Horse-present
In the old days, a few days before April 1, fishermen would buy the oldest and sickest horse from the gypsies. They took for the first assigned price, without bargaining. Then they cleaned the horse, fed the best grain, and combed the mane. And on the night of the third of April, the best red ribbons, fragrant dry herbs were woven into it, rubbed the horse's head with salted honey and led to a pond. At the very shore, the horses entangled their legs, hung two old millstones around their necks and pulled the boat on a rope, making sure that the victim began to sink only in the middle of a lake or river. If there was still ice there, they made an ice hole and drowned the victim in it. When everything was over, the surface of the water was poured with oil, saying: “Here, grandfather, a present for your housewarming. Love and favor our family. At the same time, the elder in the fishing artel watched the water and judged by its waving,whether the water gift was accepted (crowberry, water grandfather, water jester, water man, master of waters) and was he satisfied. If the horse did not sink for a long time, it was considered a bad sign - the gift did not suit the grandfather.
This is how fishermen celebrated the name day of the merman in ancient times. And how not to celebrate? After all, he was for fishermen, first of all, the breadwinner of the whole family. Not respecting him meant condemning his relatives to starvation, and offending him was completely dangerous: he could break the nets, drown boats, or even ruin people. The birthday of the crowberry was celebrated in the period from April 1 to April 3 - it was at this time that the ice usually began to melt and, as the legends say, mermaids and mermaids woke up. After a long winter they were hungry and angry. Having woken up, the water jester began to break the ice, torment and frighten the fish - the small one perished from this, the large one could go to other reservoirs. And having received a present, the prankster calmed down and began to "put things in order in the house" - he lured the fish to himself, tried to ensure a good catch for the fishermen. The worst thing was if the victim did not have time to bring before the third of April
- offended, the restive old man was able to leave the lake or river, leaving them dead, generally without fish and water animals.
Gifts for the birthday boy
But not only on holidays they gave gifts to the owner of the waters. The fishermen believed that the more often they remember him, the more water fish will bring them to them, Therefore, each fisherman was supposed to have two or three fish caught from the first catch of the year, from time to time - butter or bread crumbs, a drop of wine, a pinch of tobacco. While treating the waterman with tobacco, they would say: "You have tobacco on you, but give us some fish." And in the Vologda province there was even a custom to give one bast shoe or a boot with a footcloth to the underwater undead, hoping that for a new thing she would also give the fishermen a fish. In the autumn, in order for the waterman to calmly go to bed, with the first frost, a goose was sacrificed to him. The bird was well fed the whole summer, and they always drove to the pond where the water grandfather lived. The owners of the water mills also tried to appease him. The waterman will be kind and pleased - and the mill wheel will not break,and the flour will never end. And since the waterman, according to legends, is a generous owner (one of his names Pereplut is the god of wealth) and helps fishermen and millers to feed their families, people tried not to forget about those who walked in the underwater kingdom under the protection of a waterman. On April 7, the day of Akulina, it was believed that mermaids swim ashore and ask people for canvas - to cover their nakedness and keep warm. In the evening, on the shore, the tailed maidens were left with pieces of cloth, and who could - old clothes.that the mermaids swim ashore and ask people for canvas - to cover their nakedness and keep warm. In the evening, on the shore, the tailed maidens were left with pieces of cloth, and who could - old clothes.that the mermaids swim ashore and ask people for canvas - to cover their nakedness and keep warm. In the evening, on the shore, the tailed maidens were left with pieces of cloth, and who could - old clothes.
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Master of water estates
But not only mermaids and undines enjoyed the patronage of the mermaid. Our ancestors believed that water is a pure element and does not accept anything sinful. Therefore, most often drowned people became aquatic. The body, as unnecessary, was thrown ashore, and the spirit remained to live in a lake or river. If a person was pure in soul, he became the master of the reservoir, if not, he went into the service. The closeness to the human race was also indicated by the very way of life of the crowberry. He got himself a large estate at the bottom, kept a good eye on the cleanliness and order in it, he took a watergirl as his wife - a baptized drowned woman, he had many children (most often - daughters). He never offended a drowned child - he took him and raised him like a family. The landlord-waterman's farm was rather big: he grazed herds of fish, black cows and herds of underwater horses, he drove a catfish himself,for which fishermen call this fish "devil's horse". He loved water and noisy holidays, and fun. He could hear singing from the shore and take a person to the bottom so that he entertained him, like the fabulous Sadko - therefore, on the lake or river, they tried not to make noise, not to sing loud songs. It was believed that the owner of the waters is drawn to people - apparently, the memory that he himself once breathed the air of the earth does not give him rest. It was possible to meet a merman near the shore on a moonlit night. He turned into an old man, but sometimes a man or a woman, or even a child. At the same time, he necessarily demonstrated at least one feature by which it was guessed that in fact it was not a person who had met: scales, fish tail, hooves or duck paws, blue skin, but more often - wet hair and bottom of clothes. He could turn into any animal, bird or fish - but certainly blue. The master of the waters was also blue. The merman did not offend good people - on the contrary, he gave good advice or indicated fishing spots.
Respecting traditions
You can believe or not believe old legends, follow or not follow ancient traditions. You can treat the stories and tales of fishermen in different ways, claiming that they personally met with the owner of the waters or saw mermaids. But you should always remember that the veneration by our ancestors of the water, the goblin, the brownie and other spirits is also a tribute to the world around us, nature and our home. It is unlikely that modern fishermen will drown a horse or a goose in order to respect the water spirit, but throwing bread crumbs into the water is not at all harmful - the fish will bite better after feeding. And if you treat the reservoir with respect and try not to leave dirt and debris behind you, then fish and other animals in it will be divorced even more, and - who knows - maybe your grandfather will not leave you with his generosity and care.
Olga Weather. Magazine "Secrets of the XX century" № 13 2011