(no subject)

[ursula]

Here's an interesting ceremony described in Khodarkovsky's book Russia's Steppe Frontier:

One early example of Muscovite political incongruities was an account of a military expedition across the Urals in 1483. The Muscovite officials described their encounter with the Khanty and Mansi peoples and the ceremony involved in formalizing a peace treaty between the local chiefs and the Muscovites:

And their custom of making peace is as follows: they put a bear skin under a thick trunk of a cut pine tree, then they put two sabers with their sharp ends upwards and bread and fish on the bear skin. And we put a cross atop the pine tree and they put a wooden idol and tie it below the cross; and they began to walk beneath their idol in the direction of the sun. And one of them standing nearby said: "He who will break this peace, let him be punished by the god of his faith." And they walked about the tree three times, and we bowed to the cross, and they bowed to the sun. After all of this they drank water from the cup containing a golden nugget and they kept saying: "You, gold, seek the one who betrays."

Comments

[yhlee]

I love how this so matter-of-factly and pragmatically incorporates both religions.

[ursula]

There's another part where they're explaining how people of different religions swear oaths of loyalty, and the Muslims and Buddhists swear on holy texts, while the Christians kiss a cross.