Podklet
In the Russian wedding tradition, the first wedding night that followed the wedding and festive feast was called the basement. Usually it took place in the groom's parental home, but in the Vladimir province and on the White Sea coast there was a custom to hold it before the wedding, and on the territory of the bride. Of course, such an order was rare, but it also happened in other parts of Russia, provided that after the wedding the husband moved to live in his wife’s house.
But in any case, a cold room was always chosen as the room for the first intimate meeting of the newlyweds, for example, a room, a hay barn, a cage, a bathhouse, a cellar, a closet, and sometimes a sheepfold, a pantry or a barn. Setting up a marriage bed in such prosaic places was dictated by superstition, according to which newlyweds should not have their first intimacy “underground,” which meant the earthen flooring of the ceiling of an ancient house.
Marriage bed
In the old days, it was impossible to spend the first wedding night in bed without being properly prepared for this important action.
The ceremonial assembly of the wedding bed was entrusted to the bed-maids; this cohort included women, among whom could be both relatives of the bride and the groom. But in the southern Russian lands, as well as in the Moscow region, this mission was often carried out by men who were called drone or stern.
The marriage bed was laid out either on the floor or on a specially knocked together high boardwalk, but in any case they used bedding and linen taken only from the bride’s dowry.
To ensure the newlyweds had a prosperous life together, sheaves of rye and sacks of flour were placed under the mattress. They also placed logs there, the number of which symbolized the number of future children, money so that the family would not be in need, bricks and a clamp so that the marriage bonds would be strong.
In order to protect the newlyweds from the influence of evil spirits, amulets were placed on the marriage bed, which in the Arkhangelsk province were considered a poker and a grip, and in other places in Russia a frying pan. Having covered the very hard base with mattresses stuffed with hay or feather beds, and laid out several pillows, the bedding girls covered the bed with a wide white sheet that hid all their tricks.
At the final stage, the women checked whether anyone, out of malicious intent, had placed creamed cat or dog hair, bones or broken needles in the bed, and then walked around the bed with a sprig of juniper or rowan, which, in their opinion, had a protective power.
To top off all the pagan rituals, the Christian rite of sprinkling with holy water was added.
Baptized Rus': how was the first wedding night?
Photo: culture.ru
The ritual of the first wedding night among many nations has its own traditions. Of course, Rus' also had its own canons for its implementation. Moreover, before baptism, the Slavs had a huge variety of different rituals, which Elder Nestor described in detail in the chronicles. In these traditions he saw the expression of the moral concepts of various Slavic tribes.
As Nestor noted, the closest thing to the Christian, Byzantine form was marriage among the Polans. But the Krivichi or northerners had the habit of kidnapping brides during “pagan demonic games.” There were practically no marriages by mutual consent.
However, the chronicle describes an incident that was outstanding at that time - the matchmaking of Prince Vladimir to Rogneda: the father of the future bride asked his daughter for consent. Despite the refusal, Vladimir still took Rogneda as his wife, although to do this he had to kill his father and her two brothers.
By the way, in those days the Slavs practiced polygamy, so there was no special marriage ceremony. Everything changed after the Baptism of Rus'. Gradually, pagan “barbaric” habits were eliminated, the marriage ceremony became a very complex sacrament, but some ancient habits could not be eliminated.
The wedding night
The timing of the wedding itself was chosen very carefully. According to Orthodox canons, sexual intercourse was prohibited during Lent and major church holidays. So, these days no weddings were held in Rus' - after all, the newlyweds were left alone for the first time during the celebration.
But there were no special rules regarding the age of newlyweds. On the contrary, it was believed that the sooner the better, so that they would not be spoiled, and extramarital affairs would be severely condemned.
In those days, the newlyweds always spent their wedding night in the house of the groom's parents, and they called it a basement. The fact is that the marriage bed was arranged in the coolest place - in the basement (the lower utility floor of the hut), in a closet, barn or unheated bathhouse.
How to prepare the bed for the first wedding night
The high bed on a strong wooden base was carefully prepared. They covered the boards with bedding from the bride's dowry. The preparation of the bed was carried out by female matchmakers, as well as the future mother-in-law or sister of the groom.
Hay mattresses, feather beds and blankets were laid on the plank base. They also hid ritual objects on the bed - sacks of flour, sheaves of rye, symbolizing well-being. A beautiful snow-white embroidered blanket was laid on top.
They piled logs under the bed - the more, the better for future offspring. A frying pan and a poker were also sent here: it was believed that this could ward off evil spirits, and to be sure, they also walked around the bed several times with twigs of viburnum and juniper, then sticking them into the wall.
At the right moment, the bride and groom were escorted to the prepared bed by a whole crowd of guests. There were friends here, matchmakers, and relatives from both sides. Anyone could join the mourners, and the farewell turned out to be noisy and cheerful, with songs, advice, obscene ditties and not the most decent jokes “about this”.
The friend drove out evil spirits from the bed with blows of the whip, and the bed-women were entitled to a ransom from him.
Photo: Omutninskie Vesti+
And so the young people were left alone... with everyone
The mourners left the bedchamber with whoops and jokes, the door to it was locked, and a guard was left as guard, who protected the young from evil spirits. Of course, the most curious guests often stayed at the door to quietly spy on what was happening in the room. But even in such intimate moments, the young people were still not left alone: the cellman came from time to time to find out whether “this” had already happened or not yet?
Meanwhile, the newlyweds first had to eat chicken and bread - this was supposed to increase their fertility. Then the bride took off the groom's boots and asked permission to take a place next to him on the bed. In this way she showed her submission to her husband.
As soon as the guy took possession of the bride, violating her virginity, the marriage was considered physically confirmed. This was immediately loudly announced to all the guests who were eagerly awaiting this moment. The holiday continued, and often guests crowded into the newlyweds' bedchamber.
The main attribute of a wedding is confirmation of the bride’s virginity
The display of the bride's shirt with blood stains was the highlight of the celebration. This confirmed the honesty of the young woman, who retained her innocence until the wedding. The loss of virginity on the first wedding night was symbolically celebrated by hanging towels embroidered with red threads and beating pots. The shirt was then carried around the whole village in joy.
If it turned out that there was nothing to show the guests, the girl could be returned to her father’s house in disgrace. The matchmaker and her parents received a collar, which was hung around their necks for greater humiliation, and the father of the disgraced bride was given a glass of wine with a broken bottom. True, such an ending for weddings was extremely rare: if necessary, they simply resorted to various tricks, such as using the blood of a rooster to stain the bride’s shirt.
Ukladina
After escorting the newlyweds to the bedroom, it was impossible to leave their bedroom door unattended. In order to ward off evil spirits, tipsy guests, and also to inquire about the affairs of the newlyweds, a special guard was assigned to the room and kept honorary duty all night.
One of the important elements of the first wedding night was the joint meal of the newlyweds in the bedroom, without which it was forbidden to go to bed. The usual treats were bread, symbolizing wealth, and baked chicken, symbolizing the fertility of the family. The church, which protested against pagan prejudices, could not eradicate these traditions from popular practice for a long time. In this regard, her only significant victory was the ban on the use of the demonic Old Slavonic rite, in which the newlyweds, taking a chicken by the legs, tore it in two, as if depicting the deprivation of innocence.
Alone
In some areas of the Slavic world there was a ban on fulfilling marital duties on the first wedding night, which could be postponed for three nights. In the Vologda province it was believed that violation of this rule would lead to the death of sheep, and in the vicinity of Brest, sex was not allowed until the first joint visit to church after the wedding.
In the Russian North, on the first wedding night, the bride was not supposed to meekly submit to the groom, but, on the contrary, her duties included active defense of her maiden honor, involving pushing away, scratching and undressing her betrothed. But with all this, she did not have the right to go to bed without the permission of her husband, who was obliged to put her to bed only by throwing her over himself.
In other regions, on the contrary, it was inappropriate for the bride to show her arrogance and, as proof of her submission to her husband, she had to take off his shoes.
How did you spend your time alone?
After the end of the magnificent farewell, the newlyweds were left alone. However, there was a guard behind the door.
In Rus', the right of the first night belonged to the groom himself, and not to the elder of the clan or a stranger, which was practiced among other nations. At first, the newlyweds treated themselves to bread and chicken. It was believed that the meal made the couple fertile. Afterwards, the girl took off the groom’s boots and asked his permission to lie next to him. In Rus', virginity was taken very seriously, since the right of the first night belonged to the groom. The marriage was considered valid after the bride lost her virginity. The friend informed everyone present that the first night had taken place. After this, the newlyweds rejoined the guests to continue the celebration.
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Islamic traditions
In Islamic tradition, the first wedding night usually took place on the day the bride moved to the groom's house, and could not be postponed without compelling reasons. Thus, intimacy between spouses was postponed to a later date if the newlyweds did not know each other before that day or because one of them was not feeling well.
According to Muslim customs, there should not only be no peeping third parties, but even animals in the newlyweds’ bedroom. To make the newlyweds less embarrassed, it was impossible to turn on bright lights in the room, so the lighting was either turned off or made as dim as possible.
When performing marital duties, it was strictly forbidden to leave an open Koran in the room; it had to be either taken out of the room or wrapped in a blanket.
A man was forbidden to be rude towards a woman and before entering into intimacy he was supposed to touch the bride’s forehead with his palm and ask for the blessing of the Almighty.
Dagestan customs
The first wedding night took place somewhat unusually in some Dagestan villages, where the central event was the single combat of the bride and groom. According to ancient tradition, before sharing the marital bed with his betrothed, a man had to defeat her in a duel for which she had been preparing since childhood. The longer the groom could not break the bride’s resistance, the longer the moment of first intimacy was delayed, sometimes the time was measured not in minutes, but in days.
The whole difficulty for the man was that on the eve of this marriage battle, the bride’s hair was shaved off, the exposed parts of her body were coated with oil, she was dressed in an outfit with a lot of knots, over which a cord was tied to protect her chastity.
During the “battle,” the groom had to untie all the knots with his bare hands, without using a dagger, in order to take possession of his wife, who was allowed not only to hold the defense, but also to inflict bodily harm on her opponent.
Wedding night among Russians nowadays
Wedding night in Ancient Rus'.
Currently, there are no strict rules regarding the first wedding night. Absolutely every family is free to spend it in its own way. There are almost no couples left who get married as virgins. Most married people live together even before marriage, being in sexual intimacy.
Despite this, newlyweds try to especially celebrate and celebrate their wedding night.
That is why they often rent hotel rooms, go to warm countries, or arrange surprises for each other in the form of role-playing games.
This is interesting: How to make the first wedding night after the wedding memorable?
This is a night that should be remembered for a long time. Therefore, even when two people live together for a long time, they must try and organize the night so that there is something to remember. After all, this particular night is shrouded in special romance, mystery and love.
