Bread. rituals and customs, ancient Slavic sketches. Ritual bread Customs and traditions when preparing holiday bread
An integral part of the culture of the ancient Slavs are customs, signs, sacrifices, and festive rituals associated with Bread. The ritual consumption of Bread occurs on almost every holiday. For example, in Christmas sacrifices to the gods, animals and porridge were used, and partly bread. Based on various ancient Slavic customs and rituals, one can determine the ritual connection between porridge and baked bread and the gradual transition of ritual porridge into ritual bread. First of all, bread is an addition to porridge, and porridge was intended for people, and bread for domestic animals.
At Christmas they prepared KUTIA; the ancient Slavs prepared it exclusively from wheat and baked PIES. Kutya and pies made up the EVENING, which was carried to relatives - grandparents, godparents, children. Those who partook of the supper added their own kutya instead of what they had eaten. This exchange was aimed at strengthening family ties.
At Epiphany, returning home with blessed water, they took a pie or a piece of bread, “so that they would not be naked,” and sprinkled the household and yard. Bread in Christmas fortune telling about marriage, life - death, harvest - crop failure was used very actively in different forms: grain, cakes, pies, rolls, kutia, slices of bread... In terms of the ritual use of bread, Christmastide and Maslenitsa are very similar. These are parts of the same ancient holiday, complex, solemn, long-lasting. Pancakes, rolls, pryentsy and pancakes were almost universal oilseed dishes. For Easter they prepared ritual bread - “paska” - the main symbol of this holiday. The ancient Slavs could not bake ordinary bread on Fridays. Paska was usually prepared on Friday. Easter was followed by farewell, parental day dedicated to deceased ancestors. A mandatory component of this holiday was visiting graves. They also took a paska with them to the cemetery.
Bread was used in folk medicine in the treatment of “tachy”, “tail” - warts, “styes”, “hair”, fever. To treat dryness in a child, they baked a large bagel the size of a window and placed it on the window to catch a cold (remember the fairy tale “Kolobok”?). The window was opened and the child was carried through the donut and the window. The bagel was then given to the dog. To treat infertility, they took three, seven or ten grains of peas, soaked them in cold water, in which the shirt was washed after regulation, the grain was planted and watered with the same water. The sprouted grains were cleaned and eaten. It was believed that the number of grains that germinate, the number of children born.
Bread was necessarily used in the housewarming ceremony, “entrance”. First, an animal, often a cat or a rooster, was allowed into the new house at night, and then a consecrated icon and bread were brought in.
An act of high importance is the first cry of a child in the “area of sadness and vale.” The birth of a child was surrounded by a significant number of curious rituals among the ancient Slavs, revealing their view of a pregnant woman and a newborn child. During the “washing of hands” ritual, the first thing that was placed on the table was bread and salt. The grandmother-midwife stood in the holy corner, holding bread and a cup of water in her hands. Then she poured water on the hand of the woman in labor and drank this water. After this, the bread and water were given to the woman in labor. This ritual among the ancient Slavs was performed on the third day after the birth of a child. From that moment on, the mother breastfed, and before that, “chewing gum” - chewed, moistened bread top, wrapped in gauze.
Bread had a unique legal meaning among the ancient Slavs. Bread helped establish family and friendly relations, being a sacred symbol, served as a seal on national contracts, in everyday life and rituals.
Bread is the “root, ancestral memory” of the ancient Slavs. The indestructible category of human existence is love and faith, which are contained in a certain quality in rituals associated with Bread.
The Institute of Plant Growing in St. Petersburg has collected a huge collection of grains, numbering more than one hundred thousand different samples of wheat, rye, corn, and other crops. In the whirlpool, when houses collapsed and valuables perished, the institute’s staff continued to preserve the collection. The people have no right to forget the fearless drivers who delivered bread under fascist bombs to besieged, starving Leningrad along the ice of Ladoga - THE ROAD OF LIFE. And in the bustle of our fast-paced life, it is necessary to remember and know that there has been immense respect for BREAD at all times. BREAD IS THE MOST SACRED AND SECRET PART OF THE MEAL OF ANY HISTORICAL ERA OF ALL NATIONS. THIS UNITES US.
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In cultures that ate bread daily, it was always considered a holy and blessed food. Christianity complemented its veneration by consecrating bread as the “body of Christ” and using it in the liturgy. This led to the fact that the spiritual meaning of bread began to prevail over its. The magazine “Cyprus Today” (No. 3-4, 1998) contains an interesting article about the traditions associated with bread, reflected in the rituals of the Cypriots.
In addition to the belief that the power of faith is the most effective weapon against any disease, ordinary God-fearing residents of Cyprus resorted to various “folk” methods of treatment. Bread has always been used as a therapeutic agent - to heal wounds, reduce fever, reduce pain, treat common diseases. They believed that being sanctified, it has the power to scare away unclean spirits and protect from evil.
All stages of the preparation of bread clearly expressed faith in its holiness. Kneading the dough was never started without invoking the name of God. “Christ come” - with these words every Greek housewife began kneading the dough.
Bread was such a great shrine that people took an oath on it. “In the name of the bread that I eat,” they said in Cypriot villages. It was considered a sin to step on bread, or, while carrying bread as an offering to church, to drop it.
Dough
Special prohibitions and instructions were imposed on the housewife when preparing bread. Women who kneaded the dough had to do this on “clean days.” A common practice was to add holy water collected by women during the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross to the dough. The dough was also mixed with water collected on Maundy Thursday, or with water that was used to irrigate the Honest Tree, or into which an old gold coin or flowers that adorned the shroud on Good Friday were dipped. After making the triple sign of the cross over the flour, holy water was added to it. Water was also brought, in silence, from the stream, believing that angels drank from it. It was called "silent" water.
Liturgical breads
During the celebration of most Christian holidays, the importance of the celebrated event was emphasized with special baked goods. Special attention was paid to the breads and cakes brought to church. These festive or liturgical breads were baked with special reverence and care.
Festive pastries were richly decorated: first of all, the image of a cross was used, as well as various geometric figures and floral ornaments.
Breads and other baked goods were made from wheat flour or semolina. They had to be of the highest quality - not burnt and as fluffy as possible. It was important to use only yeast, water, flour and a little salt. It was not allowed to add cinnamon or other seasonings to the dough, which the flatbreads smelled of. When all the bread had already been placed in the oven and its doors were closed, the hostess made sign of the cross by hand or a special shovel furnefkyo, with the help of which she put the bread in the oven.
The consecrated bread thereby acquired great power and brought prosperity to the house. At Vespers, on the eve of the holiday, they carried out pentarti, or four small loaves and one large. During Vespers, the priest also brought out a large loaf of bread so that everyone gathered for prayer could bow to it and kiss it. When some of this bread was brought home, in the following days it was eaten before the first meal.
Nativity
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Bread henopita was displayed on the table along with a small amount of olive oil, olives, wine and other food for her blessing on Christmas Eve. Usually this bread was cut in the morning, after the service, when the whole family gathered for traditional Christmas soup.
On the occasion of the Christmas holiday, we also prepared sisamota, a pastry sprinkled with sesame seeds. It was called differently depending on the form. Large bread with a cross in the middle - stavroculura
- hung on the walls of houses in many villages of Cyprus, starting from Christmas, for all the days of this holiday. This is not only a traditional form of holiday decoration, but also a symbol that expressed the holiness of these days and faith in the saving power of the cross. During all the Christmas holidays, and sometimes for forty days after the Nativity of Christ, so-called
Likhudya yew Panayas . They believed that similar breads should also be prepared in honor of the Mother of God, just as mothers do on the occasion of the birth of a child. These were small square cakes sprinkled with sesame seeds and strung on a string., shaped like a small basket, so that the peasant’s basket would be blessed. At this time it was just the beginning of sowing.
On the occasion of the New Year, a New Year's cake was baked - vasilopita. The ritual of dedicating New Year's holiday bread to God was especially important, since health, strength and happiness depended on it. A small gold coin was baked into the middle of the cake, and its main decoration was a large cross cut out or made from two strands of dough or a figure of a man symbolizing St. Basil, or an image of a cross with geometric patterns.Throughout Cyprus there was a custom when in the evening they appeared on the table vasilopita, candles, plates of koliv flavored with honey, raisins, nuts and prunes, a bottle of wine, sometimes a small amount of food. This was done so that Saint Basil could eat, drink and bless the household. This was the so-called table of St. Basil.
Many people of the older generation remember that Vasilopitu They put her out at night with a candle and other wheat food so that the saint would bless her. In villages whose residents produced mainly olive oil, it was placed on glass jar with butter, and if they were winemakers, then on a barrel of wine, so that their work would also be blessed.
New Year's pie vasilopita I prepared in the morning, after the service, when the whole family gathered at the table. The first piece was donated to Christ or St. Basil, the next to the house, then to the head of the house, and then to all household members. In some villages they prepared fried dough - xerotiana, which was placed on a plate for St. Basil. Along with cooked koliv, this dough was given to the cows in the belief that the domestic animals should also taste the fruits of their hard work.
Easter
On Maundy Thursday they baked Lenten kalach for Easter - culurya, also called Easter - lambroculuria. It was often decorated with an image of a cross. From best test baked It was called differently depending on the form. Large bread with a cross in the middle - with a large cross in the center. This bread is on the walls of houses for forty days - from Easter to Ascension. People believed that these breads were culurya- blessed and have healing powers.
Small It was called differently depending on the form. Large bread with a cross in the middle - They were given to godchildren and relatives, as well as to those who walked around the villages and sang holiday chants.
On Easter Sunday, first of all, flat cakes called flauna And avkota and red eggs. Flauna– flatbread average size stuffed with cheese and eggs. Good Friday was not the right time for kneading dough, because it was the day of the Lord's Passion. Therefore, it was prepared after Vespers. In Cyprus, the entire Holy Saturday was dedicated to this special pastry. Flauna in Cyprus is inextricably linked with Easter. In many villages it was the custom to bring it to church on the night of the Resurrection of Christ along with red eggs to break them and eat them flauna after the service in the morning. They also brought to church avkota. It was a variety Koulouri with one or more eggs on top of the bread. The egg serves as a symbol of the Resurrection, and the red color is a symbol of life. The custom of placing an egg on Easter Koulouri dates back to the times of the Byzantine Empire, to the 12th century.
Birth, marriage, death
Bread was supposed to protect the newborn and his mother from evil, especially during the first forty days. Cypriots believed that bread had a power similar to that of the cross, so when a woman had a difficult birth, she was given a piece of bread to hold. They also placed it on the child's pillow. On the third day, the midwife and mother went around the house and baptized him. In some villages, bread was carried during this ritual.
Favorite baked goods were those strung on a string cumula or lechizufkya. Women baked it before childbirth to treat it to the midwife or priest who came to bless the mother and newborn, as well as friends and acquaintances.
Bread baking ceremonies for wedding celebrations are one of the most important and most common rituals. Large ones were baked especially for newlyweds and to decorate the house. kulorya . Decorated with figurines of birds and flowers, they were a true masterpiece of folk art. A very characteristic confection were small
kulurakya
, which were thrown at the newlyweds during the wedding. Little girls kneaded the dough for them, then twisting it around their little finger.
The use of bread in rituals associated with death showed people's attitude towards this event. Immediately after death, a bowl of wheat was placed next to the deceased, and on it bread with a lit candle. In other villages, instead of a candle, they put a lamp and left it lit for forty days. In Cypriot villages, the bread that was next to the deceased was distributed to one or three beggars, or they took it with them and placed it on the coffin. and bread, and the third - vegetable oil. In every village, either in the cemetery or in the house of the deceased, after burial, refreshments were distributed - pariorka. Everyone had to take some and bless the deceased. They commemorated with bread and wine, feta cheese and olives. In many villages, bread was broken by hand rather than cut with a knife, so that it would not remind of death. In some villages, sugar was not added to funeral bread, since the “dough of death” should not be sweet. Bread was also baked on special days of remembrance of the dead.
Ioanna Solovyanovich
Translation from Polish by Vladimir Mukhin
The article examines the rites, beliefs and rituals of the Besermians associated with bread as one of the main ritual dishes and food symbols of many holidays, personifying well-being and happiness. The article is based on materials from expeditionary research.
Key words: ritual bread, food, folk cuisine, rituals, mythological ideas, Besermyans.
Bread and products made from cereals - cereals, flour and whole grains - play an important role in the diet and in the ritual culture of agricultural peoples. Among the Besermians, bread, along with porridge and drinks, is one of the ritual dishes associated with the worship of ancestors, deities of the traditional pantheon, and occupies an important place among the food symbols of family and calendar holidays and prayers, ritual offerings during visits to sanctuaries. The work examines the traditions of the Besermyans associated with bread, its symbolic and ritual meaning, using the example of individual rituals designed to increase the harvest. The main source for the article was materials from ethnographic field research.
Bread and different kinds Ritual baked goods form an important part of the ritual cuisine of many peoples, being a symbol of well-being and the main gifts. Different types baked goods made from flour, but above all bread, is the main dish of the ritual cuisine of the agricultural peoples of the Ural-Volga region.
The main cultivated cereal crops among the Besermians have long been rye, oats, barley, and wheat. From these crops they made cereals and flour, which was used to make bread and pastries. Nontan bread was baked mainly from rye flour, a mixture of oatmeal and rye, wheat. In addition to bread, they prepared closed pies kuasam/kvass from unleavened and yeast (sourdough) dough with various fillings (meat, offal, vegetables, edible plants). They baked small yarushnik buns with the addition of wheat flour, greased with goose fat, butter or vegetable oil, open shanga pies with fillings of porridge, cottage cheese, beets, carrots, meat, eggs, fish, potatoes, and in the summer - with berries. The Besermyans made baked goods with meat and onions. Baked from yeast dough taban flatbread and served with sour cream, boiled chopped egg in melted butter, crushed berries, and sorbet made from water sweetened with honey or sugar. They prepared balish - a closed pie filled with minced meat, and later with the addition of potatoes. Despite the variety of pastries made from dough, it is bread in the form of a whole loaf or a cut slice that acts as a ritual dish and gift in many prayers and agricultural rituals. Flour is sometimes found as an equivalent to bread. A plate of flour replaced it or was equivalent to it in symbolic meaning and ritual functions. In rituals associated with the commemoration of ancestors, along with other baked goods, pancakes and flatbreads made from unleavened dough, sochni, and flour are used as ritual food. All baked goods and flour products, despite their diversity and recipe differences, often have the general name n΄an΄ - bread.
Bread, being the main dish, determines the nature of the meal and even the names of the rituals. For example, the custom of preparing bread and porridge from the grain of the new harvest, which persisted until recently, is known as vil΄nan΄ ‘new bread’/vil’ nonan’ly yybychekon ‘praying to new bread’. Thus, in October, after the completion of field work, a sisel holiday, an “autumn festival,” was held to mark the preparation of bread from the new harvest. On this day, there was a family feast, mutual visits with new bread to members of the patronymy, parents and close relatives and in-laws (matchmakers, godfathers): “In every family, it was customary in the fall to bake shangi from new flour. Then they took them to relatives, sometimes visiting up to seven houses. Every year they visited the same families. Times* This article was prepared with the support of the Program basic research Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences “Traditions and innovations in history and culture” (2012–2014). Project No. 12-P-6-1011 “Ethnocultural heritage of the Kama-Vyatka region: sources, materials, research.”
they carried bread of the same type. We tried to time the visit to relatives to coincide with the autumn holiday.”1 Visits and feasts were called, like the main dish, vilnantan΄ 'new bread', vil'nonananen vel'ton 'to walk with new bread', vil'nantan'ly yibyrchekon 'to pray to new bread', siz'l nonan΄ 'autumn bread'. The custom of mutual visits and treats was associated with the worship of new bread, requests for a prosperous (nourishing) winter, thanksgiving to deities and ancestors, and served as a guarantee of the future harvest:
“Previously, on the autumn holiday, they distributed ‘autumn bread’ to relatives. My mother always brought it to me. These were shangis so that we could live well and satisfyingly. Autumn holiday can be done at any time. Usually, when livestock is slaughtered in the fall, bread and garden crops are harvested. They do this so that the winter goes well. They deliver it to relatives. This is baking from the new harvest so that the bread will be successful again. The cattle wintered well, there was plenty of bread. There was plenty of hay to feed the winter.”2 There was a custom of inviting people to “taste the bread” or taking it to an old man, always a man: “So that there will always be prosperity, and after tasting one piece, you will be satisfied enough. This old grandfather said so.”3 It was believed that “luckily for the old people, the new bread will come out well.” This custom also existed in the second half of the twentieth century, when peasants, no longer having their own plots, received their allotted share from the collective farm harvest.
The last calendar commemoration of the year necessarily includes a novelty - “new bread” and “new
porridge”, and in a number of local traditions they are known as vil’ nonanen wake-up ‘wake with new bread’, vil’ jōken wake-up ‘wake with new porridge’. The main purpose of the last commemoration of the year is to appeal to the ancestors with gratitude for their help in agricultural and seasonal summer chores: “treating” them with bread from the new harvest.
Bread as the main dish is also found in the designation of the ritual of women visiting a woman in labor kapchi n′an′ vayon ‘to bring relieving bread’. Women brought bread and pastries (pies, shangi), soup in the first days after childbirth. This visit was also called kapchi n′an′ vayon “to bring relieving bread” along with such designations as katlas′kon/katlas′kun m’non “to go with congratulations”, nakashu (Russian: na porridge), shadvayon “to bring soup” . The treat, according to popular beliefs, ensured the woman’s recovery and an abundance of milk4.
The use of bread in rituals and gifting with it was aimed at success in agriculture and obtaining a good harvest. Thus, ritual baking in the form of unleavened flatbreads kvarnantan/kuarnantan is the main food symbol of the Yuletide period. It was considered the key to success in agricultural pursuits and well-being. The name of the dish kvarnan΄/kuarnan΄ comes from the words kvar/kuar - leaf, nana΄ - bread and is translated as “bread in the shape of a leaf”. However, another etymology cannot be ruled out -
"bread baked on a sheet." Ritual bread is made from unleavened dough (salt, water, rye or wheat flour). The dough was kneaded in water without eggs or milk. This was determined by traditional technology and fasting. Previously, unmilled grain, roasted peas, industrial hemp or flax grains were added. The dough is rolled out into thin flat cakes with a diameter of 15–20 cm and then baked in the oven. The finished baked goods are greased with butter or vegetable oil, sheep or goose lard. They are treated to mummers even today, along with popular in last years purchased sweets: “They (the mummers) were not given sweets before. They gave me juice. Baked with hemp. If they cooked it up, then they gave us shangi.”5 With the first juice, taking it in their hands or putting it behind the breast of their apron, the girls went out into the street to guess about their betrothed. The age of the future groom was determined by the age of the first person they met.
Sochni and bread were the main dishes given to the mummers. Participants in the round, entering the hut, asked for this particular pastry with the help of allegories. For example, in one of the local traditions, upon entering the house, they stomped their feet, knocked with sticks and rhythmically uttered the phrase “Tykartonbyurton”, calling them sochni using such an allegory. Here the word “takrton” is an onomatopoeia for the crunching of hemp grains “takr-takr”, “b’g’urton” – the rolling out of juiciness in the process of preparing “b’g’r-b’g’r”6. The treat served as a guarantee of future harvest and prosperity. The same
Mutual wishes and the entire verbal context of the ritual were subordinated to the goal. When leaving, the mummers thanked the owners and wished for the harvest of bread and the offspring of livestock: “On this day they baked juicy and distributed1 Field materials of the author (hereinafter FMA), 1991. Popov V.P., village of Zhuvam, Yukamensky district of the Ural Republic.
2 PMA, 1996. Volkova G.I., p. Ezhevo, Yukamensky district of the Ural Republic.
3 PMA, 2000. Borisov V.N., Shamardan village, Yukamensky district of the Ural Republic.
4 PMA, 1991. Zyankina E.I., village of Turchino, Yukamensky district of the Ural Republic.
5 PMA, 1996. Sabrekova A.D., Shamardan village, Yukamensky district of the Ural Republic.
6 PMA, 1993. Kasimov N.A., village of Filimonovo, Yukamensky district of the Ural Republic.
They brought them down, some gave them candy, gingerbread, and bread. The leaders thank them: “Thank you. Let bread be born." And if they don’t give anything, they said: “Let no bread be born”7; “Let the oats succeed”;
“So that they can live with bread”8. In general, the productive semantics of wishes, repeatedly pronounced by those who came and the receiving party, the gift of treats and juices is perhaps one of the most important and stable features characterizing the agrarian orientation of the ritual associated with the grain harvest. In turn, the products received from fellow villagers served as a guarantee of harvest and prosperity in the farms of the mummers themselves. Some of the collected juices and bread were fed to livestock. Researchers see a direct relationship between the well-being of livestock and the generous gifting of ritual bread to visitors. Russians baked bread products in the form of animals and birds especially for carolers and fed them to livestock.
Besermyans baked sochni for the last time on Old New Year or Epiphany. In one of the local traditions, on the eve of Epiphany, thin pancakes were also prepared, where they put porridge and wrapped the spruce. This pastry represented the sleigh on which the Christmas spirits leave this world: “In this way we make a sleigh and bend the rope onto the shafts so that the drivers can ride off on them”9.
In addition to bread, Yuletide rituals include whole grains and sheaves of grain crops. For example, the owners of the house sprinkled the mummers with grain with wishes (Yozhevo village). With a sheaf or an anthropomorphic figure (doll) from a sheaf, tied with sheaves, they walked around the village (the village of Filimonovo). The walk around the village began from the street located closer to the winter field (Turchino village). On the eve of Epiphany, during the rite of farewell, the Vozhos drove out or went out to the winter field to see off the Christmas spirit and carried out sheaves with which they walked around the village: “they carried straw with them so that bread would be produced”10. Along with the sheaf, bread was left in the field, which had a special name - vozho nonan
‘bread for vozho’, which emphasized its ritual functions.
Many actions and prohibitions during the Yuletide period were related to bread and aimed at increasing the grain harvest. This can be seen in the kitchen, in masks, in space-time restrictions, ritual behavior, and a ban on certain types of household work. From Christmas Eve until Epiphany, peasants stopped threshing bread in the barn, believing that otherwise the Yuletide spirits would spoil the crops in the summer. They tried not to step on the coal, fearing that the oats would be smutted. For the same reason, the chimneys were not cleaned and the ash was not removed. Strict adherence to prohibitions is associated with obtaining a good grain harvest.
Fortune telling about bread and the upcoming grain harvest occupied one of the central places in the winter
and the spring rituals of the Besermians. For example, on the night of January 13-14, they went to “listen” under windows, at crossroads, in a barn, to the corner of a barn, or behind a gate. It was believed that the sound of spilling grain foreshadowed a harvest year, and the sound of a sweeping broom foreshadowed famine. We went outside with a spoonful of water and watched how it froze: in a slide - it would be tough year, smoothly – productive (village Gordino). D.K. wrote about the popularity of fortune telling “for the harvest.” Zelenin: “The Besermyans are wondering not so much about the “betrothed-mummers” as about the future harvest. They listen near barns and empty huts: if they hear as if they are sweeping the floor, it means there will be famine next summer; if they pour grain from one vessel to another, then there will be a harvest. They pull out stalks from stacks of grain: if a straw with an ear is pulled out, it means a harvest, without an ear, it means famine.” On the eve of sowing, they went out into the field and, at the highest place, called out the harvest with a chant and exclamations of “Argar!” As midnight approached, the men participating in the Argar ritual, at the command of one, covered their ears and shouted in chorus three times
“a-o-o-o.” Then they listened to the sounds: noise and barking that came in the northern direction foreshadowed a crop failure; from the east - served as an omen of good grain in the fields in the eastern part of the village.
Production activities aimed at obtaining a good harvest were concentrated
not only in the rituals of the Yuletide cycle, but also in the sowing season and the summer solstice. The word argar was shouted out three times by the youth, having gathered in the forest on the eve of going out into the field and the akashka ritual: “they asked the Almighty for abundance, a harvest.” During this rite of invocation of the harvest, games around the fire, the chant argar krez΄, timed to coincide with the rite, was sung. The chant was attributed to magic7 PMA, 1991. Sabrekov V.M., village of Shamardan, Yukamensky district of the Ural Republic.
8 PMA, 1991. Zyambakhtina M.P., village of Turchino, Yukamensky district of the Ural Republic.
9 PMA, 2000. Biyanova A.I., village of Gurzi, Glazovsky district of the Ural Republic.
10 PMA, 1991. Zyankina E.I., village of Filimonovo, Yukamensky district of the Ural Republic.
power, they believed that it would affect the harvest, so while walking around the village and singing, a lucky person with “ light hand for sowing." The participants in the round danced, and in order for there to be a good harvest of oats, they chose the tallest man and asked him to start dancing in the first house. The growth and luck of the main participants in the round, according to ideas, could also affect the future harvest. Here, tall height was associated with long stem cereal crops. Competitions and races that took place on the day of sowing also had a productive significance: “as we compete, let the grain grow in a race.” The rider who arrived first, “the guys tossed in their arms so that the ear grew the size of a span”11.
Bread, being the basis of life support, has been the main item of offering since
sowing and before harvesting. Thus, in a cultivated field with grain, rituals of worship are carried out to Inmar, ancestors, Mezhakuz'o 'Owner of the boundary' / Muzyemkuz'o 'Owner of the earth' / Muzyemmum' 'Mother of the earth'. They took place several times a year: in the spring with the beginning of plowing and spring sowing of spring crops, during the summer solstice - when rye bloomed, at the end of summer - during the sowing of winter crops, in the fall
- with the end of the harvest, in winter - with the onset of the winter solstice and Christmastide (seeing off the Vozho and making a sacrifice with requests for a harvest in the new agricultural year). The rituals took place in a space associated with agriculture and the cultivation of bread. The products intended for the ritual - bread or bread with butter and an egg - were placed at the edge of the field/interface in a plowed area in a small depression. During the ceremony, bread was left on the ground and drinks were poured especially for Mezhakuz'o. The dishes corresponded to the season and consisted mainly of various pastries, bread, butter, drinks from cereals - beer, kvass. Requests for bread in all appeals to the Master of the field Mezhakuz are among the main ones: “Let the bread be good. Let us live well. Let there be a harvest."12 They asked that there be bread both in the middle of the field and at each boundary, which they especially emphasized: “Dear Mezhakuzo, this sacrifice is intended for you too. The border is kept under your supervision. Whatever grain Inmar gives in the middle of the field, let it be like that on your border. Let the straw and the ear be good." The harvest and well-being of the family were associated with the good disposition of the ancestors, therefore, during the sowing of winter crops, they were also addressed to them: “Old grandfathers, grandmothers, fathers, mothers. All who are there, young and old, gathered together, accept my sacrifice, take good care of the sown grains. And you, dear Mejacuso, accept my sacrifice with complacent disposition. Together with our deceased relatives, give us a prosperous life. If the sowed grain succeeds, I will not forget about you, I will remember you many times. Good good relatives will not separate from me, let us eat and live with warm and soft hands and feet.” With the appearance of the first shoots of winter crops, according to some information, around Semyonov Day (September 14), a sacrifice was made in the field with a foal of Savras color. The purpose of the ritual is “a request to Inmar to take care of the winter grain.”
Bread acts as a symbol and guarantor of prosperity, well-being, and stability. Therefore to him
should have been touched, had with you in emergency situations, long journeys and the beginning of important time periods (month, year, season). For example, during the appearance of a new month, you need to hold bread or money, squeezing it in your fist, and say: “We can live with bread!” We can live with money! Ntananen med ulom, kon΄donen med ulom”; “Let us live like this. Let us live with money and a needle. Let us live with bread and water! Ten΄ tache med ulom. Kon΄dodonen-wenten med st. Nnananen-wuen med ulom!”13; “Bread and salt! Ntanan but sent!”14. Requests for bread symbolized a life of abundance. However, fearing that it and other products would be wasted in the coming calendar month, they were not allowed to examine and discuss the appearance new month or notice it on the left side.
Bread was to be treated with respect and reverence. For example, a guest was supposed to try the bread placed on the table, otherwise “he would feel awkward that he was being neglected.” It was forbidden to leave half-eaten bread, which was regarded as disrespect for him and could lead to a decrease in wealth and harvest: “there will be no bread.” The cut part of the bread was not placed in the direction of the north and west, especially at night. He should have been wrapped in a tablecloth to protect him from evil
11 PMA, 1991. Zyambakhtina E.G., village of Turchino, Yukamensky district of the Ural Republic.
12 PMA, 1991, village of Turchino, Yukamensky district of the Ural Republic.
13 PMA, 2003. Vershinina L.A., village of Zhuvam, Yukamensky district of the Ural Republic.
14 PMA, 2000. Zyambakhtina T.V., village of Shamardan, Yukamensky district of the Ural Republic.
spirits and protect wealth in the house15. Bread was also a symbol of hospitality. They began to set the table, placing bread on it first, and then the rest of the food. The newlyweds were greeted with bread at the gate when the bride moved to the groom's house.
In many rituals, bread personifies the home and is endowed with a protective function along with the table and oven. It was placed on the traveler’s road, believing that it would save him on the road and away from his native places. Trying to “strengthen” or “consolidate” ties with home, to protect himself, the leaving person breaks and tastes bread. For example, when escorting a recruit into the army, before he leaves home, they set a special table, put out bread or flour, butter, salt, and drinks. The conscript, supported by men, walks around the salted table, touches the bread and takes a bite of it. Walking around the table with bread is an important moment in the bride’s farewell to her father’s house. The godparents led the young people around the table following the movement of the sun, and they touched the bread. Before setting out on the road, making a sacrifice, or starting an important business, the head of the family sat down at the table, where they put a whole loaf of bread and salt, touched the bread and asked the ancestors and gods for protection, informed them about the upcoming business or event.
Bread, a plate with flour or barley (sometimes a whole a raw egg) were put on the table in the morning before driving the cattle into the field. The owner touched the bread, asked the ancestors and the supreme god Inmar to protect domestic animals from predators and give them health. Bread and flour were not removed from the table until the herd returned from the pasture; sometimes they were kept there for three days and then fed to the animals. In some villages they cooked porridge from this grain and flour for a ritual meal on the occasion of the first pasture. In the first days, they fed the cattle with bread from their hands, sending them to the field and greeting them in the evening. Baking served ritual and utilitarian functions. In this way they tried to tame animals, especially winter offspring. A shovel was placed at the gate, with the help of which they took bread out of the oven, and then the cattle were taken out through it16. Bread and butter was an offering
To the owner of the forest, Chashshakuz'o: he was left when passing with a herd past the sacred grove with a request to look after the cattle during the summer grazing period. A loaf of bread was placed in the barn on the south side to mark the end of summer grazing and the transfer of livestock to the winter stall17.
Bread appears as the main item of gift in other rituals. When crossing the river for the first time after the ice drift, they dipped a loaf of bread into the water, worshiping the river and the Master of the water, Vukuzo. When moving to a new house, together with the Master of the house, Korkakuzo, they carried a container with dough from the previous hut along with other family shrines (an icon, a bread shovel): “We put the kneading bowl in the old house and moved it to the new one, there we bake bread from it. I baked cakes. The guests are coming. The crust is called katlaskom - we honor the house”18.
Bread and butter were left during dozhinka under the last sheaves of mum kalto ‘mother sheaf’ as a treat and gratitude to the Master of the Mezhakuzto boundary. These last sheaves, like bread, had an important production value for the future harvest and family happiness in general: “So that the bread and butter succeed. They said not to disturb the winds and thunderstorms. They left there, in the field, on the boundary, sheaves, and bread and butter inside them. The last sheaves were not brought home. They said that it was Mezhakuzo who would eat and drink”19; “On the last day, as they finished reaping, the last sheaf was tied in pairs, like twins. This sheaf was brought home and already placed in the boar"20, "And let the sheep lamb in pairs! Let the husband and wife live well, let them live together as a couple for the rest of their lives.”21 The last sheaves were sometimes taken home and placed in a boar with the rest of the sheaves.
The peasant’s ideal ideas about a good grain harvest were reflected in the texts of prayers and requests that were said during agricultural rituals, especially during the plowing of the field, the beginning of sowing and the appearance of ears. This, according to the ideas of the peasants, was bread “with a stalk taller than a man”, “the size of a reed”, “so that because of the bread a rider riding across the field on a horse would not be visible”, “with a stem soft and yellow as butter”, “with grain the size of an egg,” “with a golden ear, with silver straw,” “with an ear the size of a span.”
15 PMA, 2005. Vershinina L.A., village of Zhuvam, Yukamensky district of the Ural Republic.
16 PMA, 1999. Biyanova A.I., Korotai village, Glazov district of the Ural Republic.
17 PMA, 1996. Antuganova T.I., p. Ezhevo, Yarsky district of the Ural Republic.
18 PMA, 1995. Nevostrueva E.I., Gulekshur village.
19 PMA, 2001. Malykh I.K., village of Zhuvam, Yukamensky district of the Ural Republic.
20 PMA, 1991. Popova P.V., village of Zhuvam, Yukamensky district of the Ural Republic.
21 PMA, 1990. Ponomareva A.V., village of Kamennoe, Yukamensky district of the Ural Republic.
The designation of grain “the size of an egg” and the actions of a producing nature can be traced in spring rituals. The egg represents the grain of the new harvest. They buried it in the boundary, scattered it with the first handfuls of grains across the field: “They plow one furrow. Scatter oats with eggs. The children caught eggs. Well, children, let the bread be born as big as an egg”22; “The first egg is hidden in the ground so that the ear of the oats is the size of an egg. The rest of the eggs scattered across the field are picked up by children, each of them is called by name.” They tried to strengthen the productive meaning of the egg with the words: “Let (the bread) grow as big as this egg! (med yalchoz ta kuregpuz kad΄)"23. Requests for a “golden ear” and “straw the size of a reed” are found in the texts of prayers during the sowing season: “bi·smil’l’a etc!” ińmar, kuaź, kildeśiń marke huriśhom, soe med śotoz! kiźem iwze med śotoz kamiź kuroiem, azveś tiśiem! Vuźze śiiśkom, vil’ze no ta·-śamen-ik śiini med śotoz!” . “In the name of God, the merciful and just! Inmar, Kuaz Kaldsin, whatever we ask, let him give! Let the sown grain yield with straw the size of a reed, with a golden ear! We eat the old, let us also eat the new!” (interlinear translation hereinafter is ours. - E.P.).
The ideal idea of bread and grains is also in the text of the prayer, which was also said during the sowing of winter crops. Rye should have an ear “thick as an ax head” and a stem “thick as straw as a finger”, “the bread should be tall so as not to see a rider riding a horse”:
“Good Inmar Kuaz Kyldysin, I slaughter my ram at the border, and with this I make a sacrifice to you. Accept the sacrifice as belonging to you. We stab like children, not understanding anything, if you get angry, forgive us. Help me grow the bread I have sown. Let the bread rise together in a row, there will be no empty places. With good relatives, let the bread you grow be useful to eat and drink, protect it from various misfortunes, Inmar. Give, Inmar, the sown grain. Let the straw be as thick as your finger. Let there be an ear as big as the ax handle. Let the bread be so high that you cannot see the rider riding on a horse. To lay sheaf upon sheaf. Let the muslon go to the suslon. Boars to be the size of a barn. Good Inmar Kuaz Kyldysin, if this happens, then it will be good for me, and for the people, and you will always have something to give for sacrifices. And people will get it. And then my cattle will live well.”
Similar texts and ritual actions aimed at obtaining a “soft as butter and golden stalk and ear” are found during prayers in the winter field yu pezhtan ‘to sort through the crops’ on St. Peter’s Day (July 12). They, as the ancestors believed, promoted the growth and maturation of crops, so they also said: “let's go cook rye,” “let's go look for rye at the border.” They brought beer, kvass, butter and baked goods with them: “The twelfth of July is Peter’s Day. They gathered at their boundary. Everyone takes a spike of rye, pours beer on it and says: “We will drink, we will feed you, you will grow”; “May the bread succeed. Let us live well. Let there be a harvest”24; “Let the bread be good! With a golden ear! With silver straw!”25. The oil, held in the palm of the hand, was drawn along the stem from bottom to top, as if pulling out rye. Semantically, the use of oil is interesting here. They tried to transfer such a quality as softness to rye: “They smear the rye with butter and say:
“Let there be a good harvest”26; “Let the stem be long and soft like butter”27. Bread and butter were also placed on the border to ensure a good harvest of rye with a “soft and long stem.”
The concept of prosperity and satiety, the availability of feed for livestock has always been associated with an abundance of bread. There should be plenty of it: “there was enough for everyone”, “there was enough for both people and domestic animals”,
“there was enough to eat and drink for the ancestors and Inmar to pray,” “it got into the hands and feet of the ancestors.” Ready-made baked goods in the form of a loaf of bread are often denoted by sublime and respectful epithets and compared with status and expensive things in their broadest sense: “fragrant bread”, “nourishing”, “golden”, “tasty”, “expensive”, “soft as feathers” , “tastier than honey”, “dear as father and mother”, “there is nothing more expensive than bread.” Physical strength and health were directly linked to the power of bread: “I ate little bread and did not gain strength,” “bread gives strength.”
And nowadays bread remains the main ritual dish of many rituals. Preference is given to traditional baked goods, which are prepared for all calendar and family holidays
22 PMA, 1996, Korotai village, Glazov district of the Ural Republic.
23 PMA, 1996. Antuganova T.I., p. Ezhevo, Yukamensky district of the Ural Republic.
24 PMA, 1991. village of Turchino, Yukamensky district of the Ural Republic.
25 PMA, 1995. Sabrekova M.V., Shamardan village, Yukamensky district of the Ural Republic.
26 PMA, 1992. Shmeleva F.S., Tylys village, Yukamensky district of the Ural Republic.
27 PMA, 1997. Nevostrueva M.S., village of Zhuvam, Yukamensky district of the Ural Republic.
and rituals. Bread is the main symbol of well-being and prosperity, an offering to deities and ancestors during prayers. Archaic in composition and form, flour products are preserved in the modern ritual culture of the Besermyans.
LIST OF SOURCES AND REFERENCES
1. Antuganov [Initials unknown]. Besermanyos [Besermyane]. 1920s // Scientific and industrial archive
UIYAL Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. RF. Op. 2N. D. 391.
2. Voronina T.A. Baking traditions among different peoples of the world. Brief essay // Bread in folk culture.
Ethnographic essays. M., 2004.
3. Vinogradova L.N. Winter calendar poetry of Western and Eastern Slavs: Genesis and typology of caroling. M., 1982.
4. Ganitskaya O.A. Polish folk figured confectionery // Collection of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. L., 1972. Issue. 28: From cultural heritage peoples of Russia.
5. Gvozdikova L. S. Small dough products in Russian wedding rituals of the late 19th – early 20th centuries. (Kinds,
terms, functions) // Sat. Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. L., 1982. Issue. 38: Cultural monuments of the peoples of Europe and the European part of the USSR.
6. Zelenin D.K. Where are Christmastide celebrated twice a year? // Nature and people. 1910. No. 8.
7. Mokshin N.F., Mokshina Yu.N. Bread in the ritual life of the Mordovians // Bread in folk culture. Ethnographic essays. M., 2004.
8. Onuchina T.A. Carved Arkhangelsk gingerbread in the system of northern ritual cookies // Bread in folk culture. Ethnographic essays. M., 2004.
9. Popova E.V. Family customs and rituals of Besermyans ( late XIX– 90s of the XX century). Izhevsk, 1998.
10. Popova E.V. Calendar rites of the Besermians. Izhevsk, 2004.
11. Popova E.V. Religious monuments and sacred objects of the Besermians. Izhevsk, 2011.
12. Teplyashina T.I. The language of the Besermians. M., 1970.
13. Travina I.K. Udmurt folk songs. Izhevsk, 1964.
14. Trofimova E.Ya. How did the folk cuisine of the Udmurts develop? Dishes of Udmurt cuisine. Izhevsk, 1991.
15. Bread in folk culture. Ethnographic essays. M., 2004.
16. Chagin G.N. Bread in the diet and rituals of Russian peasants of Verkhokamye in the 19th – early 20th centuries // Bread in folk culture. Ethnographic essays. M., 2004.
17. Chicherov V.I. Winter period Russian agricultural calendar of the 15th–19th centuries (Essays on the history of folk beliefs). M., 1957.
18. Wichmann Y. Wotjakische Sprachproben I: Lieder, Gebete und Zaubersprüche. Helsingfors, 1893.
Received by the editor 06/25/12
Bread as ritual food and symbol in the customs by Besermyan
The article is devoted to the bread in beliefs, customs and ritual culture by Besermyan. Bread is one of the most important components of the Besermyan customs and it is a symbol of happiness and prosperity. The article is based on fieldwork conducted among the Besermyan (a small ethnic group in North-West Udmurtia).
Keywords: ritual bread, beliefs, customs, Besermyan.
Popova Elena Vasilievna, candidate historical sciences, Senior Researcher
Udmurt Institute of History, Language and Literature
426004, Russia, Izhevsk, st. Lomonosova, 4
candidate of history, senior scientific associate
The Udmurt Institute of History, Language and Literature in the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
426004, Russia, Izhevsk, Lomonosov st., 4
UDC 930.2(091):792(045)
A.N. Yagovkina
Material taken from Bulletin of Udmurt University (Series 5 History and Philology. Issue 3, 2012)
Bread of various purposes and shapes (loaf, kalach in the form of a ring, buns, shaped cookies), baked on calendar and family holidays, as well as occasionally for magical purposes. Drawings and decorations on the X. o., its shape, composition, ritual and magical actions with the baked or finished product, as well as its name. Large X. round shape - the loaf is a symbol of fertility and, as a rule, occupies a central place in the system of Slavic ritual realities folk calendar; at the birth of a child and especially at a wedding. Wedding loaves (richly decorated with ornaments, images of plants, animal figures, often together with a wedding tree) symbolize the birth of a new family, the transition of the newlyweds to a new social status, etc.; see Marriage. The symbolism of loaves baked on certain dates calendar holidays, is more often associated with economic and everyday spheres of life, which is reflected by drawings and figures on their surface, ritual actions with them, and names. For example, on St. George - a sheep-breeding holiday among the Balkan Slavs - in Bulgaria large ritual loaves are baked ("sheep's bread", "shepherd's bread", "shepherd's cake", etc.), decorated with plastic images of sheep, a shepherd, a shepherd's crook, a guard dog, etc. P.; on the morning of St. George, this bread is carried into the corral and given to the shepherd, and the top layer (decorations) is crumbled and fed to the sheep. At Easter, the Serbs, Macedonians, and Bulgarians have a known custom of baking loaves with an odd number of easter eggs(Serbian]i]chenik, Bulgarian ovarian). X. in the form of a ring or with a small hole is placed on a stick of carolers, a pillar in the middle of the threshing floor (“stozher”), an ox horn is placed on the hand of the bride, laznik, etc. They look through the hole of such an X to gain someone's favor or to cause damage, as well as to recognize the witch or protect themselves from harmful magic. The protective properties of the roll are due to the symbolism of a closed circle, which functionally brings it closer to other objects that have a hole: a ring, a wreath, a sieve, a stone with a hole, etc. On St. George, when the southern Slavs perform the ritual of the first milking of sheep, a loaf of bread with a hole is placed on top of a bucket and the first streams of milk are passed through it (sometimes also through a silver ring), which should contribute to large milk yields, protection of milk from spoilage, the harmful actions of witches and etc. In Loveshko (Bulgaria) they bake X. with a hole on the first day of sowing and sift grain through it, after which it is hung in the barn to preserve the harvest. Slovaks baked such a roll on St. Valentine's Day. Lucius and kept it until Christmas Eve, when at the festive mass in the church one could see witches through a hole in the kalach. At the wedding X. is in the shape of a ring, like other round, ring-shaped objects ( wedding ring, wreath), is a symbol of marriage, the union of the groom and the bride. Among the Bulgarians, newlyweds must look at each other through the wedding cake in order to be united forever. In Ukraine, the bride looks at the groom through diven (a large wedding bread with a hole) after the wedding; while crossing himself, he looks through the hole X. to the east, west, south and north before leaving the parental house to the groom. The purpose of baking small round buns (which are greased with butter, honey; decorated with a pattern on top) is most often to distribute, gift, treat participants in family and calendar rituals: loaves of bread, bride's parents, girlfriends, wedding guests, carolers, women in labor, midwives, funeral participants and funerals, passers-by, beggars, etc. In memorial and funeral rites, it is often prescribed to bake an odd number of buns or 40. During a wedding, paired buns were intended for the bride and groom. Special buns are baked to appease: the Lord, the Mother of God, personified spirits of diseases (Plague, Smallpox) and demons (for example, orisnitsa).
Bread. Rituals and customs. Ancient Slavic sketches
It is surprising that we, living at the beginning of the third millennium, in terms of the level of cultural attitude towards Bread, stand at a lower level than our ancestors - the ancient Slavs, who believed in its holiness... In the popular consciousness of the ancient Slavs, the value of Bread was always equated with the value of Life... Grain... In the minds of the people, a grain containing an embryo future life, is likened to a cycle: Life - Death - Life... Without agriculture, humanity could not exist. Grain was an indispensable attribute of all family holidays of the ancient Slavs. On Christmas Eve, a large sheaf of oat or barley was solemnly brought into the house - a guarantee of the future harvest - and placed in the corner of the hut. Grain was used especially widely and variedly in wedding ceremonies. The bride and groom, and often all the participants in the celebration, were sprinkled with grain every time before they left the house, going to church or returning from there. The grain also found use in maternity rituals. The umbilical cord of a newborn was necessarily wrapped along with grain or a piece of bread so that the child would be rich. In ancient Russian funeral rites, the custom of sprinkling grain on the bench where the deceased lay, or on the road along which he was carried, is widely known. The grain was also used in various fortune telling, foreshadowing a rich future life or an upcoming wedding.
Home stuff. Household utensils, which were used in the production of Bread and its subsequent storage, had great symbolism and significance. One of the most common ones was “KVASHNYA”, “DEZHA”. In the evening, the dough was kneaded in a kneader, which was washed once a year, on Thursday of Holy Week. The washed bowl was covered with a lid or turned over and “dressed up” - tied women's belt, a towel, then covered with a tablecloth and bread and salt were placed on top. Then the bowl was taken out into the yard and placed on the side where the sun rises, and after sunrise it was brought back into the house. All this was done in order for the bowl to gain strength from the heavenly bodies, so that good bread would not cease to be produced in it. Another important baking utensil among the ancient Slavs was the BREAD SHOVEL. Bread prepared for baking was placed on it to be placed in the OVEN. The bread shovel, which was constantly in contact with fire and had cleansing and rejuvenating powers, became a magical weapon among the ancient Slavs... so. It was used in the fight against heavenly water - rain, hail. When a hail cloud approached, the bread shovel was taken out of the house, and sometimes simply thrown into the yard. Great importance was given to the BREAD BOX. BREAD served to store one or two loaves of bread intended by the owners for food for the day. The rest of the bread was stored in a large chest located in the entryway or cage. The place for the bread was in the hut - in the front corner, on a bench under the icons...
Rituals and customs.
An integral part of the culture of the ancient Slavs are customs, signs, sacrifices, and festive rituals associated with Bread. The ritual consumption of Bread occurs on almost every holiday. For example, in Christmas sacrifices to the gods, animals and porridge were used, and partly bread. Based on various ancient Slavic customs and rituals, one can determine the ritual connection between porridge and baked bread and the gradual transition of ritual porridge into ritual bread. First of all, bread is an addition to porridge, and porridge was intended for people, and bread for domestic animals. At Christmas they prepared KUTIA; the ancient Slavs prepared it exclusively from wheat and baked PIES. Kutya and pies made up the EVENING, which was carried to relatives - grandparents, godparents, children. Those who partook of the supper added their own kutya instead of what they had eaten. This exchange was aimed at strengthening family ties. At Epiphany, returning home with blessed water, they took a pie or a piece of bread, “so that they would not be naked,” and sprinkled the household and yard. In Christmas fortune-telling about marriage, life-death, harvest-failure, bread was used very actively in various forms: grain, cakes, pies, rolls, kutia, slices of bread... In terms of the ritual use of bread, Christmastide and Maslenitsa are very similar. These are parts of the same ancient holiday, complex, solemn, long-lasting. Pancakes, rolls, pryentsy and pancakes were almost universal oilseed dishes. For Easter they prepared ritual bread - “paska” - the main symbol of this holiday. The ancient Slavs could not bake ordinary bread on Fridays. Paska was usually prepared on Friday. Easter was followed by farewell, parental day dedicated to deceased ancestors. A mandatory component of this holiday was visiting graves. They also took a paska with them to the cemetery. Bread was used in folk medicine in the treatment of dry skin, warts, barley, hair, and fever. To treat dryness in a child, they baked a large bagel the size of a window and placed it on the window to catch a cold (remember the fairy tale “Kolobok”?). The window was opened and the child was carried through the donut and the window. The bagel was then given to the dog. To treat infertility, they took three, seven or ten grains of peas, soaked them in cold water, in which they washed a shirt after regulation, planted them and watered the grains with the same water. The sprouted grains were cleaned and eaten. It was believed that the number of grains that germinate, the number of children born. Bread was necessarily used in the housewarming ceremony, “entrance”. First, an animal, often a cat or a rooster, was allowed into the new house at night, and then a consecrated icon and bread were brought in. An act of high importance is the first cry of a child in the “area of sadness and vale.” The birth of a child was surrounded by a significant number of curious rituals among the ancient Slavs, revealing their view of a pregnant woman and a newborn child. During the “washing of hands” ritual, the first thing that was placed on the table was bread and salt. The grandmother-midwife stood in the holy corner, holding bread and a cup of water in her hands. Then she poured water on the hand of the woman in labor and drank this water. After this, the bread and water were given to the woman in labor. This ritual among the ancient Slavs was performed on the third day after the birth of a child. From that moment on, the mother breastfed, and before that, “chewing gum” - chewed, moistened bread top, wrapped in gauze. Bread had a unique legal meaning among the ancient Slavs. Bread helped to establish family and friendly relations, being a sacred symbol, it served as a seal on national agreements, in everyday life and rituals. Bread is the “root, ancestral memory” of the ancient Slavs. The indestructible category of human existence is love and faith, which are contained in a certain quality in rituals associated with Bread. The Institute of Plant Growing in St. Petersburg has a huge collection of grains, numbering more than one hundred thousand different samples of wheat, rye, corn, and other crops. In the whirlpool, when houses collapsed and valuables perished, the institute’s staff continued to preserve the collection. The people have no right to forget the fearless drivers who delivered bread under fascist bombs to besieged, starving Leningrad along the ice of Ladoga - THE ROAD OF LIFE. And in the bustle of our fast-paced life, it is necessary to remember and know that there has been immense respect for BREAD at all times. BREAD IS THE MOST SACRED AND SECRET PART OF THE MEAL OF ANY HISTORICAL ERA OF ALL NATIONS. THIS UNITES US.
