Beliefs about the existence of the afterlife are common, probably, among all peoples. Including this concept of the soul and what happens to it after death. It turns out that for our ancestors, the soul was a completely material substance.
Death image
jealous Slavs imagined death figuratively. The images were different: either a bogeyman in which human and animal features were combined, or a human skeleton … She was often represented in the form of a bird - either a black raven or a dove. In the north, death was portrayed as an owl perched on the roof of a house. Crow's croaking or owl hooting was considered a harbinger of the death of someone close. Sometimes death could take on a human form - usually a bony old woman. Among the Great Russian Slavs, she held a torch in her left hand, and a scythe in her right. Among the Belarusians, it was a thin and pale old woman in a white shroud. Alternatively, she could hold a rake in her hands.
"Treat" the deceased
According to legend, after a person died, a soul left his body. In some places, the ceiling was dismantled over the dying person or the mat (the main beam, - editor's note) was raised so that the soul could freely leave the body. At the same time, they put a cup of water on the window and hung a towel so that she would wash and wipe herself off. The soul in the minds of our ancestors could eat, drink, move from place to place. Therefore, the 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 South Russia it is Monday, in Middle and North Russia it is Tuesday in Fomin's week”(Fomina is the week following Easter week - ed.). In some regions, on memorial days, they left food on the tables so that the deceased would be refreshed. In the Vitebsk province, a spoonful of each dish that was served alive was put on the table "for the deceased" - this was called "dzedou". Wine and beer were exhibited in the Olonets region.
At the same time, the soul was something like the wind, since the wind is related to breath, and "breath", "breath", "spirit", "soul" are the same roots. When a person died, he stopped breathing. The Slavs believed that storms and whirlwinds occurred because someone committed suicide and the soul of the suicide quickly flew out of the body … with one mustache. The soul could also exist in the form of smoke, steam or a cloud, which could be seen after it left the body.
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Meanwhile, the Slavs also had the idea of the soul as fire. After all, the body after death became cold, the inner fire left it. People believed that the lights that can sometimes be seen near the graves are the souls of the departed.
The idea that the soul turns into a kind of winged creature was quite widespread in some areas of Ancient Russia. So, in the Ushitsky district, she was represented in the form of a fly, in Grubeshovsky - a bat, in the Yaroslavl and Olonets provinces - in the form of a butterfly, she was even called a darling. She could fly and turn into a bird - a duck, a jackdaw, a dove, a falcon, a swan, a cuckoo … That is why, by the crowing of a cuckoo, they will know how long to live. According to Slavic beliefs, the soul could move into an animal, become a bush or tree that grew on the grave.
Where does she go?
the slave traveler Ibn Rust, who visited Russia in the 10th century, wrote in his “Book of Precious Necklaces”: “When (among the Russians) a nobleman dies, a grave is dug for him in the form of a spacious room, a dead man is put there, clothes are put there, the gold hoops that he wore, a lot of food, mugs of drinks and other items and valuables. The wife he loved is placed alive in the burial room; then they shut the doors and she dies there."
There was also a belief in the transmigration of souls. Let's take, for example, the ancient proverb: "From generation to generation, the same freak." Folklorist Yu. P. Mirolyubov in his work "Sacred Rus" writes that the residents of the central Russian provinces believed: a person is reborn into his great-grandchildren. Therefore, it was customary to name children in honor of deceased ancestors. But if a person lived unworthily, disrespectfully towards his parents and for this he was not loved in the family, the cycle of rebirth could be interrupted. Such an individual returned to the world in the form of an animal, insect or plant, but not in the form of a person.
According to the ideas of the Slavs, living people lived in the so-called Java. The other world was divided into three kingdoms: Rule, Nav and Slav. Rule was intended for the souls of the righteous awaiting rebirth, Nav - for sinners. But Nav was not an analogue of hell, the soul could be extracted from there if living relatives performed certain rituals. The souls of heroes who, after their death, lived next to the gods, fell into Slav. The world of the dead among the Slavs was ruled by the god Veles. To be on the other side, it was necessary to cross the Smorodina River along the Kalinov Bridge, which connects the kingdoms of the living and the dead.
Why are funeral rites needed?
After Russia was baptized in the 10th century, the Christian concept of heaven and hell, along with the idea of posthumous retribution, came into use. Researchers believe that she organically combined with pagan beliefs. Thus, the belief in the wanderings of the soul, which took place in several stages, was preserved. Until the day of the funeral, the soul lived in the house, from the third to the ninth day after death, it flew around it, and until the fortieth day wandered around the earth. And only after that, if all the rituals were observed, did she leave for the other world.
In Russia, a whole complex of customs, signs and rituals related to seeing off the deceased on their last journey was practiced. For example, it was believed that if the deceased's eyes remain open, then this is to the imminent death of someone else from his loved ones. Therefore, they always tried to close their eyes to the dead - in the old days, copper pennies were placed on lowered eyelids for this.
While the body was in the house, a knife was thrown into a tub of water - this did not allow the deceased to harm the living. Until the funeral, no one was lent anything - not even salt. Kept windows and doors tightly closed. While the deceased was in the house, pregnant women were not allowed to cross its threshold - this could have a bad effect on the child …
In the old days it was supposed to put in the coffin the underwear of the deceased, as well as a belt, a hat, bast shoes and small coins. It was believed that these things could be useful to a deceased in the next world, and money would serve as payment for transportation to the kingdom of the dead. True, at the beginning of the 19th century, this custom acquired a different meaning. If, during a funeral, a coffin with previously buried remains was accidentally touched, then it was supposed to throw money into the grave - a “fee” for a new “neighbor”. If a child was dying, a belt was always put on him so that he could collect fruits in his bosom in the Garden of Eden.
According to Christian custom, the dead man should lie in the grave with his head to the west and his feet to the east. So, according to legend, the body of Jesus Christ lay in the cave.
Christian tradition also prescribes that a cross must be installed over the grave. For the Orthodox, it should be located at the feet of the deceased, and for Catholics and Protestants - above the head. This is done so that when, according to legend, all the dead will be resurrected on the day of the Last Judgment, they could immediately kiss the cross - a symbol of Christianity.
During the commemoration, a glass of vodka covered with a piece of bread is placed on the table for the deceased. There is also a belief: if any food falls from the table at the commemoration, it cannot be picked up - it is a sin.
In the old days, honey and water were placed in front of icons for the fortieth century, so that the life of the deceased in the next world would be sweeter. Sometimes they baked a staircase with a length of arshin (71 centimeters) from wheat flour to help the deceased ascend to heaven …
Russian peasants feared that the deceased would want to return home after the funeral. It would seem absurd, but who knows? To prevent the dead from climbing through the pipe (there was a belief that the dead can fly in the form of kites), the dwelling was sprinkled with holy water, and consecrated rye or wheat was poured into the mouth of the furnace. On each of the windows, they put two loaves and apples, and also put a mug of water or a glass of vodka. The calculation was that if an uninvited guest wants to enter the house through the window, he will taste the treats and leave him alone.
Magazine: Secrets of the 20th century №49, Author: Margarita Troitsyna