Beautiful Ivo is lighting a bonfire,
Lighting a bonfire, playing a game.
Playing a game, sweetly lamenting.
Sweetly lamenting, dear one asks:
– Whom have you loved, my dear?
– I have loved my brother.
Beautiful Ivo is lighting a bonfire
on St. John’s Eve,
on St. John’s Eve.
(written in 1978
in Bukovica, Podravina)
St. John’s bonfires are a custom of lighting fires on the evening of June 23rd, on the eve of St. John’s day. It is a custom from the pre-Christian period that belongs to a group of customs related to natural holidays (winter and summer solstice, spring and autumn equinox). Ethnologists note that it is found throughout Europe. In our region, the Old Slavic tradition speaks of the god Jarilo (Jarovit) who walks through the year. In order to maintain the harmony of the world and the seasons, he must cross the entire world tree. From Veles’ underworld, he first brings spring to people, and during the summer solstice, he arrives at Perun’s court, at the top of the world tree, where he meets Perun’s daughter, beautiful Mara. St. John’s Eve is the night of their wedding. With the advent of Christian The replacing of the spring Jarilo deity is done by St. George, known as “Green George” among the people, while the summer Jarilo deity is replaced by St. John the Baptist.
The tradition of lighting bonfires was also present during other holidays, such as St. George’s Day, St. Vitus Day, St. Elias Day, and St. Peter and Paul’s Day. Symbolically, it was always associated with the celestial fire of the Sun and considered a remnant of Sun worship. During the ritual bonfires of the summer solstice, the intention was to keep and enhance the power of the fire, because of its purifying, rejuvenating, and fertilizing qualities. Our ancestors believed that these fires had the power to ward off evil forces, illness, and pests, while also serving The fires bring purification and divine blessing.
Ivan rides on his little horse,
On his fancy black one.
He meets the beautiful Mara,
Beautiful Mara speaks:
“Oh, Ivan, Ivanić, stop for a moment, I want to talk.”
“I don’t care for talk, nor does my horse care for stopping.”
“If I had a glass of wine
And a handful of sons for my horse, the horse would be happy, and I would drink
And talk with you.”
(written in 1979 in Grabrovnica, municipality of Pitomača)
For bonfires, dry branches of pine were most commonly collected and burned at intersections, elevated places, sometimes next to every house, street or settlement. Villagers, especially the youth, gathered around the bonfire, singing bonfire songs and dancing in circles. Midsummer songs were sung accompanied by flutes, bagpipes, and gusle. Some of these songs retained mythical motifs, while most of them were Christianized. In some parts of Dalmatia, midnight bell ringing followed the bonfire all night long. As the fire died down, the gathered youth would jump over the bonfire, often in pairs, due to the belief that to protect themselves from evil forces and preserve their health and fertility. Because of this belief, on the second day, livestock was led through the fire and the ashes were spread on cultivated fields.
In addition to bonfires, fires were also lit on Ivanje in the form of torches made of crushed spruce, oak, or other wood. In the area of Požega, around the village of Velika, the “torchbearers” were known, who would walk and sing on Ivanje on the hills, waving lit torches, creating a magical night view of fireflies, and finally ceremoniously throwing them into the bonfire with singing and music. In Podravina, torchbearers were known as “ljilji”.
In many Croatian regions, girls would weave wreaths of flowers and greenery on Ivanje. The most common were wreaths made of ferns, which were believed to cure headaches among the people. In addition to its aesthetic role in the wreath, the fern also had a strong symbolic meaning. It was believed to bloom on Ivanje night, and so briefly that it immediately bore fruit. It was said that whoever he is lucky and that night he finds a magical flower and picks its seed, gaining exceptional powers, such as understanding animal language, and so on. Similar wreaths adorned the horns and necks of the livestock. The roofs of houses and stables were also adorned with flower wreaths.
An old tradition also speaks of the custom of a great cleaning and ritual bathing on Ivanje. It was believed that the ritual bathing brought not only good health to people, but also to the livestock that was ritually washed on that day.
LIPA IVE KRIS NALAŽE
Lipa Ive kris nalaže,
kris nalaže, venac plete.
Old mothers, be prepared, daughters,
let the daughters rise at dawn,
to comb their blonde hair,
and wash their fair faces,
and sweep the white courtyards,
white courtyards and chambers,
and scrub the yellow tables,
yellow maple tables,
and bring clear water,
and fill up clean pots.
Old fathers, be prepared, sons,
let the sons rise at dawn,
to plow the red fields,
red fields in meadows,
and graze the red cattle,
and sow white crops.
Give, give, old mothers,
if you give us nothing,
give us fair Ive,
bring him under the apple tree,
under the red apple tree Hey,
let’s play with him,
we’ll play, dance,
and adorn him nicely
with midsummer flowers
and take him with us.
We’ll treat him well
with dry cheese and bread,
white milk and sugar.
Come on, handsome Ivo,
let’s go now singing:
Give us, God, a good summer,
a good summer and spring
on Ivanje and Štefanje.
(Karlovac region)
Finally, let’s mention the “ladovanje”, which was an integral part of many Ivanje celebrations in various regions. Ladarice, ladekarice, kresovaljke, krinice, ivančice, and others, accompanied by singing and dancing, would move through the village. It was a procession usually consisting of four to eight girls, dressed in festive attire, with their heads adorned with floral wreaths made of greenery, flowers, and wheat spikes. Often, they were accompanied by one or more boys acting as protectors, announcers of the ladarice, and collectors of gifts in baskets. The ladarice would “ladovati”, that is, they would take turns singing ladarice songs in front of the village houses, using the chant “Lado!”, and dance in circles around the baskets decorated with colorful and fragrant items. I am with the summer herbs.
Summer festivities usually lasted for several days. Those were days of celebrating joy, health, beauty, love, and work. Life in its full manifestation, and as the folk song says, all in honor of Ivanek!
Grant us Ivanek,
Oh beautiful Lado, Lado, Lado!
We will carry him onto the street,
Onto the street under the linden tree,
And we will play with him,
By the brook, on the meadow,
We will carry him onto the street,
Onto the street, under the linden tree,
And then we will pick roses for him,
All in honor of Ivanek!
(surroundings of Koprivnica)