In the Governments of Penza and
Simbirsk the funeral used to be represented as follows. A bonfire
was kindled on the twenty-eighth of June, and on the next day the
maidens chose one of their number to play the part of Kostroma. Her
companions saluted her with deep obeisances, placed her on a board,
and carried her to the bank of a stream. There they bathed her in
the water, while the oldest girl made a basket of lime-tree bark and
beat it like a drum. Then they returned to the village and ended the
day with processions, games, and dances. In the Murom district
Kostroma was represented by a straw figure dressed in woman's
clothes and flowers. This was laid in a trough and carried with
songs to the bank of a lake or river. Here the crowd divided into
two sides, of which the one attacked and the other defended the
figure. At last the assailants gained the day, stripped the figure
of its dress and ornaments, tore it in pieces, trod the straw of
which it was made under foot, and flung it into the stream; while
the defenders of the figure hid their faces in their hands and
pretended to bewail the death of Kostroma.
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