The Foreigner's Guide to Living in Slovakia

I am constantly impressed by Slovakia’s rich folk culture. Over the years that I lived in Slovakia I have enthusiastically participated in all the holiday rituals and cultural events, big and small, that I learn about.

There’s one day in the year, however, that I am not so fond of and have little to do with, if I can—the Easter Monday practices of boys pouring water over girls and lightly whipping them with braided branches.

If you are not Slovak and didn’t grow up around these traditions, you might find them at best—odd, at worst—barbaric. What happens is that on Easter Monday it’s customary for the girls and women to stay at home while the boys and men, usually dressed in nicer clothing and sometimes even in kroj – traditional costume, go from the residence of one relative to another, bringing greetings and intending to oblievat’ – to “water” the female relatives present. Water is the symbol of life and the pouring of water is a gesture meant to bestow year long health and beauty. Some use a spray of perfume instead of water, or both.

In addition there is the šibať, which means to be lightly whipped with braided willow branches. This is a ritual that is also directed toward the females of the family. The willow branch is chosen because it is the first tree that ‘wakes’ in spring and, according to folk tradition, the fertility and vitality from the branches were thought to flow into the woman during this act.

Isn’t that nice? The women folk get watered and whipped while the men get fed and given drinks, and the little boys are given money or chocolate in exchange for their work of the day. Just so you know, being watered can range from having a teaspoon of warm tap water dribbled over you (my personal experience), to a bucket of frigid well water thrown at you (see picture below).

Though many Slovak girls and women are less than enthusiastic about Easter Monday traditions, this was not always the case in the past. Traditionally, in each village, the watering and whipping would be done by a group of single young men, who would decide among themselves which single young women they would visit. If the group left out a particular girl, it was a sign that none of the boys in the group had an interest in her. Therefore, some people say that girls actually wanted to get watered and whipped.

Over the years that I’ve lived in Slovakia I’ve tried to be amused and open-minded about these Easter traditions. Even when I disagreed, I kept my mouth shut and have allowed myself to be watered by my father-in-law and grandfather-in-law (the whipping is a tradition practiced more in east Slovakia and was spared this, thankfully). I’ve held myself back from preaching to others that I think the practice is sexist and outdated. Since there is no equivalent action that girls can retaliate back with to the boys on Easter Monday, I think the customs are unfair and in fact would rather forgo Easter Monday all together.

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