Slavic Myths & Legends. Jan Hanuš Máchal

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      women chant dirges of a peculiar sort, while the men roll eggs blessed by the priest. A cloth is then spread over the family grave, and the provisions and a bottle of vodka arc placed upon it, after which the family sit in a circle round It and invite the forefathers to join their banquet. All present eat and drink, talking about the dead; and what is left of the food is distributed among the beggars, a great number of whom assemble at the cemetery, or else it is left on the graves. Egg-shells and even whole eggs are buried in the grave, and lamentations and funeral dirges conclude the ceremony.

      The summer dziadys are kept in a similar way on the Saturday preceding Whitsunday, when the graves are swept clean with sprigs of birch, this being called "giving the Dziadys a steam-bath."

      All who desire to avoid the anger of the forefathers and thus guard their family against misfortune should keep the dziadys, the only persons exempt being those families that have removed to a new dwelling erected in another place. As soon, however, as a member of the household dies In the new home, the dziadys ought to be celebrated; and If the family has moved into a house where the dziadys were previously observed, It is necessary for them to Inquire as to the way In which this was done, since any deviation from the usual ceremony, as In the serving of the dishes, may rouse the anger of the forefathers and bring misfortune.

      Other designations of the funeral ceremonies (pominki) are found In Russia: the autumnal rites are termed roditelskiye suhoty ("parental Saturdays"), the vernal are navskiy velikden or naviy den ("great death-day," or "death-day"), and the summer semik ("Whitsunday").

      In Bulgaria the common obsequies (zadušnica) are celebrated five or four times annually, but mostly thrice, i. e. on the Saturday before St. Demetrius, before the Great Fast (Lent), and before Whitsunday, the commemorations being similar to the spring dziadys in Russia. Besides these, there are rites in some parts of Bulgaria which remind us of the autumnal dziadys in White Russia, and these are called stopanova gozha ("the householder's festival"). In the opinion of the common people a Stopan (Stopanin) is a deceased ancestor who guards the house of the family, and the feast in his honour is celebrated in the following way. The whole house, especially the common living-room, is carefully scrubbed and cleaned, after which the members of the family put on their Sunday clothes and adorn themselves with flowers, while candles are lit on either side of the hearth (where a fire is kept burning) and near the door. The oldest woman brings a black hen, kills it, and lets the blood flow into the hollow on the hearth, which is then smeared over with clay; and next she roasts the flesh of the hen, while two others bake cakes of flour prepared especially for this purpose. When everything has thus been made ready, the head of the family, taking a cup of wine, pours half of it into the fire; and then, putting a cake upon his head, he cuts it into four parts, springing about the room all the time. Butter and honey being spread upon one quarter, the left leg of the hen and three small cups of wine are added, whereupon all these presents for the Stopan are placed in three corners of the loft. Then all sit down to table, but before beginning to eat, the old woman, with all others present, pours some wine into the fire. The next rite is prayer to the Stopan to bestow health and long life upon the family, to protect and guard the flocks, and to take care of the meadows, the vineyards, etc.; after dinner songs are sung, and the benefit that the Stopan bestows upon the household is extolled. Two weeks later the crone looks after the dishes destined for the Stopan, and great is the joy of the family if any of the viands on them have been eaten.

      Among the other Slavs only traces of these ancient ceremonies have been preserved, for the Roman Catholic Church made every endeavour to suppress them, whereas they were permitted by the Orthodox Church.

      That the worship of ancestors was widely spread among the Slavs may be considered an established fact: the Slavs looked upon their forefathers as guardian penates who were deeply concerned about the happiness both of the family and of their dwelling; and the origin of many mythological beings, especially the penates, may be traced back to this kind of ancestor-cult.