The times., 1901-06-09
FIRE Lore OF THE SLAVS
Hearthst0ne Blazes That Are Never
Allowed to Go Out.
Andirons in the Homes of the Peas
nntry Are Formed to Resemble
snaLeS-ReIigious Beliefs of the
PeopIe-Cutoms i'm the Mountains.

snaISeS-ReIigious Beliefs of the
PeopIe-Cutoms i'm the Mountains.
The domestic hearth-fire Is sacred
among all Slavic peoples, without distinc-
ton of stage of culture. Ii may never be
started by blowing with the mouth. A
bride. on entering her new home, Is led
thrice around the hearth by the groons-
man; she must stir the fire with the poker
and utter the following words: As many
as the sparks that fly. so many may the
cattle be and so many the male offspring
that shall bless our new home
The form of the andiron in the peas
ants houses has from time immemorial
/ been either where one side is shaped to
/ represent snake and the other the head
/ of a cock. or where some domestic ami
NAL is represented. The fire on the hearth
is never permitted TO go out 1t is the
eternal sacred fire of the peasants home.
/ Its extinction betokens misfortune or is a
sign that some member Of the family viii
die
The servants employed on the farm
gather about the fire and pass away the
long autumn and winter evenings in live
ly conversation. On Christmas eve the
[ sacred billet, badujak, is lighted, and is
: sprinkled by the father of the house with
I wine, olive OIL and honey. On St. IYan's
I day the VANS fire is lighted and main
/ tanned the whole night. The young people
/ of the village gather together and dance
I the kolo, accompanying their dance with
songs. But the "living fire. is priced most
| highly of all, because as the Slavic tradi-
| tion goes in the Balkan Peninsula and the
| Carpathians. it possesses special curative
/ powers.
The living fire is generated as follows:
In some places (as the mountains of Old
Servia) it is customary to select two chill
dren, a boy and a girl, between eleven
and fourteen years of age, who are en-
trusted with kindling the ire. They are
conducted into a perfectly dark chamber,
where they are obliged to remove all their
clothing, and not to utter single word.
Two dry cylindrical pieces of linden wood
are given to them, which they alternately
I rub briskly together until the pieces are
| ignited. piece of tinder is fired by the
/ sparks thus produced, and dedicated to
/ sacred uses. This manner of obtaining
/ the sacred fire is the oldest, but has now
! passed almost altogether out Of use.
Another method prevails among the
! Servians of Western Macedonia. Two
| slabs Of oak wood are driven sOidly into
/ the earth, and in their upper extremitieS
/ two round holes are bored in which a
| cylindrical piece OF linden wood IS so in
! serted that it can be rapidly rotated. a
/ stout cord is drawn tight around two
/ upright slabs TO prevent their springiug
/ asunder primitive violin bow is then
constructed, the string OF which IS wound
I once around the piece of linden wood.
I BY moving the bow 10 and fro the cylin-
/ drtcal piece of wood is brought into rapid
rotation and through the heat of friction
/ thus generated a piece Of finder inserted
/ in the holes Of the uprights is ignited.
IN the autumn of 1893. while in the Kos
maj Highlands. saw the sacred fire pro-
I duced in a different manner. Two peas
! ants drove two semi-cylindTical pieces OF
/ wood into the ground and drew a rope
! taut about them. The piece of light lin
I den wood was so inserted that il could
I be readily rotated by means Of a simple
| rope wrapped once around it--a de-
vice which was even more effieacioJs than
/ that Of the primitive violin bow, and led
I quickly TO the desired end
The purpose of which the sacred flame
| or living fire is used in the peasants
I homes remains to be explained:
] While on scientific journey in the in
| terror OF the great forest districts of Ser
! via, several years ago, l accidentally had
/ an opportunity Of witnessing a ceremony
( which illustrated the uses Of the sacred
! fire
| 1t was in the autumn. In the village OF
/ Setonje, at the foot OF the HOmOlje Noun
/ tains, there ragged a general epidemic
among tie children, which the prejudiced
J peaSantry concealed from the authorities
for fear that the physician of the prov
ince would visit the place. Two old wO-
men, who were obliged by tradition TO
/
stand, not to spread, repaired to a spot
outside the village. One OF them carried
a copper kettle filled with water, the
other an old house lock and key. The
first one then said: Whittier goest thOU2'
! Whereupon the one with the lock in her
hand answered: = have come to lock out
misfortune from the village" With these
! words she turned the lock and cast il,
| together with the key. into the kettle OF
/ water. She then walked thrice around
the village, repeating each time the same
ceremony as she passed the woman OF
the kettle"
In the meantime. all the inhabitants Of
the village gathered together. arrayed IN
festive attire, having extingUished before
I leaving home the fires burning on their
heaTths. Two sturdy peasants then con-
| structed on hillOck, TO the right OF an
oak tree, tunnel sufficiently high for a
| person to crawl through comfortably on
| all fours. Lengthwise in the tunnel
wide board was placed crOSswise, the two
together forming a 7. in the meantime
an old woman and an old man had kind
led on both sides Of the tunnel the living
fire" When everything was ready, the
| woman with the kettle took her place
to the right of the fire at the entrance TO
| the tunnel and the woman with the lock
was stationed at the other end To the
| left of the exit peasant woman with q
! large pot of milk stood To every one
who cTept through the tunnel she gave a
| sup of milk from wooden spoon. AT the
| other end of the tunnel stood pot con-
! tanning melted hogs fat, into the sur
! face of which each person gazed as ne
| crept through Then. on the back of each
| person that crept through a third peasant
! woman drew cross with piece Of char
coal After all had crept through, each
| person present placed several OF the glow
| ing Goals in a far and hurried home 20
kindle the fires of their hearths. They
then cast some of the charred wood into
a vessel containing water and drank of
it. in order to render themselves proof
| against the epidemic Omen Court