The Rada took place in a large area between the kurens; by the roar and beat of the timpani (drums) of the esaula, i.e. stewards, gathered the people; Everyone abandoned work, the party, their affairs and flocked in a crowd to the square, where they stood in a circle (Maidan); the sound of the trumpets of the military “suremshchikov” (trumpeters) led to silence. Having assembled the Rada - and both the Koshevoy and the Cossacks themselves could gather it - he went out into the middle of the Maidan and declared what was necessary; All the Cossacks stood in their hats, and the speaker, even the Koschevo himself, had his head uncovered as a sign that he was ready to submit to the tyranny of his comrades,
After all, there were always several valiant and experienced Cossacks who could honorably occupy the Koshevoy’s position, and therefore, when it was necessary to knock out
When the army of a new one began to shout, the crowd began to shout at the top of their lungs, several names at once. Among the roar of powerful voices one could finally make out: “Kozolupa, Kozolupa!” —
“Bovdyuka!” - “Damn Kozolupa, Vovtuzenko!” shouted to the other. “Pick Vovtuzenko, Vovtuzenko!” others shouted. - “He’s still young, Kozolup.”
let him be a koshev!“ were the first to object. “We want Bovdyuk as a koshev, Bovdyuk!” They covered several kurens with their voices, using their fists.
“Bovdyuka, Bovdyuka!” began to pick up in different. places. This name apparently triumphed over the others, since soon the entire square roared: “Bovdyuka, come on: here Bovdyuka!” and a cloud of hats fly up.
The Esauls introduced the newly elected one into the middle of the Maidan. where the foremen, i.e. the kuren atamans covered him with pins and handed him a mace (club), a sign of the rank and power of the Koshevoy. Then several gray-haired, respected Cossacks came out of the crowd and put dirt and all sorts of rubbish on the head of the new Koshev, so that he. he remembered that all Cossacks were equal to him; after the old people. The rest of the Cossacks could have done the same to the Koshevoy.
“Batko” humbly and patiently endured all this, thanking him for the honor of being chosen. “That’s enough,” the crowd shouted, “that’s enough!” The Koshevoi, having changed his clothes, with a club in his hands, went out again into the circle; everyone's heads were respectfully bared, their eyes cast down to the ground, and complete silence ensued; the new Koschevoy spoke slowly and sedately, I gathered a roar, and only his cap was a scarlet top of his throat under the rays of the bright sun.
In wartime, the Koshevoy had power not limited by anyone or anything; Everyone trembled from his stern gaze; it seemed that he had grown in the eyes of his comrades: one word from him, moving his hands, and the offender was mercilessly put to death.
The external insignia of a Koshevoy were: 1) a mace
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(club) - a small club, set in gold, decorated with pearls and precious stones; 2) military banner; 3) military horsetail - a long stick with a gilded ball at the end, decorated with turkish and horse tails, and 4) military seal - silver with the image of a galloping Cossack with a banner in one hand and a musket (gun) in the other hand.
The Koshevoy carried the mace in his hand or behind his belt; banner. and the horsetail was worn or carried behind it, the military seal was kept by the military clerk, who was constantly at the Koshevoy and in charge of all military written affairs. When the Cossacks wrote to the Tsar of Moscow, the King of Poland, the Turkish Sultan and the Crimean Khan, they attached it to the papers they sent.
The army clerk and the esauls were chosen randomly; if a campaign of part of the Cossacks was appointed, then the head of this detachment, the “colonel,” was chosen and appointed by the same army; The colonel enjoyed the rights of a Koschevo over his fellow subordinates.
Each election of a new Koshevoy, clerk, or anyone else was accompanied by noisy celebration.
The Cossacks did not miss an opportunity to take a walk; They were a cheerful, carefree people, more fond of carousing, the wisdom of the last day was even considered valor among them. However, there were no Cossack party parties. dirty and gloomy drunkenness, which makes a person like cattle, but were simply flashes of uncontrollable joy, the revelry of their broad and rich nature.
Not a single party was complete without music and dancing; when they were walking, they treated everyone who came along and pestered them indiscriminately, paid for everything without haggling, how much a hand would take a trouser out of the pocket, and therefore the merchants in the predmfstB fed very quickly, if only the partygoer, who had walked all the way to the last