One of the first mentions from pagan marriage Eastern Slavs is found in ancient Russian chronicles. According to Nestor, the author of “The Tale of Bygone Years,” the earliest Russian historical monument that has reached us (the beginning of the 12th century), the original form of marriage among the ancient Eastern Slavs before the adoption of the Christian religion was bride abduction or (“umychka”). The wide distribution of this form of marriage in ancient Russian society during the pagan period was not accidental. The rite of abduction is most consistent with the views and ideas of primitive man about possible ways acquisition of any valuables, including a woman. It, as well as items of household equipment, became the full and undivided property of its owner only through seizure. The spread of this method of marriage was also facilitated by the institution of polygamy, as a result of which there could be a shortage of brides within one clan, as well as the reluctance of other clans to give their women to foreigners free of charge and voluntarily.
Before the adoption of Christianity, the Slavs worshiped water and water deities, invoked them in their oaths, and purified themselves with water, considering it a sacred element. They said prayers over the water, 
fortune telling on water; rivers, lakes and wells were treated as living beings capable of feeling, understanding and mastering human speech. For these reasons, water had great ritual significance during the conclusion pagan marriages. First pagan wedding ceremonies took place near the water.
Wedding ceremonies by the water have been replaced for a long time church wedding and in Christian times. In the 12th century. Metropolitan John bitterly admitted that ordinary people “catch their wives with dancing and humming and splashing” (that is, with the help of splashing water). A century later, the situation has changed little. A charter from Metropolitan Kirill, dated 1274, says: “And behold, I heard: in the presence of Novgorod brides to be taken to the water. And now we do not command him to be like this; Otherwise, we command you to curse.”
Bride kidnappings, practiced by the East Slavic tribes at the beginning of the Christian era: the Vyatichi, Radimichi and Northerners, according to most historians, were of an exclusively ritual, religious nature. The chronicler’s expression “I’m going to the games, the dancing and all the demonic songs” indicates religious pagan festivals, and the words “I’m going to kidnap my wife for myself, whoever has been with her” indicate that the kidnapping of the bride presupposed her consent, and, therefore, could not have the nature of actual violence. However, in the pre-Christian period, not only ritual abductions were practiced during pagan holidays or near water. Very often, girls and even married women were abducted and kept in marital bondage without any consent on their part.
One bride kidnapping to establish pagan marriage it wasn't enough. A marriage union was recognized as legal only from the moment of expiration of a certain statute of limitations, or rather, from the moment of reconciliation of both clans and recognition of the accomplished fact. A marriage that was concluded by kidnapping the bride is quite long time persisted in ancient Russian society and was widespread not only among ordinary people, but also among the nobility, as evidenced by Church Charter Prince Yaroslav (XI-XII centuries), where punishment was provided for the theft of a bride from a noble family. It is noteworthy that the law did not provide for any punishment for the kidnapping of girls from the “common children” or peasants. This is probably due to the high prevalence of such a crime due to the adherence of the peasant population to pagan traditions. Traces of the rite of abducting brides are preserved in folk epics (epics, songs) in the form of numerous competitions between the bride and groom, and youth games of burners.
The next form of conclusion pagan marriages The ancient Slavs began to buy brides. The origins of the custom of buying and selling girls for the purpose of starting a family are directly related to the tradition of kidnapping. The “swindle” of brides inevitably led to enmity between clans, therefore, in order to prevent bloody clashes, the offended clan demanded a reward from the kidnapper. Over time, the payment of compensation gradually transformed into the direct sale of the bride to the groom. The appearance of this form of marriage among the ancient Slavs was directly related to the historical increase in the level of social economic development. The fact of the emergence of a surplus product made it possible to exchange wives for their fellow tribesmen and measure the value of the bride in a certain monetary equivalent.
The existence of the custom of buying and selling girls is indicated by many different folk wedding songs and rituals that have come down to us from ancient times. Wedding songs call the groom a merchant and the bride a commodity. The most obvious echoes of the customs of buying a bride can be seen in wedding rituals, which are more reminiscent of trade transactions. So, the boyars and friends bought the bride, and the girl’s brothers and closest relatives bargained with them. Having reached an agreement, the bride's relatives handed her over to the groom across the floor, as it was customary to hand over sold livestock to the buyer, and then the contract was sealed with a handshake. Indispensable elements of the ritual at folk pagan weddings were the groom buying the bride's braid and bed from her relatives, as well as the groom's endowment of money to the father, brothers and a number of other close relatives of the future wife.
The process of buying a bride was quite complicated in ancient times. One of its main elements was a “pre-sale deal,” or preliminary conspiracy. This contract procedure consisted of two stages, namely, matchmaking, which is an inspection of the subject of the transaction, i.e. the bride through strangers, and hand-clasping as a deal between the interested parties: the parents of the future husband and wife or the groom himself and the bride’s parents. During the transaction, the amount of the ransom and the period for the marriage were established. The form of the transaction, as a rule, was symbolic, oral: “handshake” or “assurance,” i.e., tying hands. Subsequently, a number of religious forms appeared: pilgrimage and “litki”, or “propoins”, as a form of sacrifice to the gods. In the amount paid for the bride, a distinction was made between the actual payment (the withdrawal, or masonry) received by the bride's father, and the ritual payment - the ransom received by the bride's brother or her friends. Conclusion procedure pagan marriage upon purchase, it consisted only of handing over the bride to the groom. It was not the bride as a thing that was passed on, but symbols of power over her. Among the Slavs it was a whip, symbolizing the right of a husband to punish his wife.
The following form pagan marriage, which existed among the Slavs in the pre-Christian period, became an arranged marriage, which first appeared among the Polans. An arranged marriage was based on an agreement between the relatives of the bride and groom. The existence of a contract is indicated by the chronicler’s words about bringing the bride and “offering” for her the next morning, which were actions that concealed the fulfillment of the terms of the contract. The subjects of the agreement could be the agreement in principle of the parties to enter into a marriage between their children, the timing of the marriage, the conditions for bringing the bride, etc. In marriage negotiations, the parents or close relatives of the newlyweds played a decisive role. Judging by the chronicles, the opinion of the bride and groom was most likely not taken into account.
If an agreement was reached between the parents of the young couple, the final stage of the conspiracy began - engagement. In the bride's house, a table was set on which the obligatory dishes were served: porridge, loaf pie and cheese. An important element of the engagement was the ritual of cutting cheese, which was one of the most ancient pagan East Slavic rituals of sacrifice. The bride had to take out the cheese, the matchmaker cut it and distributed it to everyone present in her house.
The groom's refusal of the bride after the engagement was considered a great disgrace for her, as a result of which she could forever remain a maiden. Therefore, in the event of a break in the engagement, the groom's parents or he himself had to compensate for the moral damage caused to the bride, as well as the cost of food. This rule of customary law was subsequently enshrined in the form of law by the state.
Pagan marriage V Ancient Rus' was performed in compliance with established rituals and in a solemn atmosphere. The bride was brought to the groom's house in the evening, where the young woman was greeted with bread, honey and showered with various fruits (poppy seeds, cereal grains, peas, etc.) so that she would be prosperous and fertile. Then the bride was led around the hearth three times so that she would bow to the household gods and make a sacrifice. After that, she was seated on an animal skin, lying fur-side up. At the same time, guests were given a wedding kalach (loaf).
During the celebration ceremony pagan marriage rituals were performed symbolizing the transition of a girl from the power of her father to the power of her husband. The chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years” contains an indication of the tradition when the bride had to take off the groom’s shoes. Other rituals of this kind also include handing it over from hand to hand by the father to the groom, covering the bride’s head with a cap or scarf, as well as light blows with a whip, which was handed to the groom by the bride’s father. After observing all the necessary formalities, the groomsmen and women dressed the newlyweds in new shirts and laid them on the bed with special triumph. Bringing the bride to the groom's house with the observance of all necessary rituals gave the marriage legal force.
Additional Information
- seotitle: Pagan marriage in Ancient Rus' - All about family
Read 1489 once Last modified Saturday, 17 September 2016 12:55
From the book by E. Kagarov “Composition and origin of wedding rituals”:
Matchmaking, matchmakers, wedding - the root of SVA on behalf of the ancient Slavic God Svarog. The power of Svarog is the power of connection, creation, creation different parts into a single whole.
A wedding towel is a towel sewn from two halves; when one of the spouses died, the towel was torn along the seam and half was placed in the domovina (coffin).
Wedding is the most ancient folk ritual, which served to unite two clan families represented by a man from one clan and a woman from another, in order to continue life on earth and the work of their ancestors. A wedding is a Great Demand to All-God, performed in turn by each of the Russian clan, the Slavic tribe, who is in health in body and soul.
As wise people say: “For a Slav to not take a wife is the same as for a Slavic wife not to give birth to children, as for not continuing the work of the Ancestors, as for blaspheming the Gods of the Natives! To do the opposite is as if To follow your path with the right is equal to extending the ropes of earthly generations.”
A wedding, along with introduction to the Family, birth and burial, has been revered by our ancestors from time immemorial and is revered today as the most important event in a person’s life. In this regard, the Wedding does not belong to intra-family or personal events, but to general family celebrations. Indeed, truly, this action is not only a personal matter of the young and their closest relatives, but of the entire Earthly Race, the Heavenly Race and the Race of the Almighty God. This is a deliberate and serious step on the Path of life for the Glory of the Gods and for the benefit of people.
Like every branch from the trunk,
Like every trunk from the root,
Thus, every earthly race is from the heavenly race.
So it was, so it is, so it will be.
Let us, Others, forge our path, as our ancestors did, as they commanded us to do.
To play a wedding, don't wear bast shoes
A wedding in the life of the Russian people is one of the main events of the tribal way of life. For a long time, a wedding has been accompanied by a series of rituals that follow in sequence. Deviation from these rituals, according to folk beliefs, entails unpleasant consequences.
Due to the substitution of values and the severance of ties with the Primordial Tradition, wedding rituals are not observed in our time. Only in some areas of Southern Siberia, in Tomsk, in Mordovia, some elements of wedding household rituals have been preserved. For example, the description of the wedding of S.I. Gulyaev is one of the earliest and represents an almost complete record of a Russian Siberian wedding.
A folk wedding is a “legal and everyday act,” therefore, often in villages, newlyweds who did not celebrate their wedding were not considered husband and wife. The entire Community took part in the celebration of the wedding and its preparation. In the public consciousness of the village residents, in the consciousness of the community, the new established relationship between a man and a woman was legally consolidated by the celebration of the Wedding. The wedding legitimized the civil status and economic relations of the two families and established family ties between them.
The wedding was divided into several ritual events: matchmaking, bridesmaid ceremony, hand-raising, betrothal, “great week”, bachelorette party, wedding ceremony, wedding feast.
It all started with Matchmaking. Friends and older brothers of the groom came to the bride's house to find out whether their groom would be acceptable to the bride's house and whether it was worth sending real matchmakers. All this happened in in a comic form, using a variety of sentences and persuasion:
We have a merchant, a daring fellow.
Our merchant does not buy sables and martens, but red maidens.
If the bride's parents were not against the proposed groom, then a small treat was arranged, at the end of which the day of Smotrin was appointed. Thus, Matchmaking was not the ceremony at which it was decided whether there would be a wedding or not.
At the bridesmaid ceremony, the main thing was to find out the economic well-being of the two families and to see the bride. Real matchmakers (the groom's parents) came to the bride's viewing. The bride went to the matchmakers: she was examined and introduced. After Smotrin, the bride’s relatives went to “see the place” (the groom’s household). Sometimes they even asked neighbors about the wealth of future relatives. The wedding ceremony was also not the last ceremony at which the decision about the wedding itself was made. After the show, the day of Handcraft was appointed.
According to established tradition, the Handshake took place in the bride’s house, where important issues were resolved: the bride’s dowry, “masonry” - the amount that the groom had to pay for the bride to her parents were discussed. At this meeting they also determined what gifts the bride's side should give to the groom's parents and distributed the costs of the wedding. If the parties came to a common agreement, then the Handshake was performed. Close and distant relatives of the bride and groom were present at the hand-wrestling ceremony. A meal was arranged. The ritual of hand-shaking received wide publicity. After the handshake, the day of the Betrothal was set.
The betrothal took place in a cult place: the Temple, the Temple, the Sacred Grove, cult stones and other places of universal worship. The ceremony was performed by a clergyman: Priest, Magus or Leader of the community. At the engagement, the day of the Wedding Rite was appointed, after which the “great week” began.
The “Great Week” could last quite a long time, but no more than two months, and ended seven days before the wedding day. During the “great week” the bride said goodbye to her neighbors, community, and all the places dear to her. She went to the graveyard and asked forgiveness from deceased relatives; walked around the village with her friends, inviting guests to a “tearful wedding”; after which she called a bachelorette party.
At the Bachelorette Party, the bride said goodbye to “divine beauty” - a symbol of girlhood. This ritual marked the end of girlhood and preparation for a new path in life in marriage. The main action at the bachelorette party was unbraiding the braid. Unlike married women Girls in Rus' wore braids. The unraveling of the braid indicated change soon in life, in which she will change from a bride to a married woman (wife), mother.
The groom, for his part, also walked around his village, inviting guests to “ happy wedding" He organized bachelor get-togethers with songs and dances, saying goodbye to his bachelor friends and his good life.
And then the long-awaited day came. The “wedding train” with the groom and his friends arrived at the bride’s house. On this day, many small rituals took place, following one after another in a certain order.
The ceremony of giving the bride to the groom took place in a solemn atmosphere and in the presence of a large crowd of people.
The bride's friends organized a buffoon: bride ransom. The main ones in the buffoonery actors There were Druzhka (friend of the groom) and Ponevestitsa (friend of the bride). Sometimes a “dressed bride” was brought out, usually a dressed up man, but after an agreement, the real bride was brought out, dressed up for the Wedding Rite. The bride was necessarily brought to the groom by her father and mother or named parents (later godfather and godmother), holding both hands, and passed into the hands of the groom (from hand to hand). The bride's parents blessed the newlyweds for a long life married life, and the “wedding train” went to the Temple to perform the Wedding ceremony (in Christian times - to the church for the wedding).
At the Temples, the Priests performed a Ritual in which they called upon the Powers of the Gods (of nature) and glorified them in order to link two families into one and continue life on earth by the birth of children, prolonging the Tradition of their fathers and grandfathers. During the Rite, the Priest ties the shuitsu (left) hand of the groom and the right hand (right) hand of the bride with a family wedding towel, and only after that the Priest loudly declares the bride and groom to be honest husband and wife. Having completed the Wedding Rite, the newlyweds, accompanied by guests and relatives, continue their journey and go to the groom’s house for the wedding feast.
At the groom's house, the groom's parents greeted the newlyweds at the porch: with bread and salt (the groom's mother) and a glass of God (the groom's father). Having bowed to their parents and received refreshments and parting words for family life from them, the newlyweds followed to the wedding table.
Before the start of the feast, the ceremony of “wrapping” the young woman took place. The twisting consisted of the matchmaker braiding the bride’s hair, which had been unbraided the day before, into two braids and putting on a “woman’s kika” - the headdress of a married woman. The greatest expert wedding ceremonies E. Kagarov described this ritual as “the act of accepting the newlywed into the gender and age group of married women.”
After the wrapping, the guests were invited to the tables, and the feast began. The first three slavitsa (toasts) were raised traditionally: To the Glory of the Native Gods, to the Glory of the Ancestors of the saints, to the Glory of the young. After the third toast, they shouted “Bitter!” for the first time.
After some time, the young people were taken to a specially prepared bedroom and left there until the morning. The guests continued to walk and celebrate the wedding. In the morning next day the young people were woken up and taken to the bathhouse. That morning there were a lot of jokes and comic scenes: the young woman was forced to carry water, and they were forced to clean up pieces of broken dishes into which money was thrown. In the following days, the young people went to visit their relatives, who had small celebrations.
During the wedding celebration, many different protective and productive rituals were also performed. Such rituals ensured the safety of entering into married life, and protected young spouses from otherworldly hostile forces, and ensured childbearing, as well as prosperity and wealth in the home. Some of the rituals were aimed at strengthening the love of the newlyweds.
Wedding ceremonies were always accompanied by choral or solo accompaniment. traditional songs, lamentations, sentences. At the same time, lamentation necessitated the execution of a song, and the song, in turn, determined the execution of the sentence. The sentences were mainly carried out by Ponevestitsa, although matchmakers and matchmakers could take part in this action. This was the course of the Slavic wedding: its spiritual, economic and legal-everyday significance.
Many people today pay great attention to wedding ceremonies and, whenever possible, include elements of the Original Tradition of their ancestors in the celebration. It helps to build family relationships, organize life and run the household. Our ancestors took a very careful and serious approach to family structure, and today we can use this experience, proven over centuries.
To everyone who wants to unite their hearts, their families, I sincerely wish you happiness and harmony. But before you celebrate such a great event, remember how our ancestors did it, try to include ancient rituals in the celebration of your wedding and believe me: this day will be filled with unforgettable moments and fun.
Knowledge of the culture and history of our ancestors is necessary for spiritual self-development and broadening one’s horizons. The bizarre and sometimes senselessly cruel rituals of the ancient Slavs have always been attractive for study by historians. Wedding as it is
In Ancient Rus' there were three main tribes:
Drevlyans
Northerners
Glade
Each tribe had certain wedding traditions, unique to them. The unbridled northerners and Drevlyans acted unceremoniously, and simply stole their future wives from their father's houses. After the traditional abduction, they began to lead a normal family life without any celebrations. The Polyans were more restrained in their manifestations; for them, respect for women and the institution of marriage as a whole came first. According to their concepts, it was believed that a husband and wife should live together all their lives in respect for each other.
Weddings have long been celebrated noisily and cheerfully, and Slavic wedding rituals were extremely far from modesty and silence. A wedding in Rus' always took place over more than one day, and usually all members of the tribe took part in it. In pre-Christian Rus' there was a word “game”, meaning any holiday held by the ancient Slavs. That’s why a wedding is “played”, because this phrase goes back to ancient times.
Many historians believe that by nature wedding customs one can judge moral qualities a certain nationality. But this cannot concern Rus' for the sole reason that on its territory many tribes existed side by side, and each of them entered into marriage according to its own special traditions.
Some concepts of the ancient Slavs have taken root in our consciousness to this day. The Polyans believed that the groom should bring his chosen one only to his parental home. And nothing else. This rule was strictly followed and strictly obeyed. Other tribes had barbaric customs. Stealing a bride, or even having several wives instead of one, was a common harsh reality of those times.
The ancient glades were wiser in this regard. The man in their family was the head of the family, the parents gave consent and blessed the marriage of their children. There have been cases when mother and father gave away their young daughter married against her wishes.
Ancient wedding customs
The rituals of the ancient Slavs, including wedding ones, were sometimes completely ridiculous, and at the same time unjustifiably cruel towards the innocent bride. Very often, the girl was given the role of a wordless victim who had to meekly endure all the scourging and humiliation. Guests from near and far were covered in the sticky sweat of fear when they saw with their own eyes the ancient Slavic custom of “taking off the spouse’s shoes.” The unfortunate woman was stripped naked and a severe beating of her body with a whip began. Sometimes, instead of a whip, an ordinary boot top was used. The passage of this ritual was a clear example future submissive silence and complete enslavement of the wife by her husband. It’s scary to even imagine what the poor bride experienced while going through such sophisticated torture.
Pagans practiced marriage near nearby bodies of water. Streams, lakes, rivers - these places were considered sacred, because the pagans worshiped the supreme natural forces and believed in their undeniable power. The future husband and wife walked around the pond three times, and only then their joint union was recognized as valid. This ritual was carried out for quite a long time, and only with the advent of Christian culture was it replaced by the wedding that is more famous in our time.
Slavic rituals were sometimes distinguished by some originality. On the first Sunday after Happy holiday On Easter, the young men indulged in fun on the hill, splashing water on the girls who sympathized with them. As a result, he had to marry the girl whom he had drenched with water from head to toe. The Slavs passionately believed in the power of water. The water element was the most sacred for them, because without it, all life on earth would have died long ago.
At the moment, there are no reliable sources about the weddings of the ancient Slavs. All information is taken from chronicles found during excavations, and it is not a fact that the customs described in them are the true truth. The outstanding historian of the Russian Empire Nikolai Karamzin spoke about the absence wedding ceremony among the Slavs. But wedding traditions were inhumane and merciless towards the spouse.
The husband acquired his wife as a commodity and turned her into his obedient slave. The man's chosen one was a virgin, and after the act of defloration she was completely given over to the possession of her tyrant husband. If the husband died before the wife, then according to ancient custom she was obliged to set herself on fire and burn in a ritual fire. If a woman refused to kill herself in this way, then a heavy stigma of shame fell on her entire family. In Pre-Christian Rus' there were three main milestones in a person’s life path:
Birth
Conclusion of marriage
Leaving for another world
When Orthodoxy was adopted, the ancient traditions were practically not shaken. Only a few of them have changed under the influence of time.
Today is Saturday, and wedding groups are standing all along the embankment again, a little bored.Wedding ritualspretty boring now. Large and small groups, with longer and shorter cars, with equally slightly strained smiles and glasses of yellow bubbly liquid in their hands.Wedding ceremonies - a long-awaited reason to dress up, Girls in formal bright dresses, for some reason very short, like going to a disco, mothers in light-colored ones, fathers in tight suits, guys in polished suits important occasion boots. All of them, like groovy ones, shout at regular intervals: “bitter!”, but most of the time they whisper about something of their own.Slavic wedding traditionstransformed into throwing cereals and dragging the bride in his arms across the bridge, if kilograms of live weight allow. The young people click locks on the bridge grate, which is already creaking under the rusty kilograms of past hopes, put withered flowers to the eternal flame, and dream of that long-awaited moment when this stereotyped fun can end. Perhaps they think the best thing has happened to themwedding in Slavic traditions. What is the deep essence of Slavic wedding rituals?
Wedding rituals. Should not be doing that!
So sacred look like these days. Probably, something remains inside, with some almost forgotten feelings we understand that before our eyes a most important event is taking place, determining the fate of further children of this kind. But do these people know, does the bare-backed, bare-armed bride without a veil know what she is risking by going to her husband’s house in this form? I'm afraid not.Wedding in Slavic traditionsdeep and multifaceted.
The union of a man and a woman in a marriage is not just a matter for the two of them. For more high level Being is a matter of two kinds.For the bride's family this is a loss, for the husband's family it is a gain. But this is at the same time, and strengthens both types.It’s not without reason that they say that as a result of a wedding, people become “RELATED” and acquire “new RELATIVES”.
A wedding ceremony performed in heaven
People have almost forgotten that an event such as a wedding changes future destinies at the upper subtle level of our existence.The world of Rule and Navi blows directly on us, innocently living in the material, manifest world, existing here and not here at the same time.This is the world of the highest Gods who created this universe in the middle of the destructive breath of the surrounding Chaos.
Wedding ceremonytwo in this subtle world sets armies in motion.The Gods of Rule are actively involved in this most important event. At the same time, precisely at that hour when the bride, completingSlavic wedding traditions, unweaves girl's braid in his mother's house, puts on a white closed shirt and says goodbye to his father's Churs - the Guardians, to begin his wedding train, the army of Navyas, ugly and senseless creatures of Chaos, trumpets the gathering.
The ceremony of unbraiding the braid. Veles circle.
It is at this hour that the soul of a woman, left without parental patrons, represents for them a tasty prey, a most valuable prize, a ground for envy, flattery, fear and resentment!The bride goes to the sacred fire, where Chura’s husbands, the Patrons, are waiting for her, and at this time she is vulnerable to the penetration of incorporeal navias as never before.This is why the bride should be in long dress with sleeves, and the head is covered with thick fabric. No need to take risks!Wedding ceremonies The bride is not allowed to wear open dresses!
Traditional bridal veil. Veles circle.
The role of attendants and wedding rituals
And the main task of those accompanying the wedding train is to protect, protect, and bring the bride to a safe place! What did you do while observing? The bride and groom fasted and prepared for the most important day of their lives for several days.On the wedding day, everyone wore white clothes, richly decorated with protective embroidery. After all, the dangerous task of colliding with other worlds lay ahead. Wedding rituals included the invitation of a special sorceress, who made the rounds of the wedding train, casting spells and performing magic known to her alone.There was a whole group of conspiracies under the general name: “Let go of the wedding.”
The groom's friends had to surround the wedding train with a protective wall and one of them had to be with a whip to drive away all the Navies who, rumbling with excitement, were crowding around in the hope of getting the now defenseless Soul.The responsibility of the groom is to bring his bride to the ritual fire, enveloping him in his love, in which there is no place for evil feelings. Modern , as you can see, they completely excluded these roles of the groom and invited friends.
Wedding rituals - water and fire
Wedding ceremony includes the obligatory crossing of flowing water - a river or even a stream. Why? Because living water, according to Slavic mythology, separates the worlds, creates a transition between this place and that, and allows you to travel between worlds.The bride, groom and wedding train go between the worlds on a subtle level, the forces of the Rule seem to be testing and weighing at this hour feelings, intentions, the correctness of creating a new family, a new future for both families.This is the time when the past, present and future are woven into a new ball, from which the destinies of the next generations will be woven.This is why the bride must be open to the Gods, even if it means being open to the forces of Chaos. In that deep meaning which they carrywedding Slavic traditions.
Here, finally, is the temple, the sorcerer and the sacred fire.Wedding ceremonymust obtain permission from the Gods.
Prayer to the Gods for permission to marry. Veles circle.
"Oh Gods! Will you accept the demand, will you agree with the union of these clans?” - everyone, trembling, awaits the answer to this question from the sorcerer. If the answer is “No”, the wedding will not happen now!If: “Yes,” then the sacred fire, around which the young people will walk around three times holding hands, will unite the births in an eternal union.The guardian churas will gently cover the young wife with their protection. The newlyweds are married in heaven, the families are united! Hooray! It's finished!
The families were united in heaven. Veles circle.
Now you can rest, anchored in the manifest world for the duration of the wedding feast, and then soar again to the heights of the Spirit in wedding night, when the Gods open their world to lovers.
Modern wedding rituals
What now? Customs that have lost their meaning.Rituals at a weddingblindly copy some individual actions. Yes, the bride is in white, but the dress, inappropriate for the event, reveals her arms and shoulders, and there is no thick veil.It reveals itself just at the moment when it needs to be covered.Rituals at a weddinginvolve drinking alcoholic beverages for fun, when, on the contrary, you need to be focused, sublime and careful.Those accompanying the wedding believe that they were invited as witnesses to the event, instead of recognizing themselves as protectors for a dangerous time.As before, cars with young people try to drive across the bridge and go to the fire, having forgotten the reason for what is happening.The splash of water evokes some forgotten feelings, of course.The eternal flame, lit in almost every city for a completely different reason, attracts young people with some kind of genetic memory.
Will our society return to understanding? true reasons and consequences? Will we be able to remember, realize, and not be afraid to become different from the crowd?Will we be able to be born, have a wedding and die correctly? These senseless and dangerous weddings will of course continue.But there is hope that some of us can get it right. For those who are open to the living heritage of the past.
Where can I find out the true wedding rituals?
Where can I find out? There are many opportunities now. One of them -beautiful books from the Northern Fairytale publishing house. They contain a funny, sad, mundane and sublime world of Gods and people, full of adventures and meanings.In them people are born, get married, live, and rejoice just like the Gods.
look, in the title tale of the book “Games the Gods Play", Svarog and Lada are marrying off their daughter Lina, and in another fairy tale in the same book people are already having a wedding.
Here, listen to part of the story:
And at this time the groom came to the table and put a pair of shoes wrapped in an embroidered towel in front of the bride. The girlfriends immediately sang loudly and harmoniously:
Don't go barefoot, there's dew outside,
Here are some new boots for your feet,
The heels are shackled, the heels are blushed!The bride thanked the groom, sat down on the bench and began to change her shoes,then she took the groom off, gave him new boots and helped him put them on.This was a signal that it was time to walk across the bridge to the temple and receive the blessing of the gods.The groom took the bride by the hand and led her across the bridge across the river, and all the guests followed along with a song. Dobryan, of course, did not lag behind either. And the guests sang:
Because of the mountains, mountains, high mountains,
Because of the forest, the dark forest
Violent winds flew out,
Beat off the white swan
What from a flock of swan,
Nailed a white swan
What about geese and gray ducks?
It’s not a swan, it’s a beautiful maiden,
Those are not geese, gray ducks, -
That's the groom with his groom.
Fire-father broke out,
Mother Water splashed,
Copper pipes sounded -
The betrothed go and dress up,
They walk across the bridge to the temple,
the path spreads like a smooth tablecloth.The sorcerer was presented with loaves of the bride and groom, the sorcerer cut the loaves into halves, tied the groom's half with the bride's half, and brought the tied halves as a gift to the Gods.The remaining parts were divided among the guests. And at this time the sorcerer married the bride and groom with hoops while the guests sang:
Svarog comes from the forge,
Svarog carries three hammers,
Svarog the blacksmith, forge us a crown!
Marriage bondage, beautiful and new,
To be married in that crown,
Among Svarga the crowns are bound,
In bright Irya they are gilded,
On earth the sorcerer is appreciated.
Who will wear these crowns?
Well done to Van with Lyubavushka!The sorcerer tied the hands of the newlyweds with a wedding towel and, holding its ends, circled the couple three times around the theft.They began to shower the newlyweds with poppy seeds, grain, hops, and flower petals, and the wedding procession headed back to the banquet table. Dobryan followed the wedding events with interest.
These are the funny and smart wedding rituals that existed in Rus'!
For a long time, a wedding has been considered the most important event in life. Our ancestors created a family, adhering to traditions and strictly observing special rules. Echoes of Russian wedding ritual traditions are also present in modern marriages.
The traditions of Slavic wedding ceremonies go back more than one century: our ancestors were extremely careful about observing the rules. Starting a family was a sacred and meaningful act that took an average of three days. Since that time, wedding signs and superstitions have come down to us, passed down from generation to generation in Rus'.
Wedding ceremonies of the ancient Slavs
For our ancestors, the wedding ceremony was an extremely important event: they approached the creation of a new family with extreme responsibility, hoping for the help of the Gods and fate. The word “wedding” itself consists of three parts: “sva” - heaven, “d” - an act on earth and “ba” - blessed by the Gods. It turns out that historically the word “wedding” is deciphered as “an earthly act blessed by the Gods.” Ancient wedding ceremonies came from this knowledge.
Entering into family life is always primarily aimed at continuing a healthy and strong family line. That is why the ancient Slavs imposed several restrictions and prohibitions on the creation of a new couple:
- The groom must be at least 21 years old;
- the bride's age is at least 16 years;
- the clan of the groom and the clan of the bride should not be close by blood.
Contrary to existing opinion, both the groom and the bride were rarely married off or married against their will: it was believed that the Gods and life itself helped the new couple find each other in a special, harmonious state.
Nowadays, much attention is also paid to achieving harmony: for example, everyone more people begin to use special meditations to attract love. Our ancestors the best way dance was considered a harmonious fusion with the rhythms of Mother Nature.
On the day of Perun or on the holiday of Ivan Kupala, young people who wanted to meet their fate gathered in two round dances: men led a circle “salting” - in the direction of the sun, and girls - “counter-salting”. Thus, both round dances walked with their backs to each other.
At the moment of rapprochement between the dancers, the guy and girl, their backs colliding, were taken out of the round dance: it was believed that the Gods had brought them together. Subsequently, if the girl and the guy were in love with each other, a viewing party was held, the parents got to know each other, and, if everything was in order, a wedding date was set.
It was believed that on the wedding day the bride died for her family and its guardian spirits in order to be reborn in the groom's family. This change was given special significance.
First of all, the wedding dress spoke about the symbolic death of the bride for her family: our ancestors adopted a red wedding dress with a white veil instead of the current translucent veil.
Red and white in Rus' were the colors of mourning, and the thick veil that completely covered the bride’s face symbolized her presence in the world of the dead. It could only be removed during the wedding feast, when the blessing of the Gods over the newlyweds had already been completed.
Preparing for wedding day for both the groom and the bride it began the night before: the bride’s friends went with her to the bathhouse for ritual ablution. Accompanied by bitter songs and tears, the girl was washed with water from three buckets, symbolically indicating her presence between the three worlds: Reveal, Navi and Rule. The bride herself had to cry as much as possible in order to receive the forgiveness of the spirits of her family, whom she was leaving.
On the morning of the wedding day, the groom sent the bride a gift, signifying the loyalty of his intentions: a box with a comb, ribbons and sweets. From the moment she received the gift, the bride began to dress and prepare for the wedding ceremony. While dressing and combing her hair, the girlfriends also sang the saddest songs, and the bride had to cry even more than the day before: it was believed that the more tears shed before the wedding, the fewer they would be shed during married life.
Meanwhile, the so-called wedding train was assembled at the groom’s house: carts in which the groom himself and his squad went to pick up the bride with gifts for her friends and parents. The richer the groom's family, the longer the train should be. When all preparations were completed, the train departed to the bride's house accompanied by singing and dancing.
Upon arrival, the bride's relatives checked the groom's intentions with questions and comic tasks. This tradition has been preserved in our time, turning into a “ransom” for the bride.
After the groom had passed all the checks and had the opportunity to see the bride, the wedding train, together with the newlyweds, the groom and relatives, headed to the temple. They always took a long road to see him, covering the bride’s face with a thick veil: it was believed that at this time the future wife was half in the world of Navi, and people were not allowed to see her “fully alive.”
Upon arrival at the temple, the waiting sorcerer performed the ceremony of blessing the union, thereby confirming the harmony in the couple and sealing the oath of the young people before the Gods. From that moment on, the bride and groom were considered family.
After the ceremony, all the guests, led by the married couple, went to a feast in honor of the wedding, which could last up to seven days with breaks. During the meal, the newlyweds received gifts, and also repeatedly presented their guests with belts, amulets and coins.
In addition, within six months family life new family, having appreciated the gift of each guest, had to pay a return visit and give the so-called “otdarok” - a return gift worth more than the guest’s gift. By this, the young family showed that the guest’s gift was used for future use, increasing their well-being.
Over time, unshakable wedding traditions have undergone some changes caused by migrations and wars. The changes took root and brought us the memory of Russian folk wedding rituals.
Russian folk wedding rituals
With the advent of Christianity in Rus', wedding rituals changed radically. Over the course of several decades, the ritual of blessing the Gods at the temple turned into a wedding ceremony in the church. People did not immediately accept the new way of life, and this directly affected the implementation of such important event, how's the wedding.
Since a marriage was not considered valid without a wedding in the church, the wedding ceremony consisted of two parts: the wedding in the church and the ritual part, the feast. “Sorcery” was not encouraged by the highest church officials, but for some time clergy took part in the “non-wedding” part of the wedding.
Just like the ancient Slavs, in the Russian tradition folk wedding For a long time, traditional customs were preserved: matchmaking, bridesmaids and collusion. At the general viewings that took place during the festivities, the groom's family looked after the bride, inquiring about her and her family.
Having found a girl of suitable age and status, the groom's relatives sent matchmakers to the bride's family. Matchmakers could come up to three times: the first - to declare the intentions of the groom's family, the second - to take a closer look at the bride's family, and the third - to obtain consent.
In case of a successful matchmaking, a bridesmaid was appointed: the bride's family came to the groom's house and inspected the household, concluding whether it would be good for their daughter to live here. If everything was in order and met their expectations, the bride's parents accepted the invitation to share a meal with the groom's family. In case of refusal, the matchmaking was terminated.
If the bridesmaid stage was successful, then the groom’s parents came for a return visit: they personally met the bride, observed her ability to run a household and communicated with her. If in the end they were not disappointed in the girl, then the groom was brought to the bride.
The girl had to show herself in all her outfits, to show how good she was as a hostess and interlocutor. The groom also had to show his best qualities: on the evening of the “third viewing,” the bride in most cases had the right to refuse the groom.
If the young couple managed to please each other and did not object to the wedding, their parents began to discuss the material costs of their children’s wedding, the size of the bride’s dowry and gifts from the groom’s family. This part was called “handshaking” because, having agreed on everything, the father of the bride and the father of the groom “beat their hands,” that is, they sealed the agreement with a handshake.
After the completion of the contract, preparations for the wedding began, which could last up to a month.
On the wedding day, the bride's friends dressed her in a wedding dress while lamenting about her girlish, cheerful life. The bride had to cry constantly, seeing off her girlhood. Meanwhile, the groom and his friends arrived at the bride’s house, preparing to buy his future wife from her family and friends.
After a successful ransom and symbolic tests of the groom, the newlyweds went to church: the groom and his friends went noisily and with songs, and the bride went separately, on a long road, without attracting attention. special attention. The groom certainly had to arrive at the church first: in this way, the future wife avoided the stigma of a “jilted bride.”
During the wedding, the bride and groom were placed on a spread white fabric, showered with coins and hops. Guests also carefully watched the wedding candles: it was believed that whoever holds his candle higher will dominate the family.
After the wedding was completed, the newlyweds had to blow out the candles at the same time in order to die on the same day. Extinguished candles should be kept for life, protected from damage and lit briefly only during the birth of the first child.
After the wedding ceremony, the creation of a family was considered legal, and then a feast followed, at which the ritual actions of the ancient Slavs were largely manifested.
This custom existed for a long time until it changed into modern wedding traditions, which still retained many of the ritual moments of ancient weddings.
Ancient wedding rituals
Many people in our time do not even realize the sacred significance of the now familiar moments of any wedding. Instead of an authentic ceremony at a temple or a wedding in a church, which has long been mandatory, now there is state registration marriage followed by a banquet. It would seem that what is left of the ancient way of life in this? It turns out that there is a lot.
The tradition of exchanging rings. The exchange of rings has existed for a very long time: even our ancestors put a ring on each other as a sign of union before the Gods in heaven and on earth. Only unlike modern custom wear wedding ring on right hand, it used to be worn on ring finger left hand - closest to the heart.
