The research in Procisne was conducted in 1884, Kolberg stayed here with the Zduń family. They provided him with excellent conditions for his exploration. He admitted that in the letter from August 11, 1884, sent to his friend Józef Bliziński: “my dear Józef, since Saturday I have been at doctor Zduń’s in Procisne. Mr Krasiński brought me here (the owner of the manor in Leszczowate). Both hosts are really nice, hospitable in the Old Polish manner, without any ceremonies. Each day I have more and more very interesting material. You will be welcomed with open arms. They have a piano here on which we play often with my hostess, who is very educated and who has a great musical ear. She supports my ethnographical research. Please, do not tell your wife about the last sentences. She would probably suspect me for infatuation”.
Kolberg won the Zduń family over, because three months later, in November 1884, he received a letter from Mr Zduń, which contained the following passage: “Dear Mr Kolberg, me and my wife would like to thank you for the works you sent us. My wife would like to thank you especially for persuading her to play Chopin; she fell in love with his music and I cannot protest. We remember you fondly and are glad that you keep us in your memory. We would be glad to host you for some more time. You could relax and get some fresh air; yet, I heard that it may be impossible for you. We would like to, at least, ask you to remember the time which you spent with us. Yours sincerely”.
One of the most interesting customs from the Sanok region is called ‘koty’ [cats]: “In the civilised part of the country it would never take place. When a person dies, they put him or her on a bench beneath a window. All people come to the house, especially teenagers. They do not mourn, but quite the opposite, they are happy and play different pranks until the dead falls from the bench”.
There are also other instances that express the playful behaviour of teenagers in this region. In winter on the Feast of the Baptism of Christ [here called ‘Jordan’] “after a priest blesses water in a lake or river, peasants immerse local girls in the blowhole, sometimes up to their waist. They also fill cans with the water and take it home. Then they drink the water regularly and sprinkle the house with it. The rest is stored in a bottle or a can of 8 litres or smaller”.
On Advent young people also have fun: “Girls from a few houses (6-10) gather in a chamber of one house after sunset. They light lamps or, in poorer houses, candles. Boys come also and sometimes even a violinist who would be given some yarn in exchange for playing. They tell some stories, sing, and sometimes dance until about midnight. They play some games; for instance, they put some strands of hair on a stove bench in pairs (one strand of a girl and one strand of a boy), and light them up. If the ashes intermingle, it means that a pair will be together. Boys play pranks on girls by tangling up their yarns, hiding spindles or lighting up parts of their fibres”.
