Edited by MCK Sokół | Lesser Poland
Przestep - the king of plants
Country: Poland
Region: Lesser Poland
Type of inspiration: Beliefs
Inspiracja
As Oskar Kolberg noted, crime 'is named after the transgression of a divine commandment'. Its root is "completely similar to a child, and thus has a head, eyes, ears, belly". For this reason, the offence was associated with the mandrake. It was considered the 'king of plants' bringing good luck in the farm and in personal life. It was attributed with strong medicinal as well as magical properties. In the Carpathian Mountains, the plant was mainly used for spells related to milk collection, so crime was particularly desired by witches - babrule.
It was possible to come across the plant accidentally while mowing a meadow, but as soon as the blade of the scythe touched the delinquent plant, it broke into pieces. Whoever wanted to obtain the root safely had to remember to put a few coins or a piece of bread in place of the dug-up herb, otherwise the crime would bring illness to the person. The root, which was supposed to feel cold and pain, was cared for like a living being - it was bathed in milk and wrapped in cloths. Those involved in witchcraft knew ways to grow the plant themselves. According to an account recorded in Łomnica, "one would plant garlic in the head of a snake, only this snake had to be caught either before Adalbert or after Michael, that is, either before 24 April or after 29 September. They would cut off the head of such a snake, put a clove of garlic in it and put this in a pot, and keep it in a dark place in the cellar. From the garlic grew a kind of parsley upwards, a kind of figure that had the shape of either a woman or a man. Once the sex, the root, had grown out of it, the parsley had to be cut off". Cows fed with the leaves of the offence would take milk away from other animals, being immune to witchcraft themselves. Used skilfully, crime helped to expose witches. The story was told that a root thrown into the water would be followed by the witch's cows, and that a plant growing in one place for nine years would roar like a cow.
Since crime was believed to open all locks without the use of a key, its root was carried by thieves and robbers, as confirmed by old court records. This property of the plant was also known to birds, so in order to get the delinquent root it was enough to find a jay's nest with chicks, lock them in a grate made of sticks. Then the desperate parents, who could not get inside, would bring in the offence.
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