The kiss of shame and the carriage Masturbation: intimate traditions of Russia

Our ancestors often cited as an example of how innocent and chaste people who have no sense of depravity and sin. But in fact, they weren't: sex and Masturbation, did not hesitate to discuss them, loved dirty limericks and erotic stories. Let's talk about intimate traditions of Russia, which today can surprise and shock even the regular porn.

The ancient Slavs did not differ in a special chastity: like their was much freer than in Christian Russia. Sexuality was woven into the religious tradition and were considered to be divine: men symbolically fertilizing the ground, pulling off his pants during the sowing of flax, women, lifting skirt and showing off the genitals of the sky, caused the rain.

A good harvest asked the gods rolling in pairs across the field: it was a formality, but often it was accompanied by very real sex. During the wedding ceremonies used phallic symbols were, for example, the custom of kissing and licking of "shame male".

Virginity was more of a disadvantage: more valued women who now would be called a divorcee with a trailer. Children born before marriage is not considered a disgrace, and the proof of the "quality" of girls: really, what better can indicate fertility and good health than existing child?

Skepticism about the "purity" of the bride and confirms the then existing custom "opening" if she was innocent, before the wedding night, the deprivation of virginity was organized by the Magi. It was abolished shortly before the Christianization of Rus Prince Svyatoslav.

Christianization turned people's lives upside the head: everything that once was considered godly, was banned, and sex and erotic desires announced the machinations of Satan.

Chastity has become a "Holy thing", and not only before marriage, but after her. Immaculate conception migrated from the Bible in the lives of the saints: for example, according to them, the Prince Dmitry Donskoy (a very real historical person) and his wife Princess Avdotya without sex, but this did not prevent them to have a numerous family of children.

Among the wedding rituals appeared a new low — the definition of "honor" of the bride. Young husband came out of the bedroom with a full Cup of wine in the bottom of which was a hole. If the wife was innocent, then the man sealed it with wax, if not cleaned the finger to the wine poured out.

Abstinence became mandatory on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays during Church feasts and fasts: with all the restrictions it turned out that the sex people could only a few days a month. The only valid became a missionary position.

Historians disagree why I chose it: whether because of the Patriarchal paradigm "the man above women," whether because the pose was considered the most suitable for conception, which was the main and only purpose bedding comfort.

Everything else was supposed punishment. For example, "the rider" declared "a great sin" and challenge "God's image", and after violators waited from 3 to 10 years of repentance with numerous daily prostrations.

"Doggie-style" called bestial fornication and sodomy with his wife to pay for it had at least 600 prostrations, but I've had worse — could excommunicate. For a deep kiss relied 12 days of fasting, for the touch of the hand in the vagina of his wife three weeks. Cunnilingus worth "more": two to three years post (about the same amount was given for adultery and incest with cousin-in-law).

Even the sexual life, which was allowed, was considered defiling the body and soul. The man after sexual intercourse was obliged to bathe below the belt, he had no right to go to Church and kiss the Holy relics. Women during menstruation were forbidden to visit the temple to partake of the sacrament: there is a legend about a girl who ignored this rule, came to the tomb of the Saint and was struck by lightning. Another woman who was taking the sacrament each week, turned into a horse.

Masturbation was also a sin to do it or just to indulge in lustful thoughts meant to summon the devil. There was a legend that the guy's dick, who often rukobludstvom, turned into a snake on the background of a more modern horror story about the hair on my arms looks good-natured tale.

When the sinner was caught in shameful thing, it went public: for example, the correspondent Tenishev archive, describing the life and manners of peasants the Vladimir province, talked about the precedent of giving with the wheel nuts from the carriage. This is not all the laws governing the sexual life in Russia — there were many more. But respected they?

When you read about all these rules, the question arises: what about monitoring their performance? Okay cunnilingus maybe the window has anyone noticed, or the woman herself boasted, and the priest behind the birch stood and listened. But how can you catch in lustful thoughts? Facial expression?

The answer is simple: people were supposed to inform themselves on the confessions. The clergy was a special questionnaire, which was no place for all sins, including ptitsevodstvo (poor geese!).

At the end of the XVI century, the questionnaires began to divide into sections for the children, husbands and widowers or for maidens, wives, and widows: it is very certain paragraphs reminded tips on how you can sin and not try to save your soul. For example, a girl could ask about "stepping on the foot and flashing for fornication" — it is not a hack for flirting?

Our ancestors had strict requirements: they just kept silent about his sins, and continued to live as they like.

Travelers are often surprised by the freedom of manners in Russia. Holstein in the seventeenth century diplomat Adam Olearius wrote that Russian is often "talking about lust, and shameful vices, debauchery and fornication themselves or other people talk all kinds of shameful tales, and the one who swears the most, and let the inappropriate jokes, accompanying them with obscene gestures, and is considered their best and most pleasant in society."

In bawdy tales in Russia knew. Vladimir Dahl, sending the accumulated history of the folklore collector Alexander Afanasiev wrote: "In my meeting many who can not be printed; which is a pity — they're very funny." Fox and hare now fighting not for bast hut: a scythe in his eyes told me that he would be a Fox in the case of "apyral way." When irritated, the Fox chased him and got stuck between two trees, rabbit fulfilled their threat.

Erotic stories not only details described about sex and was very far from the norms of morality preached by the Church. The usual story progress, for example, was the rape of a girl who refused to marry the hero, is found a natural and fair.

Songs and ditties were still yadrena fairy tales. Andrei Tarkovsky wanted to use in his film "Andrei Rublev" authentic texts that are sung clowns of those times. To get them was difficult, but when it was done, it became clear: insert into film solid swearing, which was described physiological processes, is simply impossible.

The Christianization of Rus, spanning several centuries, was quite superficial. Orthodox norms are often not just existed near pagan, but were less valued.

In the Russian North before the beginning of the XX century "jump": the day before the wedding in the groom's house, the youth gathered, all stood in a circle and jumping, lifting their legs high and the hems of skirts, while singing the erotic song. Ended fun sleep side by side. In the XVI century Italian traveler Lactantius of Broccolini talked about "Gasco": gathered at someone's house to dance, men and women after the dance was extinguished torch, after which each had sex with the girl that was closer.

Sexual traditions affected the size of Russia: manners could vary from region to region in the same time. For example, in the Arkhangelsk region no value attached to a girl's innocence, as in the Voronezh "tainted" bride face severe punishment: she was beaten to a pulp and forced three times to crawl on my knees around the Church.

Impact on sex and customs of the peasants: when in the same house side by side were a few families, infidelity and love triangles were inevitable. It got to the point that younger brothers never married, because they lived with their spouses elders, and all looked at it through his fingers.

Another kind of incest even got its own name: it is about the snokhachestvo. The young wife moved into the house to her husband, became his mistress young father, after all, marriage was 13-16 years. Snohach often sent sons to the craft, to his "pranks" nobody was hurt, and sought by his girl: not the presents, threats of physical violence. Wife of snehota was silent for the same reasons: one is "comforted" a new dress, another beating.

Sometimes it came to murder, for example, in the early twentieth century in Kaluga court heard the case of Marya and her father-in-law Dmitri. One son of Matrona of sechach at that time was five years old, and the second man took immediately after birth and buried alive in the ground in the barn.

The sexual life of ordinary people is much more influenced by practical considerations, rather than religious Charter. Olga Semenova-Tyan-Shansky, who wrote a book about the life of peasants in the province of Ryazan, said:

Serfdom allowed the nobles to implement a variety of sexual fantasies that many of them were collected from the peasants harems.

One of the Decembrists, Osip-Julian Gorsky lived in a house purchased with three girls. In the case of highland said:

Another fan of the seraglio was Lieutenant General Lev Izmailov from Tula province: comfort he got a 30 girls. Concubines Izmailov they were 12-16 years old and lived in a separate house on lockdown: women produced only for a short stroll in the garden, or travel in tightly closed vans to the bath.

The landlord generously shared his "wealth" with friends: each guest is given a woman for the night, and most influential, he was sent virgins — usually two children. It is also known that once Izmailov took a harem of his own daughter from a previous slave. Cruelty Izmailov attracted the attention of the authorities, but in the end he was only removed from the control of the estate.

Another well-known serial sex offender nineteenth century the landlord of the province of Kiev Viktor Streshinsky, who was raped by more than 500 girls. In his own estate, the investigators did not find any woman who avoided it, also Victor went over the "new experiences" in the name of friends and relatives. Among the victims were two Strutinskogo his daughter raped from earlier fortress.

As noted by the sociologist and anthropologist Igor Kon, Victorian notions of propriety, associated with intimate aspects of life, and the dangers of sexual relations, was questioned even before they managed to take root on Russian soil. After the revolution began a new Chapter in the history of sex in Russia — quite different from the previous one. But that's another story.