INTRODUCTION

In 2004, Slovenian public television produced a documentary entitled Med hribi kačjih glav (“Among the Hills of Snake Heads”), structured around an ancient legend, which survived in a relatively remote, hilly part of western Slovenia. It tells about a huge snake-fish, which lived in a big lake long ago, but which was very gluttonous and thus drunk all the water of the lake, and consequently died on dry sand. Its dried bones formed a road, which still exists in the Čepovan valley. The television documentary ethnologically presents the local legends, but also some artifacts and rituals that are thought to have survived until very recently. It shows a series of so-called snake heads, stones of different sizes, all shaped in the form of a snake head, and accurately carved holes representing the eyes. The stones supposedly carry magical powers, and were allegedly used in ancient rituals until recently.

The author of the documentary also wrote the screenplays for two other documentaries, also produced by TV Slovenia in 2008 and 2009: Jelenk—sveta gora starovercev (“Jelenk—Holy Mountain of Old Believers”) and Osvatina—poganski ogenj (“Osvatina—Pagan Fire”). Both documentaries similarly present the ancient legends of the western part of Slovenia. The first one is based on Slovenian folk tales collected and published by the ethnologist P. Medvešček (2006) and is primarily focused on the Hag Cave (Babja jama), allegedly a shrine of the old believers until the First World War. It shows some artifacts found in the cave and its near surroundings, which were supposedly used for fortune-telling, and the film even reproduces the only surviving ritual, the body-washing of believers.