Miyszani Sheep at Stecówka

Miyszani is nothing more than a combination of many, often only a dozen or several dozen sheep, herds into one huge flock, which under the watchful eye of the juhas and shepherds who know the difficult pastoral profession, sets off on the grassy meadows. This is a time of ancient Wallachian rituals, hopes for an abundance of cheese and the possibility of a decent income, but also concerns about the health and safety of the herd, far from home in a situation where shepherds depend on themselves and their skills. This way there is nothing to go without prayer and it is from the blessing of the land that feeds us, the sacrifice of a flock of sheep and blessings for the difficult work of shepherds, today's rituals of Miśining the Sheep began.

Although in the Parish of Our Lady of Fatima at Stecówka on this day the Solemnity of the First Holy Communion was celebrated - Priest Grzegorz Kotarba found time after Mass. go out to the nearby temple, where sheep grazed, and shepherds and a large group of guests were waiting impatiently for the blessing. The priest, asking God for protection for people and animals as well as fertility of the earth and abundant fruit of the work of human hands, crossed the pasture, blessed and sacrificed the gathered animals going to the halls and the first "loaf of shepherd bread" - sheep's cheese. Finally, the priest asked for a joint prayer, "Our Father" and "Hail Mary." As if the sheep were safe from all evil, they joyfully moved towards the kolkata at Kukuczka's, for nothing with the program of the event in which the band was to lead them - only the urgent calls of shepherds made them turn back and already as planned went along the road along the presbytery preceded by a group young musicians from the Jetelinka Band . After leaving the open space of the meadows, people stopped to listen to the game on one of the most characteristic shepherd instruments - thrombite, and the sheep, unrestrained by anyone, ran down the hill, straight into a makeshift barrack, in the center of which stood a sheepish one, around which the sheep according to tradition they have been mixed. The resulting flock of holy herbs was incensed by Mateusz Kawulok . The time has come to divide and taste the first cheese, so Józef Michałek began to devote himself like cutting bread with a sign of the cross. Refreshments full of hospitality and smile of the hosts began - cheese, bread with lard and gooseberry, and in the background you could still hear highlander music, first performed by young artists associated with the Jetelink Band , and later also the "Grónie" Singing Group from Wisła . Urszula Galej, sheep's cheese recipe, according to the traditional recipe given to her by Henryk Kukuczka, wriggled among the guests with successive portions of delicacies spread on wooden trays - "help yourself", she encouraged. The Kawulok and Galej families have taken over the "shepherd's staff" after the well-known Stecowski's shepherd, and despite the daily hardships and hard work involved in it, they do not want to let the bells of the sheep in the nearby halls go silent. However, so that this does not happen, the enthusiasm of a handful of people is not enough ... let's think about it sometimes throwing sliced packed cheese into the basket in the market ;-) And maybe so go to the hall, to the butt?