FOR RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY IN PERM TERRITORY, BULL IS SACRIFICED AND PEOPLE BATHE IN HIS BLOOD, WITH APPROVAL OF CULTURE MINISTRY
Portal-Credo.ru, 5 August 2018
With the approval of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, in late August residents of the village of Bolshaia Kocha of Perm territory will conduct the ritual of Bykoboy ("bull-slaughter"), which consists of the animal sacrifice of a bull and bathing in its blood flowing into a river, "Snob" reports on 3 August
The ritual is conducted as part of an inter-municipal "Prollaver" festival of the Komi-Permyak ritual culture (associated with the pre-Christian religious beliefs of the Komi), the money for which is allocated by the Russian Ministry of Culture.
The last time this bloody ritual was performed in Prikamye [Kama region] was nine years ago. A year-old bull is led into the water and his throat is cut. After this, residents of the village bathe in the bloody water and eat the boiled flesh of the sacrificial animal.
One of the holiday's organizers, Vasily Gagarin, explained that all this time residents of Bolshaia Kocha have conducted the ritual independently. In the main they sacrificed rams or roosters.
"For the ritual a year-old bull is needed. Color does not matter. After the slaughter of the bull, people wash their faces and sore spots with water from the Onolva River, and many wade into the water up to their knees. The water is considered curative. But one must not drink it. The flesh is cooked, without salt and spice, since it is sacrificial. The cooked meet is delivered to the people. Some should be eaten on the shore, while mentally seeking the help and protection of ancestors. Some is taken home and usually dried and preserved until "Semik" or Ancestors Saturday, in order to bring it to the graves of ancestors," Gagarin explained.
According to the person from the ministry responsible for the festival, Yulia Kasatkina, the ministry did not know that the ritual would be conducted. It was included on the program as the Day of the Village, on condition that the Bykoboy would not be advertised, "59.ru" writes. At the same time, the Ministry of Culture refused to buy a bull.
Bykoboy is conducted on 31 August. In 1914, animal sacrifice by the Komi was prohibited by the authorities of the Russian empire; however in 1993 the authorities of the Russian Federation revived it. (tr. by PDS, posted 7 August 2018)
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