‘Бер літо горбом, а осінь торбом’ – łemkowskie przysłowia ludowe półrocza letnio-jesiennego we wsi Świątkowa Wielka

Abstract

The analysis of Lemko folk proverbs from Boleslaw Bawolak’s book Lemko Proverbs and Sayings from Swiatkowa Wielka and the Surrounding Area (2021) provides the basis for the reconstruction of beliefs and convictions about running a household as well as relationships between natural phenomena and their impact on human life in the summer-autumn period, as ingrained in language and culture. The analysed material includes calendar proverbs which, apart from the principles of good husbandry as well as norms and rules of rural life, comprise a number of meteorological forecasts based on long-time observations of natural phenomena. 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 in the summer-autumn period. In the case of the analysed phrasematic material from the village of Swiatkowa Wielka, the article, besides its linguistic value, also contributes to the studies into the culture of the people forced to leave their native lands in 1945–1947.