The Magic of Names

Some local names, as explained by folk etymology: Kuracia dolinka takes its name from a castle or house standing on a chicken’s leg, inhabited by a witch. Jánov prameň is a spring in the Drabina valley by the entrance to Belanská Cave. At midnight on St John’s Day, sand beside it turned to gold, and people supposedly carried it away by the pocketful. Čosek is a short northwestern spur extending from the main ridge west of Jatkové sedlo. It crosses both directions of the main ridge at an acute angle, resembling the sharply crossed čosek (a broom in the local mountain dialect) and bread shovel, two tools used to bake bread in an oven. Crossing their pointed ends was a widespread magical practice by which local people warded off evil gods. This association also gave rise to the name of Oželec saddle on the northern ridge of Bujačí vrch. Oželec is a local diminutive of ožeh, a synonym for čosek. Bohyňky also lived in the Tatras (see the entry in the first section).