SLOVENIAN BUCKWHEAT FAIRY TALE

Buckwheat

An old Slovenian tale claims that our ancestors, who once lived in lands far to the east, were brought to the lands beneath Triglav by a grain of buckwheat. When the time came to move on from their previous home, their goddess gave them the grain and said: “Plant this seed on your travels, and where it sprouts and grows, there you shall remain – but if it does not sprout in three days, then you shall dig the seed up and continue on your way.” The story goes on to say that the seed did not sprout on the shores of the Black Sea, nor on the plains of Poland, nor the German mountains – it rose from the earth and bloomed white across the land only when it reached Slovenian ground. From once upon a time and ever after!

More about healing and magical plants in Slovene tradition you can read in book SACRED PLANTS IN FOLK MEDICINE & RITUALS – ETHNOBOTANY OF SLOVENIA by Vlasta Mlakar

© Vlasta Mlakar