Beekeeping

One of the oldest branches of agriculture is beekeeping. Bees were bred to produce honey and beeswax. Beekeeping in its development has gone through a centuries-old history from collecting honey from wild bees to beekeeping. The ancient Slavs had a special beekeeping. Beekeeping, as we used to see it, with a number of beehive houses, it became in our country only in the first half of the nineteenth century.

Beekeeping in Western Siberia has been unknown till the arrival of the Russians, and it was not widely developed among Russian old-timers (from the second half of the XVIII century in Altai, and in the first half of the nineteenth century in Tomsk province). The clergy were engaged in bee breeding, and apiaries were located at monasteries, where candles were made from beeswax. The bee itself symbolized hard work. "God loves bees," the churchmen said. "The bee gives honey and wax for candles."

A qualitatively new stage in the development of Siberian beekeeping was associated with the migrant peasants who rushed beyond the Urals after the abolition of serfdom. Some peasants carried bees and equipment with them. Beekeeping was introduced very slowly in the Tobolsk province. For example, in Tyumen and Yalutorovsky counties, the appearance of apiaries dates back to the 1890s. In 1895, beehives and beekeeping tools, as well as honey and wax, were presented at an agricultural exhibition in Kurgan. In 1904 The first congress of beekeepers of the province was held in the village of Zyryansky in the Tyumen district, and a year later the Tyumen Society of Beekeepers was formed. In 1910, residents of the Tobolsk province already maintained 138 apiaries. The price of a pood of honey ranged from 8 to 16 rubles, the price of a pood of wax ranged from 8 to 40 rubles. Beekeeping was mainly carried out by peasants and priests.

In Soviet times, beekeeping was practiced in many collective farms. Today, Siberian honey is appreciated not only in our country, but also abroad.

Apiary

A specially equipped place where honey bees are kept is called an apiary. Apiaries can be stationary and nomadic (with constant moves from one honey plant to another).

In Ancient Russia, there was a special type of beekeeping — bornichestvo, that is, the extraction of honey from wild bees from borges. The word "bort" means a hollow tree. At first, trees with a natural hollow were taken for breeding bees, but then holes in the trunks began to be hollowed out specifically. As forests shrank and arable land expanded, bee keepers had to cut out whole pieces of trees to save bees and put them closer to housing. That is, bees were no longer kept in living trees, but in decks. Such decks existed for a very long time, only in the first half of the nineteenth century the first frame hives appeared. In the middle of the XIX century. a beehive was invented, which opened from above. This dramatically increased the number and productivity of apiaries. Modern apiaries have from several dozen to several hundred beehives.

In addition to beehives, beekeeping items are located in the apiary: drinking bowls for bees, beekeeping tools (smokers, swarms, beekeeping knives, honey pots, etc.). Next to the apiary, rooms are arranged for pumping honey, storing containers, frames, as well as a room for wintering bees — an omshanik (winter garden).

Wax

The products of beekeeping — honey and wax were of particular importance in the lives of peasants. They were widely used in rituals. Wax served as an intermediary in fortune-telling.

During Yuletide, melted wax was poured into water and the frozen image was used to judge the future. After the baptism of the child, they wondered about his fate, for which they rolled his hair in wax and threw it into the water: if the wax drowned, then the child’s life would be short. Fortune telling with wax was also used by beekeepers. If someone destroyed the hive, wax was taken from the damaged hive, heated it and poured into water. It was believed that either the culprit himself would result, or some kind of thing by which he could be recognized. Sorcerers used wax to cast a spell on a person, for this they made his wax doll and put it under the throne for forty days. The original wax image will be bad. It is well known that the stubs of wedding, Thursday, Easter candles were used as medicinal products.

Honey

Honey was of great importance in peasant life. It was consumed in its pure form, as well as in dishes and drinks. The special importance of honey is indicated by the fact that dishes made from it were served at the beginning or at the end of the ceremonial feast. A striking example of this is kutia, which is eaten before other dishes on Christmas Eve.

Honey has long been used in folk medicine to treat colds, treat stomach diseases and heal wounds.

Honey occupies a significant place in the peasant calendar. One of the three holidays of the end of summer is dedicated to him — Honey Savior (August 1/14). By mid-August, the honeycombs in the hives are filled, and beekeepers begin to collect honey. In the old days, the fresh harvest of honey was necessarily consecrated in the temple. It was believed that such honey had great healing power.

Beliefs and superstitions about beekeeping

The bee was universally perceived by peasants as a "pure" creature of God and was one of the most revered creatures. In traditional culture, the bee was called "God's servant", "God's one", "saint", which was explained by the fact that it gives wax to candles. They never said about the bee that it croaked, but they said it was "dead." Many believed that the human soul flies away from the body in the form of a bee. The idea of the divine essence of the bee was reflected in a number of beliefs, for example, the people believed that a bee stings only a sinner. According to popular beliefs, bees owe their appearance to God, and when the bees are exhausted, the End of the World will come.

Beekeeping is very closely connected with the national calendar and religious holidays. On the Annunciation (March 25/April 7), although it was still very early, it was necessary to put at least one beehive in the apiary, then there would be luck all year. On the Easter holiday, beekeepers went to the hives to "kiss the bees," where Easter prosphora or cake was ground.

Saints Zosima and Savvati were considered the patrons of beekeeping in Russia. On the days of commemoration of these saints (April 17/30 and September 27/October 10), the beekeeper took the honeycombs out of the hive and immersed the honey in water at midnight, pronouncing a special conspiracy to ensure a good supply of honey in the next season. On the Annunciation, Palm Sunday and Easter, incense was lit to fumigate the beehives and a candle in front of the icon of Saints Zosima and Savvati.

Beekeeping was considered a special occupation among the peasants, similar to medicine. According to popular beliefs, beekeepers possessed special magical knowledge, including techniques for dealing with bees, conspiracy skills, following customs and observing prohibitions.