Why do first kittens end up down the drain?

An iconic meaning of the lexema cat and litter

Ivana, S, Bašić

Glasnik Etnografskog instituta SANU

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http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/Article.aspx?ID=0350-08611001069B

2010-2020/03/08/16:50:10

In the Slavic folklore, a cat and similar other small animals with soft fur and numerous litters/offspring, represent symbols of a young female, bride woman, female genitals, home and hearth, appearing thus in fertility rituals, connected with food, knitting, weaving, and magic, but they are also associated with female demons, such as 'devour-eaters', 'child and harvest stealers'. All these are the cha­racteristics of the Great Mother Goddess, in her terrifying, chthonic appearance. The origin of the saying 'the first kittens should go down the drain' (should drawn in water) hence should be explained by the existence of the fertility rites, where the first litter of the cult animals was sacrificed to the Goddess in order to ensure future fertility; that is, the litter was thus 'returned' to the fertile water, as a symbol of mother's death. However, a more complete explanation requires ascertaining to an iconic meaning of the lexeme cat and litter which is the subject of the second part of this paper.

cat, litter, Mara, phrases, sacrifice of the first born, Slavic mythology, lexical iconic, meaning