What are Brebus or Berbus?
The meaning of brebu is “word.” We find traces of it in ancient judicial texts, where “torrare berbos” meant to reply.
In modern times, brebus are considered magic words, incantations, phrases capable of healing illnesses or protecting people from curses and troubles.
Why the incantation is called brebu isn’t entirely clear.
As Antonangelo Liori writes in his “Demoni, miti e riti magici della Sardegna” (Demons, Myths and Magical Rites of Sardinia), “it is certain that the word is attributed great significance in Sardinia. In the interior villages, even real estate is transferred with a simple ‘word’ (bastat su foeddu, they say: ‘The word is enough’): public acts are only resorted to when necessary to apply for land improvement or to access credit.”
The Sardinian term for word is fueddu, allega, peraula, but brebu has a decidedly stronger meaning and signifies “verb,” that is, an active word, a word that generates things, that produces effects.
The definition of brebu for incantation is probably due to the advent of Catholicism, but the origins of these magical Sardinian words are certainly not, and in fact, Sardinians carefully distinguished between brebus and prayers.
In most cases, brebus were – and still are – recited within a well-articulated ritual, composed of parts, many of clear Catholic influence and others of absolutely pagan origin.
It’s interesting to note that even in brebus where God and the saints are named, they are interpreted quite freely, and God is conceived as one of the many entities that populate the Sardinian universe.
There’s a belief that brebus must be passed down from elder to youth: whoever gives away “the word” loses their therapeutic and miraculous faculty, which then passes to the one who receives it. Tales existed of people who possessed even 50 or 60 brebus.
Another rule regarding the effectiveness of the “verb” states that it’s absolutely forbidden to receive any form of compensation for performing a brebu because it would nullify its effects.
I don’t agree with this rule, as I have several testimonies that contradict it.
However, I am strongly convinced that one should never, ever ask for compensation, especially money, but that it should be the person who receives the benefits of a magical action who spontaneously repays the practitioner, perhaps with gifts from the Earth.
These traditional medicine practices are still widely used today.
They are enveloped in an aura of mystery that makes them extremely fascinating, thanks also to the fact that both those who benefit from them and those who use them tend to hide them, either due to the secrecy that such practices require or the guilt induced by very damaging Catholicism.
My dream would be to retrace history to reach the source from which these ancient practices originated, free from the heavy burden of the Christian religion.
LISTA DEI BREBUS E MAIAS
- Brebus Terrabesus
- Contro s’Ammutadori
- Contro s’ogu pigau
- Rito contro l’aquila a protezione delle greggi
- Contro gli uccelli nocivi
- Per trovare uno Scusorgiu (tesoro nascosto)
- Brebus contro le fucilate
- Lu colpu di l’occhji
- Brebu contro la puntura dell’argia
