Die Gestalt des Todes in den Volkszählungen

Slowakisches Material im mitteleuropäischen Kontext

Abstract

The fundamental phases of human life are determined not only by biological laws, but also by cultural phenomena. Key events – birth, marriage, death – are accompanied by various cultural manifestations that emphasize the significance and uniqueness of these turning points for the individual and for society. The article describes the attitude towards death in Slovak folk culture from the 19th and early 20th centuries to the present, superstitious ideas and depictions of death in rituals and iconography, and their comparison with Polish, Czech, Moravian and German prose traditions.