Some Family Time in the Village

Today I spent a part of the afternoon in a village near Prilep called Borotino.  This village is the home town of my host mother, and today we visited her brother who (I believe) lives on the same property where she grew up.  My host brother invited me to this excursion about a week ago, but I did not know when it would take place, and luckily he accommodated for me today so I can enjoy the valuable host-family time with him and his.

My host brother, his friends from South Africa, and his new car

Enjoying rakija and salad before lunch

A picture of my host mother as a little girl

My host-mother's relatives' house in the village

The reason we were all visiting the village today was to honor the town saint, Sveta Marinela.  I had celebrated Lozovo’s slava in October (Sveta Petka), so I had some ideas as to what the celebration would be like.  However, the music, tables of food and beer, and oro were not part of the celebration at this slava.  Instead, we enjoyed a nice family lunch with beans and fish.  Usually this type of meal is served during fasting times in the Church calendar (ie. during Sveti Nikola, which takes place a few weeks before Christmas).  I am not sure why we were observing the fasting diet during this occasion.  

According to legend, Sveta Marilena became infuriated when the villagers were working the fields on her day.  As punishment, she engulfed them in fire and flew them in the air.  According to my host brother, these people did not die, but it is unclear if they lived the rest of their lives as smoldering carcasses.  In order to honor her (and possibly appease her temper), they nominated her as the village saint.

Host niece, also named Marinela, playing with some puppies 

My host mother and host nephew washing their hands

Inside the church near the graveyard

Visiting the deceased relatives in the village graveyard

After finishing our dinner, we visited the local graveyard to pay respects to my host-mother’s deceased relatives.  We were able to enter the adjacent church that was built in 1864.  According to the Church Slavonic written above the door, the church was built to ward off a plague that was killing all of the livestock.  After a few hours in the village, I appreciated seeing a part of Macedonia that I experienced every day in Lozovo.