Rusalii

The oldest mention of Rusal is graffiti No. 23 (according to A. A. Medyntseva) in Novgorod Sofia , dating from the middle of the XI century ^[5] . The first annalistic mention of Rusal is contained in the Laurentian Chronicle (under 1068). In the context of the condemnation of the pagan custom of invoking the “devil” to prevent drought: “The devil is flatter, reigning neither of God with pipes and buffoons , guslmi and mermaids” ^[6] . In later monuments ^{[ what? ]} Rusalias are characterized as “demonic games” and “fun with dancing ”, songs , dressing in animal masks, etc. In the “ Word of Evil Wives ” according to the list of “Golden Matitsa”, dated by watermarks from the second half of the 1470s - the beginning of the 1480s, the participants in the Rusal are called mermaids ^[7] .

The Feast of Rusalis, being purely pagan in content, bears a Christian name, or at least an imprint of Greco-Roman influence. The feast of Rusal was celebrated not only by the Eastern Slavs , but also by the southern Slavs in Serbia and Bulgaria , and the very name of Rusal appeared in the Balkans . It is believed that the word Rusalia ( senior glor . Rusaliѩ , other Serbian and other Russian Rusalia , Bulgarian Rusal , Serbochor. Rusaљe ) is formed by borrowing from Latin. rosālia - “ Rosalia , the feast of roses” - a pagan holiday of the ancient Romans, the rite of remembrance of the ancestors ^{[8] [9]} . The word mermaid comes from the name of the holiday ^[8] . At the same time, T. D. Zlatkovskaya questions the possibility of borrowing ancient Roman rituals by the Eastern Slavs ^[10] . The very image of the mermaid was originally Slavic and developed in ancient times ^[11] .

It is believed that on Semik or on Trinity Day (in other places from the Ascension ), mermaids emerge from the water and abide on the earth ^[12] . And on Semik ^[13] , that is, in May-June, when it gets warm, mermaids appear on the banks of rivers and lakes, in forests and groves and swing on tree branches ^[14] (cf. Pushkin : “Mermaid sits on branches” ) Throughout the entire period, the mermaids are in close proximity to the person, so they can even come into contact with him ^[15] . Semik had numerous prohibitions and customs, for example, there was a ban on large jobs everywhere, they were afraid to go into the forest, drive cattle there, rinse clothes and weave, sew, needlework ^[16] . One of the ancient customs associated with this holiday is a ban on swimming in the river, especially at noon and midnight ^[16] . It was believed that mermaids drag the drowned to their homes ^[17] .

Rusalias in Russia were celebrated on the eve of the Nativity of Christ ^[18] and Epiphany ^[19] (winter Rusalias), in the week after Trinity ^[19] ( Rusal week ) or on summer Ivan's Day ( Ivan Kupala ^[18] ) ^[20] . The word Rusaliya / Rusaliya in ancient Russian sources called the feast of Pentecost ^[21] .

During Rusal, songs and festivities dragged on far after midnight. The church reacted extremely negatively to such holidays: for example, the Stoglavy Cathedral of 1551 sharply condemned such celebrations:

Rusal about Ivan the Days and on the eve of the Nativity of Christ and Baptism converge men and wives and girls to nightly splashing, and to groundless talk, and to demonic songs, and to dancing, and to jumping, and to godless things. And it is a youth defilement and virginal corruption. And always the night walks by, then they go to the river with great screaming, like demons, and wash themselves with water. And they will always start calling in the morning , then they will go back to their houses and fall, like a dead man, from a great murmur ^[22] .

Among the southern Slavs, Rusalias were celebrated at Christmas time (from Christmas to Epiphany), Holy Easter , from the Savior Day (Ascension), and especially during the Rusal Week ^[23] , when “mermaids” (or “mermaids”) arrive. The Bulgarians believed that on Wednesday at the Reception (25th day after Easter), which is popularly called the “Rusal Wednesday”, the mermaids “gather on the road” ^[24] .

In Macedonia, from Christmas to Epiphany, male squads — “Rusalis” —was walking around the sick people and performing ritual dances to heal them. The members of these squads observed strict prohibitions throughout the holiday period: they should not be baptized before eating and at night, greeting at the entrance to the house and meeting with fellow villagers, they were required to remain silent; spent the whole group in other people's homes, not returning home for the night and did not communicate with their relatives, Rusaliev was greeted in the houses with great honors. It was believed that their very arrival in the house contributed to the preservation of health and the expulsion of the spirits of disease ^[20] .

In the north of Bulgaria and northeast of Serbia, groups of “Rusaliy” or “Kalushar” went to villages in Troitsk week to magically treat people who became ill with the “Rusal” disease. It was believed that the "Rusal" disease was sent by mermaids or self-primitives who appeared on earth from the Ascension. A group of men (usually 5, 7, 9 people), dressed in fur hats with floral wreaths, leather bast shoes on their feet, rattles and bells on their belts, large sticks in their hands, went around rural houses. “Rusalii” performed ritual dances with whirling and bouncing around the patient (whom they carried and laid out in the yard or in the clearing), sometimes bringing themselves to an ecstatic state and convulsions, which provided - according to popular beliefs - the most effective healing effect. In this way, evil spirits were expelled from the patient ^[25] .

• Rosalia
• Memorial days among the Slavs
• Semik
• Green Christmas
• Vrumalia
• Kalushari
• Lemuria (holiday)

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• Rusalii (pagan.ru)
• Rusalia (Trinity Day), Holy Spirit Day (moldovenii.md)
• Mermaids and Kalushary - shamans and healers (aboutvarna.ru)