The Ministry of Culture has included the rite of "Persecution of Vipers" in the intangible cultural heritage
Kyiv • UNN
The Ministry of Culture of Ukraine has included the ritual of "Persecution of Vipers," a Lenten ritual of cleansing the home of evil practiced exclusively by men in certain eastern villages, in the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage Rites.
The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy has included the rite of the "Persecution of Vipers" in the National List of Elements of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ukraine. UNN reports this with reference to the Ministry of Culture.
The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy has included the rite of "Persecution of Vipers" in the National List of Elements of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ukraine
Details
It is reported that such a rite was recorded in the village of Iskra, Velykonovosilkivsky district, Donetsk region, and the Nyzhnoduvanska community, Svativsky district, Luhansk region. The knowledge and skills are passed down from generation to generation through the joint performance of the ritual.
The rite itself is dedicated to the beginning of Lent. After all, Lent is a time of repentance for all bad deeds. Although the ritual most likely originated from pre-Christian beliefs, it acquired new features with the adoption of Christianity.
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It is noted that the participants of the rite are exclusively men. They are supposed to cleanse the house of evil spirits, poverty, disasters, all kinds of diseases and misfortunes, which are called "vipers, vermin". In folk beliefs, vipers had only a negative perception. This can be seen in folk tales, signs and proverbs.
Every housewife prepares for a meeting with the "creepers". This is the name given in the village to those who go from house to house (from the word "to climb, to walk through the village"). The hostess is waiting at home with ready-made treats for her "polaznyky" guests.
The Ministry of Culture noted that in the village the first day of Lent is called "wiry Monday." On this day, women are strictly forbidden to visit their neighbors. There is a belief that on this day a woman who enters someone else's house brings bad luck and misfortune to the house.
Near the yard, the boys shout out to the owners, congratulate them on the beginning of Lent and offer to "drive away the vipers" from the house and yard. The hosts then thank the crawlers for the ritual, for not passing by their house, and give them gifts. Children and young men receive nuts, candy, pies, apples, and adult men are offered a glass.
The ritual ends outside the village in the steppe with the burning of auxiliary "tools" and a common dinner with the food the hosts had prepared.
The rite promotes unity, communication in the community, and transfers knowledge and values from one generation to another through joint preparatory actions and the involvement of young people in the rite.
