Sunday 16 October 2016

Dark Inspirations





We get asked a lot about how we came up with Lumeer and its people. A lot of our inspiration came from old Eastern European folklore which can be a little scary but we also find it fascinating. One story in particular that captured us, was about infants born with a Caul or Face Veil. A Caul is a membrane that covers the infants face or head at birth and is incredibly rare. It doesn’t harm the baby and is easily removed, but where’s the fun in leaving it at that, right?
Now, most legends have that a baby, born with a Caul was a sign of good luck and that a child born with a Caul cannot drown. This prompted savvy mothers to save the Caul and sell bits of it off to sailors, who would pay hefty prices for the powerful talisman… and they all lived happily ever after.

Then there is the darker legend - which of course is the one we like the best! This lore hails from Croatia and some Slovenian areas. This version states that a baby born with a Caul would either become a Kresnik (protector and all round good guy/gal) or a Kudlak (evil blood sucking toss). It was said that a clear or white Caul indicated the child would become Kresnik, but a red or dark Caul meant they would become a Kudlak. If there was ever conjecture about the Cauls’ colour, the midwife would run to the window and shout: "A kresnik is born! A kresnik!" hoping to sway fate. Here’s where it gets a little eewwwww…. It was believed that the kudlak was most dangerous after death because he or she would then become a vampire. So, to hamper the vampires’ return, the people would either impale the corpse on a stake or slash the tendon below the knees before burial. Ergh, as if death followed quickly by turning into a vamp wasn’t bad enough!