Enemy of demons

In the past Serbs believed that wolves were "enemies of demons". Which is why when the devil, a vampire, or an "unclean" deceased person was mentioned in conversation in Central Serbia and Montenegro people always added: "Vuk mu na put!" (May a wolf stand in his path!)

Serbs from Bosnia and Croatia drank rainwater from a wolf's paw-prints believing it had magic properties. This was because "wherever a wolf's paw treads, all evil is fended off from people, cattle, and crops"...

 

In Hercegovina, a hot arid area of the Balkans, people shouted "Vuk, vuk, oro krstaš!" (Wolf, wolf, imperial eagle!) to protect themselves from rising whirlwinds – which were believed to be of demonic origin and said to cause disease and insanity...

Incantation from Central Serbia "against any disease": "U kurjaka četir’ noge, dva uva, rep i zev. U kurjaka strašan zev: boljku će zazenut! Ustupi i beži!" (Wolf has four legs, two ears, a tail, and jaws, terrible jaws: it will devour the disease! Back off, go away!)

Serbian ritual practice recorded in Serbia, Montenegro, and East Bosnia, performed to ensure lasting health and strength of children, involved pulling the newborn baby through "vučiji zev" (wolf's yawn), the skin cut from around a wolf’s jaws...

Serbian incantation from Vojvodina "against any disease": "Spusti se kurjak nizbrdo da uhvati ovcu. Ne uhvati ovcu neg' uhvati svo zlo" (The wolf came down the hill to seize a sheep. But instead of seizing a sheep he seized all evil)...

In the past, when a son was born, it was customary in Serbian villages for the father to open the house door, stand on the doorstep, and announce the birth of the son by shouting: "Rodila vučica vuka!" (A she-wolf just gave birth to a wolf cub!) 

More wolf lore in my post "Wolf feast".

When in some family male children kept dying, Serbs would give the next boy to be born name "Vuk" (Wolf). It was believed that this name would scare away demons which cause illnesses...

Wolf teeth were considered to be particularly magically potent. Serbs put them in bed around mother and baby as protection against demons. Children wore them as talismans which were meant to give them good strength and health. Serbs also used to call first child's teeth "wolves".

This magic ritual was recorded in Eastern Serbia and Kosovo. Local Serbs would look at a house through a wolf larynx (throat) if they wanted to cause quarrel in the family that lived in it. "Da bi se pojeli ko vuci" (So they would kill each other like wolves)...

In Serbia (and other Slavic countries and Finland), horse skull was placed on top of beehives to protect bees from pests and diseases. Particularly powerful was a scull of a horse killed by a wolf...Wolf sculls were also used for this purpose... 

More bee related Slavic folklore in my post "bees".

It's getting late. In the mountains of the Balkans we find a peculiar type of "old style" singing which can only be compared with the howling of wolves. It is called "ojkanje" and could be the oldest polyphonic singing that has survived til today. 

More about this ancient singing style in my post "Wolf singing". 

Riddle:

Q: "Kroz goru odilo, kući ne doodilo?" (Wanders through mountain/forest, never comes home?) 

A: Wolf

Symbolically this riddle is also a magic spell which forbids wolf to come from his mountain/forest to "our" human home...

In Serbia, when shepherds lost their sheep in the mountain, they ritually tied "verige" (chain on which cauldron is hang over the hearth). This was done to "close wolf's jaws" and protect the sheep...

More cauldron chain folklore in my post "Verige".