Forgotten Rites

Interesting wedding tradition, captured in the pictures, called “Kempir Oldi” – “The death of an old woman”. It was quite a performance: one of the old women from the village would lay down in front of a groom, pretending to be dead. Other females would play along and yell: “Oy-bay, the old woman is dead!” The old woman would ‘come back to life’ only after she would receive a gift. The tradition was considered as an amulet, it was supposed to prevent an actual death happening during the wedding celebrations.