Hilltop Russians in San Francisco -- Molokans 1941 -- Pictures 25-30

Hilltop Russians in San Francisco
A Record of the Portrero Hill Colony Click on Picture to ENLARGE

WEDDING GUESTS
THE MOLOKAN CHURCH
It is a large barn-like structure with hardly any embellishments. The services are attended by hundreds--almost all in peasant costume. Sunday mornings are very colorful as the people converge here from all parts of the hill. After the services they move slowly away, exchanging greetings, and talking in small groups.
A WEDDING is always a community affair. A great throng, led by the bride and groom, moves slowly from the bride's house to the church singing traditional songs. The actual ceremony is long and tedious with solemn chanting and exhortation.

THE HOLY JUMPERS' CHURCH
It is an ordinary small house with hardly a thing to distinguish it. During the services the small congregation stands in a circle, or rather, an oval with the men on one side and the women on the other. A patriarch reads, prays and leads the chanting and singing. All take part in a slow stomping during the chanting and singing-- thence the name of the sect.
AT THE WEDDING RECEPTION which follows the ceremony there is simple peasant feasting--but with no drinking or dancing. An incongruous not is struck when the bride and groom break away in a shining new car (generally) festooned with the usual tin cans and old shoes. The old people remain with their teas and cakes while the younger ones drift off to celebrate in a more American manner.
A MOLOKAN FUNERAL
has little of the lugubriousness attendant upon the ordinary funeral. Brightly dressed little girls bearing flowers lead the procession. The casket is open and the cover borne above the heads of four men. The relations and friends stay close to the deceased while the whole colony follows along informally. There is dignity but very little evidence of grief and the only funereal note is in the intermittent chanting. Just previous to interment the procession follows the route most frequented in life by the departed.

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WEDDING GUESTS	THE MOLOKAN CHURCH It is a large barn-like structure with hardly any embellishments. The services are attended by hundreds--almost all in peasant costume. Sunday mornings are very colorful as the people converge here from all parts of the hill. After the services they move slowly away, exchanging greetings, and talking in small groups.	A WEDDING is always a community affair. A great throng, led by the bride and groom, moves slowly from the bride's house to the church singing traditional songs. The actual ceremony is long and tedious with solemn chanting and exhortation.
THE HOLY JUMPERS' CHURCH It is an ordinary small house with hardly a thing to distinguish it. During the services the small congregation stands in a circle, or rather, an oval with the men on one side and the women on the other. A patriarch reads, prays and leads the chanting and singing. All take part in a slow stomping during the chanting and singing-- thence the name of the sect.	AT THE WEDDING RECEPTION which follows the ceremony there is simple peasant feasting--but with no drinking or dancing. An incongruous not is struck when the bride and groom break away in a shining new car (generally) festooned with the usual tin cans and old shoes. The old people remain with their teas and cakes while the younger ones drift off to celebrate in a more American manner.	A MOLOKAN FUNERAL has little of the lugubriousness attendant upon the ordinary funeral. Brightly dressed little girls bearing flowers lead the procession. The casket is open and the cover borne above the heads of four men. The relations and friends stay close to the deceased while the whole colony follows along informally. There is dignity but very little evidence of grief and the only funereal note is in the intermittent chanting. Just previous to interment the procession follows the route most frequented in life by the departed.