Tatyana Dordzhieva, About the ritual of ‘cutting a black tongue’

Abstract

Tatyana says that gossiping is not only bad for gossipers themselves but for their children as well. To counter a gossip, people perform a ritual known as ‘cutting a black tongue’ which is accompanied by reading well-wishes and prayers. The person for whom it is performed also bites a white and a black threat symbolizing the destruction of the power of the gossip.