Водач по изложбата - cult rural - Prisma

SYMBOLISMS OF FERTILITY AND REBIRTH
OF NATURE
share the festive table, exchange ritual breads (during the last century they
were generally called “kozunaks”) and dyed eggs. A traditional game is played
where each player hits the other player’s egg with his own. This is known as
“egg tapping” and the holder of the last intact egg will be the healthiest person
throughout the year. On that day, people greet themselves with “Christ has risen”
and get the response “He truly has risen”.
HARVEST RITES
In Greece the principal traditional rural customs were – and in many cases still
are- closely related with agricultural activities and rituals usually linked to a feast
day, which par excellence aimed to guarantee the survival of people. Combining
pagan and Christian practices, most of them have been preserved across the
ages as having a great signifi cance for securing the rendering of the fields and in
consequence a good year for the family and the community.
For the farmers the way earth is going to receive ploughing and harvesting is
considered as very important. For this reason farmers offered the first fruits
(6th of August) to the church to be blessed (especially in northern Greece and
Thrace). Many symbolic actions are related with sowing; among them is the
Feast of Seeds, known with the ancient name panspermia, which is celebrated
on the feast day of the Virgin Mary (Presentation of the Virgin, 21 November),
called Messosporitissa “protector of grain in the middle of sowing period”. During
this day in many rural areas, people used to eat, as a main meal, a combination
of boiled cereals and vegetables, and to share a small portion with neighbours in
order to guarantee the abundance of plants.
Among the symbolic actions linked with the cycle of cereals and of the corn, it
is worth noting the sowers’ habit of tying the last ears of corn in a nice bouquet
with different forms (comb, cross etc), which sometimes they hang around the
iconostasis of the house, the place where they usually keep the icons, or they
hang it from the ceiling. In some regions (e.g in the island of Karpathos) they
leave in the fields some ears of the corns, while tracing around them a magic
circle with a sickle.
In Poland, especially in eastern Małopolska, the celebration of a solemn end
of harvest was called “wieńcowiny” or “okrężne”. Recently, and popular in the
whole country, the term “dożynki” has been adopted. The rite originating from
pagan traditions related to the cult of fertility deities started after the completion
of the most important field works, mainly at the turn of August and September.
It could be also held a little earlier on 15th August - the day of Assumption of St.
Virgin Mary, called in Polish culture the God’s Mother “Zielnej” holiday. In this role
the God’s Mother was considered to be the patron of soil and its crops: herbs,
flowers, cereal and fruit.
The “dożynki” rite started on the day of completing work on cutting the cereal.
The harvesters produced a sheaf – “snopek żniwny” decorated with flowers, and
a wreath of cereal ears, which they gave to the host and the hostess. Thanking
for the hard work, the host invited the harvesters to an evening party. On the field
a small amount of the uncut cereal was left, the so-called “przepiórka”. It was
52. Painted eggs, Bulgaria
53. Easter ritual bread, Bulgaria
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54. Rubbing the children faces with red egg
for health on Easter, Bulgaria
55. Festive straw decoration, Bulgaria