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Paton, Andrew Archibald, 1811-1874

"or, A Residence in Belgrade and Travels in the Highlands and Woodlands of the Interior, during the years 1843 and 1844."

From this time until Ascension day the common
formula of greeting is "Christ has arisen!" to which answer is made,
"Yes; he has truly arisen or ascended!" And on the second Monday after
Easter the graves of dead relations are visited.
One of the most extraordinary customs of Servia is that of the Dodola.
When a long drought has taken place, a handsome young woman is
stripped, and so dressed up with grass, flowers, cabbage and other
leaves, that her face is scarcely visible; she then, in company with
several girls of twelve or fifteen years of age, goes from house to
house singing a song, the burden of which is a wish for rain. It is
then the custom of the mistress of the house at which the Dodola is
stopped to throw a little water on her. This custom used also to be
kept up in the Servian districts of Hungary; but has been forbidden by
the priests.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 20: The most perfect confederacy of this description is that
of the Druses, which has stood the test of eight centuries, and in its
secret organization is complete beyond any thing attained by
freemasonry.


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