Perperone'', ''Rona'' in

; ''Pirpirună'' among

Aromanians The Aromanians ( rup, Armãnji, Rrãmãnji) are an ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Albania, south-western Bulgaria, northern and ...

) and ''Dodola'' (including

among previous countries, with variants ''Dodole'', ''Dudola'', ''Dudula'', ''Dudule'', ''Dudulica'', ''Doda'', ''Dodočka'', ''Dudulejka'', ''Didjulja'', ''Dordolec/Durdulec'' etc.). They can be found among South Slavs, Albanians, Greeks, Hungarians, Moldavians, Romanians, Vlachs or Aromanians (including regions of

Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter Berge ...

and

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds o ...

). All variants are considered to be taboo-alternations to "avoid profaning the holy name" of pagan god. According to

Roman Jakobson Roman Osipovich Jakobson (russian: Рома́н О́сипович Якобсо́н; October 11, 1896Kucera, Henry. 1983. "Roman Jakobson." ''Language: Journal of the Linguistic Society of America'' 59(4): 871–883. – July 18, Those with root "peper-", "papar-" and "pirpir-" were changed accordingly modern words for pepper-tree and

poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, '' Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug o ...

plant, possibly also perper and else. Dimitar Marinov derived it from Bulgarian word for butterfly where in folk beliefs has supernatural powers related to rain, but according to Jakobson the mythological context of the customs and links explains the Bulgarian entomological names.

Michail Arnaudov Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

derived it from Slavic verb "pršiti" (spray).

Petar Skok Petar Skok (; 1 March 1881 – 3 February 1956) was a Croatian linguist and onomastics expert. History Skok was born to a Croatian family in the village of Jurkovo Selo, Žumberak. From 1892 to 1900 he attended the Higher Real Gymnasium in Rako ...

considered ''prporuša'' a metaphorical derivation from Slavic ''prpor/pŕpa'' (hot ash), ''pórusa'' ("when water is poured on burning ash").

Stanisław Urbańczyk Stanisław Urbańczyk (27 July 1909 – 23 October 2001) was a Polish linguist and academic, a professor at the universities of Toruń, Poznań and Kraków. He was the head of the Institute of the Polish Language at the Polish Academy of Scien ...

and Michal Łuczyński put into question Jakobson's theonymic derivation, deriving instead from Proto-Slavic ''*perpera'', ''*perperъka'' (in Polish ''przepiórka''), name for Common quail, which has a role in Polish harvest rituals and the name of the bride in the wedding dance. These are also related to ''*pъrpati'' (onomatopoeic), cf. Polish dial. ''perpotać'', ''perpac'', Old East Slavic ''poropriti''.

Origin

The rainmaking practice is a shared tradition among Balkan peoples, and it is not clear who borrowed it from whom. The fact so similar customs in the Balkans are known by two different names the differences are considered not to be from the same time period and ethnic groups. It is usually considered they have a mythological and etymological Slavic origin related to Slavic thunder-god

, and became widespread in the Southeastern Europe with the

Slavic migrations to the Balkans The Slavic migrations to the Balkans began in the mid-6th century and first decades of the 7th century in the Early Middle Ages. The rapid demographic spread of the Slavs was followed by a population exchange, mixing and language shift to and from ...

(6th-10th century). According to the Slavic theory, it is a (Balto-)Slavic heritage of Proto-Indo-European origin related to Slavic thunder-god Perun. It has parallels in ritual prayers for bringing rain in times of drought dedicated to rain-thunder deity

Parjanya Parjanya ( sa, पर्जन्य ) according to the Vedas is a deity of rain, thunder, lightning, and the one who fertilizes the earth. It is another epithet of Indra, the Vedic deity of the sky and heaven. Description It is assumed Parjanya is ...

recorded in the ''

Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute th ...

'' and Baltic thunder-god

Perkūnas Perkūnas ( lt, Perkūnas, lv, Pērkons, Old Prussian: ''Perkūns'', ''Perkunos'', Yotvingian: ''Parkuns'', Latgalian: ''Pārkiuņs'') was the common Baltic god of thunder, and the second most important deity in the Baltic pantheon after Di ...

cognates In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical eff ...

alongside Perun of Proto-Indo-European weather-god

Perkwunos (Proto-Indo-European: ', 'the Striker' or 'the Lord of Oaks') is the reconstructed name of the weather god in Proto-Indo-European mythology. The deity was connected with fructifying rains, and his name probably invoked in times of drought. In a ...

. The same ritual in an early medieval Ruthenian manuscript is related to East Slavic deity Pereplut. According to Jakobson, '' Novgorod Chronicle'' ("dožd prapruden") and ''Pskov Chronicle'' ("dožd praprudoju neiskazaemo silen") could have "East Slavic trace of Peperuda calling forth the rain", and West Slavic god Pripegala reminds of ''Preperuga/Prepeluga'' variation and connection with Perun. Serbo-Croatian archaic variant ''Prporuša'' and verb ''prporiti se'' ("to fight") also have parallels in Old Russian ("porъprjutъsja"). The name ''Dodola'' is cognate with the Lithuanian ''Dundulis'', a word for "thunder" and another name of the Baltic thunder-god Perkūnas. It is also distantly related to Greek Dodona and

Daedala In Ancient Greece, the Daedala (Greek: ''δαίδαλα'') was a festival of reconciliation that was held every few years in honor of Hera, consort of the supreme god Zeus at Plataea, in Boeotia, being one of the major cults of the city. Accordin ...

. Bulgarian variant ''Didjulja'' is similar to alleged Polish goddess Dzidzilela, and Polish language also has verb ''dudnić'' ("to thunder"). According to another interpretation the name ''Perperuna'' can be identified as the reduplicated feminine

derivative In mathematics, the derivative of a function of a real variable measures the sensitivity to change of the function value (output value) with respect to a change in its argument (input value). Derivatives are a fundamental tool of calculus. ...

of the name of the male god ''Perun'' (''per-perun-a''), being his female consort, wife and goddess of rain ''Perperuna Dodola'', which parallels the Old Norse couple Fjörgyn–Fjörgynn and the Lithuanian Perkūnas–Perkūnija. Perun's battle against Veles because of Perperuna/Dodola's kidnapping has paralles in

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek relig ...

saving of

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( ; gr, Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( ; gr, Κόρη, Kórē, the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld aft ...

after

Hades Hades (; grc-gre, ᾍδης, Háidēs; ), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also ...

carried her underground causing big drought on Earth, also seen in the similarity of the names Perperuna and Persephone. Recent research criticize invention of a Slavic female goddess. Another explanation for the variations of the name ''Dodola'' is relation to the Slavic spring goddess (Dido-) Lada/Lado/Lela, some scholars relate ''Dodole'' with pagan custom and songs of ''Lade'' (Ladarice) in

Hrvatsko Zagorje Hrvatsko Zagorje (; Croatian Zagorje; ''zagorje'' is Croatian language, Croatian for "backland" or "behind the hills") is a cultural region in northern Croatia, traditionally separated from the country's capital Zagreb by the Medvednica Moun ...

(so-called "Ladarice Dodolske"), and in Žumberak- Križevci for the ''Preperuša'' custom was also used term ''Ladekarice''. Similar customs have been observed in the Balkans, Caucasus, Middle East, and North Africa. William Shedden-Ralston noted that

Jacob Grimm Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He is known as the discoverer of Grimm's law of linguistics, the co-author of t ...

thought Perperuna/Dodola were "originally identical with the Bavarian ''Wasservogel'' and the Austrian ''Pfingstkönig''" rituals. Milenko S. Filipović and Vitomir Belaj, although relating them to the Perun's cult, considering the geographical distribution considered the possibility it also has a Paleo-Balkan background. The Romanian-Vlachian and Greek ethnic origin was rejected by

Alan Wace Alan John Bayard Wace (13 July 1879 – 9 November 1957) was an English archaeologist. Biography Wace was educated at Shrewsbury School and Pembroke College, Cambridge. He was director of the British School at Athens (1914–1923), Deputy Keeper ...

, Maurice Scott Thompson, George Frederick Abbott among others, also noting it wasn't known in Southern Greece. One theory, in particular, argues that Slavic deity Perun and Perperuna/Dodola customs are of

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...

origin.

Ritual

Perperuna and Dodola are considered very similar pagan customs with common origin, with main difference being in the most common gender of the central character (possibly related to social hierarchy of the specific ethnic or regional group), lyric verses, sometimes religious content, and presence or absence of a chorus. They essentially belong to rituals related to

fertility Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Ferti ...

, but over time differentiated to a specific form connected with water and vegetation. They represent a group of rituals with a human collective going on a procession around houses and fields of a village, but with a central live character which differentiates them from other similar collective rituals in the same region and period ('' Krstonoše'', '' Poklade'', '' Kolade'', ''

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

'', ''Ladarice'', those during '' Jurjevo'' and '' Ivandan'' and so on). In the valley of

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

the Dodola were held on Thursday which was Perun's day. The core of the song always mentions a type of rain and list of regional crops. The first written mentions and descriptions of the pagan custom are from the 18th century by

Dimitrie Cantemir Dimitrie or Demetrius Cantemir (, russian: Дмитрий Кантемир; 26 October 1673 – 21 August 1723), also known by other spellings, was a Romanian prince, statesman, and man of letters, regarded as one of the most significant e ...

in ''Description of Moldavia'' (1714/1771, ''Papaluga''), then in a Greek law book from

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...

(1765, it invoked 62nd Cannon to stop the custom of ''Paparuda''), and by the Bulgarian

hieromonk A hieromonk ( el, Ἱερομόναχος, Ieromonachos; ka, მღვდელმონაზონი, tr; Slavonic: ''Ieromonakh'', ro, Ieromonah), also called a priestmonk, is a monk who is also a priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church an ...

Spiridon Gabrovski who also noted to be related to Perun (1792, ''Peperud''). South Slavs and non-Slavic peoples alike used to organise the Perperuna/Dodola ritual in times of spring and especially summer

s, where they worshipped the god/goddess and prayed to him/her for rain (and fertility, later also asked for other field and house blessings). The central character of the ceremony of Perperuna was usually a young boy, while of Dodola usually a young girl, both aged between 10–15 years. Purity was important, and sometimes to be orphans. They would be naked, but were not anymore in latest forms of 19-20th century, wearing a skirt and dress densely made of fresh green knitted vines, leaves and flowers of ''

Sambucus nigra ''Sambucus nigra'' is a species complex of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae native to most of Europe. Common names include elder, elderberry, black elder, European elder, European elderberry, European black elderberry and tramman (Isle ...

'', ''

Sambucus ebulus ''Sambucus ebulus'', also known as danewort, dane weed, danesblood, dwarf elder or European dwarf elder, walewort,Westwood, Jennifer (1985). ''Albion. A Guide to Legendary Britain''. London : Grafton Books. . p. 103 dwarf elderberry, elderwort ...

'', ''

Clematis flammula ''Clematis flammula'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, known by the common name fragrant virgin's bower. This deciduous climbing plant is native to southern Europe and northern Africa, but it is cultivated worldwide ...

'', ''

Clematis vitalba ''Clematis vitalba'' (also known as old man's beard and traveller's joy) is a shrub of the family Ranunculaceae. Description ''Clematis vitalba'' is a climbing shrub with branched, grooved stems, deciduous leaves, and scented greeny-white flo ...

'',

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...

and other deciduous shrubs and vines, small branches of ''

Tilia ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Britain and Ireland they ...

'', Oak and other. The green cover initially covered all body so that the central person figure was almost unrecognizable, but like the necessity of direct skin contact with greenery it also greatly decreased and was very simple in modern period. They whirled and were followed by a small procession of children who walked and danced with them around the same village and fields, sometimes carrying oak or

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engl ...

branches, singing the ritual prayer, stopping together at every house yard, where the hosts would sprinkle water on chosen boy/girl who would shake and thus sprinkle everyone and everything around it (example of "analogical magic"), hosts also gifted treats (bread, eggs, cheese, sausages etc., in a later period also money) to children who shared and consumed them among them and sometimes even hosts would drink wine, seemingly as a sacrifice in Perun's honor. The chosen boy/girl was called by one of the name variants of the ritual itself, however in

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian and Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian, Italian and Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic betwe ...

was also known as ''Prporuš'' and in

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, str ...

Boka Kotorska The Bay of Kotor ( Montenegrin and Serbian: , Italian: ), also known as the Boka, is a winding bay of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Montenegro and the region of Montenegro concentrated around the bay. It is also the southernmost part of the hi ...

as ''Prpac/Prpats'' and both regions his companions as ''Prporuše'', while at

Pirot Pirot ( sr-cyr, Пирот) is a city and the administrative center of the Pirot District in southeastern Serbia. According to 2011 census, the urban area of the city has a population of 38,785, while the population of the city administrative are ...

and

Nišava District The Nišava District ( sr, Нишавски округ, Nišavski okrug, ) is one of nine administrative districts of Southern and Eastern Serbia. It expands to the south-eastern parts of Serbia. According to the 2011 census results, it has a ...

in Southern Serbia near Bulgarian border were called as ''dodolće'' and ''preperuđe'', and as in Macedonia both names appear in the same song. Пеперуда в Добруджа 1950

By the 20th century once common rituals almost vanished in the Balkans, although rare examples of practice can be traced until 1950-1980s and remained in folk memory. The main reason is the development of agriculture and consequently lack of practical need for existence of mystical connection and customs with nature and weather. Christian church also tried to diminish pagan beliefs and customs, resulting in "dual belief" (''dvoeverie'') in rural populations, a conscious preservation of pre-Christian beliefs and practices alongside Christianity. Into customs and songs were mixed elements from other rituals including Christianity, but they also influenced the creation of Christian songs and prayers invoking the rain which were used as a close Christian alternative (decline was reportedly faster among Catholics). According to Velimir Deželić Jr. in 1937, it was an old custom that "Christians approved it, took it over and further refined it. In the old days, ''Prporuša'' were very much like a pious ritual, only later the leaders - ''Prpac'' - began to boast too much, and ''Prporuše'' seemed to be more interested in gifts than beautiful singing and prayer". Depending on region, instead of village boys and girls the pagan ritual by then was mostly done by migrating

Romani people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic Itinerant groups in Europe, itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have Ro ...

from other villages and for whom it became a professional performance motivated by gifts, sometimes followed by financially poor members from other ethnic groups. Due to

Anti-Romani sentiment Anti-Romani sentiment (also antigypsyism, anti-Romanyism, Romaphobia, or Antiziganism) is hostility, prejudice, discrimination or racism which is specifically directed at Romani people (Roma, Sinti, Iberian Kale, Welsh Kale, Finnish Kale, Hora ...

, the association with Romani also caused repulsion, shame and ignorance among last generations of members of ethnic groups who originally performed it. Eventually it led to a dichotomy of identification with own traditional heritage, Christianity and stereotypes about Romani witchcraft.

Perperuna songs

Ioan Slavici Ioan Slavici (; 18 January 1848 – 17 August 1925) was a Romanians, Romanian writer and journalist from Hungary, later from Romania. He made his debut in ''Convorbiri literare'' ("Literary Conversations") (1871), with the comedy ''Fata de biră ...

reported in 1881 that the custom of ''Paparuga'' was already "very disbanded" in Romania. Stjepan Žiža in 1889/95 reported that the once common ritual almost vanished in Southwestern and Central-Eastern Istria, Croatia. Ivan Milčetić recorded in 1896 that the custom of ''Prporuša'' also almost vanished from the North Adriatic island of Krk, although almost recently it was well known in all Western parts of Croatia, while in other parts as ''Dodola''. Croatian linguist Josip Ribarić recorded in 1916 that it was still alive in Southwestern Istria and Ćićarija (and related it to the 16th century migration from Dalmatia of speakers of

Southwestern Istrian Southwestern Istrian ( hr, Jugozapadni istarski dijalekt), also known as ''Chakavian-Shtokavian'', ''Shtokavian-Chakavian'', or ''Shtakavian-Chakavian ikavian'' ( hr, čakavsko-štokavski/štokavsko-čakavski/štakavsko-čakavski ikavski dijalekt) ...

dialect). On island of Krk was also known as ''Barburuša/Barbaruša/Bambaruša'' (occurrence there is possibly related to the 15th century migration which included besides Croats also

Vlach "Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Easter ...

- Istro-Romanian shepherds). It was also widespread in

(especially

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ser ...

hinterland, coast and islands), Žumberak (also known as ''Pepeluše'', ''Prepelice'') and Western

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Bar ...

(Križevci). It was held in Istria at least until the 1950s, in Žumberak until the 1960s, while according to one account in Jezera on island

Murter Murter (; it, Mortero; la, Colentum) is an island in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea. Population The main settlements on the island are Murter, located on the north-western part of the island, and the southern part of Tisno. Other sett ...

the last were in the late 20th century. In Serbia, Perperuna was only found in

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a international recognition of Kosovo, partiall ...

, Southern and Eastern Serbia near Bulgarian border. According to

Natko Nodilo Natko Nodilo (31 August 1834 – 21 May 1912) was a Croatian politician, historian, journalist, university professor, and chancellor of the University of Zagreb. Born in Split, he studied theology in Zadar until 1856, when he dropped out of colle ...

the discrepancy in distribution between these two countries makes an idea that originally Perperuna was Croatian while Dodola was Serbian custom. Seemingly it was not present in Slovenia, Northern Croatia, almost all of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro (only sporadically in

). Luka Jovović from Virpazar, Montenegro reported in 1896 that in Montenegro existed some ''koleda'' custom for summer droughts, but was rare and since 1870s not practiced anymore.

Dodola songs

The oldest record for Dodole rituals in Macedonia is the song "Oj Ljule" from

Struga Struga ( mk, Струга , sq, Strugë) is a town and popular tourist destination situated in the south-western region of North Macedonia, lying on the shore of Lake Ohrid. The town of Struga is the seat of Struga Municipality. Name The n ...

region, recorded in 1861. The Dodola rituals in Macedonia were actively held until the 1960s. In Bulgaria the chorus was also "Oj Ljule". The oldest record in Serbia was by Vuk Karadžić (1841), where was widespread all over the country and held at least until 1950/70s. In Croatia was found in Eastern Slavonia, Southern Baranja and Southeastern

Srijem Syrmia ( sh, Srem/Срем or sh, Srijem/Сријем, label=none) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the ex ...

August Šenoa August Ivan Nepomuk Eduard Šenoa (; originally Schönoa; 14 November 1838 – 13 December 1881) was a Croatian novelist. Born to an ethnic German and Slovak family, Šenoa became a key figure in the development of an independent literary tradi ...

in his writing about the travel to Okić-grad near

Samobor Samobor () is a city in Zagreb County, Croatia. It is part of the Zagreb metropolitan area. Administratively it is a part of Zagreb County. Geography Samobor is located west of Zagreb, between the eastern slopes of the Samobor hills ( hr, ...

, Croatia mentioned that saw two dodole. To them is related the custom of Lade/Ladarice from other parts of Croatia, having chorus "''Oj Lado, oj!''" and similar verses "''Molimo se višnjem Bogu/Da popuhne tihi vjetar, Da udari rodna kiša/Da porosi naša polja, I travicu mekušicu/Da nam stada Lado, Ugoje se naša stada''".

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External links

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Names

Origin

Ritual

Perperuna songs

Dodola songs

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links