Thus Esthonian peasants, in the island of Oesel,
stand in great awe of the weevil, an insect which is exceedingly
destructive to the grain. They give it a fine name, and if a child
is about to kill a weevil they say, "Don't do it; the more we hurt
him, the more he hurts us." If they find a weevil they bury it in
the earth instead of killing it. Some even put the weevil under a
stone in the field and offer corn to it. They think that thus it is
appeased and does less harm. Amongst the Saxons of Transylvania, in
order to keep sparrows from the corn, the sower begins by throwing
the first handful of seed backwards over his head, saying, "That is
for you, sparrows." To guard the corn against the attacks of
leaf-flies he shuts his eyes and scatters three handfuls of oats in
different directions. Having made this offering to the leaf-flies he
feels sure that they will spare the corn. A Transylvanian way of
securing the crops against all birds, beasts, and insects, is this:
after he has finished sowing, the sower goes once more from end to
end of the field imitating the gesture of sowing, but with an empty
hand.
Pages:
1461
1462
1463
1464
1465
1466
1467
1468
1469
1470
1471
1472
1473
1474
1475
1476
1477
1478
1479
1480
1481
1482
1483
1484
1485