WARDING OFF THE EVIL SPIRITS IN ISTRIA

Introduction

Remember (you older folks) when you grew up in Istria and were afraid of going outdoors at night for the fear of witches gathering, dancing, fighting... at road intersections, and the succubus (female vampires) coming at night to suck your blood? Luckily, our predecessors had ways of identifying witches and vampires and figured out how to defend themselves, their children, and livestock against them. Drago Orlić, a journalist, poet, and painter, attempted to collect witch stories that are still remembered in parts of Istria and he published them in his book, Scorice od strig i striguni. If you are in danger, read and follow the instructions that follow. Good luck!

Se domislite (vi stariji) kad ste kao dica imali stroha hodit po noći, das su strige čekale i delale komedije na svakoj križeri, a more prihajale po noći i sale krv. Na svu sriću naši stori su znali prepoznat svoje lokalne strige i more i a inventali su se i kako od njih škapulat sebe, dicu i blogo. Đjornalista i poeta Drago Orlić je pobra sćorice od strig i mor ke su još ustale i sve ih je spravi va libar Šcorice od štrig i striguni. Tako, ku ste ki va perikuli od štrig držite se ovih nikoliko uput. Boh nas očuvaj!

Franko Pavicevac

WITCHES AT THE CROSSROADS
ŠTRIGE NA KRIŽINI

After midnight on the crossroads, a whirlpool of dust rises from the ground. They say it is witches fighting, pulling each other's hair. So, you better go back to where you came from. In the morning it's a good idea to place a rock (plate) on that same spot.

Kad pasaš po noći, na križini se digne prah balaviške, oukolo zgoru, govoru da se štrige tuču, potežu za lase. Bolje da se tornaš z kud si doša. Zjutra je dobro na to misto vrć škrilu.

SO THAT WITCHES CANNOT SHARPEN THEIR NAILS
DA SI ŠTRIGE NOHTE NE OŠTRE

For goodness sake, don't leave knives with the sharp end pointing up on your cabinets. This way you'll deny witches the opportunity to sharpen their finger nails.

U ime svih svetih ne držite u kužini na banku pašade, britve, nože dagete z tajon zgoru, da si štrige nohte ne oštre.

WOMAN UNABLE TO HAVE MILK
ŽENA PRES MLIKA

A woman who does not have breast milk should spend the night naked in the stall with the cows. If that doesn't help, it's time to see the priest in Peroj. 

(Peroj, like villages around Sušnjevica, is another interesting color in the multi-cultural Istrian rainbow and mosaic. Its population is of Montenegrin origin, their religion is Orthodox Christian, and priests were probably more responsive to complaints about witches - or at least more entrepreneurial - than their Roman Catholic counterparts.)

Žena ka nima mlika neka cilu noć bude gola u štali z kravami. Ako to ne pomore, rabi poj poli popa u Peroj.

BELL LUBRICANT
ŽMIR OD ZVONIKA

You can prevent More (succubuses) from sucking you at night by putting lubricant used for church bell on your breast. 

Ako uzmete žmira z zvona na zvoniku i namažete cice, mora vas neće doj cikati. 

This may be a little late, but still:

WILL YOU COME TO BORROW SALT?
CEŠ DOĆ PO SO?

When a Mora (succubus) sucks your breast three nights in a row, the third night yell after her: "Will you come to borrow salt?!" In the morning, the woman that comes to ask to borrow salt is your Mora.

Of course, everybody knows that Strighe (witches) and More are born with tails. I remember neighbors inquiring of each other whether they saw a tail on so-and-so when she passed away and they put new clothes on the cadaver. I suppose that nowadays, with all the nudist beaches around and "g-string" bathing suits, the witch danger can be spotted sooner!

Ovo je možda malo prekasno ali ipak:

Kada vas mora pešta i cika tri noći jenu za drugon, tretu noć zavičite za njon: "C'eš doj po so!" Ujutro ka žena van dojde pitati so - to je mora.

Siguro svi znote da se štrige rodiju z repon. Ja se domislin kako su susedi pitali jedon drugega ku je ta i ta imala rep kad je umrla i kad su je presukli. Danšnji don ne robi toliko čekat da se vidi ka je. Ku je sumjiva hote za nju na nudističku plažu.

Source:

• Text: Drago Orlić (partially translated by Franko Pavicevac), Scorice od strig i striguni, Istarska Naklada (Pula, 1986)