Kolberg came to this village twice, in 1860 and 1865. Both times he was hosted by the Komecki family. He remembered the first visit in a letter to Józef Bliziński, in which he wrote that, at that time, he was collecting mainly folk songs and melodies. In a letter to Ludwik Komecki, sent after his second trip to Bogusławice, Kolberg discussed details of the architecture, which suggests that the second trip had a more scientific character. The author added some drawings of a door construction. The answer to his letter, received in January 1866, included also some sketches; these were published in the first part of ‘Kujawy’.
The material from Bogusławice contains much information about local superstitions. For instance, a wood tar seller had a problem in Bogusławice, since: “When he rides through the village, girls stop him trying to knock him over. They believe that they will never get married if he manages to go through the village. The seller has to generously buy his way through”. Other superstitions are connected with the field work: “To protect oneself from hailstones, one must plough the border of his estate with twin cattle”; in addition “to protect the wheat crops located near the house, before sowing, one must smear fat from blessed pork into his hands”.
During his stay in Bogusławice, Kolberg heard different stories about witches and their craft: “A witch can bring about demon possession in a person; some people say, one woman was possessed by three demons. The possessed is dependent on the demon’s wishes. He can wish to gorge himself, or satisfy his biological needs; or, on the other hand, he can wish to be thrifty, prudent or hardworking”. Those demons can be hidden “in food or drinks (especially in vodka); therefore, to protect oneself, one should make the sign of the Cross or simply think about the Cross before drinking alcohol. In consequence, the bottom of the glass would fell down, and all demons would spill out along with the liquid”. As people say, “a witch, called ‘ciota’, can bring about ‘kołtun’ [plica polonica] or other sicknesses. She casts a spell on a place, for instance on an entrance, the part of a chamber, or on fields, baulks or roads. When an unaware person walks through the place, the spell starts to work”.
Among other songs, Kolberg collected here a wedding song and a funny song about a wife.
