Kołtun in Polish Folk Culture of the 19th – Early 20th Centuries: Source Analysis

Abstract

Based on Polish folklore and ethnographic journals of the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries and the Collected Works of Oskar Kolberg, the article examines the localization of Polish folk ideas about the kołtun (Polish plait, mat), its various names, the objects of its influence, and the symptoms and diseases associated with it in Polish folk culture. It explores its ontological status, types and manifestations, causes of occurrence, agents that inflict or remove the affliction, methods of forming the plait for medicinal purposes, the duration it was worn, treatment specifics, the time and place of its cutting, the tools used to get rid of it, and subsequent actions taken after its separation from the head. The classification of the studied folk ideas is based on the descriptive sequence for the kołtun from the ethnolinguistic dictionary Slavic Antiquities, with additions reflecting the specificities of the Polish folk worldview. The aim of the article is to study the nature of the kołtun and its place in traditional Polish culture. For this purpose, the descriptive sequence was clarified and expanded using Polish material, supplemented by quotations from sources. The author’s translation of fragments from the works of Polish folklorists makes these materials more accessible to the Russian-speaking reader.

Received: 01.07.2025.
Revised: 06.02.2026.
Accepted: 17.03.2026.

Citation
Povetkina P. B. Kołtun in Polish Folk Culture of the 19th – Early 20th Centuries: Source Analysis // Slavic Almanac. 2026. No 1–2. P. 277–297 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2026.1-2.13