Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 25, 1914.djvu/107

Rh Another curious practice at this time is for the young men and maidens to weave wreaths of flowers, with lighted candles affixed, which are then set afloat on some open piece of water. The meeting of two wreaths indicates a marriage, and the extinction of a candle death. At the commencement of harvest it is customary for one of the reapers to cut and bind the first two swaths of rye, which she takes home with her, and in September the same two swaths are placed cross-wise on the ground, and covered over with soil, after which the sowing begins. On All Hallow E'en, in certain districts of Lida, the peasants still perform a ceremony called Dziady, by placing food and drink in the church or cemetery at midnight, in order to supply the spirits of the dead, who rise and consume what is placed there for them.

All the peasants have a superstitious dread of fire that has been caused by lightning, and they will never make the slightest attempt to extinguish it, even if it is their own homes that are being consumed. The peasants also will evince the utmost dismay if anyone should aim a gun at the sun, stars, moon, or even the heavens. It is considered most unlucky to praise a neighbour's live-stock, but, if any one does so, the owner may avert the ill by spitting at once. The worst harm is done by the praise of a person who is at heart envious of the object of his praise, a superstition which affects other objects as well as animals. A belief in "the evil eye" is very common, not only among peasants but also among landowners. Dark people, and especially women with dark eyes, are believed to cast their spell on live-stock. A new-born foal, therefore, must never be shown to strangers, unless they be dobryje wočy (good-eyed) or lohkaja ruka (light-handed). But, if it should become necessary to show an animal to some one with "the evil eye," harm may be averted by saying under the breath "Dzierkač u zuby, sol u wočy" ("a stick in your teeth, salt in your eyes"). If, however, the harm has already been done, the only remedy is to give the animal water in which a plant called zročnik has been boiled. If the animal is then sick, it is a proof that it has been under a spell. It is also possible to fumigate the animal in the smoke from the burning plant, but this is looked upon by many as Black Magic. The cure for fear, in men or animals, is the "hair of the dog that bit him." It consists in taking hair from