With origins in ancient mythology, the Slovenian tradition of "the tenth brother or son" ("desetnik" or "deseti brat") or "the tenth daughter" ("desetnica") that has left a deep mark on Slovenian history and culture.
In an era when rural families tended to be very large, traditional Slavic and Celtic beliefs required the tenth-born son or daughter to leave the family. In the Slovenian lands, the tenth son was believed to be possessed by the spirits and had to seek his fortune outside the family, often wandering the world as a singer or a storyteller. The tenth daughter – often symbolizing death - was thought to have been taken by the fairies, and was not allowed to return until seven years had passed.
The tenth-born child of the same gender was thought to have supernatural families. Some were reputed to have the power to cure illness or communicate with animals, and if they were not recognized when they finally returned home after many years, they could bring bad luck to their relatives.
The exact details of the belief varied from region to region. In some parts of the country, it was the twelfth, the thirteenth, or the ninth child of the same gender who was expelled from the family. And in the region of Bela Krajina, the legend gave rise to the famous Green George - a pagan creature wearing branches whose appearance announces the arrival of spring every year. It is said that Green George himself began to wander the world as a tenth brother.
The legend of the tenth brother became such a central part of Slovenian mythology that it inspired Josip Jurčič’s book of the same name - and his 19th century story of the wandering tenth brother became Slovenia’s first novel. Meanwhile a popular street theater festival in Ljubljana as known as Ana Desetnica, in honor of the tenth daughters whose unlucky births had once made them outcasts.
