???»?µ?±-?????»??: bread and salt
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There is probably no more iconic image of welcoming in Russia than an offering of ?…?»?µ?±-?????»?? (bread and salt). For visiting dignitaries, a lovely woman in traditional costume holds a ?€?????????? (embroidered towel) supporting ???°?€?°???°?? (a loaf of bread, usually round, decorated with dough leaves, flowers and other ornamentation). In the center is ???°?»???????° (salt cellar). The visiting dignitary — who must have rehearsed before the trip — breaks off a bit of bread, dips in the salt, swallows it and smiles.
The same ceremony used to be practiced — and sometimes still is — when Russians greeted guests or welcomed a newlywed couple into their new home. A new mother would be offered some right after the birth and then keep a bit of it wrapped and tucked under her bodice so that her nursing child would never go hungry. And when someone traveled, they’d take bread and salt with them to ensure good fortune and keep a symbolic bit of home and hearth with them.
As far as I can tell, no one knows when or exactly why the tradition began. Most scholars agree that the bread is “the staff of life” — ?…?»?µ?± ???°?????‰???‹?? (daily bread), the basic foodstuff that kept famine at bay. The symbol of salt is harder to decipher. Some people maintain that ancient Slavs endowed salt with magical powers and served it as a kind of talisman, protecting those to whom it was offered. But it seems more likely that it was a symbol of wealth and abundance. Expensive, but necessary for cooking and preserving, a full salt cellar was a sign of prosperity. ?‘?µ?· ?????»?? ???µ ????????????, ?° ?±?µ?· ?…?»?µ?±?° ???µ ???‹?‚???? (Without salt [food] isn’t tasty, and without bread [food] isn’t filling). So by offering someone ?…?»?µ?±-?????»??, you are wishing them health in the bread and wealth in the salt.
In the old days if a person walked into a room and found someone eating, they’d say ???»?µ?± ???° ?????»??! (something like “Bread and salt to you!” or perhaps “I wish you wealth and health!”) Today they say ???€?????‚???????? ?°?????µ?‚???‚?°! (bon appetit!). Over the years, about a million Russians have asked me what the English equivalent is, and I’m always sorry to say that there really isn’t one. In similar situations, we’d tend to apologize for interrupting and then say, “Enjoy your meal.” This is perfectly nice and polite, but really not the same thing at all.
???»?µ?±???????»?????‚???? is the quality of being a generous and cordial host or hostess, usually translated as hospitality. But in English, hospitality refers to all aspects of a cordial welcome, whereas ?…?»?µ?±???????»?????‚???? refers primarily to generosity at the table. This makes translation difficult if I am in a nitpicking mood. For example, the English equivalent of ?…?»?µ?±???????»?????°?? ?…???·???????° is not exactly a hospitable hostess, since that might mean that she is a welcoming hostess who pampers her guests. Part of that pampering might be lots of food, but — given these weight-conscious times — perhaps not. To be exact, I might translate the phrase as “a hostess who keeps a generous table.”
???»?µ?±???????» is a host who doesn’t stint when guests come to dinner. After one holiday celebration at the U.S. Embassy, a Russian newspaper described the U.S. ambassador as ?‡?€?µ?·???‹?‡?°?????‹?? ?? ?????»?????????‡???‹?? ?…?»?µ?±???????» (the Host Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary).
For an honor like that, he must have put out a really good spread.
Michele A. Berdy is a Moscow-based translator and interpreter.