Name:

The Rite of "Varvara's Candle"

The second item name ICH (adopted in a particular community, the local version):

Corresponding to (s) Community (s), group (s) or individual (s) described:

Female residents of Bascenavičy Village, Mscislaŭ District, Mahilioŭ Region

Habitat:

Short description:

The ’Varvarynskaja Sviača’ Rite, which is practiced in Bascenavičy Village, Mscislaŭ District, Mahilioŭ Region, is associated with paying tribute. The distinctive feature of this Rite is that the tribute (colorful ribbons, fabric, traditional towels ručniks) can be brought only by women. The reason for that is that the Candle is made in honor of the Holy Martyr Barbara (Varvara), who was beaten to death by her own father for having professed Christianity. While bringing tribute, women are asking the Candle for help, they believe in its powers and are convinced that if the Candle comes to their home, it will bring wealth, health and happiness. The Candle is shaped like a human with its hands raised upright and has “the body”, “the head” and “the arms”. Once a year, on December 16, on the eve of St. Barbara’s Day, the Candle is “rejuvenated”: new handmade candles are attached to the old ones, and the clothes are changed for the new ones (an underwear shirt, a dress, a belt, a wreath), and having dome this the women have a festive dinner. The next day, the women take the Candle to church for consecration. Last year's “clothes”of the Candle remain in the church and anyone can take some of them home for his/her family upon donating a contribution to the church. In the evening, women get together again to honor the Candle in its new home

Category:

Traditional Ceremonies » Rituals

Origin:

The root cause of the tradition of honoring the tribute Candle cannot be recollected by today's generation of the villagers. However, the post-war history of transferring the Candle from home to home is well known to the residents of Bascenavichy . According to the village women, the history of the Candle, which today is passed on within the community and has been there since 1905, is associated with the life of several families. Julija Šumiancava, the owner of the house where the Candle was staying in 2009, says that her grandmother Natallia Siarhiejeva, who was born in 1892, remembered how they had started this Rite, and later she participated in it. The Varvarynskaja Sviača Rite was also practiced by Julija Šumiancava’s grandmother-in-law, Tacciana Šumiancava, born in 1894, and also her mother, Hanna Kulikova, born in 1924, who introduced Julija to the Rite when she was 10 years old. The Rite has led to the formation of a kind of women union, incorporating representatives of different families, mainly middle-aged and elderly female villagers, who join the Rite for the purpose of getting over their personal grief or unhappiness . From year to year the Candle has been passed on from home to home, from one woman to another in a consistent order, which has not been broken for decades. Women know in advancethat in several years the venerable “visitor” will be back to their home and will resume its function as a reliable talisman for the household and the farm, and especiallyfor the family. If some woman wants to join this union, the Candle comes to her household the same year . However, the carriers of the Varvarynskaja Sviača tradition form a closed circle, so the Candle is passed from home to home following this circle. Probably, initially the starting point for time and place count was a household, and then other women joined the Rite one after another

Language or dialect used:

Local dialect

Material objects that are associated with the practice of the element:

Tangible objects associated with the practice of the element are: - the Candle representing an image of St. Varvara, which reminds of a female with its hands raised upright and has “the body”, “the head" and "the arms"; - the Candle’s "clothes": a white nightgown, a dress with afloral pattern, a ribbon belt. Additional colorful ribbons are attached onto the top of the dressand are fixed over the belt a ornaments; the top of the candle’s “head” is decorated with a wreath, which is made of a piece of wire curved to form an arch, to which multi-colored paper flowers are attached; - the icon of the Holy Martyr Barbara (Varvara), which must rest near the Candle all the time; - the festive dinner requires preparing food appropriate for the day of the week, when the Rite is performed. Here is how the local women explain the choices, “The date is the same, but the day of the week is always different. If it is Friday or Saturday, we cook a meatless dinner. And on other days we may have meat.” Typically, the menu for the festive dinner would always offer boiled potatoes, pickled cabbage, cucumbers, eggs, and kisieĺ, a dessert drink made from water with sweetened fruit juice and potato starch; - the ritual bread, a loaf of bread with some salt and a little candle, is placedin the middle. This candle is made in the course of re-dressing the large Candle. The bread is placed near the icon of St. Varvara. The gifts offered to the Candle by women who abraknucca, i.e. pay tribute, and thus join the Rite, can be various colorful ribbons, local towel sručniks, pieces of cloth, etc.

Other intangible elements associated with the practice of the element:

In the course of the Rite, the tradition carriers sing psalms about the life of the Holy Martyr Barbara (Varvara), cook food for the fare-well dinner in the home the Candle was staying before the Rite and for the welcoming dinner in the home that will be hosting the Candle over the upcoming year

Transmission model element in the community:

The circle of the tradition carriers is relatively narrow, 8 to 10 representatives of the different families. The majority of the participants are elderly women; however, they are joined by middle-aged women, who are usually close relatives: a daughter or a daughter-in-law. All women share some misfortune, grief, sorrow or some trouble. In case there are several candidates to join the group, the performers of the Rite give preference to their good friends, neighbors and relatives, even though they might be distant. Thus, there are two models for transferring the tradition: vertical and horizontal. The vertical model implies passing the tradition within the family from generation to generation, and the horizontal one is used to transfer the ceremony within the local rural community from family to family

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Бібліяграфія.doc

Бібліяграфія.doc

Звязда-2.pdf

Звязда-2.pdf

Звязда.pdf

Звязда.pdf

Партал Горкі.pdf

Партал Горкі.pdf

Псалмы_тэксты.docx

Псалмы_тэксты.docx