Our Europe. Ethnography – Ethnology – Anthropology of Culture
Vol. 2/2013
p. 073–088
Religious Cults and Rituals
Vihra Baeva
Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
A Local Cult, a Universal Symbol: The Golden Apple
in Gorni Voden, Southern Bulgaria
Abstract: In this article I present a contemporary local cult from Southern Bulgaria, popularly known as the
‘Golden Apple’, which combines elements of official Orthodox Christianity with peculiarities of local culture and folklore. It represents a specific form of Marian devotion with idiosyncratic ritual practices for
conception and childbirth. I dwell on the apple as a key symbol in the system of the local cult and analyze
its meanings in Christian tradition and in folk culture. On this basis I discuss the interaction of the universal
and the local as sources for the formation of religious culture, and, more generally, the mechanisms of its
formation and functioning. In my view, the example of this concrete symbol is indicative of the mechanisms of formation and functioning of religious cultures in general: a constant process of exchange, opposition and adaptation between the universal and the local, the official and the folkloric, continuity and
change.
Keywords: religious culture, local cult, symbolism, the Golden Apple, rituals for childbirth, Southern
Bulgaria
Introduction
In this article I present a contemporary local cult from Southern Bulgaria, popularly known as the ‘Golden Apple’, which combines, in an idiosyncratic way, elements of
official Orthodox Christianity with peculiarities of local culture and folklore. It represents
a specific form of Marian1 devotion, in which ritual practices for curing female infertility
play a central part. I dwell on the apple as a key symbol in the system of the local cult and
analyze its meanings in Christian tradition and in folk culture. On this basis I discuss interaction of the universal and the local as sources for the formation of a religious culture, and,
more generally, the mechanisms of its formation and functioning.
I draw on the concept of religious culture, which has been suggested and used in the last
years to replace the structuralist binaries applied in earlier research. Such a binary opposition, for example, is the one juxtaposing popular religion vs the religion of the elites, or the
binary of official Christianity vs paganism and local folklore. In the post-modern times,
when rigid dichotomies are being intensely questioned and debated, scholars are more and
more interested in ‘mixtures and margins’, as historian Natalie Zemon Davis (1992: 1409)
puts it, or speak about ‘hybrids, fuzzy thinking and incoherence’, in the terms of social an-
1
Here, for the sake of brevity and convenience, I apply the denomination ‘Mary’ which is widely used in
English language anthropological discourse to render the Bulgarian Bogoroditsa (‘the one who gave birth to
God’, Theotokos).
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Photo 1. The village of Gorni Voden with the church of the Dormition of Mary (The Golden Apple). Photo:
Vladimir Machokov, 2010
thropologist John Eade (forthcoming)2. So the concept of religious culture is proposed to
overcome binary thinking and introduce a sphere of interaction and exchange between different social actors coming from different strata of society and between different worldviews, ideas and cultural systems.
The presentation of the Golden Apple cult follows the classical ethnographic procedure,
established in anthropology, ethnology and folklore studies. It is a result of my fieldwork
observations and interviews from the period 1997–1999, and a later return to the field in
2008–2010. The description and discussion of this particular case are based on the general
understanding that each local cult represents a complex system, including a set of interrelated
elements: 1) a patron saint (or another sacred entity which is the object of devotion); 2) a sacred site (church, chapel, monastery, etc.); 3) sacred time (feast); 4) religious images (miracleworking icons, murals, etc.); 5) relics (though these are not so typical of the Orthodox tradition, their role often performed by miracle-working icons); 6) specific rituals; 7) religious
narratives.3 The analysis of the apple as a symbol relies on the methodology of the semiotic
approach (as set up by Yuri Lotman and his followers) and also on the resources of symbolic
anthropology (manifested in the works of Victor Turner, Clifford Geertz, Mary Douglas, etc.)
Despite the differences between these two schools, they share the common understanding
of culture as a text which should be read and interpreted, and focus their attention on the
symbol (‘sign’ or ‘code”, in the terms of semiotics) as the main structural unit of analysis.
The symbol’s multiple layers of meaning can be revealed by placing and analyzing it in various contexts.
2
3
I am obliged to Prof. John Eade for the possibility to use the manuscript of his text.
My understanding of the local cult is based on William Christian’s concept of local religion (cf. Christian
1989: 3). Here I also add narratives as an imminent part of the cult because of their role in explaining the meaning
of the other elements and motivating continuity of the tradition (cf. Baeva 2001; Georgieva A. 2012).
A Local Cult, a Universal Symbol: The Golden Apple in Gorni Voden, Southern Bulgaria
75
The Golden Apple in Gorni Voden
The cult of the Golden Apple is registered in only one place on the territory of
Bulgaria – the former village of Gorni Voden, which a few decades ago became a quarter of
the nearby town of Asenovgrad. The village is not far from the city of Plovdiv, the most important commercial, political and cultural center of South Bulgaria. Over the course of several centuries, Gorni Voden remained under the influence of the nearby Bachkovo Monastery (built 1083), the second largest devotional site in Bulgaria after that of Rila. A circumstance
of major impact on the cultural specificity of Gorni Voden is that it used to be inhabited by
Greeks4 and be a part of a large and influential Greek community known as ‘the Small Hellas’, including also the near settlements of Stenimachos (later Asenovgrad) and Kuklen. The
Greeks were forced to leave the region after the Bulgarian-Greek repatriation agreements
(signed 1923–1927) and ethnic Bulgarian immigrants arrived in their place from Eastern
Thrace and Macedonia. During that period Gorni Voden’s original population was completely replaced by the immigrants.5
In the discourse of the local people, ‘the Golden apple’ is a specific term, which may refer
to the church under the same name, to the miracle-working icon, to the feast and to the ritual
practices associated with it. It is also used as an epithet of the Virgin, expressing in this way
the idea of a particular hypostasis – Mary the Golden Apple or Mary with the Golden Apple.
In this way the temple, the feast, the holy image and the saintly figure are bound in one
Photo 2. The author in front of the church of the Dormition of Mary (The Golden Apple) in Gorni Voden. Photo:
Vladimir Machokov, 2010
4
There are still arguments among historians (especially Greeks and Bulgarians) about whether this population – or part of it – was ethnically Greek or whether, being ethnically Bulgarian, it chose the Greek identity as
the more prestigious and economically profitable. There also existed an intermediate group, derogatively called
‘langeri’ – ethnical Bulgarians who identified themselves as Greeks.
5
On the history of Gorni Voden and the region, see: Filipov (1996); Kisyov (1990); Marinova (1996); Valchinova (2006); Baeva (2012) and cit. lit.
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Vihra Baeva
synergetic sacred entity which is the object of veneration and whose help and protection
people pray for. This type of syncretism is not an exception, but is rather typical of popular
levels of Orthodox religiosity, which remains close to the characteristics if a mythological
way of thinking.
The church of Mary the Golden Apple, officially named after the Dormition of Mary, was
built in 1830 (Entsiklopedia Bulgaria 1981: 137) on the site of an older shrine, on the property
of the nearby Sts. Cyricus and Yulitta Monastery,6 which had a convent in the village. The
external inscription on the dome shows that it was sanctified in 1896. The church was used
by monks from the monastery and pilgrims, as well as by the lay inhabitants of the village,
but at present functions only as a parish church, since the monastery is no longer active. In
the last few years it has also emerged as a pilgrimage center attracting more and more worshippers because of the special fertility rituals performed there and the growing popularity
of its miracle-working icon.
The miracle-working icon of Mary is of the Hodegetria type (literally ‘She Who Shows the
Way’); it is dated approximately to the 16th–17th century and is notable for its elaborate and
skillfully crafted silver cover. The icon is to be found on the bottom tier of the iconostasis, to
the left of the Beautiful Gates, the established place of the main Marian icon in the structure
of the Orthodox temple. In the past, on Mid-Pentecost (25 days after Easter, always on
Wednesday) it was carried to the monastery of Sts. Cyricus and Yulitta with a festive procession and then returned to its ‘home church’ – a tradition which is characteristic of the religious culture in the region of Asenovgrad and Bachkovo. After a long interruption, the
procession to the monastery was restored in 2003 by Father Zhivko Nikolov, the parish
Photo 3. The image of Mary with a golden
apple and Archangel Gabriel from the
church of the Dormition of Mary (The Golden Apple). Photo: Vihra Baeva, 2008
6
On the history, architecture and art of Sts. Cyricus and Yulitta Monastery, see: Bakalova (1992); Filipov
(1996).
A Local Cult, a Universal Symbol: The Golden Apple in Gorni Voden, Southern Bulgaria
77
priest of Gorni Voden since 1999. So far the participants are few since the much more popular procession from Asenovgrad to Bachkovo on the same day attracts the main body of
worshippers.7 As mentioned before, the icon is popularly known under the name of Mary
the Golden Apple, though recently a new title for it has appeared in the official discourse:
Bogoroditsa Blagodatna (‘Mary who gives blessing and happiness’). It is possible that this
name, unknown so far, is meant to replace the popular ‘Golden Apple’, which is considered
too ‘vernacular’ and non-canonical by some church circles.
Apart from the miracle-working icon, in the church of Gorni Voden there are two images
of the Annunciation, which the locals consider to be icons, but which obviously do not correspond to the Orthodox canon and look of rather ‘amateur’ making. The two images are
quite uniform but vary in size. In both of them Virgin Mary is depicted with a golden apple
in her hands. The larger painting contains also the image of an angel, obviously Archangel
Gabriel, set in the background. According to one of the narratives I recorded, the icon was
brought from Jerusalem following a dream of clairvoyant Granny Lena from Asenovgrad.
Actually, the images illustrate the local legend that Virgin Mary conceived after eating an
apple which Archangel Gabriel gave her on the Annunciation Day. Thus, they support the
cult of the ‘Golden apple’ and in a symbolic way ‘explain’ the ritual practices for childbirth
performed on its feast day.
The Feast
Another ‘attraction’ of the temple, even more famous than the miracle-working
icon, is the unique feast of the Golden Apple, which is pointed out by the locals as a kind of
emblem of the place. It is even more popular than the patron saint’s day (the Dormition of
Mary on August 15). The Golden Apple is celebrated on the day of the Akathist – a moveable
feast observed on the fifth Saturday of Great Lent, fifteen days before Easter. The Akathist to
Mary is the most popular praising and thanksgiving hymn dedicated to the Virgin. Its authorship is controversial and according to one hypothesis, it originated on the occasion of
Constantinople’s deliverance from the Avar siege in 1626 (Kozhuharov 1992: 19; see also
Akathist8). Another supposition is that it was created for the feast of the Annunciation and
was performed on that day (Kuyumdzhieva 2010: 203–205). Over time, the Akathist developed an entire service which is performed on different days. In modern church practice, the
Akathist is divided into four parts which are read during the evening services on the first
four Fridays of Great Lent, while the complete Akathist is read on the fifth Friday’s evening
as well as on the next morning, during the liturgy on the fifth Saturday of Great Lent. This
Saturday is celebrated as the Akathist to Virgin Mary,9 and in Gorni Voden and its neighborhood it is known as the Golden Apple.
When interviewed, local people unanimously claim that the feast and the ritual activities
on that day are of Greek origin. These statements seem to be true, since such a feast has not
been documented for the Bulgarian tradition. To what extent it is characteristic of Greek
7
For more details about the ritual processions with icons in the region, see: Baeva (2000, 2001: 45-54, 64–76);
Bakalova (2001, 2006); Baeva & Valchinova (2009); Georgieva А. (2012: 190–191).
8
The title refers to the article from Wikipedia which is listed in the bibliography. I use the same citing principle for other Internet-based references without an author and date of publication.
9
For more information on the Akathist to Virgin Mary as a hymnographic work, see: Kozhuharov (1992),
Кuyumdzhieva (2010) and cit. lit. Elka Bakalova (2001) pays attention to the visualization of verbal text in church
painting.
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religious culture, is a question which requires further study. However, it is a fact that the
Bulgarian migrants have willingly adopted the custom and have maintained it for about
ninety years so far. They recognize it as a local landmark and a source of pride for their
community.
In the overall scheme of the feast, one can distinguish two types of ritual activities and,
respectively, two groups of participants that are comparatively distinct. On the one hand,
the residents of Gorni Voden and the people from the surrounding villages and the town of
Asenovgrad, celebrate it in honor of the Virgin and with the traditional motivation ‘for
health’. For them this is a feast similar to the ‘sabor’ (fair of the settlement), which demonstrates devotion to the patron saint, and simultaneously consolidates the community and its
local identity.10 On the other hand, on this particular day many childless women or married
couples come here who perform special ritual actions for conceiving and giving birth. These
include the reading of a special prayer ‘for childbirth’ by the priest, incubation in the church on
the eve of the holiday (Friday to Saturday), knitting a thread belt, and the ritual eating of (communion with) an apple, divided equally between the spouses.11 It is thought that these practices can be performed at any other time of the year, but they are more powerful on the very
day of the Golden Apple.
During my first observations of the feast in 1997–1999, the worshippers were mostly
from Asenovgrad and the nearby settlements, as most often the childless women came alone
or accompanied by their mothers or mothers-in-law; i.e. the ritual had a rather female character. Nowadays there are two trends of evolution in the composition of the participants: a
growing number of worshippers coming from afar and a growing number of married (or
not married) couples coming to spend the night in the church and to perform the ritual practices together. The popularity of the Golden Apple has been growing in the recent years:
from a little known local feast it has come to be a regional and even national event, covered
by both printed and broadcasting media (newspapers, magazines, television, internet sites).
Another recent tendency is a more active participation of the clergy: in the period 1997–1999
there was no full-time priest in the village and some local old women were in charge of
meeting the visitors and helping them perform the fertility rituals. With the arrival of Father
Zhivko this pattern changed.
The attitude of the clergy towards the ‘non-canonical’ fertility rituals could be defined as
dubious. As the parish priest’s wife put it in a private conversation, “[i]t is not allowed, but
it is not forbidden either, so we do it”. The local clergy realize the ‘pagan’ character of the
practices, but they also see their potential as a powerful resource for gaining prestige and
authority, and also, economic profit. In fact, the parish priest not only tolerates the rituals,
but also takes an active part in them along with his whole family. In his turn, the current
bishop of the Plovdiv Eparchy, Nikolay, undertakes deliberate efforts to use the local cult of
the Golden Apple as a symbolic capital for the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and, in particular, for the bishopric he runs as well as for his own prestige. During my visits in 2008–2010,
he was present at the feast and held the festive service personally, accompanied by a group
of priests and singers from Asenovgrad. Along with that, in the last few years, on his initiative, the miracle-working icon of the Virgin from the Gorni Voden church started going ‘on
tours’, visiting a number of cities and towns in the region. This idea is received with mixed
feelings by the locals, who are used to the presence of ‘their’ icon and miss it while it is on
travel. On the other hand, the church officials try to ‘retouch’ the folkloric elements of the
10
11
cit. lit.
On the issues of the ‘sabor’ and its social functions, refer to Hristov (2004) and cit. lit.
I dwell in detail on the other practices, paying special attention to the fertility belt, in Baeva (2012); see also
A Local Cult, a Universal Symbol: The Golden Apple in Gorni Voden, Southern Bulgaria
79
Photo 4. Women praying in front of the miracle-working icon of Mary decorated with apples on the feast of the
Golden Apple. Photo: Vladimir Machokov, 2010
cult and give it a more proper “Christian’ look. This process is visible in the growing role of
the priests in the organization and performance of the rituals, in the new title of the icon,
already mentioned, in the appearance of official narratives about the origin of the feast, etc.
The Apple Communion
A characteristic element of the feast is the ritual decoration of the temple: as early
as the beginning of Great Lent, when the reading of the Akathist to Mary starts, the miracleworking icon is decorated with wreaths of apples and green branches; a great number of
single apples are hung in front of it, attached by threads or by small nets, specially knitted
with a crochet-hook. When the reading of the Akathist is over, these apples are distributed
among those who want to have a child. In recent years this practice has spread to other temples in Asenovgrad and the Plovdiv region, so it is not unique for Gorni Voden, but people
from the village are certain that it originated exactly at their church.
On Saturday morning, after the end of the festive liturgy, large vessels (baskets and basins) full of sliced consecrated apples are taken from the altar; the slices are distributed
among the attendees along with consecrated bread with the universal motivation ‘for health’.
In the end there is a communal kurban12, prepared at the expense of the church, and some
residents of Gorni Voden, mostly women, also take part with ingredients and volunteer labor. Sometimes there are also private kurbans, given in gratitude to Virgin Mary for the re12
Kurban is a ritual meal given as a votive offering on big Christian holidays. It is usually made of boiled
meat (most often lamb or sheep), but if the feast is during a fasting period, the kurban is of boiled beans. Such is
the case with the Golden Apple, which is always during Great Lent.
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ceived help.
The apple communion for childbirth in Gorni Voden follows a specific order of instructions and requirements. It is necessary to observe the whole Great Lent or at least fast for a
few days and the apple must be eaten on an empty stomach when it is divided between the
two spouses:
“Those who don’t have kids, we give them a whole apple every year. […] And we give them a
whole apple, which is sliced in two; the man and the woman eat it along with the pips. On an
empty stomach in the morning. If it has a stalk, then it must be put in a plant pot and not be
thrown on the ground. Because it’s not good to throw it – neither in fire, nor on the ground”.13
The sacral qualities of the apple, consecrated in – the altar or in front of the miracle-working icon, determine the requirement that the fruit should be eaten completely and the
stalk be put on a ‘pure’ place in order not to be desecrated. It is also possible that the eating
of the pips has a symbolic fertilization function.
The Narrative Tradition
Local religious culture has its own narrative aspect, connecting and making sense
of its other elements – feast, holy site, sacral images or relics, ritual practices etc. Narratives
about the Golden Apple play an important role in the narrative repertory of Gorni Voden.
The origin of the holiday and the meaning of the ritual practices are the subject of different
narratives and variations. Some of the stories could be qualified as universal narratives since
they refer to events and characters from the New Testament, for example the legend that
when Archangel Gabriel appeared before Virgin Mary on the Annunciation Day, he gave
her an apple; the Virgin took a bite of it and conceived.14 In other versions Mary picked up
the apple from a tree, quite like Eve, or even took the apple from the church in Gorni
Voden:
“She, the Holy Virgin Mary, had a bite of an apple, and conceived on the same day. [VB: And
where did she take the apple from?] From here, from the church. And everybody who doesn’t
have children, today they try to take from these apples and have a bit.”
According to another narrative, Virgin Mary herself was immaculately conceived, even
though Orthodoxy rejects this idea in principle, unlike Catholicism. Virgin Mary’s parents,
Joachim and Anna, did not have children for a long time and after fervent prayers an angel
appeared before them and gave them a golden apple. After the spouses ate the apple, Anna
conceived and gave birth to Mary.
There are also local narratives which claim that the feast originated in memory of a local
miracle: a young woman wanted to pray for a child, but was very ill and bed-ridden so she
gave money to relatives of hers to light candles for her health, and an apple as a gift for Virgin Mary. Soon, the woman regained her health and conceived with the help of the Mother
of God.15 A few years ago ‘an official version’ about the origin of the holiday also occurred;
it was fixed in a Sinaxar written by the abbot of Sts. Cyricus and Yulitta Monastery – Ananiy
13
The quotations used in the article are from my interviews with local people recorded in Gorni Voden during fieldwork (1997–1999, 2008–2010).
14
15
On a similar legend, recorded by the Bulgarians in Tauria (Ukraine), refer to Badalanova (ed. 1993: 78).
I have analyzed this type of narratives in more details in Baeva (2001: 86–94).
A Local Cult, a Universal Symbol: The Golden Apple in Gorni Voden, Southern Bulgaria
81
Photo 5. A father has come to the feast of the Golden Apple to express his gratitude for the birth of his two children. Photo: Vladimir Machokov, 2010
Klinis.16 The particular date of the miracle has been marked: 1765. A childless woman was
late for the festive service in the church of Gorni Voden and could not get communion
bread. Considering that a bad sign, she started crying bitterly and the touched priest gave
her an apple, left in front of the miracle-working icon of Virgin Mary. Soon after that the
woman became pregnant and gave birth; in acknowledgement, she ordered for a golden
apple be forged and gave it as a gift to the icon. We are about to see whether over time the
official version, suggested (or imposed) by the clergy on the basis of a competent written
source, will prevail and ‘swallow’ the varied verbal variations, or whether it will continue
existing along with them.
As is usual for religious culture, there is also a diversity of personal narratives testifying
to miracles performed by Mary the Golden Apple. The key motif in them is a miraculous
conception, related as a personal experience or that of friends and relatives. With utmost
concreteness the authors seem to put out of any doubt the reality of the miracle and verify
its authenticity.
“It was five years ago probably. Exactly, five years ago my cousin got married and they waited for
a child quite a long time, but she didn’t have one. She couldn’t get pregnant. And after a while
they found out about the Golden Apple and my mother took a belt and an apple. The next year
my cousin got pregnant, gave birth and now has a boy. […] Our church is very famous for kids.
Those who don’t have children, everybody comes here. There are people from Germany, from
Greece…”
16
Currently, the Sinaxar is kept in Greece. After getting in touch with the Greek Church authorities, Father
Zhivko received a copy of the passage, discussing the miracle in Gorni Voden. Translated into Bulgarian, this
passage was hung on the church gates to be read by the worshippers. In 2009, special booklets were already
prepared which presented the history of the church and the miracle with the childless woman.
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Despite differences in the plots and characters, all the types of narratives are focused on
conception and childbirth viewed as a miracle, a result of an intervention of sacred powers.
In the plot the apple plays a central part as an intermediary making possible the contact
between the world of people and the world of the sacred entities: as a sign and instrument
of divine help. It emerges as a symbol of conception and motherhood, of the child given as
a blessing from Heaven.17
The Christian Context
The symbol of the apple has a significant role in the Christian culture and in folklore, in the Bulgarian, Balkan and, more broadly, European milieu. Its potential and ability
to generate meanings, texts and practices in diverse social and cultural contexts is remarkable. In Christianity, the apple is most commonly related to the temptation of Adam and Eve
and the original sin. However, in actual fact, the apple is not mentioned in the biblical text
according to which the first humans, seduced by the snake, ate from the forbidden fruit of
‘the tree of knowledge of good and evil’, and then they were banished from Eden (Genesis
2: 16, 2: 17; 3). The old Hebraic texts give different propositions about the kind of the forbidden fruit: grapes (or wine), fig, walnut, palm, orange, pomegranate, grain (Tree of Knowledge; Prieur 1982; Shapiro 1978). In an apocryphal text known as the Apocalypse of Baruch,
which was widespread across Bulgarian lands, the tree of sin is the vine (Petkanova 2000:
116). The apple actually does not grow in the lands between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates,
where the hypothetical location of the Garden of Eden was; most probably, it appears in the
context of European culture under the influence of folklore. The identification of the apple
as the forbidden fruit, fixed in the folklore of different European peoples, was reflected in
European religious art (in Catholic as well as in Orthodox one) and eventually accepted and
established permanently in Christian culture. However, the issue of as to when and how this
identification took place has so far been insufficiently studied.
There are suppositions that the reasons for this are purely linguistic. According to one
hypothesis, it could be a mistake of the translator, who confused the Latin ‘pomum’ (fruit)
with the French ‘pomme’ (apple) (Prieur 1982). Many authors point out the homophony of
the Latin words ‘malus’ and ‘malum’, respectively meaning ‘an apple’ and ‘evil’ – an association which would connect the apple with the original sin (Prieur 1982; Apple (Symbolism); Shapiro 1978). Meyer Shapiro assumes that the apple is associated with the fruit of the
tree of knowledge under the influence of ancient Greek mythology and folklore, where the
apple is a ritual object in wedding ceremonies; it is associated with Aphrodite and, as a
whole, has an erotic meaning. The author also makes a connection with the apple tree of the
Hesperides,18 guarded by a snake encircled around it, as for instance presented on a vase
painting from Naples (Shapiro 1978; for the same assumptions, see Prieur 1982). A similar
image can be seen in a mosaic from Llíria, Spain, from the third century.
The interpretation of the apple as the forbidden fruit in Christian doctrine is related to
the gradual merging of the original sin with the carnal sin. As Jacques Le Goff (1985) notes,
17
For a detailed analysis of the narratives about the Golden Apple, see Baeva (2001: 86-94). The full texts of
the interviews are published in Baeva (2012: 224–266).
18
According to an ancient Greek myth, the goddess of the earth, Gaia, gave Hera on the occasion of her wedding with Zeus a gift of twigs with golden apples. Hera planted them in her garden in the western end of the
world and ordered three nymphs, the Hesperides, to guard them. Since she did not trust them entirely, she put
on guard the dragon Ladon. On his eleventh labor, Heracles killed the dragon or stole with guile the apples
which are believed to bring immortality (Gislon & Palazzi 1997; Hesperides).
A Local Cult, a Universal Symbol: The Golden Apple in Gorni Voden, Southern Bulgaria
83
in Genesis the original sin is a sin of the spirit, expressed in the thirst for knowledge and
disobedience to God. Clement of Alexandria was the first to associate the original sin with
sexual intercourse, and later St Augustine of Hipo ‘once and for all’ connected the original
sin with sexuality mediated by lust. This, in turn stimulated the development of a widespread movement towards honoring chastity: both in theory and in practice. In this context,
the apple, with its erotic connotations, turned out to be especially suitable to take the place
of the fruit of sin.
The apple also became a symbol of Eve, the first woman, who, due to her weakness and
depravity, yielded to the snake’s temptation and caused the fall of mankind. In this respect,
the images of Eve, the apple and the snake joined in a common plot about the original guilt,
with which women are charged by Christian theological discourse (certainly a fact which
feminist movements never miss to bring forward19). In the New Testament, the figure of
Virgin Mary emerges as a counterpoint of sinful femininity; she is ‘the new Eve’ who made
the redemption and salvation of mankind possible. The comparison of Mary with Eve enjoys special attention in patristic tradition. According to John of Damascus’ interpretation,
the first Eve committed a crime against the Creator, yielding to the seduction of the snake;
through her, death entered the world. Mary, obedient to God’s will, deceived the snake which
had once deceived mankind, and brought immortality to the world (see Ivanov 2002: 494).
Returning to the case of Gorni Voden, we can see how the metaphor of Virgin Mary as
‘the new Eve’ is literalized in the image of the apple which the Virgin received on the Annunciation day. Just like Eve, Mary ate the apple, given by the angel (not by the snake this
time) and redeemed the original sin by giving birth to the Savior of mankind. On the other
hand, the ritual of eating the apple by the spouses symbolically repeats the story of the fall
of man but with the opposite meaning: not as disobedience to God’s will and a sin, but as a
sacred act in which the man and the woman create new life. The ‘rehabilitation’ of the apple
from sinful to sacred is complemented by the fact that it is sanctified by its contact with the
space of the temple and with the miracle-working icon. Through the apple, the act of love
(which is implicitly supposed to follow the ritual) and respectively ‘the fruit’ of this act, the
expected child, are consecrated, too.
Traditional Culture and Folklore
In the traditional culture of the patriarchal village, in Bulgaria and on the Balkans, fertility (of land, cattle and woman) is a prime value, a basic goal and concern of the
community. In such a context, the apple does not bear meanings of sinfulness and guilt, but
fits as a key symbol of love, eroticism and marriage, of fertility and offspring. These semantic connotations are attested by its ritual use. According to ethnographers, “[w]hen two people like
each other, they exchange apples – the greatest sign of love. Its meaning in wedding rituals
is the same: the young couple eat an apple in order to have children” (Georgieva Iv. 1993:
46). The apple, red or gilded (i.e. golden) is present in traditional weddings in the decoration
of ritual objects, such as the wedding tree, the wedding flag and the wedding ram (for instance, see Angelova 1985: 346–347; Marinov 1994: 91–92; Ivanova 1984: 186–187, 193). It
occurs as a symbolic equivalent of the bloodstained bride’s smock which should demonstrate her virginity after the wedding night. When the bride proved to be ‘honest’ (i. e. virgin), the apple was displayed instead of the smock and the wedding-guests stuck coins into
it (Georgieva Iv. 1993: 46 and ill. 32).
19
For instance, see Roll (1998) and cit. lit.
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Vihra Baeva
The apple was also used in the rites at childbirth and baptism, as well as in the magical
practice for providing health and beauty of the expected baby: “If a pregnant woman wants
her baby to have red cheeks, she must go under an apple tree after sunset and look at the
tree, if it is winter; and at the fruit, if it is summer” (Marinov 1994: 91-92). The apple as
a symbol is also associated with the world of the dead. It is a widespread conviction that
Archangel Michael takes the souls of righteous people and children, luring them with an
apple.20 The apple is also present in funerary rituals, for instance in the practice of putting
a sack of apples in the deceased man’s coffin so that he could carry them to his relatives in
the beyond world (Georgieva Iv. 1993: 46).
In folkloric legends about Adam and Eve, eating the forbidden apple is often interpreted
as a symbolic equivalent of sexual intercourse (Badalanova ed. 1993: 80-81).21 The apple as a
marital and sexual symbol occurs also in tales, of which the most popular example is the
plot of The Three Brothers and the Golden Apple, where finding the stolen golden apple
happens simultaneously with finding a wife.22 Another indicative plot is that about the miraculous birth of an ‘unborn maiden’ from an apple sliced into two.23 The apple is present
with similar semantics in a series of folk song lyrics, where it often appears as an equivalent
of the maiden, and where shaking off the fruit from the apple tree has sexual implications.
Below is an example of a Christmas song, recorded in Gorni Voden, where the erotic symbolism of the apple is unambiguously read:
“A tree has grown, oh, Christmas,
An apple tree, oh, Christmas
On maiden’s flat yard, oh, Christmas,
Twice tall, oh, Christmas, three times crotched,
So it bore fruit, oh, Christmas, on two branches,
On two branches, oh, Christmas, three apples.
Where he came from, oh, Christmas, a young madcap,
A young madcap, oh, Christmas, with a shepherd’s crook,
And he shook off, oh, Christmas, three apples.
He didn’t shake off, oh, Christmas, three apples,
But he hit, oh, Christmas, little maiden,
Little maiden, oh, Christmas, in her thin waist.
Little maiden, oh, Christmas, cried out:
Oh, little maiden’s, oh, Christmas, nine brothers,
Nine brothers, oh, Christmas, and cousins,
Why are you standing, oh, Christmas, and watching?
Come on, go, oh, Christmas, to the flat field,
And catch, oh, Christmas, the young madcap,
Then bring him to me, oh, Christmas,
Not tied, oh, Christmas, not punished,
Not punished, oh, Christmas, not beaten.
Maiden, oh, Christmas, will tie him,
With her, oh, Christmas, blonde hair.
Maiden, oh, Christmas, will punish him
20
This motif is developed in a series of song lyrics where Archangel Michael, or more rarely, the personified
Plague, takes the soul of a maiden or of a widow with small kids using a golden apple – see № 495–503 in the
collection of Bulgarian folk ballads, part 1 (Baladi 1993).
21
The appearance of the apple as a ‘code’ in folklore legends about the original sin is discussed in Petkova
(1994).
22
1994).
23
This motif is listed in the Catalogue of Bulgarian folktales under № 301 (see Daskalova-Perkovska et al.
See № 408 in: Daskalova-Perkovska et al. (1994).
A Local Cult, a Universal Symbol: The Golden Apple in Gorni Voden, Southern Bulgaria
85
With her, oh, Christmas, white face.
Maiden, oh, Christmas, will beat him
With her, oh, Christmas, white hands”.24
This song, recorded by ‘the newcomers’ to Gorni Voden, Bulgarian emigrants from
Aegean Macedonia, offers a key to the understanding of how the cult of the Golden Apple
was inherited despite the change of the population. Even though it was Greek in origin, the
feast of the Golden Apple as a cultural text was comprehensible for the settlers; they understood its sense and shared its meanings. It was this closeness and shared values that made
it possible for the feast and the cult in general to be assimilated and inherited by the newly
arrived Bulgarian population; and thus continuity of the local religious culture was
provided.
In some song lyrics the image of the golden apple is directly associated with the motif of
childlessness and miraculous childbirth. For example, when the angry husband wants to
murder or abandon his wife because she has not given him a child for nine years, she mentions the golden apple which grows in their ‘upper garden’:
“In our upper garden
We have an apple tree,
It blossomed for nine years,
It blossomed but it didn’t bear fruit,
This year is the tenth,
It blossomed and it gave
One golden apple.”
The bearing of the golden apple appears as an omen: it turns out that the childless woman has also conceived and bears in her womb ‘a boy with a golden forelock’.25 In another
version of the plot, the woman who has not had children for twenty years points out that the
golden apple in their garden has born two fruits and asks her husband to build a monastery
for her. After he summons the workers and quickly fulfills her behest, the woman gives birth
to male twins.26 Recorded in different ends of Bulgaria, these song lyrics indicate the existence of a steady semantic connection between the golden apple, the bearing of a child and
the temple in Bulgarian folklore culture. Manifestation of this steady relation is also present
in the ritual communion with sanctified apples in the church of Mary the Golden Apple in
Gorni Voden.
Conclusion
Analysis of the Golden Apple in Gorni Voden confirms the idea that the local cult
is a complex system including a set of elements which connect to each other and interact on
different levels: the patron saint, the holy site, the feast and rituals, images and narratives.
The interrelatedness of the separate elements is also visible in the fact that in local popular
discourse they are often designated by one and the same name, as in the case of the Golden
Apple, referring simultaneously to the temple, the feast, the ritual activities, the holy images
and Virgin Mary herself. The concept of the local cult as a system determines the procedure
24
25
26
The song was recorded in 1984 by local ethnographer and historian Nikola Filipov (1996: 149–150).
The whole text is published under № 796 in the collection of Bulgarian folk ballads, part 2 (Baladi 1994).
See № 800 in Baladi (1994).
86
Vihra Baeva
of its analysis: delineating all the separate elements and studying their mutual relations and
influences.
At the same time, the cult should be regarded as a process which changes in the course
of time, reflecting a general social, cultural and also economic context. It forms as a result of
the interactions, oppositions or collaborations of different social actors: representatives of
the clergy at different levels in the hierarchy, local people, visitors and pilgrims, the media,
etc. Though they were not mentioned in this text, I should also add scholars (folklorists,
anthropologists, etc.) who work in the field and publish results of their research in academic
publications or in more popular formats. Each one of these groups participates in its own
way in the general discourse about the local cult, and brings about the formation of its pattern and its development and transformation in the long run.
Viewing the local cult as a phenomenon of culture allows the researcher to interpret it as
a text, or rather, as an ensemble of texts (in the terminology of Clifford Geertz): verbal, visual
or ritual ones. Here the symbol plays a central part as the main bearer of meaning and the
basic unit of analysis. The symbol of the apple, which has been the focus of attention here,
seems to be quite controversial. As a universal Christian symbol it has negative connotations connected to the original sin, the fall of man and Eve’s primordial guilt. However, in
the case of the Golden Apple from Gorni Voden, it acquires new meanings, obviously under
the influence of traditional culture and folklore, where it refers to basic values such as fertility, marriage and offspring. Thus the symbol of the apple comes to be re-interpreted in the
local religious culture: it is attached to the sacred figure of Virgin Mary; it is included in images and stories of the Annunciation; it participates in narratives of miraculous conception
as a sign of divine intervention and in the ritual for conceiving and giving birth taking place
in the church. Ultimately, the meanings of the symbol turn out to be a result of the interaction and exchange of universal Christian imagery and the resources of local culture and
tradition. In my view, the example of this specific symbol is indicative of the mechanisms of
formation and functioning of religious cultures in general – a constant process of exchange,
opposition and adaptation between the universal and the local, between the official and the
folkloric, and between continuity and change.
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Biographical note: Dr Vihra Baeva is Associate Professor in the Institute of Ethnology
and Folklore Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia. Her main research interests are in the field of religious cultures in the Balkans, Orthodox Christianity and
folklore, oral narratives, symbolism and ritual, etc.
E-mail: [email protected]