Electronic version copyright © Ted Daniels 1997. All rights reserved

Originally published in Millennialism: An International Bibliography by Garland Publishing New York, 1992. Reproduced here by permission.

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        589. Rusic, Branislav. "The Mute Language in the Tradition and Oral Literature of the South Slavs." Translated by Barbara Lattimer Krader. Journal of American Folklore 69 (273), 1956: 299-309.
        On animal languages supposed by south Slavs (and many others) to be understandable to those specially gifted; the animals sometimes have oracular powers. [This suggests to me some relationship with shamanism, though that's a very tenuous conclusion; we might also note Eliade's observation (see item 231) that imitation of animals is a generally adopted means to achieve communion with the gods.]

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