You creep, creep low on the face of the earth,
So, O Barwēnok, may my lover ever stay—as close, as near to me.”
On the 24th of June when the passing of Kupalo, God of Frost, was celebrated, the girls of Southern Russia made wreaths of Barwēnok and mallow and threw them into the streams. If a garland were sucked down beneath the waters death was the omen, while if it floated the maiden to whom it belonged would be wed within the year.
[9]. Kryschati: crossed, in allusion to its appearance.
[10]. This rich bread, ornamented with braiding and other decorations, is the chief feature at the wedding feast.
[11]. Pava: pea-hen.
[12]. Ruta: mint—emblem of virginity.
[13]. Solo’wi: nightingale.
[14]. “Unmarried Ukrainian girls wear their back hair hanging in a long single plait, adorned with ribbons, and sometimes covered with flowers. This plait, called kosa, is a maiden’s chief ornament, the cherished object of her care. Its unplaiting is the sign of the change which is coming upon her. The married women wear their hair in two plaits wound round the head and covered by a kerchief.”
[15]. Pan: a noble.