{"id":4488,"date":"2022-09-24T09:43:47","date_gmt":"2022-09-24T09:43:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/authenticamalficoast.it\/?post_type=amalfi_story&p=4488"},"modified":"2023-05-14T08:45:58","modified_gmt":"2023-05-14T08:45:58","slug":"bewitched-by-love-the-legend-of-the-janare-of-conca-dei-marini","status":"publish","type":"amalfi_story","link":"https:\/\/authenticamalficoast.it\/en\/story\/bewitched-by-love-the-legend-of-the-janare-of-conca-dei-marini\/","title":{"rendered":"Bewitched by Love. The legend of the Janare of Conca Dei Marini"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Magical figures are part of the local folk heritage that has been passed down orally from generation to generation for centuries.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

September 24th, 2022. By Anna Volpicelli, photo by Cocoparisienne (pexels.com)<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n

\n\n\n

The popular culture of the Amalfi Coast is rich in legends that have been passed down over time. Some of them have been lost and live on in the memories of wise elders who learned from their parents. Among these are the stories of the janare,<\/i> the witch-women who lived in Conca Dei Marini<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The consecration<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey existed. They were true stories<\/i>,\u201d says Rita Di Riso<\/strong>, an 80-year-old lady-my father saw them. There are no written documents about them, but their existence is part of a long oral transmission that today has become a narrative heritage in the possession of a few people. \u201cIt was said that during the celebration of baptism, if the priest got some words wrong<\/i>,\u201d Di Riso continues, \u201cthe child had some traits of a little devil or rather a witch.”<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Extraordinary faculties<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A medieval figure, the name \u201cJanara\u201d (witch) is closely linked to Diana, the goddess of the hunt and protector of nature. The janara<\/i> was able to channel the power of the goddess. As Professor Rita di Lieto<\/strong> defines them in her short story Disguised as witches for extra-marital adventures, \u201cthe janare had extraordinary, supernatural faculties, able to fly or undergo metamorphosis<\/i>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n

\"La
Photo by Cocoparisienne, Courtesy of Pexels.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

In search of husbands<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

However, many stories are circulating about the mystery of such characters, at times mythical, but all of them have a common denominator: they were not evil or malicious, just mischievous. Behind them, every action was a matter of love. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story goes that Conca dei Marini has always been a fishing village where men would set out in their boats on long journeys, even to faraway places. Women left alone would fly at night to reach their spouses. Antonio Tajani<\/strong>, a journalist, wrote that \u201csuch women smeared their bodies with an ointment that made them as light as feathers, and so they could fly over the ocean to join their husbands and fianc\u00e9s on sailing ships bound for America”. \u201cSince they did not receive letters from their husbands<\/i>,\u201d Anna Anastasio says, reporting her mother\u2019s accounts, \u201cthey would fly at night and go to them.”<\/i> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trick or Treat<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Romantic and playful, when it came to matters of men, they put their best talents into action. \u201cMy father<\/i>,\u201d Di Riso tells us, \u201ctold me that one night a man from Conca Dei Marini, beloved by one of the janare, found himself at the Sanctuary of the Avvocata. The witch in his sleep had transported him there to spite him.<\/i>\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many feared them, while others had a more positive attitude toward them. \u201cIt is said<\/i>,\u201d Anastasio points out, \u201cthat if you knew them, they would not do anything to you, but if you did not know them and were not very fond of them, anyone could be the object of their pranks.”<\/i> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Men, in short, did not have it easy. \u201cIn Conca dei Marini, people used to say that men could come in but not go out. So if, for example, a man from Conca married a woman from Amalfi, there was trouble<\/i>,\u201d Rita Di Riso laughingly tells us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The end\u2026<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Over the centuries, the hunt for the janare<\/i> never abated. \u201cIn the 1930s, the Church\u2019s intervention was crucial in the disappearance of the witches. From then on, they were no longer seen around<\/i>,\u201d Di Riso explains. One thing is whether they existed: such women were animated only by a great desire to be lovers. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Magical figures are part of the local folk heritage that has been passed down orally from generation to generation for centuries. September 24th, 2022. By Anna Volpicelli, photo by Cocoparisienne (pexels.com) The popular culture of the Amalfi Coast is rich in legends that have been passed down over time. Some of them have been lost […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":3496,"template":"","amalfi_type":[97,87],"amalfi_location":[141],"class_list":["post-4488","amalfi_story","type-amalfi_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","amalfi_type-art-and-culture","amalfi_type-arte-e-cultura","amalfi_location-conca-dei-marini-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBewitched by Love. 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