The Thread metaphor in the linguistic imaginary of folklore

Abstract

The Thread Metaphor in the Linguistic Imaginary of Folklore. In our study, we analyse the conceptualization of the idea of creation in the linguistic imaginary of traditional Romanian communities, with the help of certain metaphors from the sphere of household industry, namely the thread, the linen, the towel, the handkerchief, the kerchief, the girdle and others. By exploring a number of theories from the field of cognitive linguistics and ethnolinguistics, we research not only the manners of representing genesis, but also those of other forms of “creation”, such as creating human connections, both between the living and between the living and the dead. To this end, we follow certain linguistic data that encode the concept of creation, identified in folkloric texts, such as dirges, incantations, carols, fairytales, or cosmogonic legends. For their correct interpretation, we invoke their relation with popular beliefs, with ritual practices or elements of material patrimony, without which we would not be able to understand the deepest meanings. Finally, the results of the analysis highlight the significance of the seed-thread, as a core-metaphor responsible for the production of several types of creation, at different levels of existence. The thread metaphor supports the imaginary scheme of warping and weaving, which has modelled the representations about the birth of the vast canvas of the world. By analysing the multiple items, the connections and correlations created with the thread’s help, we can better understand that the folkloric world is itself a vast canvas whose threads often remain visible only to the initiated. Keywords: creation, cosmogony, thread, linen, towel, handkerchief, kerchief, girdle, footbridge, bridge, connection.