Page:The Folk-Lore Journal Volume 7 1889.djvu/107

Rh ozais, protect our cattle. Taim ozais, have mercy on the pigs. Angar ozais, Lishman ozais, have mercy on the horses. Voltsi Pas, give plenty of calves, lambs, foals, and sucking pigs. Dur, dur, dur, pare Voltsi Pas."

After praying in this manner he takes some soup in his mouth and spirts it in all directions, while the people are on their knees singing, with their hands raised, and the musicians playing a slow accompaniment.

Then followed usually the offering of the omelets and pies made of millet groats. The former were made at home of as many eggs as there were persons in the family, and were brought in frying pans and suspended by bast strings to bars placed in the branches of the sacred tree. Besides these, larger omelets were made in the Keremet of the eggs collected by the parindyaits and yanbeds the day before the festival. The larger "parish omelets" were usually made in four pieces. The posanbunaveds made and fried them on the oven plate in the horai shigat and then gave them on the plate to the kashangorods to suspend from the bars. If there was no room on the tree for the omelets and pies brought from home they were hung up on adjacent trees.

The vosatya then takes the plate of "parish omelet," places the fire upon it, mounts on the seat beside the sacred tree, shouts "Sakmede!" and commands all the people to bow. Then, raising the omelet and pie above his head, he recites the following prayer:

"Cham Pas, Nishki Pas, Svyet Vereshhi Pas, have mercy upon us. Ange Patyai Pas, mother, most holy mother of God, pray for us. Ange ozais, have mercy on our children. Ange Patyai Pas, give us more children, protect the hens, the geese, the ducks. Ange Patyai Pas, mother, most holy mother of God, Nishkendi Tevtyar, give us plenty of bees."

When this is over the vosatya descends to the ground, takes a piece of "parish omelet," walks to the horai shigat, mounts on a tub reversed, and raising the morsel says:

"Cham Pas, take notice! accept! Ange Patyai Pas, mother, most holy mother of God, take notice! accept! Ange ozais, take notice! accept!"