Why Did They "finish" Babies In Russia - Alternative View

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Why Did They "finish" Babies In Russia - Alternative View
Why Did They "finish" Babies In Russia - Alternative View

Video: Why Did They "finish" Babies In Russia - Alternative View

Video: Why Did They "finish" Babies In Russia - Alternative View
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In Russia, it was believed that the newborn still belongs to an alien world. Having come to the world of people, he needs to humanize, "finalize", like some material from which you need to mold, "create" a person.

Cutting the umbilical cord

The umbilical cord, according to the ancient Russian obstetric tradition, must be cut off at a certain distance from the abdomen, for example, in some areas the distance of three fingers was adopted. There was a belief that if the umbilical cord of a newborn girl is cut closer, then, as an adult, she will be windy … They cut off the umbilical cord on some solid object: for a boy on an oak block to be strong, or on an ax to better wield an ax book to be literate. The girl's umbilical cord was cut off on an alder block so that she was hardworking. The umbilical cord was tied with linen, strand, maternal hair. Then the mother would hide the umbilical cord somewhere in the yard. When the child was 5-6 years old, he had to untie the umbilical cord himself, which spoke of his mental abilities. If the child was unable to untie the umbilical cords before the age of 6, then he was considered stupid, "hopeless."

Burial of the placenta

The exit of the placenta, child's place, placenta, was considered as a second birth, while the child remained among people, and the placenta returned to another world. A burial ceremony was performed: the child's place was washed, “dressed” (wrapped in a clean cloth), supplied with food and usually buried in the place where the birth took place. In order for more children to be born, the burial site was showered with grain, watered. So, burial provided a new birth, supported a continuous exchange between ancestors and descendants, non-humans and people.

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Washing

During the ritual washing, the newborn was separated from the world from which he appeared: the alien was washed off him, in order to then “mold” the person. In the North Russian regions, washing took place in a bath: the child was steamed, brought its softness to the limit, after which the midwife stroked the baby's head, trying to make it rounder, squeezed the nostrils so that they were not too wide and flat. After bathing, the child was wrapped in an old, dirty shirt of his father. After all, it was the old and worn things that personified the continuity of generations, the transfer of values from the elder to the younger. So, during wrapping, dressing, the child was introduced to the cultural sphere, endowed with human characteristics.

Name

At the end of the birth, the midwife went to the priest to negotiate a christening. Only in exceptional cases, when the child was very weak, and he was threatened with death, the church allowed the midwife to perform the baptism ceremony herself and give the baby a name. The child was usually named after the saint whose day of remembrance was the closest "in advance", or the child was named after a deceased or living relative: boys, for example, were often named after their grandfather. The name determined not only the behavior of a person, but also his physical condition. There is a widespread belief that if a child is weak and sick, his name should be changed, although it was generally not customary to change the name.

Transfer of the child to godparents

The godparents bought the baby from the midwife, after which they went to church with the newborn. The path to church seemed dangerous, since the child in the period between birth and baptism was considered especially vulnerable: he was already isolated from the sphere of the alien, but not yet fully included in the world of people. On the way to church, godfathers must follow a number of instructions: go quickly, do not turn around, do not talk, do not urinate, etc. The act of baptism was likened to birth, that is, during the christening there was a "real" birth. Therefore, great importance was attached to the day of christening, the time of day, the position of the child's body and the peculiarities of his behavior during baptism. Among the gifts that the godparents prepared for the newborn, a cross, a belt and a shirt were obligatory. It is these objects that distinguish a person (his own, baptized, alive) from non-humans (strangers).

Getting a share

An important condition for a person's life is the acquisition of a share (part) of life force from the general supply, which was distributed among all people. On the one hand, everyone's share is predetermined from above, and on the other hand, the share is not only given, but also taken, and a person is the smith of his own happiness. Many signs indicated the presence or absence of a share in a baby: if the baby is born face down, it will soon die; if you have long hair on your arms, legs or in a "shirt" - you will be happy; with an intertwined umbilical cord - there will be a soldier; a daughter who looks like a father or a son who looks like a mother are happy.

Often, the share was embodied in the main course of the christening dinner - porridge. All the heads of families in the village were invited to the christening, and each took with him some porridge after dinner for his children. So each child of the village received his share of the porridge, his share after the next redistribution.

"Finishing" the child

It was assumed that the child is born "raw", therefore in some areas all newborns were "finished", "baked": the child was put on a shovel and put in the oven, like bread, or imitated such planting. Sick and weak children were "rewound", "altered": the mother stood in the place of the childbirth and dragged the child up to three times through the collar of her shirt from top to bottom. Also, sick babies were dragged through a hollow, a split tree and other holes (for example, a collar), symbolizing the entrance to another world, where the child temporarily returned to be reborn.

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