Cook, Arthur B.: Zeus: a study in ancient religion (Band 3,1): Zeus god of the dark sky (earthquake, clouds, wind, dew, rain, meteorits): Text and notes (Cambridge, 1940)

294 Rain-magic in modern Greece

they ask, "What does Chi-chi mother want?" The reply is, "She wants wheat,
boulgour" (cracked wheat), &c. "She wants wheat in her bins, she wants bread
on her bread-hooks, and she wants rain from God." The boys take up contributions
at the rich houses. At Ourfa the children, in times of drought, make a rain-bride,
which they call Chinche'-gelin. They say this means in Turkish "shovel-bride."
They carry the bride about and say, "What does Chinche-gelin want?" "She
wishes mercy from God; she wants offerings of lambs and rams." And the
crowd responds, "Give, my God, give rain, give a flood." The rain-bride is then
thrown into the water. At Harpoot they make a man-doll and call it " Allah-potik."
I cannot find out the meaning of the last half of this name. The doll is carried
about with the question, "What does Allah-potik want?" "He wants rain from
God; he wants bread from the cupboard; he wants meat from dish ; he wants
boulgour from bins; salt from the salt-cellar; money from the purse." Then they
all cry out, "Give, my God, rain, a flood." At Trebizond, as we were told, they
make a rain-dolly. The children dress it up as a bride and veil its face. They
ask money from the people. I was unable to find out whether the dolly was
thrown into the sea, which is what one would expect from parallel cases.'

Professor R. M. Dawkins1 and Miss M. Hamilton2 (Mrs G-
Dickins) have shown that the universal Greek custom of immersing
the cross and blessing the waters at Epiphany is not merely an
ecclesiastical commemoration of Christ's baptism in the Jordan but
also a popular rain-charm of the usual mimetic kind. Professor
Dawkins3 observes:

'At Epiphany a priest goes in procession to a spring, river, cistern, or to the
sea, and immerses a cross three times. At the same time a white dove is released.
The cross is fetched out by a man who dives for it.'

Miss Hamilton4 records numerous local varieties of the custom.
A few samples will suffice:

'At Athens an imposing procession goes from the church of St. Dionysios to
the large reservoir on the slope of Lykabettos, and the bishop there performs
a ceremony similar to that at the Piraus. Some of the city churches, too,
celebrate the Blessing of the Waters, either within their walls or outside on an
erected shrine. The seaports and island towns have great celebrations. At Syi'a>
the chief commercial island, an urn of water is first blessed in the church, and
then a procession marches down to the harbour, where all the boats and steamers
are waiting. After the ceremony is finished, the ships are free to sail away. At
Nauplia also the ceremony is interesting, and it differs in a few respects fro'"
the preceding. The archbishop in full regalia proceeds to the harbour, and arm
a great assembly throws in the wooden cross, to which no ribbon is attached-
The local fishermen, as divers, are stripped ready to find it, and a strugg e

1 R. M. Dawkins in Folk-Lore 1904. xv. 214.

2 M. Hamilton Greek Saints and Their Festivals Edinburgh and London iQ,°
pp. 112—127 ('F.piphany. The Blessing of the Waters and its connection with Rain
charms').

3 R. M. Dawkins he. cit. .

4 M. Hamilton op. cit. p. 112 ff.