Il Fantasma dellapananell'immaginario fantastico del patrimonio tradizionale sardo

The thesis’ main objective is the investigation of symbologies and social-cultural functions inherent the practices and beliefs concerning the pana’s ghost within the Sardinian traditional heritage. The analysis availed itself of edited sources, through the many phases of the literature’s history of the pana, and a fieldwork. This supernatural figure belongs to the category of revenants, the deads who come back and who hold a special place within the widespread beliefs of Sardinian people. It turned out that the pana has many common elements with the woman who dies in labour and the guilt complex linked to that. In the past, the ghost of a woman dead in labour acted as a warning and its role in the education of young women was fundamental. Sociality changed, due to contemporary demands, as well as the vehicles through which such phenomenons and legends are transmitted. Nowadays, the pana surfs the net, she is the protagonist of fictions and lives in illustrated books. The datas gained during the fieldwork have been important as well as the multi-disciplinary research. The result is a picture of phenomenons belonging to different cultural bounds, collected together to recover traditions, popular culture and identity.