By no means all of the current Russian funeral traditions are associated with Orthodoxy. Many of them originated in a distant pagan era.
Reality and Nav
Our ancestors - the ancient Slavs - believed that there were Jav and Nav. Reality was called the material world, and Navu was the other world. In the first world lived the living, in the second - the dead. It was believed that this is where souls go after death. It was possible to get to Nav by crossing the Kalinov bridge over the Smorodina river. However, it was possible to move there and swim.
In ancient Slavic Russia, the deceased were often cremated. It was believed that this way the soul would sooner go to heaven. The dead were buried in the ground only in the steppe regions, where there was no forest necessary for the construction of funeral pyres. If a person died at sea, the remains were thrown into the water.
Funeral preparation
Immediately after his death, the Slavs washed the deceased and changed them into clean clothes, then laid them on the bench facing the idols - images of pagan deities (in the Christian era, their place was taken by the "red corner" with icons). The body was covered with a white canvas, and the arms were folded over the chest. If there were mirrors in the house (predecessors of mirrors made of copper or bronze), they were covered with a dark cloth so that the dead would not take the souls of other household members with him to the next world. While the deceased was in the house, the doors were not locked so that the soul could freely enter and exit - otherwise, according to legend, it could remain attached to this place for up to three years and disturb the living.
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The arms and legs of the deceased were tied with thin ropes. They were supposed to be removed before burning. A copper wire was tied to the middle finger of the right hand, the other end of which was lowered into a vessel filled with earth. This was done simultaneously in order to maintain contact with Mother Earth, and to keep the body longer. The eyes of the deceased were covered with copper or silver coins - so that he would not look at anyone and would not take anyone else with him. In addition, it was believed that these coins would then become payment for the ferry to the kingdom of the dead. A small mirror and a light feather were placed near the face.
Then all relatives and friends left the room and gave way to the sorcerer, who read over the deceased for three days. On the third day, relatives said goodbye to the deceased, and he was carried out of the dwelling, feet first. Before laying the body on the fire, already made from wood and brushwood, relatives kissed the deceased on the forehead.
Burial rite
After the remains were turned to dust, they were usually placed in a pot or jug, similar to a modern burial urn. In the center of the future mound, a pillar was erected, on top of which there was a platform with four pillars. Domino was placed between them. Below, under the platform, various things and utensils were piled up, which the deceased "took" with him to the afterlife. If it was a man, then weapons and horse harness were put with him. If a woman, they put sickles, dishes and even grain.
From above, everyone was covered with a funeral plate and manually covered with earth, while everyone present had to throw a handful of earth. A memorial stone was placed at the top of the mound - what is today called a tombstone. Some burial mounds were family: the site for the domina was made larger in them, and a passage was built from logs to the inside.
A funeral feast - a feast - was arranged right there in the cemetery. Cemeteries among the Slavs were usually located across the river. The mounds were staggered at a distance of three fathoms from each other, so that sunlight would fall on everything, and the shadow from one mound at sunrise and sunset would not fall on the neighboring ones. This was associated with the cult of Yarila - the sun god.
In rare cases, the remains were burned in a boat (boat), which was allowed to sail along the river. This was done only with the dead from noble families. By the way, according to historians, the coffin symbolizes the boat in which the soul is transported to the next world.
Memorial traditions
The soul in the minds of our ancestors was a completely material substance: it could eat, drink, move. Therefore, even in ancient Slavic times, a custom arose to "treat" the dead. For this, a special "naviy" day was established. In the dictionary of V. I. Dahl says: “Nav is the day of remembrance of the ancestors. In southern Russia it is Monday, in middle and northern Russia it is Tuesday on Fomina. " In some regions, on memorial days, food was left on the tables so that the deceased were “refreshed”. In the Vitebsk province, they put on the table "for the deceased" a spoonful of each dish that was served alive - it was called "jedou". In the Olenetsky region, wine and beer were displayed for the dead.
In the era of Christianity, dead bodies began to be buried exclusively in the ground, since the Orthodox Church did not approve of this method of burial: it is believed that burnt remains are not subject to resurrection after the Last Judgment. After the revolution, cremation rituals began to be carried out again, but even today believers usually refuse such a procedure.
Irina Shlionskaya