Esivanemate vaimud

In the olden days, in Tartu County, water was brought to the grave in a bowl so that the dead would have a drink when they came out of the grave.

The caretaker of the Kuresaare churchyard (graveyard) went to a wedding in the village of Muratsi, leaving the maid at home to tend to the animals. Suddenly, at dusk, a number of spirits appeared in the room, all asking for water to drink. Because the girl didn't have enough water, the spirits started to strangle the girl. When the host found the maid half-dead on the floor that evening, he realised that there was no water in the troughs at the well for the dead. The troughs at the mortuary well must always be full of water - or the dead will come to strangle those in the room. There must always be a caretaker in the cemetery, who has already been baptized for the dead¹, and who can tame the dead in the graveyard and send them to their graves with a blessed staff in hand.

¹ Baptism for the dead – a non-biblical practice where a living person is baptized in lieu of a person that passed away.