Cow Death

Personification of the death of cattle among the Eastern Slavs. 

It appears in the form of a cow or a cat (most often black), or a dog, sometimes in the form of a cow skeleton (a symbol that originated on the model of the popular image of human death) or an old disgusting woman.

Its appearance is accompanied by a mass death of livestock.

It was believed that Cow death appears most often on the day of Agafya Cowshed. 

To frighten Death, the procession raised an incredible noise: they rattled scythes, frying pans, sickles, stove shutters, raised shouts and screams. If an animal (cat, dog) came across, it was immediately killed, believing that it was Death, hiding in the form of a werewolf.

A talisman against Cow death were worn-out old bast shoes soaked in tar, which were hung in the barn