Градишка скала
Two legends are connected with the Gradishka skala.
1 kilometer north of Gorno Dryanovo is the Gradishka skala - 60 meters high. The ancient settlement of Gradishte dates back to before the Ottoman Empire and is located behind the Gradishka rock.
There are remains of walls and enclosures, which may be the remains of an ancient sanctuary, settlement or of the foundations of a monastery. Pottery pots and Roman coins are still found there.
There are two legends about her: the Serpent and the maiden and grandmother Skokla.
Legend of grandmother Skokla
At the beginning of the Islamization processes, people from the village used to go there to pray secretly. After the Islamization, the Khoja decided to stop going to the rock and the prayers. On the path near the village called Grasishta, the hodja together with several helpers returned the people.
But one woman - grandmother Skokla, managed to get away by detouring somewhere and went there alone. She began to pray: "God, forgive us! We can't come because the hodja is stopping us."
There is also a cave there that can be entered somewhat. She is believed to be Bogomil.
Legend of the Dragon and the Dragon's Bride
A dragon lived at the top of Gradishka Skala, which watched over the village. The dragon could turn into a man - a very handsome and strong man.
One day he liked the most beautiful girl and decided to marry her. He stole her. The dragon's home was in a cave in the rock. There is indeed a cave on the rock – like a deep gap.
The dragon took his bride to his home and said to her: “You have all the possessions in the world if you stay. If you leave, your fate will be cruel!”
However, the girl was from a very poor family. She felt sorry for her parents who were left alone and without help. One day, when the dragon assumed a human form and went down to work, she filled a bag with gold coins and went home - to Dryanovo, to see her parents and leave them the gold.
The way down is steep and she soon got tired. She stopped on the trail to rest, opened the bag, and saw that the yolks had turned to charcoal. She quickly threw the coals by the path and ran home to Gradishte.
Not long after, the dragon returned. On the way he saw the coals and realized that the treasure had been touched and his wife was going out. When he got home, he asked the girl:
- Have you gone anywhere today? Where have you been?
- I haven't been anywhere - answered the girl. - I was here.
- Have you touched the gold? – asked the dragon again
- I'm not! What should I touch the gold for?!? - answered the girl, already very scared.
The dragon knew that the maiden was lying to him. He got very angry and beheaded her on the edge of the cliff. Her blood is still visible.
Beliefs and Rituals
Butterfly - praying for rain
In dry and bad times, a ritual was performed - praying for rain. The prayer was announced in advance and people gathered.
Here, the main role was played by the hodja, who leads the prayer.
A child, a girl or an older woman (poor, orphaned or simply damaged by life) was chosen as the Butterfly and dressed in special clothes. Everyone, together with the Butterfly, walked around the village, as the Khoja sang and said the prayer. The butterfly led the procession. Everyone sang:
“Butterfly, butterfly
God give us summer rain...
….. let’s find the messier,
to feed the children…”
People were donating the Butterfly as the procession went around.
Even now, when it is dry, you will see children going around the streets singing "God give us summer rain..."
Cursing for lessons - believing in evil eyes
If a woman with "evil eyes" looks at a child, then she is said to have "stunted" him. She made him sick just by looking at her. Beware (beware) of her, lest she look at you.
Lessons were removed by being afraid. There were women like that back in the day. It is not known what was sung during the chanting - it was done in a whisper.
It is still practiced.
Casting a bullet when startled
It was practiced. And now it is practiced. You will go to the hunter, ask him to put the bullets through the barrel of the rifle and give them to you. Then you will go to this woman who deals with these things, to heat them up. Women who engage in this work must have the gift and the knowledge. They are passed down in the family. Not everyone can do it.
And this woman will heat the lead in a spoon over the fire, then dip it in cold water and it will "bloom" - it will form some kind of figure. The woman looks at the figurine and says some kind of prayer.
Then the lead is thrown out at the crossroads or into running water (the river - the fountain)
Bad spirits
Exorcising evil spirits
Picking a geranium - I don't remember what day it was, as a child I used to walk along the river, on the rocks, and I picked it and brought it home.
You had to put it in water and wash with it. And then to spray the house on a certain date of the year, but I have forgotten which date it was.
It was before St. George's Day or on St. George's Day.
An old man used to say: "Before St. Valentine's Day, a geranium smells like a maiden, and after St. Valentine's Day it smells like a widow."
Karakonjuli
They told us stories. The river freezes in winter and the karakonjulas cross and appear. We were forbidden to go out at night. Even to the toilet.
Karaconjules hide in the dark, climb on your back and make you walk in the river, in the abyss and anywhere they want.
Goblins
Karakonjuls and goblins are only afraid of roosters.
Roosters go to bed early - the sun is still shining, and the rooster and hens are already asleep. But at night, a person has not yet gone to bed, and the rooster crows - first roosters. Then the second cocks, and on the third cocks it's dark. So there really is something higher here. The rooster has the task of chasing away evil spirits.
When the rooster crows, the goblin and goblin run away. Until the roosters crow, you must not go outside, because the "goblin" may meet you.
The goblin takes any form. And human too.