A national seminar "Preservation of the Intangible Historical and Cultural Heritage of Belarus: International and National Experience" was held in Zhitkovichi District, Gomel Oblast. The participants of the seminar got acquainted with the spring rite of Jurauski Karahod (Yuriyev Round Dance) practiced in the village of Pogost, Zhitkovichi District. It is traditionally held on St. George's Day on 6 May.
On this day, the inhabitants of Pogost dress up as in the old days and go to a field in a large procession. Asking for a good harvest, people bury a crust of sacrificial black bread baked from last year’s flour: the crust is tied with a symbolic red ribbon for a good harvest. Everyone does a round dance clockwise around the symbols of the rite singing ancient spring-calling songs. The bread is held up to the sky three times, and the green apron is switched to a red one. After that the procession returns back to the village.
The Jurauski Karahod rite has been included in the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Photos by Sergei Kholodilin/BelTA
