24 February - Saturday
Great Veles Day.
Veles Day is the middle of winter. All nature is still in an icy dream. And only lonely Velez Korovin, playing in his magic pipe, walks around the cities and villages, not letting people down. Marena is angry-winter on Veles, letting the fierce cold on him, and on the cattle "a cow's death", but can not overcome in any way.
Settlers on this day sprinkle livestock with water, saying:
"Veles, cattle god! Give happiness to smooth little heifers, On thick bull-calves, To go from the yard - they played, And from the field they walked - they galloped ".
Young women on this day drink strong honey so that "the cows are affectionate," and then beat their husbands with a floor (a board for spinning flax) so that "the oxen were obedient." On this day, cow oil is brought into the demand. After the beginning of the woman, they perform a ritual ceremony to disperse the "cow's death". To do this, select a testament that sends all the houses: "It's time to stop the cow's daring!". Women wash their hands with water and wipe them with a towel, which wears a pod. Then the order instructs the male sex - "not to go out of the hut for the sake of great trouble."
The testament with a howl - "Ay! Ay! "- hits the frying pan and leaves the village. Behind her there are women with stitches, pimples, sickles and cudgels. The apparatchi, throwing off his shirt, pronounces with fury an oath on "cow's death". A clamp is put on a striker, brought in a plow and harnessed. Then, with lit beams three times, the village (kapishche) is being waved by a "mezhvevodnoy" furrow. Women follow the stratagem on the broomstick in some shirts with loose hair.
Woe to him who, during the march, will meet, whether it be an animal or a man. The one met is beaten with sticks without mercy, suggesting that in his image "cow's death" is hidden. In ancient times, those who fell into the trap were killed to death. Now it is difficult to believe that women suspected of malicious intent were tied up in a sack with a cat and a rooster, and then buried in the ground or drowned.
At the end of the procession, a ritual battle took place between Veles and Marena. Under the cheerful cry of the gathered: "Veles, knock down the horn from the winter!", A mummer dressed with Veles (a turkey mask, a skin, a spear), knocking down the "horn from Marena". Then a feast begins, on which it was forbidden to eat beef, accompanied by games.
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