Fascinated with Mexico continually since childhood, J.M.G. Le Clézio publishes the, inspired by the countr y, novel Ourania in 2006. The author’s concern for the survival of the Mexican world has not escaped his critics. It is worth noting, however, that the writer’s emphasis on the role of the oral tradition in the Amerindian culture and their ecological attitudes are evident. The culture of the spoken language (along with the belief in the magic of words) is contrasted with the western culture of the written language (stressing the emptiness of words). The analysis of this issue and the study of the formal procedures by which Le Clézio moves from the spoken to the written language may give us a sense of the suggestive voice of the Mexican peoples along with their ecological attitudes. It seems that J.M.G. Le Clézio, who protects tribal societies who know how to use the world in a moderate way, promotes, among others, their respect for the natural environment.

The present article introduces a new approach to the Old Russian texts by revealing metrical patterns underlying seemingly prose texts of the chronicle Povest vremennykh let. These patterns proved to be a shared feature of Eastern Slavic oral epic traditions. Thus, ideas of Ivan Franko about metrical character of the chronicles and Ivan Nikiforov’s claim about metrical affi nities of Eastern Slavic epic traditions are developed and enriched by up to date linguistic as well as ethnomusicological observations. Metrical affi nities of certain fragments of the chronicle Povest vremennykh let and Eastern Slavic epic give new clues to the possible persistence of oral epic in written form and consequently broaden the range of Old Russian texts that can be regarded as epic. Poetical epic corpus, enlarged in this way, gives a new relevant context to Slovo o polku Igoreve, authenticity of which can be proven now with more certainty on the basis of metrical affi nities with the fragments of chronicle of presumably oral origin.

The city of Homs, formerly known as Emesa, strategically located in the central region of Syria, has been long linked to a folk belief that portrays its inhabitants as mad and fool. Historical and traditional sources also link the alleged madness and foolishness of the Homsians to the day of Wednesday, the so-called “Day of the Fool” or “Homsians’ Feast”, which is considered a special day. The legend regarding the “Day of the Fool” and its celebration during Wednesdays has been passed down orally in the local culture and its origins likely trace back to ancient times when the city was still called Emesa. Therefore, this article attempts at reconstructing history and origins about this folk belief, and exploring the reasons behind the supposed madness and foolishness of the inhabitants of Homs and their connections to Wednesdays by comparing three studies published after 2000s in Arabic by Homsian intellectuals, namely Al-Aḥmad, Samʽān, and Kadr.