The ceremonies associated with the birth of a child and the naming of him by his name are ancient and thoroughly pagan. But, surprisingly, we continue to follow them, without even really understanding their essence. Apparently, the voice of blood, albeit weak and distorted, makes itself felt. And gradually guides us.
Each of us at least once, but was invited to "wash the legs" of a newborn relative, but few asked the question: why, in fact, should it be the legs? And why does the father do it?
However, this custom was observed for innumerable hundreds of years and even millennia, starting from those prehistoric times, when even the Slavs as such did not yet exist, but there was a Slavic-Balto-Germanic community.
About five to six thousand years ago, in the Bronze Age, we were one big people, had similar customs and spoke the same language. It was then that the man began to take the first roles in society. Not just a getter, but a warrior. If you're lucky, the leader of the tribe. But in his family he is definitely the main one. And the born child - who is he?
A messenger from that world
It seems to us now that there should be no questions - first of all, a person, someone's son and grandson. In other words, the child as it is. But then it was believed that the child comes from the other world. Literally - from the other world. And purely theoretically, he could not be a human at all, but an evil werewolf, a changeling. By the way, a woman's neurosis is known when a woman in labor in hysterics refuses the baby: "He's not mine, he was replaced!"
So, this neurosis is recorded among women of many nations, but mainly among those who speak Germanic, Slavic and Baltic languages. It is to them that the ancient voice of blood calls out: “Be careful! When you give birth, the spirits flock to you! They are eager for you - they can replace your child!"
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And in any case, coming here, to us, the child violated the border between our familiar world and the abode of the inferior - incomprehensible alien creatures who are just waiting to harm. These same infidels could follow the baby, literally follow in his footsteps, or the child could bring them with him on his heels, as we bring home dirt and dirt from the street.
In general, it was absolutely necessary to wash the child's legs. And who can handle this better if not the boss in the family? Father. After all, he is, first of all, a warrior, he always stands guard and protects the border, and it does not matter whether it passes along the land, along the sea or between worlds …
FOLLOWING THE FOLLOWING
There was also one more semantic layer in this rite, no less significant than the protection of subtle ethereal boundaries. As soon as the man became the main thing in the family, then the relationship was now considered along the male, paternal line. And along with kinship, the acquired property, the friendly relations established by the father, and even quarrels and strife passed quite naturally.
In short, what we now call with one capacious word is inheritance, without thinking in the least about the original meaning of the word. Although here you don't need to think too much: the meaning is on the surface. The heir is the one who follows in the footsteps. Goes literally - feet. And the father, washing the newborn's feet, first of all, attested and testified in front of all the relatives who had gathered - here he is, my heir. A full member of our kind.
In some areas of Ancient Russia, for example, in the Novgorod region, the rite of washing the baby's feet was slightly supplemented. The father took off his right boot or bast shoe and applied it to the child's right leg, thereby reminding everyone once again, in whose footsteps the child would follow. By the way, the Swedish, Norwegian and Danish mercenaries who inhabited the northern Russian lands were not surprised at such a ceremony. These Germanic peoples practiced something very similar in their homeland.
Their rite was called ettleiding, that is, literally - "introduction to the genus." A special shoe was sewn from the skin of a bull, always on the right, into which the elder first stepped, then the one that was introduced into the clan, followed by all the other men of the large family. Slavic and Germanic rituals are similar, as brothers are similar. No wonder: we were once such brothers.
This is what those overly strict wives should think about, who are sure that the desire to "wash the baby's feet" is a disguised reason for more than abundant libations. In the end, any important ceremony was always accompanied by a drunken one. As if as a guarantee that the life of this person will be rich.
DIE AND RISE
But the newborn Slav was recognized as a real person. The father washed his legs, made him his heir and introduced him into the family. It seems like it's time to give the child a name, right?
Oddly enough, no. Before naming as such, time had to pass, and a considerable one. And here we need to remember one more thing with which we have all come across in one way or another. If you have forgotten - ask your mother or grandmother, they will remind you and demonstrate quite clearly. Again, they will demonstrate literally - they will crawl into the sideboard, take out a box from under the candy canes or remove the yellowed envelope from the photo album. And from there - a lock of cut soft hair. And if you are lucky, they will also show you a carefully preserved undershirt.
And again the same questions arise. What are these children's clothes for? And the hair? The fact is that in those days infant mortality was simply staggering: usually two or three out of ten children survived. So until the age of five or six, children were not supposed to be named. It was believed that as soon as they were introduced into the clan, then common ancestors for the whole clan, whom we now call ancestors, should take care of them.
Then they were called Schuras or Churas. It was they who protected the Slavic children during these critical years. And to this day, it is at this age that we learn to call our ancestors for help - remember the children's play spells like "mind me!"
But already upon reaching the age of five, when the main dangers had passed, they performed one of the most important rituals, combined with the naming of a name. Namely: tonsure, that is, the first hair cutting, about which the chronicle testimony has been preserved. For example, this: “There were tonsures at the Grand Duke Vsevolod, son of Georgiev, grandson of Vladimir Monomakh, his son George in the city of Suzdal; on the same day they put him on a horse, and there was great joy."
The cut hair was divided into four sections. The first was sacrificed to fire, the second - to water, the third - buried in the ground. In this way, a symbolic funeral was carried out. After all, what is growing up? Everything is very simple: the child dies, and a boy is born in his place. And since it was believed that the life force is concentrated in the hair, it was enough to cut them off and bury them in order to demonstrate to the spirits: “He died! They burned him, drowned him, buried the earth in his mother-cheese!"
And the last, fourth strand of hair was kept. They made special pockets of leather or birch bark, put their hair in there and put them in the red corner of the hut - where they kept the home sculptures of the ancestors. Only they, with their mighty ancestral power, could protect the receptacle of vital energy, prevent the sorcerer from removing hair and harm a person.
SECRET AND SPECIFIC NAME
Then they began to criticize the name. And, most interestingly, not one. The first name was announced loudly for everyone to see and hear. And the second, the secret name, was spoken to the person called in the ear, in a whisper. This name was known only to the sorcerer who performed the ceremony, who himself received the name and his parents. There was no question of blurting it out to the first person he met. Even taking an interest in the name was considered extremely indecent.
After that, there was one more important matter.
The newly-named person had to be changed according to his gender. Before this ceremony, children were considered not only nameless, but also as if sexless - both boys and girls wore shirts that were the same for everyone. And along with the name was supposed to be clothes and some equipment. Boys - pants and weapons, girls - skirts and a spindle. Old shirts were destined for the same fate as cut hair - to be hidden and preserved. Here are the undershirts saved by mothers and grandmothers.
But there was still a secret name. It could only be told to a husband, wife, or a particularly trusted person. Because the name is your soul. Knowing him, you can bewitch a person, let sickness and even death on him. This idea was shaken only after the baptism of Rus. There were still two names - their own, Slavic and baptismal. And there was no point in keeping the second secret. It was considered so strong that it could save a person dedicated to him without any tricks.
THROUGH CENTURIES
But for a long time, as if by inertia, they avoided using baptismal names. Who remembers the holy prince Basil or the murdered holy princes Roman and David? No one. Because they remember Prince Vladimir Red Sun and the innocent princes Boris and Gleb. And how they were baptized is sometimes not indicated. Even 600 years after the baptism of Rus', simpler people, not princes, but nobles, also avoided baptizing names.
Even the most cruel guardsman of Ivan the Terrible, Grigory Velsky, kept his "secret" name Mal, preferring the Slavic name Malyuta. That is, he was the namesake of the same Drevlyansky prince whom Princess Olga killed in revenge for her husband. But between Malyuta and Mal - almost eight centuries …