Dožínky or Obžinky is a harvest festival celebrated at the end of the harvest seasons in several Slavic countries, though not everywhere at the same time.
The word dožínky comes from žně (“harvest”) and since it is a festival at the end of the harvest season, which can end in different months across the Slavic countries, it’s celebrated in different months depending of the geographical location, even within one country. In the Czech Republic, the harvests originally ended between the days of St. Margaret (Sv. Markéta, 13th of July) and St. Lawrence (Sv. Vavřinec, 10th of August).
It is one of the festivals held throughout the country with place-specific traditions. Some of these can involve the last wheat sheaf tied that season that is stylized as a female figure and called baba (“old hag”), nevěsta (“bride”) or stará (“old one” – a term sometimes used to describe a wife) and kept at the local farm for prosperity. Sometimes sheaves are arranged into cones and decorated with flowers.
At the farms, it was time for the young farm workers to celebrate at the farm owner’s expense. The workers would bring their employers flower and wheat crowns for which they would receive snacks such as Buchty. The farm owner and his wife would initiate the celebrations in a local pub with their first dance.
A common part of all rural celebrations is the rout people take from the field. Women decorate their hair with flowers and wheat ears, the villagers walk together singing. In the 20th century, dožínky was converted into a more formal social event with dances like česká beseda .(12-minute dance for four couples).
Paní mámo zlatá, otvírejte vrata!
Neseme Vám věnce ze samého zlata!
(“Dear landlady, open the gate! We’re bringing you (wheat) crowns made of gold!”)
Not surprisingly, the countryside is the keeper of the more folkloric celebrations while cities take the opportunity to organize concerts, workshops and large markets. The festival is a perfect opportunity to taste burčák, fermented grape must with low alcohol content.
You can listen to some traditional Dožínky songs here – skip to 7:35.
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Featured picture: by Antoš Frolka
