Pagan funeral feast.

What do we know about our pre-Christian past, about ancient Slavic rituals created in honor of the great patron spirits or as a sign of respect for those who have left us for another world? Christianity has passed through ancient customs like a powerful sponge, leaving us only vague concepts and incomprehensible rituals. For example, what is a funeral feast and what did our ancestors mean by it?

Origin of the word

Linguists are still arguing about the exact origin of the term. Most likely, the word “trizna” came from some common Slavic, and perhaps ancient Aryan root. This interpretation is suggested by the similarity of the word with similar ones in European languages. For example, fr. thrène (chant funèbre) - means funeral lament, funeral chant, and the Spanish word treno (canto fúnebre) is translated as funeral chant; lamentations, crying.

Such similarities suggest the similarity of the original concepts, but it is too early to put a sign of identity on this basis. Thus, well-known Russian linguists explain in their own way what a funeral service is. Shansky's etymological dictionary derives the word from the Old Russian “tryti” - that is, to rub. There are other versions...

Trizna and the Greeks

There are strong arguments in favor of the Greek origin of this word. So, in Greek there is a wonderful word θρήνος (thrēnos) - crying, sobbing. When the Russian language was being formed, many old words were gradually replaced by new ones - introduced from other languages. Thus, almost all Orthodox vocabulary has Greek roots: pulpit, chalice, kamilavka, agiasma, stole, etc. Perhaps in the same way the word “funeral” arose, the meaning of which coincided with the Old Slavonic “wake”.

Opponents of the Greek version object: Greek borrowings are associated with Christianity and its rituals. And the answer to the question of what a funeral service is is most appropriate to look for in pre-Christian tribal customs and rituals. So, modern dictionaries define the word as a commemoration of deceased relatives or fellow tribesmen of noble origin.

What did the funeral consist of?

One should not think that our ancestors celebrated the funeral feast only with sobs and lamentations. The ancient Slavs had a different attitude towards the dead: after all, death was considered a transition to better world. Therefore, our ancestors celebrated the funeral feast with a whole complex various events, among which the mandatory ones were:

• mourning the deceased, saying goodbye to him;
• funeral feast;
• games, dances and competitions in honor of the deceased;
• floating wreaths on water.

This ritual seemed to emphasize the inextricable connection between the living and the dead. Dying, a fellow tribesman passes to another world, while maintaining his habits, character and position in the tribe.

Christianity at first did not approve of the rites of remembrance of the dead, but, as in other places, over time it accepted them, slightly changing the interpretation of this rite and adapting it to the needs and concepts of Christianity. Thus, at present, the concept of “trizna” is also used in ritual complexes. The meaning of the word in modern version became part of the Christian rite, although in an incomplete version.

In order to perform a funeral service for the deceased in church, Orthodox Christians bring bread and kolovo to the temple - a specially prepared porridge from grain crops - echoes of ancient generous sacrifices. The funeral service itself involves the obligatory mentioning of the name of the deceased, and fresh flowers are placed on the grave of the deceased. The next day, “breakfast” is brought to the fresh grave, and 40 days after the death of the deceased, the deceased is commemorated again (magpies). The last mandatory date is the anniversary of death.

How was the funeral feast carried out?

In prehistoric times, the funeral feast consisted of an extensive complex of war games, sacrifices, songs and dances, a funeral feast, as well as a ritual funeral service for the deceased with the aim of transporting him to another world. The Slavs did not bury their dead, but, like the Vikings, burned them on funeral boats or on high mounds. Grain, honey, wax, fresh flowers, funeral towels (towels), pottery, etc. were found in the mounds as sacrifices. Domestic animals and birds were often found - so, it was considered quite normal to bury the deceased along with his horse or falcon.

What is funeral feast today

In some reference books, this word, as well as the rituals related to it, are considered obsolete. This is not entirely true. This concept has survived centuries and is found in the literary works of our classics. The word "trizna" can be interpreted as a wake, a funeral dinner, dedicated to memory about a departed person. In this capacity, the funeral feast is mentioned in the work of the same name by T. G. Shevchenko (“Twelve glasses for round table"). This means that already 150-200 years ago, a funeral feast was just a memorial dinner held in honor of the deceased. In the same context, this word is also used by I. Krylov (“On this day he held a funeral feast for his godfather”). This word is used in approximately the same meaning today.

Week following Easter week, which is popularly called Radonitsa, is dedicated to the remembrance of the departed. Actually, the deceased are remembered on Tuesday after Bright Week, but the tradition has developed in such a way that our deceased relatives are remembered throughout the week.

Unfortunately, this commemoration turns into some kind of funeral feast. The tradition of bringing some kind of food to the cemetery is quite old; it has roots dating back to pagan times, but Christians have churched it.

Bishop Jonah of Obukhov

IN Soviet time this tradition was forgotten. There was a return to paganism in such a rather crude form - the commemoration of the dead turned into pagan funeral feasts. We should strive to avoid such things. If you come to the cemetery, take with you a prayer book with prayers for the deceased.

There are akathists for the dead, there are canons for the dead, there are prayers. Take with you what you find from the liturgical heritage of the Orthodox Church, what you as a believer can read in the cemetery. If you see a priest performing a funeral service in a cemetery on this day, invite him to pray for your loved ones.

In my opinion, you need to come to the cemetery without any food at all, with the exception of the food you need to strengthen yourself. It is better to give those foods that are traditionally brought to the cemetery to a person in need who is actually known to you. This could be a lonely old woman in your house, it could be a pensioner, it could be a large family. It will be the best gift for our departed.

On the Tuesday following Bright Week, the remembrance of the dead is celebrated in the church. On the eve of Monday evening, parastas is performed in the temple. This is an evening service dedicated to the remembrance of our dead.

In the morning, at the end of the liturgy, a memorial service is performed for our deceased relatives. If possible, it would be very good to attend the divine service, because we know the words of Christ: “Where two or three are gathered in My Name, there am I in the midst of them.”

Prayer with Christ, next to Christ is very important for our deceased, very important for our relatives. After all, we know that with God there are no dead, with God everyone is alive. And they will stand next to us in the temple, praying together to the risen Lord.

I think that such prayers in church by the entire church community, and a community that includes both the living and the deceased, are especially pleasing to God and especially needed by our deceased relatives.

Radonitsa is a reminder of eternal life

Orthodox Church established several days on which the deceased are especially remembered. These are the first four Saturdays of Great Lent, this is Dmitrievskaya parental Saturday, these are other days that are especially dedicated to our deceased.

But Radonitsa stands apart; on this day, even people of little faith and little church come to the cemetery, so that, as far as they understand how mature they are spiritually, they remember their relatives and friends.

After all, we know that the human soul is Christian by nature. She strives for something that is connected with the heavenly world, that is connected with eternity.

Easter is a joyful period not only for churchgoers, but also for people, the majority in our society, who have been baptized but have not yet come to church.

The Church considers these days special because we all also expect the resurrection of the dead. We all know that we will be resurrected. But some will be resurrected to eternal torment, and others to eternal life.

These days are important for every Christian, as a constant reminder of what awaits us in the future. These days are important as days in which a person must look into himself and think about what awaits him in eternity, what his life is like, whether it corresponds to the Gospel commandments.

These days it is very important to remember the words: “Remember your last and you will never sin.” We strive to go to the cemetery to remember eternal life.

During the period of Radonitsa, on the days of remembrance of the dead, we must try to do what the Orthodox Church calls us to do: be at the memorial service on Tuesday on the day of remembrance of the dead. It is advisable to be at the parastas the night before on Monday evening. This is an evening service in which we especially pray for the repose of our neighbors. During the week, we need to come to the cemetery and take care of the grave, but not just sit and sigh, remembering our relatives, but also offer a prayer to the cemetery for the repose of our deceased.

These days it is very important to give alms to those people who need this alms. My opinion is that not everyone in need needs to give.

We know how mafia-like structures associated with beggars flourish in cities. If you want your alms to be pleasing to God, so that your alms do not contribute to aggravating the passions of our neighbor, it is better to give to those who really need this alms.

It's more complicated. You need to work hard. We need to find these people. But this is important to your soul, it is important to those people for whom this alms is given, and even more important to those people to whom it is given.

After all, you can always find a lonely old woman, you can find a pensioner, you can find a large family or a disabled person. Make sure that your alms are pleasing to God and important to those who receive it.

Recorded by Larisa Boytsun

Video: Vyacheslav Grabenko

The ancient Slavs believed in the existence of life after death, which may have become the reason for the cult of deceased ancestors. It was believed that the soul of the deceased could come to an agreement with the gods about the prosperity of those living on earth and thus improve the life of the tribe. The Slavic pagans so wanted to receive the mercy of the gods that they sent to the next world everyone whose hair began to show gray hair. So, the son put his old father on a sleigh, took him far into the forest and left him under an oak tree.

The ritual of the funeral rite is best able to show the mentality of the Slavic pagans. In Nestor’s “Tale of Bygone Years” we read that first a funeral feast was performed over the deceased, then he was placed in a previously prepared fire and burned. After this, the surviving bones were collected and placed in a vessel small size and they placed the vessel at a post on the road. Nestor writes that such a ritual has been going on since ancient times and is used by the Vyatichi, Krivichi and other pagans “to this day” - that is, up to the 11th-12th centuries.

The process of preparing a fire to burn the body of the deceased is interesting. Bonfire
They called it “theft” - that is, one who steals everything that is transferred to him from this world to another. The fire was laid out in the form of a high rectangle, reaching to the shoulders of people. For one house, which resembled a boat or a boat in appearance, they took oak or birch firewood ten times its weight. Required condition The ritual was to place the boat with its bow towards the sunset, and place the dead man's head to the west.

To bury a person in Ancient Rus', usually waited until Friday - Mokoshi's day, which was considered the most suitable for the funeral. The body of the deceased was dressed in white clothes and covered with a veil; gifts and funeral food were usually placed in the domina, the pot with which was placed at the feet of the deceased. Only a priest or an elder could set fire to a dead person. He stood with his back to the stealer, having previously undressed to the waist. All this happened exclusively in the afternoon before sunset, so that the soul of the deceased could see sunlight and could follow the setting sun. After the fire burned out, the elder read the funeral prayer.

When the prayer was read, there was silence - everyone was waiting for the flame to reach the sky. This meant that Svarga took the soul of the deceased. After this, the bones were collected and a small mound was poured on top for the funeral feast. Participants in the ritual threw weapons onto the mound, and then dispersed to fill their helmets with earth to create a burial mound. Next, the bones were folded into clay pot, which was placed “on a pillar”: by the road towards sunset.
The method of burial on a pillar or “on a pillar” is interesting. For the ashes of the deceased, a kind of small hut was built in a pot - with a roof or a recess on top for the convenience of the soul that lives next to it. Such burials on pillars were considered a conductor between the world of the living and the world of the dead. The concept of a “hut on chicken legs,” which we find in many fairy tales, obviously came from V 1- X centuries, when the Slavs buried their fellow tribesmen in this way. Kurya means smoked with special resins to prevent rotting. Later, with the advent of Christianity, such huts would replace crosses, but echoes of the pagan ritual can be seen even today - in cross-houses in the Far North.
Turning to the chronicle story of how Olga buried Prince Igor, one can glean a lot of information about the funeral rite. Olga sent a request to the Drevlyans to brew some honey, which was drunk during the funeral feast. Mounds were built over the grave, the size of which spoke about the position of the deceased in society. We have also received information about such a part of the ritual as a vigil, when during the night it was customary to stay awake next to the grave, lament and sing funeral songs. Later, with the adoption of Christianity, most rituals lost their meaning and were modified.

Since ancient times, pagan beliefs were widespread in Rus', placing the relationship between man and nature above all else. People believed and worshiped various Gods, spirits and other creatures. And of course, this faith was accompanied by countless rituals, holidays and sacred events, the most interesting and unusual of which we have collected in this collection.

1. Naming.

Our ancestors took the choice of a name very seriously. It was believed that a name is both a talisman and a person’s destiny. A person’s naming ceremony could occur several times during his life. The first time a newborn baby is named is done by the father. At the same time, everyone understands that this name is temporary, for children. During initiation, when a child turns 12, a naming ceremony is performed during which the priests of the old faith wash away their old childhood names in sacred waters. The name was also changed during life: for girls getting married, or for warriors on the verge of life and death, or when a person did something supernatural, heroic or outstanding.

The naming ceremony for young men took place only in flowing water (river, stream). Girls could undergo this ritual both in flowing water and in still water (lake, creek), or in Temples, Sanctuaries and other places. The ritual was performed in the following way: the person being named takes a wax candle into right hand. After the words spoken by the priest in a state of trance, the person being named must plunge his head into the water, holding a burning candle above the water. Little children entered the sacred waters, and nameless, renewed, pure and immaculate people emerged, ready to receive adult names from the priests, starting a completely new independent life, in accordance with the laws of the ancient heavenly gods and their clans.

2. Bath ritual.

The bath ceremony should always begin with a greeting to the Master of the Bath, or the spirit of the bath - Bannik. This greeting is also a kind of conspiracy, a conspiracy of the space and environment in which the bathing ceremony will be carried out. Usually, immediately after reading such a greeting spell, a ladle is placed on the stone hot water and the steam rising from the heater is evenly distributed with circular movements of a broom or towel throughout the steam room. This is the creation of light steam. And the bath broom was called in the bathhouse the master, or the largest (the most important), from century to century they repeated: “The bath broom is older than the king, if the king takes a steam bath”; “The broom is the boss of everyone in the bathhouse”; “In a bathhouse, a broom is more valuable than money”; “A bathhouse without a broom is like a table without salt.”

3. Trizna.

Trizna is a funeral military rite among the ancient Slavs, which consists of games, dances and competitions in honor of the deceased; mourning the dead and a funeral feast. Initially, the tributary consisted of an extensive ritual complex of sacrifices, war games, songs, dances and ceremonies in honor of the deceased, mourning, lamentations and a memorial feast both before and after the burning. After the adoption of Christianity in Rus', the funeral feast was preserved for a long time in the form of funeral songs and feasts, and later this ancient pagan term was replaced by the name “wake”. During sincere prayer for the dead, a deep feeling of unity with family and ancestors always appears in the souls of those who pray, which directly testifies to our constant connection with them. This ritual helps to find peace of mind for the living and the dead, promotes their beneficial interaction and mutual assistance.

4. Unlocking the ground.

According to legend, Yegoriy the Spring possesses magic keys with which he unlocks the spring land. In many villages, rituals were held during which the saint was asked to “open” the land - to give fertility to the fields, to protect livestock. The ritual action itself looked something like this. First, they chose a guy called “Yury”, gave him a lit torch, decorated him with greenery and put a round pie on his head. Then the procession, headed by “Yury,” went around the winter fields three times. After which they made a fire and asked a prayer to the saint.

In some places, women lay naked on the ground, saying: “As we roll across the field, let the bread grow into a tube.” Sometimes a prayer service was held, after which all those present rode in the winter fields so that the grain would grow well. Saint George released dew onto the ground, which was considered healing “from seven ailments and from the evil eye.” Sometimes people rode along the “St. George’s Dew” to get health, it was not without reason that they wished: “Be healthy, like St. George’s Dew!” This dew was considered beneficial for the sick and infirm, and about the hopeless they said: “Shouldn’t they go out to St. George’s dew?” On the day of Yegor the Spring, the blessing of water on rivers and other sources was performed in many places. This water was sprinkled on crops and pastures.

5. Start of construction of the house.

The beginning of house construction among the ancient Slavs was associated with a whole complex of ritual actions and rituals that prevented possible opposition from evil spirits. The most dangerous period was considered to be moving to a new hut and starting life in it. It was assumed that " devilry"will seek to interfere with the future well-being of the new settlers. Therefore, until the middle of the 19th century, in many places in Russia, the ancient protective ritual of housewarming was preserved and carried out.

It all started with finding a place and building materials. Sometimes a cast iron pot with a spider was placed on the site. And if he began to weave a web overnight, then this was considered a good sign. In some places on the proposed site, a vessel with honey was placed in a small hole. And if goosebumps climbed into it, the place was considered happy. When choosing a safe place for construction, they often first released the cow and waited for it to lie on the ground. The place where she lay down was considered good for a future home. And in some places, the future owner had to collect four stones from different fields and lay them out on the ground in the form of a quadrangle, inside which he placed a hat on the ground and read the spell. After this, it was necessary to wait three days, and if the stones remained untouched, then the place was considered well chosen. It should also be noted that the house was never built on the site where human bones were found or where someone cut an arm or leg.

6. Mermaid week.

According to popular belief, the entire week before Trinity, mermaids were on earth, settling in forests, groves and living not far from people. The rest of the time they stayed at the bottom of reservoirs or underground. It was believed that dead unbaptized babies, girls who died of their own free will, as well as those who died before marriage or during pregnancy became mermaids. The image of a mermaid with a fish tail instead of legs was first described in literature. The restless souls of the dead, returning to earth, could destroy the growing grain, send disease to livestock, and harm the people themselves and their economy.

These days, it was unsafe for people to spend a lot of time in the fields and go far from home. It was not allowed to go into the forest alone or swim (this was of a special nature). Even livestock was not allowed out to pasture. During Trinity Week, women tried not to do their daily household chores in the form of washing clothes, sewing, weaving and other work. The whole week was considered festive, so they organized general festivities, dances, danced in round dances, mummers in mermaid costumes sneaked up on the gape, frightened and tickled them.

7. Funeral rites.

The funeral customs of the ancient Slavs, especially the Vyatichi, Radimichi, Severians, and Krivichi, are described in detail by Nestor. They performed a funeral feast over the deceased - they showed their strength in military games, equestrian competitions, songs, dances in honor of the deceased, made sacrifices, and burned the body on a large bonfire - stealing. Among the Krivichi and Vyatichi, the ashes were placed in an urn and placed on a pillar in the vicinity of roads in order to support the warlike spirit of the people - not to be afraid of death and to immediately get used to the idea of ​​​​the perishability of human life. A pillar is a small funeral house, a log house, a house. Such houses survived in Russia until the beginning of the 20th century. As for the Kyiv and Volyn Slavs, from ancient times they buried the dead in the ground. Special ladders woven from belts were buried along with the body.

An interesting addition about the funeral rite of the Vyatichi can be found in the story of an unknown traveler, set out in one of Rybakov’s works. “When someone dies among them, their corpse is burned. Women, when they have a dead person, scratch their hands and faces with a knife. When the deceased is burned, they indulge in noisy fun, expressing joy at the mercy shown to him by God.”