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Paper short abstract

The paper focuses on the folklore symbolism of natural elements that depict social cataclysms and ecocidal manifestations. The analysis is based on oneiric narratives with motifs of prophetic dreams “to the war”, which express national identity and represent attempts to structure the future.

Paper long abstract

The paper will explore the question: What natural elements are typical in the oral oneiric narratives of Ukrainians with the motif of ‘the prophetic dream,’ which is interpreted as a dream ‘the war will be,’ and what functions do such images play in personal stories? The author will focus on the peculiarities of the vernacular in expressing human existentialism during the ongoing war. The main focus is on the folklore samples recorded by the author in 2022-2024, which contain images of natural disasters (‘great water’ such as a river, sea, ocean, lake; land that is subsiding; a burning house; a burned city, whirlwinds, black clouds, a bright sky). The author will analyse and compare these Slavic oneiric narratives with other Slavic ones, as well as traditional images and symbols that shape folk ideas about death and life, and the meanings of ‘destruction’ and ‘rebirth.’

Additional questions for research: Why is a ‘prophetic’ dream about war a ‘narrative of personal experience’? What is the connection between the symbolic codes of dreams and the narrator/listener's interpretation of their future life? What is the scene of a dream about war in women's narratives? Based on discursive analysis, the significance of cultural heritage and ‘background’ mythological and folkloric knowledge will be traced through verbalised personal narratives. The author believes that oneiric and personal narratives in everyday wartime life perform not only compensatory, communicative and identificatory functions, but also an important informational and prognostic function necessary for overcoming trauma in uncertain times.