The life of our ancestors was full of rituals and all kinds of superstitions, many of which had a rational grain in them. For example, the same custom to preserve and not to scatter salt, which is expensive and extremely necessary in every household, which eventually degenerated into a well-known national omen. But there were also quite strange rituals in Russia that should not be repeated in a civilized society.
"Baking" the child
The Slavs had a ritual of the so-called "baking" of a premature baby. If the baby was born prematurely or gave the impression of a sick person, it was coated entirely with freshly prepared rye dough, put on a bread shovel and thrust into the still warm oven. To prevent the newborn from suffocating, the nostrils and mouth were left open.
Thus, Russian women assigned the function of a kind of incubator to the stove. It was believed that in it the child would gain the strength that he did not have time to receive in the mother's womb. Whether this method helped a weak baby to "mature" is not mentioned in history.
Scaring women in labor
The process of childbirth in Russia and in itself was rather complicated and dangerous, but most of the folk rituals made it simply unbearable. Instead of calming the woman and relieving her labor pains, the midwives did their best to scare the unfortunate woman. Dishes rattled next to her, shouted, hooted.
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It was believed that from the mother's fright, the child would sooner leave her womb. To further intensify this process, the woman in labor sometimes even tried to induce vomiting by sticking fingers or her own braid deep into her mouth. Russian women really needed good health to survive such a mockery.
Funeral rites
Some peoples of Russia (Krivichi, Radimichi, Vyatichi) had an unusual burial rite. Representatives of these tribes did not bury their dead in the ground, but burned them. The ashes were poured into an urn and placed on a special elevation - a pillar, or domina - not far from the road. So anyone passing by could see the urn with the ashes.
The Slavs believed that a warrior should not be afraid of death. This method of "burial" taught people to think about the frailty of earthly existence. During the funeral rite, our ancestors arranged a funeral feast. It was somewhat akin to a commemoration, but was accompanied by military competitions, dances and songs. Such festivities were supposed to show how great the respect people have for the deceased.
Gasky
The rite of gasok originates from the pagan past of Russia. In the villages, late in the evening, young people arranged gatherings in a large hut, singing songs and various games. At the same time, the room in which the guests were sitting was illuminated with a torch. It was a rather unreliable lamp that went out every now and then. The room immediately became completely dark.
But the participants in such amusements were not lost, but were immediately given amorous pleasures with those whom they could grope in such darkness. In one such evening, the torch could go out 5 times or even more, and each time the hut was filled with sounds of a certain kind. After such entertainments, children were often born. From whom they were, the women could not establish.
Land Laundering
Every spring, a rite of "land opening" was performed. The Slavs believed that for the winter the fertile soil was closed by the keys of the Autumn Yegor. In order for winter crops to give a good harvest, the fields had to be "unlocked". To do this, they chose one man, decorated his head with young herbs and a pie. Together with him, the peasants walked around the fields 3 times, asking Yegor to give a good harvest.
You also had to swim in the Egor's dew. To perform this ceremony, women stripped naked and rolled in this form on the ground. At the same time, it was necessary to pronounce a special conspiracy: "As we ride on this field, so let the bread grow into a pipe on it." The Slavs believed that such actions would lead to thick and abundant growth of wheat and rye.