On reaching an appointed place
they dance in a circle round the effigy with loud shouts and
screams, then suddenly rush at it and tear it to pieces with their
hands. Lastly, the pieces are thrown together in a heap, the pole is
broken, and fire is set to the whole. While it burns the troop
dances merrily round it, rejoicing at the victory won by Spring; and
when the fire has nearly died out they go to the householders to beg
for a present of eggs wherewith to hold a feast, taking care to give
as a reason for the request that they have carried Death out and
away.
The preceding evidence shows that the effigy of Death is often
regarded with fear and treated with marks of hatred and abhorrence.
Thus the anxiety of the villagers to transfer the figure from their
own to their neighbours' land, and the reluctance of the latter to
receive the ominous guest, are proof enough of the dread which it
inspires. Further, in Lusatia and Silesia the puppet is sometimes
made to look in at the window of a house, and it is believed that
some one in the house will die within the year unless his life is
redeemed by the payment of money.
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