Raskovnik

Raskovnik (Расковник) is a plant in Serbian mythology, and other Slavic mythos. According to Vuk Stefanovic Karadzic's Dictionary:

: "It is some (may be imaginary) grass for which it is thought that of it (when brushed by it) every lock and every other closure can open by itself." [As cited in cite book
first=Branko
last=Miljkovic
authorlink=Branko Miljkovic
title=Изабране песме
url=http://www.rastko.org.yu/knjizevnost/umetnicka/poezija/bmiljkovic-izbor_c.html
format=HTML
accessdate=2006-09-06]

While people know that raskovnik exists, no one can show how it lookscite book
coauthors=Š. Kulišić, P. Ž. Petrović, N. Pantelić
title=Српски митолошки речник
origyear=1970
publisher=Nolit
location=Belgrade
language=Serbian
pages=252-253
chapter=Расковник] . Thus, there are various methods for finding it: Vuk recorded that in Zemun a trader, wishing to find it, locked an old woman into leg irons, and let her wander a field in the night; if the irons would unlock by themselves, that would be a place where raskovnik grows. Another method requires the use of a hedgehog (sometimes a turtle): young hedgehogs should be found and locked in a box; their mother will find raskovnik and unlock the box with it; but one should be quick, as the hedgehog will swallow the plant after using it.

It was believed that treasures (notably the treasure of Tsar Radovan) would be locked in such a way that use of raskovnik may be necessary to unlock it, and so the plant was searched for by treasure hunters.

Literature

* cite paper
author=Ljubinko Radenkovic
url=http://kapija.narod.ru/Ethnoslavistics/rad_raskovnik.htm
format=HTML
title=Расковник у кругу сличних биљака
accessdate=2006-09-06

References