Rituals of the Period in Poland 71

Bożena Gierek I use folklore materials, the results of the questionnaire distrib- Centre for Comparative Studies of Civilisations, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, uted1 among men and women in the under 20 to over 50 age range Poland from different parts of Poland in April-June 2014, and also mate- rial placed in the following newspapers in the period 2010–2014: Rituals of the Easter Period in Poland Gazeta Wyborcza (“Electoral Gazette” – nationwide, daily newspaper with a circulation of 190,000); Rzeczpospolita (“Commonwealth” – nationwide, daily newspaper with a circulation of 94,000); Dzien- Abstract. In this article the author describes rituals (which the author refers to as customs, as they are seen as such) of the Easter nik Polski (“Polish Daily” – Małopolska Region newspaper with a period (from Palm Sunday till Tuesday after Easter Sunday) still circulation of 54,720). In this material I also included a fortnightly conducted in Poland on different levels: in families, in small com- nationwide magazine (with a circulation of 460,650) Przyjaciółka munities (parishes, villages), and on the national level (the last ones (“Female Friend”). enhanced by the media). The author shows different meanings of these rituals, displaying intermingled traditions. Influence of the Christian background of Easter mass media on keeping, changing and abandoning old rituals is also highlighted here. Easter is the most important and earliest of all Christian feasts, which celebrates the passion, the death, and the resurrection of Key words: Easter, cakes, Calvary, custom, dead, eggs, fertility, magic, palms, rituals, Siuda Baba, spring, śmigus-dyngus Jesus Christ. Originally it was observed on the fourteenth day of the month Nisan, on the same day as the Jewish Passover (Pe- sah). In the second century, Rome changed it to the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox – on the first Easter is the greatest Christian feast to celebrate Jesus Christ’s Sunday after Jewish Pesah. Primarily the celebration began with death and return to life, which abounds in rituals. But not all of the one-day fast, subsequently extended to a period of forty days2, them are of Christian origin, at least those performed in Poland. commemorating the fast of Jesus in the wilderness. Lent begins on Many of them are excellent examples of a blend of old (pagan) and Ash Wednesday with the sprinkling of ashes on the heads of those new (Christian) traditions. With a great deal of confidence I can gathered in the churches as a sign of mourning and penance. say that most Polish Catholics are not aware of the pre-Christian origin of many Easter rituals, which are connected to farm work Palm Sunday (also known as ‘Flower/Willow Sunday’) that precedes and changes in nature. Although not all these rituals are performed Easter Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week. Its name comes 3 with the same strength throughout Poland and some of them have from palms that are brought to the churches to celebrate Christ’s been commercialized and secularized, thus they are not free from entrance into Jerusalem. After that the palms should be kept at innovations; they are still present and conducted in Polish society. home till Ash Wednesday in the next year, then burnt, and ashes are used for sprinkling on the heads of people in the churches on In this article I present rituals (which I refer to as customs, as that day. The high point of Holy Week is the (Pas- they are seen as such) of the Easter period (from Palm Sunday till chal three days)4, which consist of Great Thursday, Great Friday5 Tuesday after Easter Sunday) still conducted in Poland on different (Good Friday) and the Paschal Vigil at night from Great Saturday to levels: in families, in small communities (parishes, villages), and Sunday of Resurrection. On Great Thursday during the Mass of the on the national level (enhanced by the mass media). I show their Lord’s Supper,6 the institution of the Eucharist at the last supper of different meanings, displaying intermingled traditions. The influ- Jesus with his disciples is commemorated and the enactment of the ence of the mass media on keeping, changing and abandoning old of priesthood takes place. Great Friday commemorates rituals is also highlighted here. the death of Christ on the cross. On that day the Holy Sacrament is 72 Boena Gierek Rituals of the Easter Period in Poland 73 exposed, then carried to God’s Sepulchre (so called ‘dark cell’) and new life that is possible because of Christ who overcame death. left there (‘buried’) till the Resurrection, when it is brought to the Some bread, salt, pepper, horse-radish, ham and sausages, cakes altar. From that day till the Resurrection, the cross is venerated are also there, as well as any food. Besides, there can be eatable and people visit God’s Sepulchres (17% of respondents indicated or artificial chickens, ducklings and rabbits. The basket and its 7 doing this ). In Poland, it is a widespread custom to prepare God’s contents are decorated with a box tree. Very often everything is Sepulchres, as well as organising processions of the Way of the covered with another white cloth. Cross – there are also miracle plays put on. The most famous Way of the Cross is attended and performed in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, The blessed food brought home is displayed in an honourable place. the other one called ‘Polish Jerusalem’ – in Kalwaria Wejherowska. Some families consume it immediately after it is brought home, but The Paschal Vigil8 is the high point of the Triduum. It opens with most wait till Sunday morning to have a solemn Easter breakfast the lighting of a new fire. From this fire, the , a large together13. It is a very common14 custom to share eggs with one candle representing the risen Christ, is lighted and carried into the another, accompanied by wishing all the best. A kind of ‘egg battle’ – church in a procession. After a solemn entrance into the church, knocking one’s egg at another person’s egg – might take place; the bells peal (they become silent from the evening on Great Thursday) person whose egg shell cracks loses. It is also customary in some and the Great Matins or Morning Prayer of Easter begins. At 6.00 families to exchange coloured or decorated eggs at visits. A young a.m. in the Sunday morning there is Liturgy of Resurrection in the woman (20–30-years old) from a village wrote about a custom of churches and the bells announce the Resurrection. dipping a horse-radish in salt, vinegar and pepper and having a bite of it together with the blessed bread before Easter breakfast. According to her this custom is related to the Paschal Triduum. Polish Easter customs There are two typical Easter cakes: baba (round yeast cake)15 Besides having palms blessed in the churches, and many local and mazurek (flat nut, chocolate, marzipan or other flavour very rituals related to them, like smacking with them each other in the sweet cake).16 Traditionally they should be baked at home. Some Wielkopolska region, or placing them between rafters in the loft respondents mentioned sour rye soup as traditional Easter food. In (to protect from lightning strike) in the Silesia region, there are the Mazowsze region there is an interesting ritual linked to mak- also other Easter rituals and customs kept in Poland. Probably the ing Easter bread. A person who makes it goes to the orchard and most characteristic (66% of respondents) is having baskets with hugs trees with the hands with dough or washes off the trees with food9 blessed by a priest10, usually in a church, but it can also be in the water that the bread was washed with before. Farmers shake another place, like the Main Square or even a football stadium in the trees or hit them with green branches, and all that in order to Kraków, on Saturday. ensure fertility (Knap 2012: C 07). In the basket on a white cloth, very often a traditional crocheted one, Even, if only 5 persons wrote about cleaning and decorating (with food is placed. The most important is a lamb with a red paper flag chicken and palms) houses, it can be assumed that most people who with the word ‘Alleluja’. Traditionally the lamb should be baked (in celebrate Easter do it. In the Mazowsze region, especially in villages some regions made of butter), but it is also made of sugar, chocolate, and small towns, people decorate their houses with flowers, green even of plastic or plaster. The lamb symbolises Christ – the Lamb of branches, colourful paper cut-outs and empty egg shells (ibidem). God and his sacrifice. The second most important element11 of the śmigus-dyngus17 lany basket’s contents are eggs12 – coloured naturally (boiled in onion An ritual known as , poniedziałek shells or with fresh blades of rye or beetroot) or artificially. They (‘poured Monday’) or having other local names is an 18 can be additionally decorated with some patterns (like flowers), inseparable element of Polish Easter . On that day everybody can 19 dyngusiarze sometimes made of threads, wool or paper. The eggs symbolise the be doused with water . There are , usually boys and 74 Boena Gierek Rituals of the Easter Period in Poland 75

the Easter horse procession (Emmaus procession) rides around the fields in order to ensure fertility. Emaus is also the name of a famous church fair organised in Kraków on that day. On Tuesday after Easter there is the Rękawka Feast at the Krakus Mound in Kraków. During this feast a fair at the nearby church is organised, fire is lighted on the top of the Mound, and since 2001 there have been events organised that refer to the pagan past. There are a few theories regarding the name of the Mound: a sleeve (rękaw), or a hand (ręka), or a grave (old-Slavic raka). The legend has it that it is a burial mound of the Polish ruler Krak, and it was piled up from the soil brought here by his people in their sleeves.

Pagan background of Easter rituals Figure 1. Easter decoration in the house, Brzeszcze, 2014. Photo by Bożena Gierek. The time when Easter is celebrated coincides with the coming of spring which was a very important time for conducting pagan rural rituals that would ensure fertility among people and animals, as young men, going around with water. In the Kashubia region peo- well as for the fields24. Easter is considered to be a climax of spring ple will rather whip each other with willow twigs20. There are also festivities and rituals (Zadrożyńska 1985: 114). The rituals of bid- typical local customs on that day. One of them is Siuda Baba21 (one ding farewell to winter and welcoming spring, in which fire and respondent mentioned that custom) in Wieliczka near Kraków. It is water prevailed, lasted until Whitsun. The feasting generally had a man dressed as an old, ugly, sooted22 woman who goes around ac- a joyful character25. Winter represented by Marzanna (a female companied by a ‘Gipsy’ (other sooted man), collecting offerings given effigy made of straw or twigs) was drowned or burnt26 outside the as a kind of ransom for not to be caught. It is believed that those who village, and spring represented by greenery and flowers (‘Summer’, are sooted by Siuda Baba will have a happy and prosperous coming ‘May’, ‘Bride’) was brought into the houses. If Marzanna was burnt, year. Poznań has its żandary23 – 8 dressed men (chimney-sweeper, the remains were collected and sprinkled on the fields, as death, paupers, old woman, bear with hay balls tied to its legs, priest with besides being destructive, also carries revitalising forces (Tomiccy a bucket and an aspergillum, musician, gendarme) – who bring 1975: 183). wishes to the houses, smear the faces of the people with soot and pour water on the children. It is believed that żandary drive away There was a ritual of lighting bonfires27 on hilltops to celebrate the evil forces with water, a stick and a twig. In Podhale (mountainous coming of spring, which coincides with the kindled Easter fire in region) shepherds have their sheep blessed at the church. They take the Vigil and an outdoor sunrise service celebrating the resurrec- with them holy water and pieces of the Great Saturday wood, with tion (Baldovin 2005: 2579). However, it must be noted that unlike which they set first fire on the mountain pastures. One respondent in English or German languages, where the name Easter or Ostern mentioned blessing fields on the Easter Monday in order to ensure might derive from Eostur, the Norse word for the spring season fertility for the coming year. A similar ritual is observed in the vil- (ibidem), in Polish the name denotes its Christian origin – the Great lage of Białoboki, where the fields are sprinkled with water, and Night (Wielkanoc). eggs are buried in the earth in order to protect it from corn cockle The other important element of spring rituals, water, was used for that could be sown by the Devil. In a village of Pietrowice Wielkie, cleansing of the winter dirt and helping in waking nature to life, as 76 Boena Gierek Rituals of the Easter Period in Poland 77 well as enhancing vital forces (fertility), hence the custom of pouring the cemetery trees. Axes were to be used during the ritual games. water on Easter Monday. The cleansing power of spring water was It is not clear, what was the meaning of the figures of Jews (Pili- replaced by the power of holy water (Krzyżanowski 1965: 397–398; chowska 1980: 33–37). Tomiccy 1975: 188). A rabbit (or the Easter Bunny), as an extraordinarily fertile crea- In Christian tradition, palms symbolise the immortality of the spirit, ture, symbolised the coming of spring (Baldovin 2005: 2579). In but used in pagan rituals they were to drive away evil, bad luck and the Greco-Roman world, a rabbit was especially associated with illness. The catkins – the symbol of nature coming to life – were Dionysos, the god of love, fertility, and life, also of death and im- placed in beehives and till not that long ago swallowed by people, mortality (Waida 2005: 7590). which was to protect against illness, especially of the throat, in the coming year (Knap 2012: C 7). Conclusion An egg, one of the most important elements of Easter, in cultures all over the world symbolises new life. In traditional folk religion it is: There are two streams of tradition that intertwine and meet in the Polish Catholic Easter customs: pagan Slavic and Christian. The a powerful symbol of fertility, purity, and rebirth. It is used rituals of pagan origin, carried within the , were in magical rituals to promote fertility and restore virility; Christianised long ago and they have been ascribed different mean- to look into the future; to bring good weather; to encourage ing than they used to have. The rituals of Great Week related to the the growth of the crops and protect both cattle and children death and Christ are also very rich in their against misfortune, especially the dreaded evil eye. All over meaning, although not everybody who participates in them might the world it represents life and creation, fertility and resur- be aware of it. The revival of tradition, which is reflected in various rection. (Newall 2005: 2702) Easter exhibitions, fairs and competitions publicised in the mass Thus an egg was sacrificed to the earth, that was coming to life, also media, strengthened by contemporary commercialisation30, can be offered to the dead28 (rolled on the graves or buried in the earth), as perceived as a reaction to suppression of open, public celebration a symbol of re-birth, as well as to stimulate the spirits linked with of Easter during the Communist period. This revival is perceived vegetation to action (Tomiccy 1975: 190). as a great thing, as long as it does not overshadow the essence of The spring time was one of the periods dedicated by pagan Slavs the celebration (Rotter-Stankiewicz 2012: C 7). What struck me to the dead and many rituals, like feeding them at home or in the while going through newspapers is a presence of articles, pieces of graveyards, were carried out in the old times (see e.g. Tomiccy 1975; information on old pagan customs that are restored. They do not Zadrożyńska 1985). The above-mentioned Feast of Rękawka was a appear in the context of any pagan movement, but rather simply spring funeral banquet, when fire was lit, food (bread rolls, bread, as a part of ‘Polish tradition’. ginger breads, apples, nuts and Easter eggs) was brought for the poor, holy groves were planted, coins were placed in the ground, bad spirits were driven away (Gloger 1972b: 161–162). Also the church fair Emaus in Kraków is said to be connected with the pre-Christian rituals dedicated to the dead. There were three typical traditional toys at the fair: little wooden axes, a tree of life29 (with a bird on the top), clay bells and little figures of Jews. It was believed that the sound of the bells drove away the evil and brought luck, and Figure 2. An Easter stamp designed by Jan the spirits of the dead were to come as birds that were sitting on Konarzewski, Poczta Polska 2011. 78 Boena Gierek Rituals of the Easter Period in Poland 79

A poll carried out by the Centre of Research of Social Opinions in 3–9 April 2014 shows that for 63% of Poles Easter is first of all a feast, and 44% link it with a religious experience (CBOS 2014). Whether it is a family or religious feast in the first place, whether knowing the origin and meaning of the Easter symbols and rituals or not, most Poles keep the tradition, as is also shown by the answers given by 35 respondents. They reflect what can be ob- served generally. They also show the fragmentary, poor knowledge of pagan origins of Easter customs and symbols that were replaced by Christian ones. Some respondents pointed to tradition31 as the main reason for cultivation of old customs, for some Easter is an occasion to be together with family, to enjoy the meetings and eat- ing special food, but there were also persons who fall into line with tradition in order to please , although they might perceive all those rituals as a kind of “maniac socialization”. So where is the magic in contemporary Polish Easter rituals? For Zofia Geszejter-Karwat decorating eggs together with her family is perceived as a magic time (Wilczyńska 2013: 16). Contemporary Polish Easter rituals are deeply immersed in magic and the magic of the Easter time reveals itself in these very rituals, even if, at first glimpse they might seem simply so mundane, like sitting together at the Easter table, even if the magic is not realised by those who perform these simple rituals that carry the magic. Of course, we do not encounter here the magic as interpreted classically as the acts by which people who perform them “intend to bring about certain events or conditions, whether in nature or among people, that they hold to be the consequences of these acts” (Middleton 2005: 5562), but still it is there.

Notes

1 Most of them by Olga Koehler. 2 At present on Good Friday, most Polish Catholics strictly observe fasting. Although among the respondents only 3 mentioned keeping it, it has to Figure 3. A wicker Easter egg in the main hall of the railway be remarked that in the questionnaire, there were no specific questions, station in Kraków, 2014. Photo by Bożena Gierek. only a general one about Easter customs kept in the respondent’s home and about their meaning. 80 Boena Gierek Rituals of the Easter Period in Poland 81

3 In Poland they are usually made of dry flowers and cereals, also often 19 In the Kujawy region on Monday, water is poured on the girls and on of artificial material. See the picture: http://slowdizajn.pl/wp-content/ Tuesday on the boys. uploads/2011/04/lipnica_palmy-300x200.jpg (Date of access: 8.01.2015). 20 One respondent wrote about a Great Friday morning custom of waking 4 51% of respondents participated in these ceremonies. children by the father with a shout “For God’s wounds the lambs are hit!” 5 I use the names common in Poland. He explained that the custom commemorated the Christ’s passion, but it is a clear resemblance of an old pagan ritual of hitting people with a ‘twig 6 Which is in the evening. Before the noon is the Mass of Chrism during of life’ to bring happiness. which chrism is consecrated and other oils blessed. 21 According to a local legend it was a pagan priestess who guarded fire on 7 One person wrote about giving alms. the hill near Wieliczka. She was not allowed to wash herself, to comb her 8 It might vary locally, but in Poland it starts at earliest from 6.00 p.m. hair or to change her clothes. Only once a year at spring was she allowed to on Saturday. go out and to search for her replacement. The girl who was caught had to pay a ransom or take the place of the priestess for a year (Białek 2014: B7). See 9 See the picture: http://www.gminaskawina.pl/data/images/aktualnosci/ the picture: https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTc_ koszyk%20(4).JPG (Date of access: 8.01.2015). horl6RGSSRHn7xTxBkG8a-EE7fSbDH4RknVQ3EmckTSdq3m (Date of 19 Jan Turnau (2012: 2) writes about “an astonishingly nationwide Polish access: 8.01.2015). action of having food blessed”. This custom goes back to the 8th century 22 One respondent mentioned that in the Poznań region “boys used to throw (Starzak 2012: A 04). soot at girls” on that day. 11 Although only 31% of respondents wrote about painting eggs and only 23 See the picture: https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9 11% about decorating baskets, it can be assumed that the number should GcS6vaPLLrN4oADvmQhQp95alL1i5lu4IEhenDTCT-H7r-w7V90Z (Date be at least as high as for having the baskets blessed. of access: 8.01.2015). 12 There are three kinds of Easter eggs: a) malowanki, kraszanki or byczki – 24 People rolled about the fields and drove out cattle (that were sprinkled in one colour (usually red) without any decoration; b) pisanki or piski – with with water) in the fields for the first time (Fischer 1934: 198). decoration in two or more colours made with wax using a pin or a felt pen; c) rysowanki or skrobanki – made by scratching ornaments with a 25 Two respondents listed customs related to so called ‘prankish night’ sharp implement on the coloured eggs (Fischer 1934: 239). (psotna noc), during which for example gates can be thrown into a pond on the Easter Monday. 13 34% of respondents indicated this custom and a further 8% – generally the family meeting at the table. 26 Which usually was done on the forth Sunday of Lent, called Mid-Lent. One respondent wrote about burning Judas in a big fire, which is to symbolise 14 Although only 2 respondents indicated it and 1 – the ‘egg battle’. destruction of evil. It looks like the Church replaced the pagan ritual with 15 See the picture: https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd a Christian one, as burning or throwing down Judas from the church tower 9GcQtHRbXCKIMTewidO4gNFInOCzm8SVsiISvmn-LGbcDisE7B1Ok was practised widely in the Middle Ages. In the Podhale region, Judas is (Date of access: 8.01.2015). drowned on Great Wednesday (Knap 2012: C 7). 16 See the picture: https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd 27 Fire was also lit on the graves, as it was believed that the spirits of the 9GcT_0jp65Uo2Jpo4uo1qhM5oJH4l36Xp8G6AEIRVEbEtdV3lRVV9gw dead came to warm themselves. (Date of access: 8.01.2015). 28 Especially red eggs (Zadrożyńska 1985: 113–114). 17 The name comes from German: Smackostern – when a person caught 29 In old times, the was also present during the Feast of Rękawka. in the bed was smacked with a palm or rod and doused with water; and Dünnguss – meaning ‘watery soup’, ‘gush of water’, or Dingnus, Dingnis – 30 The part on the new Easter tradition in Poland had to be removed due meaning ransom during the war for a protection against robbery (Gloger to the limited volume of this article. 1972a: 88). 31 Also very often emphasized in the mass media. 18 37% of respondents indicated it as practiced. 82 Boena Gierek

References Anna Multari DiCAM, University of Messina, Italy Baldovin, John F. 2005. Easter. In Encyclopedia of Religion. Vol. 4, ed. Lindsay Jones. 2nd ed. New York: Thomson Gale, pp. 2579–2580. Białek, Jolanta. 2014. Harcowała Siuda Baba. Dziennik Polski. 22.04.2014: B7. Coptic Magic and Its Phases CBOS: Wielkanoc to dla Polaków bardziej święta rodzinne niż przeżycie religijne. Dziennik Wschodni. 2014. http://www.dziennikwschodni.pl/apps/ Abstract. Magical ceremonials may be subdivided in phases that pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140416/KRAJSWIAT/140419672 (Date of access: involve the execution of rites defining these separate phases of the 6.05.2014). ceremonial. Each rite has a remarkable importance, because its correct execution and consequent outcome affect the result of the Fischer, Adam. 1934. Etnografja słowiańska. Lwów-Warszawa: Książnica- ceremonial as a whole. Atlas. Taking the ritual praxis in the London Hay 10391 Papyrus as an example, this contribution explains the phases, their similarities and Gloger, Zygmunt. 1972a. Dyngus, śmigus. In Encyklopedia ilustrowana differences, typical for the execution of Coptic magic. staropolska. Vol. 2, ed. Idem. Warszawa: Wiedza Powszechna, pp. 88–90. Gloger, Zygmunt. 1972b. Rękawka. In Encyklopedia ilustrowana staro- Key words: Coptic magic, ritual typologies, phases of rite polska. Vol. 4, ed. Idem. Warszawa: Wiedza Powszechna, pp. 161–162. Knap, Włodzimierz. 2012. Bogactwo świąt Wielkanocy. Dziennik Polski. 6.04.2012: C 07. In scholarly literature, ritual is usually defined as “prescribed formal Krzyżanowski, Julian. 1965. Śmigus. In Słownik folkloru polskiego, ed. behaviour for occasions not given over to technical routine, having Idem. Warszawa: Wiedza Powszechna, pp. 397–398. reference to belief in mystical beings and power”, or a “culturally Middleton, John. 2005. Magic. In Encyclopedia of Religion. Vol. 8, ed. constructed system of symbolic communication, constituted of pat- Lindsay Jones. 2nd ed. New York: Thomson Gale, pp. 5562. terned and ordered sequences of words and acts”, or a “symbolic Newall, Venetia. 2005. Egg. In Encyclopedia of Religion. Vol. 4, ed. Lindsay behaviour that is socially standardized and repetitive, […] often Jones. 2nd ed. New York: Thomson Gale, pp. 2701–2702. enacted at certain places and times that are themselves endowed with special symbolic meaning” or a “performance of more or less Pilichowska, Bogdana. 1980. Emaus i Rękawka – dawne krakowskie zw- yczaje. Mówią wieki 4: 33–37. invariant sequences of formal acts and utterances not entirely encoded by the performers” (Snoek 2008: 6–7). In Snoek’s opinion, Rotter-Stankiewicz, Barbara. 2012. Powrót tradycji. Dziennik Polski. “each definition does two things: on one hand, it describes a concept, 30.03-1.04.2012: C 7. and, on the other, it gives that concept a name, which is to say, it Starzak, Grażyna [Interview with Father Robert Nęcki]. 2012. Nie ma links it to a particular term”. Referring to Melford Spiro’s classifica- drogi na skróty. Dziennik Polski. 5.04.2012: A 04. tion (“rite: minimal significant unit of ritual behaviour; ceremony: Tomiccy, Joanna and Ryszard. 1975. Drzewo życia. Białystok: Ludowa the smallest configuration of rites constituting a meaningful ritual Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza. whole; ceremonial: the total configuration of ceremonies performed Turnau, Jan. 2012. Powstać z martwoty serca. Gazeta Wyborcza. 7-9.09.2012: 2. during any ritual occasion” (quoted from: Snoek 2008: 8), Snoek Waida, Manabu. 2005. Rabbits. In Encyclopedia of Religion. Vol. 11, ed. proposes, to avoid the ambiguity deriving from “the use of one Lindsay Jones. 7590. 2nd ed. New York: Thomson Gale. term for more than one concept, and the use of more than one term for the same concept” (Snoek 2008: 8). He advocates a classifica- Wilczyńska, Monika. 2013. Pisanki nas jednoczą. Przyjaciółka 7: 16. tion in which a term corresponds to a single concept, such as “1) Zadrożyńska, Anna. 1985. Powtarzać czas początku. Warszawa: Wydawnict- ritual: the prescription/script (written or not); 2) rite: the smallest wo Spółdzielcze. building-block of a ceremony (e.g. exchanging rings at a wedding); THE RITUAL YEAR 10

Magic in Rituals and Rituals in Magic

Edited by Tatiana Minniyakhmetova and Kamila Velkoborská

Innsbruck – Tartu 2015 THE RITUAL YEAR 10 Contents Magic in Rituals and Rituals in Magic The Yearbook of the SIEF (Société Internationale d’Ethnologie et de Folklore) Working Group on the Ritual Year

General Editor: Emily Lyle Editors for this Issue: Tatiana Minniyakhmetova, Kamila Velkoborská Foreword 13

Language Editors: Jenny Butler, Molly Carter, Cozette Griffin-Kremer, John Helsloot, Billy Mag Fhloinn, Emily Lyle, Thomas McKean, Neill The Ritual Year and Magical Features Martin, Elisabeth Warner Lyle Emily (Edinburgh, Scotland) 19 Layout: Liisa Vesik The Cosmic Connections of the Eight Key Front Cover Photo: Yuri Lisovskiy “Four Houses – Four Seasons” Points in the Indo-European Ritual Year Front Cover Design: Andres Kuperjanov Gunnell Terry (Reykjavik, Iceland) 28 Advisory Board: Maria Teresa Agozzino, Marion Bowman, Jenny Butler, The Background and Nature of the Annual and Molly Carter, Kinga Gáspár, Evy Håland, Aado Lintrop, Neill Martin, Lina Occasional Rituals of the Ásatrúarfélag in Iceland Midholm, Tatiana Minniyakhmetova, David Stanley, Elizabeth Warner Håland Evy Johanne (Bergen, Norway; Athens, Greece) 41 ISSN 2228-1347 Magical Ceremonies during the Ritual Year ISBN (paper) 978-9949-544-54-7 of the Greek Farmer

The Yearbook was established in 2011 by merging former periodicals dedi- Mihaylova Katya (Sofia, Bulgaria) 61 cated to the study of the Ritual Year: 9 volumes in 2005–2014. The Fortune-Telling Customs of Andrzejki and Katarzynki in the Polish Ritual Year Innsbruck, Tartu: ELM Scholarly Press. Gierek Bożena (Kraków, Poland) 70 Publication is supported by the authors and the project IRG 225, Estonian Rituals of the Easter Period in Poland Folklore Institute. Multari Anna (Messina, Italy) 83 Coptic Magic and Its Phases Lielbārdis Aigars (Riga, Latvia) 91 Catholic Saints in the Latvian Calendar Testa Alessandro (Pardubice, Czech Republic) 100 The Re-Enchantment of Europe: “Traditional” Carnivals and the Belief in Propitiatory Magic (Two Ethnographic Cases from Italy and Czechia)

© Authors Mifsud Chircop Marlene (Msida, Malta) 110 SIEF Working Group on the Ritual Year Good Friday Processions on Contemporary Malta Griffin-Kremer Cozette (Rambouillet, France) 121 Shutova Nadezhda (Izhevsk, Russia) 213 Doing Things Rightways and Three Times. Ritual as a Means of Organizing From Maying Practices to Standard Procedures the Traditional Udmurt Sacred Space (The late 19th – early 20th century) Mag Fhloinn Billy (Limerick, Ireland) 130 Sacrificial Magic and the Twofold Division of Khudyaev Andrey (Arkhangelsk, Russia) 220 the Irish Ritual Year Magic Ritual and its Spatial Structure in Archaic Cultures of the North Symbolism of Fire, Food, Ritual Objects and Verebélyi Kincső (Budapest, Hungary) 230 Magical Spaces Das Haus als geistiges Kraftfeld Sedakova Irina (Moscow, Russia) 141 Magico-Religious Symbolism of a Candle in Innovations in Traditions the Slavic Calendar Rituals Gareis Iris (Frankfurt on Main, Germany) 239 Minniyakhmetova Tatiana (Innsbruck, ) 152 Politics and Magic in the Ritual Year: Ritual Fire in the Annual Cycle of Case Studies from Pre-Columbian Peru to the Present Udmurt Calendar Customs Rancane Aida (Riga, Latvia) 248 Wilk Urszula (Warsaw, Poland) 162 Motifs of Sacrifice in the Context of the Present-Day The Valencian Festival of Las Fallas Search for Spiritual Experience in Latvia: as an Example of Symbolic Violence Traditions and Innovations Ek-Nilsson Katarina (Uppsala, Sweden) 171 Urboniene Skaidre (Vilnius, Lithuania) 258 Folk Belief and Rituals about Bread in Sweden. The Destruction of Religious Monuments in Lithuania Some Interpretations and Comparisons in Soviet Times: Stories, Magic and Beliefs with Today’s Hipster Culture Ramšak Mojca (Ljubljana, Slovenia) 177 Divination, Fortune-telling The Magic of Wine Marketing: Invented Rituals of Slovene Wine Queens Voigt Vilmos (Budapest, Hungary) 269 Rebus – Charms – Evil Forces – Magic Rychkov Sergey (Kazan, Russia) 187 Magic of a Toast Tuczay Christa Agnes (Vienna, Austria) 275 Necromancy from Antiquity to Medieval and Sánchez Natalías Celia (Zaragoza, Spain) 194 Modern Times Magical Poppets in the Western Roman Empire: a Case Study from the Fountain of Anna Perenna Šaknys Žilvytis (Vilnius, Lithuania) 286 Magic or Entertainment? Kuhn Konrad (Basel, Switzerland) 203 Marriage Divination and the Ritual Year in Lithuania Relics from the ‘Lost Valley’ – Discourses on the Magic of Masks Klimova Ksenia (Moscow, Russia) 294 Fortune Telling in the Modern Greek Ritual Year Vlaskina Nina (Rostov-on-Don, Russia) 303 Velkoborská Kamila (Pilsen, Czech Republic) 384 The Types of Divination Used by the Don Cossacks: Magic as practised by the Brotherhood of Wolves Highlighting Areas of Distribution (Czech Republic) Malita Joanna (Kraków, Poland) 394 Astral Objects, Plants and Magic in Healing Strategies Magic in Everyday Life of Polish Wiccans

Kõiva Mare, Kuperjanov Andres (Tartu, Estonia) 313 Reasoning of Supernatural: Theory and Practice The Moon, Astronomic Objects and Symbolic Rites in Healing Strategies Savickaitė Eglė (Kaunas, Lithuania) 405 Tchoekha Oksana (Moscow, Russia) 323 Reasoning Supernatural Experiences: Lunar Magic in the Modern Greek Folk Tradition Rationalism and Intuition Mishev Georgi (Plovdiv, Bulgaria) 335 Fournier Laurent Sébastien (Nantes, France) 414 Where Do You Come From, Ash? – I Come From The Magic of Traditional Games: a Pure Place. Magical Healing Practices from From Anthropological Theory to the Region of the Thracian Cult Center of Starosel, Contemporary Case Studies Plovdiv region, Bulgaria Zanki Josip (Zadar, Croatia) 422 Ippolitova Aleksandra (Moscow, Russia) 346 Embodiment and Gender: Constructing Balkan Circumscription Ritual in Russian Herbals Masculinities of the 17th–early 20th Centuries Sorcerers, Witches and Magic Practices Sidneva Svetlana (Moscow, Russia) 356 The Magic Herbs in the Modern Greek and Baiduzh Marina (Tyumen, Russia) 433 Italian Calendar Customs Constructing the Image of Witch in Contemporary Russian Mythological Beliefs and Magical Practices Shamanism and Neo-Shamanism, Paganism and Neo-Paganism, Betea Raluca (Berlin, Germany) 444 Cults and Wicca in the Old and New Traditions Magical Beliefs for Stealing the Milk of Animals. A Case-study on the Romanian Villages Zoric Snjezana (Seoul, Republic of Korea) 367 in Transylvania (18th–19th Centuries) The Magic of Performance in Korean Shamanic Dillinger Johannes (Oxford, Great Britain) 453 Ritual – gut Treasure and Drache. Ritual and Economy Fehlmann Meret (Zurich, Switzerland) 376 in the Early Modern Period “The Earth’s Unseen Powers of Growth Sivilova Yana (Sofia, Bulgaria) 460 Need to be Nourished” – on Images of Seasonal Magic versus Rational Reasoning in Anecdotal Tale Pagan Rituals in Popular Culture Magic and Rituals in Family Tradition Analysing Magic in Rituals and New Field Researches

Paukštytė–Šaknienė Rasa (Vilnius, Lithuania) 471 Krasheninnikova Yulia (Syktyvkar, Russia) 547 Ritual Year of Godparents and Godchildren Magic Beliefs and Practices of Holy Thursday in Contemporary Society in Lithuania in the Modern Tradition of the Peasant Stolyarova Guzel (Kazan, Russia), 479 Population of the Russian North Danilova Olga (Yoshkar-Ola, Russia) (based on materials of the XXI century) Magic in the Traditional Culture of the Iagafova Ekaterina, Bondareva Valeria (Samara, Russia) 557 Russian Population in the Mari Region Traditional Festive Rituals in Modern Mykytenko Oksana (Kiev, Ukraine) 487 Chuvash Culture Padlock and Key as Attributes of the Wedding Koval-Fuchylo Iryna (Kyiv, Ukraine) 568 Ceremony: Traditional Symbolism and Contemporary Ukrainian Calendar Cry: the Magical Value Magic (on the Material of the Slavic Tradition) and Functional Features of the Tradition Rychkova Nadezhda (Kazan, Russia) 497 Graden Dorothy Clark (Valparaiso, USA) 579 Magic as Communication in Family Rituals Archaic Magic as Background to Artistic of Russians in Tatarstan Inspiration and Interpretation

Beyond the Threshold and Magic Value The Authors 583

Pócs Éva (Budapest, Hungary) 507 The Living and the Dead at the Time of the Winter SIEF Working Group on the Ritual Year Solstice in Central Eastern European Beliefs Inaugural Meeting 589 Stahl Irina (Bucharest, Romania) 519 The Nine Miraculous Graves: The Conferences 589 Seeking Help from Beyond The Publications 590 Neubauer-Petzoldt Ruth (Erlangen, Germany) 532 Conference Memories 592 The Year of Magical Thinking – Rituals and Magical Thinking in Autobiographical Literature of Mourning