From: Petr Hrubis
Message: 45884
Date: 2006-08-29
Does anybody what is the meaning of this "Gody"? It's some kind of Slavonic feast, that Dumezil linked to Gandharva/Kentauros.
The Gody is usually held at the house of the girl's parents, where the elder guests sit around a cloth spread on the floor and covered with various dishes all strongly flavoured with garlic, whilst the wine-jug circulates freely; in another room the young people indulge in a similar repast, and afterwards dance outside the house, the girls singing songs at intervals. The young man then brings in his presents, which consist of various articles of feminine clothing, several pairs of slippers, bracelets, ear-rings, a head-dress and necklace of gold or silver coins, [The usual amount given is about eight Turkish Liras.] and a silver girdle: the value of these offerings is discussed by the father of the girl, and a fresh bargain ensues, the suitor adding coin by coin to the necklace till his future father-in-law is satisfied, and when this result is attained all the finery is placed in a tekneh, a wooden dish used for making bread and for a cradle. Then all the guests set to work again at the banquet,
'Jedet i Pijet,'
'They eat and drink,'till daylight dawns upon the many tipsy and the very few sober. The next day the young lady puts on all the presents of her fiance, and is considered as 'engaged.'This betrothal is in no ways a religious ceremony, and leaves it open to either party to break off the engagement, but such a rupture seldom occurs; the marriage never takes place within six months of the Gody, and is often delayed for two or even three years.