Fairy and Baba Toponymy and Topography in the Paklenica National Park and its Wider Surroundings

Abstract

The paper focuses on the topography of mythical toponyms in the Park and its wider area, which the inhabitants of southern Podgorje traditionally associate with the degraded and demonised deities of Slavic mythology. The interpretation is based on traditional narratives collected in field research and from more recent written sources (philological, ethnological-anthropological and historical-geographical). The fairy and baba toponomastics in the Park and its wider surroundings are recognised as the remnants of Old Slavic cosmogony and other mythical concepts using the examples of fairies and old women (baba). On southern Velebit their origins could be medieval, although archival material, primarily historical cartography, does not offer information before the 18th century. This article seeks to deepen and expand knowledge about mythical toponymy in the spatial context of southern and south-eastern Velebit. Since the topic has so far not been systematically researched, it will not be possible to give definitive answers and conclusions and some questions will remain open to future research requiring an interdisciplinary approach. The paper interprets the folk etymology of narratives and ritual folk songs, but philological etymology was not the subject of analysis.