about Witches & Bones-throwers

[Alina Israeli]

>Now a new lovely word I encounter is
>verb: <Vorozhit'>
>and consulting with <vorozhi>
>soothsayers, hexes, fortune-tellers, diviners, etc...
>
>What is the origin of the word?

Vasmer relates it to "vorog" = vrag, nechistyj, chert.

>Another group (German-Russians)
>tells me that they play an ancient Russian Volga game
>throwing bones (not fortune-telling as in Africa),
>but a child's game with knuckles.
>It's called "Bannock", but bones in Russian are "Kosti".
>So, what is the name of the knuckle bone throwing game
>of children of old in Russia ?  Knuckles are "sustavy".

In Russian, "igrat' v kosti" is play a game of dice, often in folk 
tales when you play against death or a devil.

knuckles = kostjashki

sustavy = joints
-- 
__________
Alina Israeli
LFS, American University
4400 Mass. Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20016

phone:	(202) 885-2387
fax:	(202) 885-1076

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