Friday 3 March 2023

Butter churning ritual

In the past, in Macedonia, on St George's day, people performed a ceremonial churning of the first butter from the first milk of the new milking season. A piece of soil with a fresh green grass was first brought into the house by the house mistress...

The grass was placed on the floor, and the butter churn was placed on top of it...

The butter churn was then wrapped with medicinal herbs...The same herbs were worn by the the mistress of the house around her waist...

The house husband would then bring the first milk from the first milking of the season, and would pour it into the butter churn...

The house mistress would then place a loaf of bread on her head, and would proceed to churn butter, chanting magic incantations...


From 1956 documentary which unfortunately isn't available on youtube any more...


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