Myth and folktales

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Wanton People Break the egg and Cause the flood
Let us now examine another tale, which contains Christian (Jewish) elements. 
People lived happily in a valley surrounded by high mountains, but they knew 
that one day, a flood will come, and they will all die. They repeatedly sent a 
sentinel on a mountain to watch for the flood. He never saw anything for they 
caused the flood themselves. In the middle of the valley sat an egg from which 
flowed several streams. The streams watered the ground, making it fertile, 
and the people did not need to work at all. There was no winter or summer, 
and everything ripened without any toil and pains. This is why people became 
wanton, and wanted to see what was inside that egg since all the happiness 
came from it. Arrogant, they gathered around the egg although old books had 
warned that nobody was allowed to go near the egg. A fat man broke the egg. 
God punished them, and the valley was quickly filled with water. 
Only the guard on the mountain survived. He climbed a high tree, appeal-
ing to the gods for help. Showing mercy, the god Kurent leaned a grapevine 
against the tree. For nine years, the man lived on grapes. The waters receded, 
and he was saved, all thanks to that vine. So, he had to promise Kurent that 
he would continue to drink and love wine. And this is how folks interpret this 
to this day (Trdina 1952: 376–7).
While Stubelj’s story about the Flood and Kurent is quite similar to the one 
published by Trdina, in 1857 Janez Bilc, another student of his, published in a tale 
Novice that strongly deviates from the ones above. God’s rooster and the egg are 
never mentioned. Four people managed to save themselves from the Flood, and one 
of them climbed a high grapevine that reached the sky. When Korant (a variant in 
spelling) beheld this, the waters started to recede. Thus rescued, the man had to 
promise Korant that he and his descendants would always worship the grapevine 
and buckwheat, the two plants dedicated to Korant:
The tale of korant
Back when the old Slovenes still worshiped pagan gods, they believed that the 
beginning of the world was a golden age, that bread grew on trees and ears of 
wheat measured a half fathom. These fortunate people were good at first, but 
soon they became corrupt and evil. The gods then decided to destroy the world. 
The rain started to pour heavily. The land was completely flooded, and all 
people died except four who were saved and did not perish in the terrible flood.
The story says nothing about three of these people, but it is well-known how 
the fourth one got away. A grapevine was growing on a high hill, with its top 
touching the sky. The man grabbed the vine and started to climb. Kurent, 

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a much respected god of the old Slavs, beheld this and was overjoyed to see 
that the man was seeking for help from a tree that was dedicated to him. He 
showed mercy on the poor man. The waters started to recede, and the soil was 
rapidly becoming dry. The rescued man had to promise Kurent (his rescuer) 
that he and his progeny would always love the two plants dedicated to Kurent 
and would enjoy their fruit; these plants were the grapevine and buckwheat. 
Taking the grapevine in one hand and the buckwheat stalk in the other, the 
rescued man set off into the wide world, looking for a home. He stopped on 
the banks of the Adriatic, cut off a switch from the grapevine in his hand and 
stuck it into the soil with all his might. And indeed, the wine in Prosek is still 
excellent. The man also sowed the buckwheat. His sons dispersed all over 
Kranjska, and even today the people there live mostly from buckwheat and still 
appreciate wine, remembering Kurent, their old benefactor, with gratitude.
Kurent was devoutly worshipped by the old Slavs, and our Carnival on Shrove 
Tuesday is the day dedicated to the memory of the old Kurent.
13
 
This tale has been reprinted many times, first by the Czech Jaromir Erben, later 
by Jakob Kelemina and Franček Bohanec, as well as many others.
In contrast with the normal birth from a mother’s womb, and according to a 
number of mythological explanations, the restoration of the world and humanity is 
the task of men. American folklorist Alan Dundes pointed out, that the only survivor 
13 
Bilc, Novice, 28. 2. 1857; Kelemina 1930, no. 208; Krek 1885: 63–64.
Kurent Drives out the Winter, Matjaž Schmidt, 2001, Slovenska knjiga

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after the flood was a male deity. He found a number of parallels in various traditions 
from all continents (Dundes 1988: 167–182). 
The Kurent of the above-mentioned Slovene tale rescues the man from Kranjska 
from the Flood. According to Ivan Grafenauer, Kurent is a malevolent lunar deity 
representing the Slavic deity of wine and pleasure. He is the lunar primogenitor and an 
evil demi-god akin to the Keremet of the Votyak people, with origins in the pre-Slavic 
nomadic pastoral culture. According to a Votyak belief legend, Keremet taught the 
first human in Paradise how to make kumiss, an intoxicating drink made from mare’s 
milk. He also seduced the first man and woman to disregard the command of Inmar 
the Creator not to drink it. In addition, the Votyaks also claimed that Keremet was 
the “younger brother” and opponent of Inmar (Juma), the Supreme Being. Mordvian 
tales mention a similar mythical being named Šajtan, who seduces the first human. 
Ivan Grafenauer also compared Kurent with the demi-god Erlik known to the Altaic 
Tartars. Schnapps, which is called Erlik’s drink, was named after Erlik, who is depicted 
as a rosy-cheeked god of joy (Grafenauer 1942: 38; Grafenauer 1944: 81–87).
Kurent was originally interpreted as a god of unleashed joy, a Slavic version of 
Dionysus in Greece and Bacchus in Rome. Anton Tomaž Linhart called him the god 
of pleasure (Gott der Schwelgerei), Davorin Trstenjak compared Kurent to the Indian 
Shiva and Matevž Ravnikar-Poženčan with the ancient Priapus and with Bacchus, 
Trdina and Navratil also compared Kurent with Bacchus, and perceived him as the 
god of debauchery and merrymaking.
According to France Bezlaj’s etymological explanation, the name “Kurent” was 
derived from a root word (kur) meaning creating, devising (Bezlaj 1950–1951). If we 
connect this tale with the one about the creature in the moon, spread practically all 
over the world, and knowing that the moon in Slovene tales is often personified by 
Kurent, it seems that Kurent was viewed as a primogenitor, a being who helped the 
human race to multiply and the fields to regenerate and bear food. The root (kur) 
could also be connected with the chicken (kura in Slovene) or to the rooster, and to 
hatching an egg, which is the attribute of the heavenly God the Creator. 
Let us also consider a Slovene folk Carnival custom in which the kurenti, accom-
panied by a procession of the piceki (chicks) jump up and down and “plough” around 
houses to make their owner’s turnips grow thick and plump. The latest archaeologi-
cal discoveries revealed the connection between the kurenti and the ancient cult of 
Cybele, according to which the mythical companions of Cybele were called the kurenti 
and the koribanti (Ciglenečki 1999).
 
They were dressed in the masks of a rooster. In 
view of all this, we can safely say that in all probability Kurent was a deity or a demon 
connected to fertility and licentiousness, even though Milko Matičetov (1985) as well 
as Leopold Kretzenbacher (1941) denied Kurent his mythical origin.

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