Ritual of Killing Elders as a Scientific Myth

Abstract

A folk tradition recounting the killing of aged people, called lapot among the Serbs, has been comprehended scientifically as a real ritual. Despite the absence of required archeological, historical and ethnographic evidence, the contents of the folk tradition have been literally interpreted, and the ritual of killing old people has been defined as a lawful, social and religious custom. Efforts to replace the lack of real evidence with inadequate proofs, have led to an equating of different rituals and procedures linked to the relationship toward the aged. A critical reference to such an argument shows that the practice of abandoning the aged, rituals performed for euthanasia and occasional examples of sacrifice or killing cannot be leveled with an alleged ritual custom of killing elders only because they reached a ripe old age. The mythical roots of the tradition point to quite a different role and meaning, of its being passed on and fostered as a surviving folk tale in traditional communities.