The considerable distance of Boyko settlements from urban centers and communication routes was the reason for the conservatism of the community. As a result of such a situation, a significant number of centuries-old magical practices and beliefs survived until the 20th century, which by that time had long since disappeared in other areas of Poland.
Birth.
In the belief of rural communities, a pregnant woman was particularly exposed to bad influences and dangers. Thus, she had many rules to ensure a successful pregnancy. One of them was the absolute prohibition of walking under a ladder, or walking on chains, ropes and ropes, which was to protect the newborn from being wrapped in the umbilical cord during delivery. For the same reason, the obstetrician could not have any knots (tied strings, braids) on her. Childbirth was taken by her grandmother, usually the oldest and most experienced woman in the village. She took care of the smooth course of the solution, and also looked after the child right after birth. Grandmother prepared the first bath before which the host threw money into the water (so that the child would be rich in the future). It was also the usual form of payment for the delivery service. Grandmother's tasks also included inviting the kumas after their dissolution. Each pair of kumas brought with them a piece of chrism (a piece of homespun cloth). According to Andrzej Potocki, money was stuffed inside the cloth, and it was used to wrap the child during the baptism, which took place one week after the birth. Kumas and a grandmother were invited to the baptism parties, and because the event was of great social importance, during the ceremonial meal, guests were entertained with meat, and borscht and cabbage were also eaten with broth.
Wedding and wedding reception.
Getting married was conditioned by economic and social reasons. In Bojkowszczyzna (as in all regions of Poland) it was the parents who arranged marriages for their children. The wedding had to be preceded by the collusions of the young's parents, with the bride's parents and the determination of the terms of the dowry. Only then did the lady declare whether I wanted to get married. If she agreed, preparations began. The young people first went to Batiuszko (priest) to hear the announcements. Then the bride and her bridesmaid invited guests to the ceremony. On the Saturday before the wedding, the guests brought gifts to the bride's house in the form of food products: eggs, butter, chicken and money. Weddings began separately at the bride and groom. Before the wedding, the girls prepared periwinkle wreaths. Bread was also baked. Bread played an important role in the wedding rituals. It was supposed to bring wealth and happiness to the future marriage. In addition to the bread baked for the wedding feast, a special wedding cake was also prepared. The wedding teams of the bride and groom met only at the church where the priest gave the sacrament of marriage. In Stężnica, after the wedding, the young people returning from the church were visited by their parents with bread on their backs and their hair turned over in sheepskin coats.61 After the ceremony in the church, the young couple went home. Their entry was accompanied by rituals and occasional singing. During the wedding, people ate a hen, bread with cheese, cabbage, porridge, and borscht. They drank spirit, and sometimes wine and honey. The culminating point of the wedding ceremony was the "Nitepines" which were a kind of long spectacle, which was supposed to be a symbolic act of the girl's transition to the role of a married woman. The braiding consisted of braiding the bride's hair around the straw - a circle prepared by the best man from a sweet apple branch. Szwaszka wrapped the girl's hair around a hawker, and then tied a piece of linen - a bonnet - on her head. During the lap, the bride cried and also threw off the cap to finally come to terms with her fate. The grafts were accompanied by women's singing. After the wedding, the young wife moved to her husband's house, taking with her chests and everything that was part of her dowry. After the move, the "inclusive" ceremonies were held again.
Funeral.
Strong correlation with the natural environment, deeply developed spirituality helped ancient people to read their fate from natural phenomena. The announcement of death could be an owl hooting, a dog howling, or the screeching of a magpie outside the window. When a family member was dying, the paroch (the parish priest) was immediately informed about it, and the churchman by tolling the bell informed the village community about the misfortune. From that moment on, all members of the deceased's family were required to walk without hats. The dying person was placed on the straw, and a candle was given to his hand so that he would die lightly. After death, mirrors were turned or covered and the clocks were stopped (if they were in the hut). The deceased was washed and dressed in a festive outfit that could not have any knots. The body was placed on a bench under the window, candles were lit by its head. In the evening, there was a funeral prayer (parastas) with the participation of a deac in which elderly people participated. Prayers were sung by the deceased, while the household wailed as a sign of mourning. When the elders left the room, their place was taken by young people who organized games. Hubert Ossadnik describes the game: One of the participants put his head between the hands of the deceased, bending down. Hit with a wooden spatula, he was supposed to guess who had hit him. These games were called paddles. In the Greek Catholic mourning rite, it was customary to put in the coffin of the deceased what might be useful to him after death - what he liked. For example, if someone was a smoker during his lifetime, the family made sure that tobacco was found with him after death, and drunkards were given drinks. It happened that money was put into the coffin (so that the deceased had something to buy out), and for unmarried brides, the attributes of the bride. Before the body was taken out of the sway, the coffin was hit three times on the threshold as a sign of farewell. The coffin was placed in front of the house on the bench where the priest read the gospel. Before leaving for the cemetery, the coffin was poured with water, symbolizing the tears of the household members. A peculiar custom in Wołosate was to transport a coffin on a sleigh harnessed by oxen, regardless of the season. The sleigh was used only in winter in other places, while in other periods it was transported by cart. It also happened that it was carried by men from the deceased's family on shoulders or on a special stretcher, called maras. On the way to the cemetery, family members or hired "specialists" expressed grievances in the form of extensive melorecitation. The moment of burying the coffin clearly symbolized the end of earthly life.
The text comes from the study "INVENTORY OF CULTURAL RESOURCES OF THE BORDERLAND - THE ETHNOCARPATHIA PROJECT" realized by the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University for the District Museum in Rzeszów.
Author: Mrs. Helena Urbanczyk.
Login
