Grow, braid, to the waist, don't shed a single hair.
Grow, braid, to toe - all the hairs in a row.
Our grandmothers knew this saying when they themselves were girls.
From it we can conclude that the most ancient hairstyle in Rus' is a braid, but this is not so. At first they wore loose hair. And so that they do not fall on the eyes, they held the strands with a hoop or tied them with a ribbon. The hoop was made of wood, bast or birch bark. And sheathed with cloth, trimmed with beads, dyed feather grass, bird feathers, natural or artificial flowers.
Well, braids appeared much later. Russian girls braided only one braid. And this differed from mothers who relied on two. Girls of Belarus and Eastern Ukraine braided one braid only on holidays. And on working days, they wove two at a time and laid them on the head with a crown. In the west of Ukraine, one spit was completely unknown. Two, four or more braids adorned the hairstyles of local girls. They called them "small pigtails" or "dribushki".
Before marriage, girls wore one braid. At the bachelorette party, the girlfriends with howling and crying, probably caused by envy, intertwined one braid into two. It was two braids worn by married women in Rus'. One braid nourished her with life, and the other - future offspring. It was believed that a woman's hair contained a force that could energetically support her family. They were placed as a crown on the head or tied with a ribbon to make it easier to put on a headdress. From the moment a woman entered into marriage, no one, except her husband, naturally, saw her braids again. In Rus', women always covered their heads with a warrior, tearing off a headdress was considered a terrible insult (to goof off means to disgrace yourself). The worst insult was perhaps the cutting of the scythe. Once, one gentleman, in a rage, cut off a thin pigtail to his maid, and then calmed down his indignant peasants, and even paid a fine. If a girl cut her braid on her own, then, most likely, she mourned the deceased groom, and cutting her hair was for her an expression of deep sorrow and unwillingness to get married. Pulling the braid meant insulting the girl.
By the way, those who dared to tear off a headdress from a woman were also punished with serious fines. Only fines, it seems, did not go at all to improve the moral state of the victim, but to the state treasury.
But the braid could also be cut off by force - say, if a girl parted with innocence before marriage. This was already at the time of the adoption of Christianity, because in pagan times the presence of a premarital child was not an obstacle to a wedding, and even vice versa: the girl's fertility was confirmed by a living fait accompli. Then morals became stricter, and the one who allowed herself liberties before the wedding could part with her hair as a punishment - a jealous rival could also cut it off.
In addition, in some places there was a curious custom when a girl’s braid was cut off before marriage, and she gave it to her husband, as if saying by this that she was giving him her whole life, and then she grew a new one under the scarf. In the event of an attack by enemies - Pechenegs or Polovtsians, for example - a husband could take his wife's girlish braid with him into battle, as a talisman against misfortunes and the evil eye. And if the enemies broke into the Slavic settlements, then, in addition to the logically explainable robbery, violence and murders, they could cut off women's hair.
During pregnancy, the hair was not cut, as the woman took the energy not only for herself, but also for the child. Cutting your hair during pregnancy meant depriving your unborn child of support. Hair has traditionally been considered the seat of life force, so young children were not usually cut until a certain age (usually 3-5 years old). Among the Slavs, the first haircut acted as a special rite, which was called - tonsure. In princely families, the boy was also put on a horse for the first time on the day of tonsure. And a newborn child under one year old is not recommended to even comb, not only cut.
Children at a young age were combed by their parents, then they did it on their own. They could only trust someone who was well known and loved to comb their hair. A girl could only allow her chosen one or husband to comb her hair.
For children under 12 years old, even the ends of their hair were not cut, so as not to cut off the mind that comprehends life, the laws of the Family and the Universe, so as not to deprive them of the vitality bestowed by Nature and the protective power.
Trimming the ends of the hair to a length of not more than one nail in young people over 16 years of age was done in order to make the hair grow faster, and this act could be performed only on the days of the new moon.
Interestingly, the old maids were strictly forbidden to twist one braid into two, they were also forbidden to wear a kokoshnik.
The so-called three-beam braids were braided for little girls, which were a symbol of the unification of Reveal, Navi and Rule (present, past and future). The scythe was located strictly in the direction of the spine, since, according to our ancestors, it served to fill a person through the ridge with vital forces. A long braid kept feminine power for the future husband. Weaving braids protected women from the evil eye, negativity and evil.
The braid was not just a hairstyle. She could tell a lot about her owner. So, if a girl wore one braid, then she was in an “active search”. Is there a ribbon in the braid? Marriageable girl, and all potential candidates urgently need to send matchmakers. If two ribbons appeared in the braid, and they were woven not from the beginning of the braid, but from its middle, - that’s it, “dry the oars”, or, as they say, whoever didn’t have time, he was late: the girl had a groom. And not just the one that builds eyes and plays glances, but the official one, because the ribbons also meant the blessing received from the parents for marriage.
Combing hair was like a sacred ritual, because during the procedure it was possible to touch the vital energy of a person. Apparently, in order to restore the vitality lost during the day, it was necessary to run a comb through the hair at least 40 times. Only parents could comb their hair for babies, and then the person himself did this daily procedure. It is interesting that the girl could only allow her plait to be untwisted and her hair to be combed by her chosen one or husband.
The fact that cutting hair radically changes lives seems to have been well known in the old days. Hence the sign that has survived to this day that it is highly undesirable for pregnant women to cut their hair. Voluntarily, and sometimes with reverent awe, only women who were in a state of severe spiritual shock, for example, during monastic vows, were allowed to cut off their braids. Hair in Ancient Rus' did not have the habit of cutting at all, and this custom has been preserved in modern men's monasteries.
A braid as thick as a hand was considered the standard of female beauty in Rus'. Healthy and shiny hair could be better than the words of flattering matchmakers could say about the future wife. Unfortunately, not all beauties could boast of thick long braids. Of course, in Rus' they have never heard of building up. So the young ladies resorted to deception - they wove hair from ponytails into their pigtails. And what to do, everyone wants to get married!
Long hair is a sign of good health, beauty and female inner strength, which means that men subconsciously like it. According to statistics, men, evaluating women, put women's hair in third place after the figure and eyes.
An experiment was conducted: children of 5 years old, drawing their mother, in 95% of cases drew her with long hair, despite the fact that mothers had short haircuts. This suggests that the image of a mother - gentle, kind and affectionate, is subconsciously associated in young children with long hair. The same statistic claims that 80% of men associate short haircuts with masculinity and aggression.
Long hair gives a woman strength, but what is important: they should not be worn loose. Letting down long hair was indecent, it's like being naked. “Masha loosened her braids, and after her all the sailors.”
Loose hair in the presence of a man meant an invitation to intimacy. Therefore, before a woman was not allowed to let her hair down in front of strangers. The women who wore their hair loose were the fallen ones, they were called "LITTLE GIRLS".
It was also not customary to let your hair down because it was considered unsafe to scatter energy and strength by letting your hair down. Therefore, the hair was taken and braided. After all, a woman, letting her hair down, could attract other people's views, could arouse the envy of ill-wishers. Women cursed themselves in this sense, as they knew that in their hands was the energy protection of the family and their home.
Women's hair has a very powerful sexual attraction, which is probably why married women could only show their hair to their husbands, and the rest of the time they wore a headscarf. Therefore, a woman in the temple should wear a headscarf so as not to embarrass the men and not distract them from prayer.
And also the scarf symbolizes the power of the husband and female humility and humility. Only unmarried women could not cover their heads with a scarf in temples before.
It is very important to know about the power of women's hair and use this knowledge for your own benefit, and most importantly, remember that hair is our dignity and our pride.
According to one version, the name "Slavs" comes from the word "praise". This seems certain, because every Russian greeting is a doxology, even if it is silent.
1. Pre-Christian greetings.
In fairy tales and epics, heroes very often greet the field, river, forest, clouds. People, especially young people, are told: "Goy, good fellow!" The word goy is very old, this ancient root is found in many languages. In Russian, its meanings are associated with life and life-giving force, and in Dahl's dictionary, goit means "to fast, live, be healthy." But there is another interpretation of the greeting "Goy thou!": some researchers argue that this phrase indicates belonging to the same community, clan, tribe and can be translated as: "You are ours, our blood."
So, the word "goy" means "to live", and "thou" means "to eat". Literally, this phrase can be translated into modern Russian as follows: “You are now and be still alive!”.
Interestingly, this ancient root is preserved in the word outcast. And if "goy" is "to live, life", then "outcast" - its antonym - is a person cut off from life, deprived of it.
Another greeting common in Rus' is "Peace to your home!" It is unusually complete, respectful, because in this way a person welcomes the house and all its inhabitants, close and distant relatives.
2. Christian greetings.
Christianity gave Rus' a variety of greetings, and from that time on, by the very first words spoken, it became possible to determine the religion of a stranger. Russian Christians liked to greet each other like this: "Christ is in our midst!" - and answer: "There is and will be!".
Byzantium is dear to Rus', and the ancient Greek language is felt almost native. The ancient Greeks greeted each other with the exclamation "Khairete!", which meant "Rejoice!" - and the Russians, following them, accepted this greeting. "Rejoice!" - as if a person begins a song to the Most Holy Theotokos (after all, such a refrain is found in hymns to the Mother of God). Another greeting that appeared at this time was more often used when a person passed by working people. "God help!" he said then. "To the glory of God!" or "Thank God!" - answered him. These words, not as a greeting, but more often as just a wish, are still used by Russians.
Surely not all variants of ancient greetings have come down to us. In spiritual literature, the greeting was almost always "omitted" and the characters went straight to the point of the conversation. Only in one literary monument - the apocrypha "The Tale of Our Father Agapius" of the 13th century, is there a greeting of that time, surprising in its poetry: "Walk well and you will be good way."
3. Kisses.
The triple kiss, preserved in Russia to this day, is a very old tradition. The number three is sacred, it is both completeness in the Trinity, and reliability and protection. So often guests were kissed - after all, a guest for a Russian person is like an angel entering a house. Another type of kiss is a kiss on the hand, which meant respect and admiration. Of course, this is exactly how those close to the sovereign greeted (sometimes kissing not even a hand, but a leg). This kiss is also part of the priest's blessing, which is also a greeting. In the church, they kissed the one who had just communed the Holy Mysteries of Christ - in this case, the kiss was both a congratulation and a greeting of a renewed, cleansed person.
The sacred, and not just the "formal" meaning of kisses in Rus' is also evidenced by the fact that not everyone was allowed to kiss the sovereign's hand (it was forbidden for the ambassadors of non-Christian countries). A person of lower status could kiss a higher one on the shoulder, and that one on his head.
After the revolution and in Soviet times, the tradition of greetings-kisses weakened, but now it is being revived again.
4. Bows.
Bows are a greeting that, unfortunately, has not survived to this day (but has remained in some other countries: for example, in Japan, people of any level and social status still bow deeply to each other when meeting, parting and in gratitude). In Rus', it was customary to bow at a meeting. But the offerings were different.
The Slavs greeted a person respected in the community with a low bow to the ground, sometimes even touching or kissing it. Such a bow was called "great custom". Acquaintances and friends were greeted with a "small custom" - a bow from the waist, and strangers with almost no custom: putting a hand to the heart and then lowering it down. Interestingly, the gesture "from the heart to the earth" is primordially Slavic, but "from the heart to the sun" is not. Putting a hand to the heart accompanied any bow - this is how our ancestors expressed the cordiality and purity of their intentions.
Any bow metaphorically (and physically too) means humility in front of the interlocutor. There is also a moment of defenselessness in it, because a person bows his head and does not see the one who is in front of him, exposing him to the most defenseless place of his body - his neck.
5. Hugs.
Hugs were common in Rus', but this type of greeting also had variations. One of the most interesting examples is the male hug "heart to heart", showing, at first glance, the complete trust of men in each other, but in reality testifying to the opposite, because this is how the men checked if a potential dangerous opponent had weapons. A separate type of hug is fraternization, a sudden cessation of hostilities. Relatives and friends hugged, and also people in the church before confession. This is an ancient Christian tradition that helps a person to tune in to confession, forgive others and ask for forgiveness himself (after all, in the temples then there were people who knew each other well, and among them were offenders and offended).
6. Handshakes and hats.
Touching hands is an ancient gesture that communicates a lot to interlocutors without a single word. Much can be determined by how strong and how long a handshake is. The duration of the handshake is proportional to the warmth of the relationship, close friends or people who have not seen each other for a long time and rejoice at the meeting could make a warm handshake not with one hand, but with both. The elder was usually the first to extend his hand to the younger - it was, as it were, an invitation to him into his circle. The hand must be "naked" - this rule has been preserved to this day. An open hand indicates trust. Another option for shaking hands is touching not with the palms, but with the hands. Apparently, it was common among the warriors: this is how they checked that the one they met on their way did not have weapons with them, and demonstrated their unarmedness. The sacred meaning of such a greeting is that when the wrists touch, the pulse is transmitted, and hence the biorhythm of another person. Two people form a chain, which is also important in the Russian tradition.
Later, when the rules of etiquette appeared, only friends were supposed to shake hands. And in order to greet distant acquaintances, they raised their hats. This is where the Russian expression "hat acquaintance" came from, meaning a superficial acquaintance.
7. "Hello" and "hello."
The origin of these greetings is very interesting, since the word "hello", for example, is not simply reduced to the word "health", that is, health. Now we perceive it in this way: as a wish to another person for health and long life. However, the root "healthy" and "healthy" is also found in ancient Indian, and in Greek, and in the Avestan languages. Initially, the word "hello" consisted of two parts: "Sъ-" and "*dorvo-", where the first meant "good", and the second was related to the concept of "tree". Why is the tree here? For the ancient Slavs, the tree was a symbol of strength and well-being, and such a greeting meant that a person wishes this strength, endurance and well-being to another. In addition, the greeter himself comes from a strong, strong family. This also proves that not everyone could say "hello". Free people, equal to each other, were allowed to do this, but serfs were not. The form of greeting for them was different - "I beat with my forehead."
The very first mention of the word "hello" was found by researchers in an annals dated 1057. The author of the chronicles wrote: "Hello, many years."
The word "hello" is easier to decipher. It also consists of two parts: "at" + "wet". The first is found in the words "caress", "bend" and means closeness, approaching something or someone. The second is in the words "advice", "answer", "message" ... Saying "hello", we show closeness (and indeed, we only address close people in this way) and, as it were, convey good news to another.
Catherine Oaro
Significant in the initiatory plan is the greeting ritual. So from the form of greeting you can understand whether the interlocutor is respected or not, you can understand the gender and social status of the person to whom the greeting is assigned. This custom conceals many mysterious and interesting things. Among the Slavs of the past and present, here, too, not everything is clear. But, something worth telling. So the main, core-forming, is the wish of health to the interlocutor. So let's say, the most famous greeting is "goy thou." This is a wish of health to the Slav. Everyone remembers the epic “goy, good fellow”?
This expression came from epics. To explain that the word "hello" is a wish for health, we think, is not worth it. Also, the wish for health can be heard in the greetings “Be healthy”, “Healthy Bula” and many others. Wishing health to the interlocutor is a sign of good manners and respect. If they wanted to greet the house and all its relatives, they would say “Peace to your house!”. It seems that this goes back to the ritual of greeting Domovoy and Chur. Under the phrase "Peace to your home", most likely, they meant a greeting to Domovoy. Brownie, not just the keeper of the hearth and order in the house, but also the later incarnation of the god Rod. It's just that the process of transformation of the Sort - Ancestor - Brownie, was not fast. The clans began to be forgotten in the 10th century, and in subsequent centuries Rozhanitsy was already revered. But the ancestor cult remained in Rus'. Remember the expression when finding an ownerless thing: "Chur, mine!". This is an ancient call to Rod to witness the find. The Slavs greeted not only each other, but also the Gods. This is where the hypothesis about the self-name of the Slavs from the word "Glorify" comes from. The Slavs not only praised the Gods, but always correctly and politely treated the surrounding nature. In epics, this is preserved in the phenomenon that heroes often greet a field, a forest, a river. As mentioned above, the Slavs believed that the world is alive, and every living soul needs to be greeted. Have you ever wondered why in the villages, everyone, even children, still greet even a stranger? A Slav may not give his true name, but he is obliged to say hello. This goes back to the phenomenon that if you wish a person health, then he will wish it to you too. And accordingly, people, even previously unfamiliar, become psychologically closer. And this rapprochement already, as it were, exposes a protective circle. And no harm is expected from a stranger.
The greeting of a person respected in the community was always accompanied by a low bow to the ground. Acquaintances and friends were greeted with a bow. Strangers could be met in different ways, but most often the hand was applied to the heart and then fell down. A simplified version of the first two types. Although in the first two cases the hand was applied to the heart, this was how the cordiality of intentions was expressed. Also, a stranger could be greeted with a simple nod. It is characteristic that the movements in this greeting do not go to the sun, as some modern Rodnovers try to interpret, but to the earth. And this is more than logical, given the moment that the Slavs revered the earth as a Deity. When studying this issue, the name of the pagan Slavs by Christian clergy as "idolaters" is characteristic and significant. They bowed to the idol, thereby expressing greeting and respect. What is typical for the worldview of the Slavs, since Idols are deceased ancestors, and about them either respectfully or not. There is not a single written source describing the movement from the heart to the sky as a greeting.
The greeting was like the initiation of the interlocutor. What does he want in return? Own or someone else's (this is about the example of "goy thou art")? And today, greetings are used strictly on a distinctive basis. So let's say, the ritual of greeting through shaking not the hand, but the wrist. In native belief, this is not just a characteristic greeting, but also self-identification. Such a greeting is explained by the antiquity of its use, so they checked if there were weapons in the sleeve. The esoteric meaning, in this type of greeting, is that when the wrists touch, the pulse is transmitted, and hence the biorhythm of another person. This greeting, as it were, reads the code of another person. Today you can meet a lot of greetings and “Glory to the Family!”, “Good day!” and many phrases from the above. And today, Rodnovers wish health and prosperity to the family. And all word forms of greeting convey warmth and participation in the fate of another person. I am glad that such a variety of greetings, although partially forgotten, has nevertheless come down to our days and has changed little!
Tatiana Cherepanova... In different languages, greeting words have their own meaning. Special and often incomprehensible to speakers of another dialect. For example, Altaians, when meeting, turn to each other with the words “Is everything okay?” - “Tyakshi lar ba?”, Armenians - “Barev dzez”, which means “Good to you”, Azerbaijanis - “Salam alaikum”, that is, “How are you?” ...
Hello, friends of Russian literature and my dear listeners. Or maybe good afternoon or good evening? Although some would certainly like such a greeting - "Peace be with you, Slavs!". However, for listeners of other nationalities, such a phrase may seem too politically incorrect. So I will say more: "Greetings!" And "My respect to you!"
In different languages, greetings have their own meaning. Special and often incomprehensible to speakers of another dialect. For example, Altaians, when meeting, turn to each other with the words “Is everything okay?” - "Tyakshi lar ba?" , Armenians - “Barev dzez”, which means “Good to you”, Azerbaijanis - “Salam alaikum”, that is, “How are you?” . And there is also the Georgian "Gamarjoba" - "Be right!" or the Indian "Namaste!" - "I salute God in your face!". And certainly the translation of the greeting of the North American Indians will sound unusual for many. "You are my other self".
And what does the Russian "Hello" mean? What kind of question, you say? "Hello" means to be healthy. And you will be right. But only in part.
It turns out that the Russian form of greeting, familiar to everyone from childhood, developed only at the end of the 17th century. And basically it had something like the expression "I command you to be well". Look carefully at the word "hello". From the point of view of grammar, this is nothing more than a form of the imperative mood of the verb "hello". True, today, when we wish someone good health, we say so: "be or be healthy". And, not only the person who sneezed next to him.
The very first mention of the word "hello" the researchers found in the annals dated one thousand fifty-seven. The chronicler wrote: "Hello Many Years".
But what about before? And earlier, our Slavic ancestors used the expression “goy be” and an appeal to the person they greeted. For example, “Goy, good fellow!” Here the word “goy” is “to live,” and “thou” is “to eat.” And literally this phrase meant: "You are now and be still alive". That is, it can also be translated as "be healthy."
For your information, the words outcast are a relative of the old Russian "goy". And if “goy” is “to live, life”, and these words had and have antonyms (words with the opposite meaning), then “outcast” is a person cut off from life, deprived of life.
Already after the baptism of Rus', the greeting "Rejoice" appeared in the language of the Eastern Slavs. As an example, I will cite the beginning of the Song of the Most Holy Theotokos: “O Virgin Mother of God, rejoice ..”
Let's continue our excursion into the historical grammar of the word "hello". Linguists have found its "roots" in the Proto-Slavic language, the "parent" of all Slavic languages. That is why the “relative” of our “hello” is not only the East Slavic (or Russian) word “health”, South Slavic (including Bulgarian, Serbo-Croatian, Slovak) words with the root “zdrov-”, but also West Slavic with the root “zdrov- » . This is what the rule about full-vowel and non-vowel combinations informs us about.
But the most interesting and surprising, in my opinion, is the connection of all these words with the ancient Indian, Greek and Avestan languages. To be precise, "hello" originally consisted of two parts:
"S-" and "*dorvo-",
where the first meant "good", and the second was related to the concept of "tree". That is, the ancient Slavs firmly associated their well-being with a tree, but a tree that was part of a large forest-fortress.
Yes exactly. And the Russians, using the word "hello", meant much more than just a wish to be healthy physically. “Hello” for them meant: be strong, strong, healthy morally and spiritually, hardy and resistant to any trials of fate, mature, reliable, free. And it also implied the origin of a good, healthy and powerful family.
Is this why the use of the word “hello” also reflected the social status of a person? This greeting could only be used by free and equal members of the community. The serfs and laborers had to be content with “beating the forehead”, that is, low bows and pleas like “they didn’t order to execute, they told them to say the word.”
The established order of Russian greeting has been preserved for centuries. But gradually the original meaning of the word "hello" was leveled. And at the end of the seventeenth century, European politeness formulas were added to it: “good morning”, “good afternoon” and “good evening”. Nevertheless, the old Russian “hello” has not disappeared from our speech use.
The custom of greeting ancient Rus' is mysterious and interesting.
Despite the fact that much has been lost and some rules are not observed during this ritual, the main meaning remains the same - this is a wish for health to the interlocutor!
1 Pre-Christian greetings
In fairy tales and epics, heroes very often greet the field, river, forest, clouds. People, especially young people, are told: "Goy, good fellow!" The word goy is very old, this ancient root is found in many languages. In Russian, its meanings are associated with life and life-giving force, and in Dahl's dictionary, goit means "to fast, to live, to be healthy." But there is another interpretation of the greeting "Goy thou!": some researchers argue that this phrase indicates belonging to the same community, clan, tribe and can be translated as: "You are ours, our blood."
So, the word "goy" means "to live," and "thou" means "to eat." Literally, this phrase can be translated into modern Russian as follows: "You are now and be still alive!".
Interestingly, this ancient root is preserved in the word outcast. And if "goy" means "to live, life", then "outcast" - its antonym - is a person cut off from life, deprived of it.
Another greeting common in Rus' is "Peace to your home!" It is unusually complete, respectful, because in this way a person welcomes the house and all its inhabitants, close and distant relatives. Perhaps, in pre-Christian Rus', under such a greeting, they also meant an appeal to the brownie and the god of this kind.
2 Christian greetings
Christianity gave Rus' a variety of greetings, and from that time on, by the very first words spoken, it became possible to determine the religion of a stranger. Russian Christians liked to greet each other like this: "Christ is in our midst!" - and answer: "There is and will be!". Byzantium is dear to Rus', and the ancient Greek language is felt almost native. The ancient Greeks greeted each other with the exclamation "Khairete!", which meant "Rejoice!" - and the Russians, following them, accepted this greeting. "Rejoice!" - as if a person begins a song to the Most Holy Theotokos (after all, such a refrain is found in hymns to the Mother of God). Another greeting that appeared at this time was more often used when a person passed by working people. "God help!" he said then. "To the glory of God!" or "Thank God!" - they answered him. These words, not as a greeting, but more often as just a wish, are still used by Russians.
Surely not all variants of ancient greetings have come down to us. In spiritual literature, the greeting was almost always "omitted" and the characters went straight to the point of the conversation. Only in one literary monument - the apocrypha "The Tale of Our Father Agapius" of the 13th century, is there a greeting of that time, surprising in its poetry: "Walk well and you will be good way."
3 Kisses
The triple kiss, preserved in Russia to this day, is a very old tradition. The number three is sacred, it is both completeness in the Trinity, and reliability and protection. So often guests were kissed - after all, a guest for a Russian person is like an angel entering a house. Another type of kiss is a kiss on the hand, which meant respect and admiration. Of course, this is exactly how those close to the sovereign greeted (sometimes kissing not even a hand, but a leg). This kiss is also part of the blessing of the priest, which is also a greeting. In the church, they kissed the one who had just communed the Holy Mysteries of Christ - in this case, the kiss was both a congratulation and a greeting of a renewed, cleansed person.
The sacred, and not just the "formal" meaning of kisses in Rus' is also evidenced by the fact that not everyone was allowed to kiss the sovereign's hand (it was forbidden for the ambassadors of non-Christian countries). A person of lower status could kiss a higher one on the shoulder, and that one on his head.
After the revolution and in Soviet times, the tradition of greetings-kisses weakened, but now it is being revived again.
4 Bows
Bows are a greeting that, unfortunately, has not survived to this day (but has remained in some other countries: for example, in Japan, people of any level and social status still bow deeply to each other when meeting, parting and as a token of gratitude). In Rus', it was customary to bow at a meeting. But the offerings were different.
The Slavs greeted a person respected in the community with a low bow to the ground, sometimes even touching or kissing it. Such a bow was called "great custom". Acquaintances and friends were greeted with a "small custom" - a bow from the waist, and strangers with almost no custom: putting a hand to the heart and then lowering it down. Interestingly, the gesture "from the heart to the earth" is primordially Slavic, but "from the heart to the sun" is not. Putting a hand to the heart accompanied any bow - this is how our ancestors expressed the cordiality and purity of their intentions.
Any bow metaphorically (and physically too) means humility in front of the interlocutor. There is also a moment of defenselessness in it, because a person bows his head and does not see the one in front of him, exposing him to the most defenseless place of his body - his neck.
5 Hugs
Hugs were common in Rus', but this type of greeting also had variations. One of the most interesting examples is the male hug "heart to heart", showing, at first glance, the complete trust of men in each other, but in reality testifying to the opposite, because this is how the men checked if a potential dangerous opponent had weapons. A separate type of hug is fraternization, a sudden cessation of hostilities. Relatives and friends hugged, and also people in the church before confession. This is an ancient Christian tradition that helps a person to tune in to confession, forgive others and ask for forgiveness himself (after all, in the temples then there were people who knew each other well, and among them were offenders and offended).
6 Handshakes and caps
Touching hands is an ancient gesture that communicates a lot to interlocutors without a single word. Much can be determined by how strong and how long a handshake is. The duration of the handshake is proportional to the warmth of the relationship, close friends or people who have not seen each other for a long time and rejoice at the meeting could make a warm handshake not with one hand, but with both. The elder was usually the first to extend his hand to the younger - it was, as it were, an invitation to him into his circle. The hand must be "naked" - this rule has been preserved to this day. An open hand indicates trust. Another option for shaking hands is touching not with the palms, but with the hands. Apparently, it was common among the warriors: this is how they checked that the one they met on their way did not have weapons with them, and demonstrated their unarmedness. The sacred meaning of such a greeting is that when the wrists touch, the pulse is transmitted, and hence the biorhythm of another person. Two people form a chain, which is also important in the Russian tradition.
Later, when the rules of etiquette appeared, only friends were supposed to shake hands. And in order to greet distant acquaintances, they raised their hats. This is where the Russian expression "hat acquaintance" came from, meaning a superficial acquaintance.
7 "Hello" and "Hi"
The origin of these greetings is very interesting, since the word "hello", for example, is not simply reduced to the word "health", that is, health. Now we perceive it in this way: as a wish to another person for health and long life. However, the root "healthy" and "healthy" is also found in ancient Indian, and in Greek, and in the Avestan languages.
Initially, the word "hello" consisted of two parts: "Sъ-" and "*dorvo-", where the first meant "good", and the second was related to the concept of "tree". Why is the tree here? For the ancient Slavs, the tree was a symbol of strength and well-being, and such a greeting meant that a person wishes this strength, endurance and well-being to another. In addition, the greeter himself comes from a strong, strong family. This also proves that not everyone could say "hello". Free people, equal to each other, were allowed to do this, but serfs were not. The form of greeting for them was different - "I beat with my forehead."
