The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-02-14
PEOPLE OF THE sPREEWALD.
Slavs who Maintain the Customs OF
the Fourteenth Century.
b arlin Letter.


Berlin Letter.
The recreation ground of Germans capt.
tai both winter and summer. is the River
Spree, or, more properly, the Spreewald. the
wooded country. fringing the. two hundred
eastern hills of Saxony TO Spandau, where
it runs into the Havel. In winter it is
frozen from source to mouth, and the glis-
tenng surface of ice is dotted with skaters
and sleighs In summer IL is canopied with
foliage. immense elms, willows and oaks
rising to prodigiouS height on either bank,
almost shutting off the view of the sur
rounding country and forming verdant
screen against the rays of the sun.
But ii is not the Berliners who make the
Spreewald interesting TO the stranger: ii is
the native folk of the country. the Slavs
who have defed the changes of centuries,
clinging TO the dress, the customs and in
part to the language of medieval ancestors.
They form a living link connecting the
dazzling present with the darkness of the
past. These valient people have retained
their primitiveneSS almost at the very
doors of Berlin. In the nineteenth century
progress has met sturdy resistance. The
SuperstitiouS traditions of fourteenth-cen
fury ancestors are Venerated and cherished.
In some of the little towns. famous centers
in the days of the Slavonic. warriors. who
dominated all of northern Prussia from b.
hemia and Poland on the east to the Elbe
on the west and the Baltic sea on the
north, are little inns conducted in the same
crude ways of the olden times and in
many cases by descendants of the same
families. This is notably the case in the
towns of Berg and VetscharR Here super
sutton Is as rife as among the Italians
or Sicily or the peasantrys OF Ireland. Won
derful gods and goddesses and the spirits
of departed warriors roam the country in
astounding numbers each and all implicitly
believed in by young and old.
Like its people. the Spree is peculiar.
length it shoots off branch into the sur
rounding country. and at times it widens
into an immense lake. To navigate it from
end TO end, or even for d few miles in some
sections, requires the services of a guide,
otherwise the tourist viii lose himself in the
maze or branches or lakes. In the fall of
the year the floods cover large tracts of the
surrounding country. and, these freezing
over, the ice is several miles wide in GER
tain sections. Venturesone skaters who
make extended trips lose themselves in the
eccentricities of the Spree. but the country
folk come to the rescue of these wanderers.
The produce. which is transported in sum-
mer I'm boats. is moved liz winter on rude
sleds the man seated comfortably on top
and speeding over the smooth surface by
ce nst as his fo9efPer d 9Hie c ,n,6 tee
before him. ,eft
In. all the villages can be heard tales of
Mountaineering. The native who tells of
this monarch uses strange words now and
then then They are the laSt remains Of the
melody. Poets have likehed them 10 vi
meta. the lost city of the Slavs, and call
the sea- Of the German tongue. In the Spree 'se
woods were the fortresses of the Wenden-
koenig, from which he fought the hosts
of invading Teutons. Centuries before the
reign of the WendenkOenig the Teutons
had waged war in the woods. always with
wt6ont ,oey men 'ne o hn ing c 1lgd
transmit the crown the Slavs lost their la IT
great ruler and general The invading host
| Zero putting the finishing blows to their
| Independence. ga,+. ..
| But to this day the .SpreewaId folk are
| true TO their last kingi To them he Is a
| kind of Messiah. capable of showering all
| blessings on the river country; filling the
| cribs with corn. curing the sick of ills and
| guarding them from all troubles. Then, too.
| there is a Psezpolnica, a maiden of gor-
| geous beauty who has often been seen in
| the hottest period of the summer moon
| in garments of bewldering richness. She
| guards them from danger, but she also
@ wh4 be 59 in 5as ds during h
| ing Dzewica, who is TO !, be seen hunting
in the dark woods. followed by, great
| train Of dogs. At night comes the awful
! Murawa who lies down upon the breast of
| the sleeping one. compelling him to utter
the melancholy cry: the Boza, Lose. Who
ever hears the dread Boza, Lose knows that
| his death is only a question of a few days
or weeks. Then there ARE innumerable
water sprites. men and women who rise
| and dance with the peasant folk, and then
| pull them down into the deep.
| Much that is ancient clingS to the we'd
ding customs, stealing the bride being a
part of the ceremony. At the home of the
| bridegroom his attendants arm themselves
| with weapons of all kinds. and then in bat
| tie array descend upon the home of the
| bride. The chief attendant calls out the
| leading bridesmaid and says
| How much Is your bride WORTH
| a fabulous sum is named and then the
| dickering begins, the bridesmaid finally ac-
| cepting the price named by. the grooms-
| man. MOI
Bring forth your buids., commands the
| bridegroom. and yelled lady is led forth.
| He tears off the veil and finds some old
| bag who has been hired to make the decep-
| ton. Then the attendants threaten to tear
| down the house unless the genuine bride
| is brought forth. This is finally done and
| the whole party starts for the church in
| wagons garlanded with flowers. The bride
| wears a crown of myrtle, long veil. a
| white cloth bound over her face like nun
| and a black dress She is somber looking
| but the bridesmaids are brilliant in the
| great white headdress peculiar to the coun-
| try, gorgeously-hued petticoats, shawls
| and kerchiefs. The newiy-married couple
| start homeward. but their way is blocked
| by the village folk, who demand a peace
! tribute in the way of money. The bride
| groom pays the sum and then nursues his
| way unmolested. while the people drink to
| the couples everlasting happiness. Re-
| Gently the government passed law forbid
| ding the eXaction of the peace tribute as
| the custom was sometimes abused. 1t is
still carried on, nevertheless, but in mod
| atiOn