Slavic Folklore test #1

Slovene

(famous ppl)

Polyane

(field men)-the most developed mid-Dnepr region

Radimichi

(happy ppl)

Viatichi

(ppl from the edge)

Krivichi

(riverbank ppl)

Dregovichi

(swamp ppl)

Drevlyane

(woodmen/ ppl from forests)

♣ Four stages of the development of paganism

1. Dualistic understanding of nature, belief in good or evil spirits 2. Cult of celestial god Rod and goddesses of fertility- rozhanits Lelja and Lada 3. A complex pantheon of gods led by a god of lightning and thunderstorm- Perun ♣ Perun was a patron and protector of military men and the Knyaz. ♣ It was the 10th century, eve of Christianity 4. After the acceptance of Christianity, pagan beliefs still existed along the suburbs (Okrainy/ Ukrainy) of the state

Laws of Life:

1. Life is everlastin (Rod) 2. The rotation from dark to light came from the rotation of the sun. (Veles) 3. Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, Today is a gift. (Kolyada)

Where were slavs born

Birthplace is controversial. Some scientists believe that the motherland of the Slavs was the great region of Dunube River and Carpatian Mountains. Others consider the Mid-dneper region

Belobog and Chenobog

God-brothers belobog- "white-god" Chenobog- "black-god"

Svarog's children

Perun, Svyatogor, Dazhdbog, Semargl

Western Slavs

Poles, Czechs, Slovakians

Eastern Slavs

Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians

YAV'

an earthly world

NAV'

an underground world

Dualism

belief in the polarity of life

PRAV'

celestial world

• The Slavic people are divided into 3 branches:

o Eastern o Southern Western

Slavs were pagans

o Term paganism appeared later in the church community and meant everything non-Christian or before Christianity

Rod god

o Was born from a golden egg ♣ Like a bud trapped in the egg, but when the shell cracked love spilled out and Lada was born. He cut his own yolk stalk and separtated the celestial waters from the waters of the ocean by creating earth in between them ♣ When he was born he separated truth from lie, light from darkness, and good from evil ♣ He then created Mother Earth who went into ocean and he created all other gods ♣ Made sun from his face, moon from chest, stars from eyes, etc. ♣ Base of Slavic word "birth" Oak tree= man birch tree=woman

• 6th Century

o all Slavic tribes (Polyane)that lived along the Dnepr river were united under one tribe Ros/Rus (blonde ppl/ navigators) o Kiev became the center of Rus ♣ The grand prince Kij and his brothers Seek and Choriv built a town on a high bank of Dnepr and called it Kiev in honor of the prince ♣ The descendants of Kij were the first to rule the Kievan state o 6th century- Slavs started losing family ties o military unions emerge ♣ leader of tribe was military was a military man- Knyaz/Prince ♣ leader was elected by collective vote of men- veche ♣ Knyaz had a permanent army- druzhina and home guard ♣ Cities had their own court and markets

Celestial World

• Dazhdbog- the god-giver, the ancestor of all Russian ppl and their princes • Perun- the god of thunder and lightning, a patron of warriors

Mokosh

• Earth goddess- rules over fertility and midwifery • Commonly called Mat-Syra-Zemla or "Moist-Mother Earth" • Mokosh spins flax and wool at night and shears sheep • Always spins web of life and death • Originally may have been a house spirit concerned w/ women's work • Eventually her worship was transmuted to the modern widespread reverence for Mother Russia • Mokosh is dark-like god, black soil, portrayed w/ uplifted hands • Worshipped by Eastern Slavs • Protector of women and their children, helped women in labor, and helped them obtain a good marriage • Her word derives from the word megko= something soft

Perun

• God of lightning, warriors, and storms • Son of Svarog • Thunder-god of ancient Slavs, a purifier, an overseer of right and order • Rugged man w/ copper beard o Rides chariot pulled by he-goat and carries a mighty axe or arrows, sometimes a hammer ♣ Axe is hurled at evil ppl or spirits and will always return to his hand • Patron god of princes and warriors • When he first appeared he was accompanied by a flash of light and a powerful earthquake o Holy day is Thursday; Feast day- July 20th o Name= "to strike" • Temple in Novgorod • Symbols= wheel w/ 6 spokes o Has thunder marks-ancient symbols of Perun o Engraved upon roofs and building

Veles

• God of the underworld, a protector of flocks and cattle, and is the patron of trade, divination, the arts, and poetry • Oaths were sworn in his name. sometimes portrayed as wolf-headed, sometimes as huge serpent, who dwells in water • Enemy of Perun • w/ Christianity, his idol was thrown into the Pocayna river, and he became the Devil, or alternately he became St. Blaise (Vlas), a shepherd • Gave 2nd law of life- o That the rotation from dark to light came from the rotation of the Sun • Opponent of Perun • One of the few Slavic gods found in all Slavic nations • God of underworld and death, god of magic and musicians, god of cattle and wealth

Stribog

• God of wind, storms, and dissension • Bridges the cold and the frost Called the grandfather of winds and sometimes the distributor of wealth

Lada

• Goddess of spring, love, and beauty • Lives in Otherworld, called Vyri, until Spring equinox • After this moment, she emerges, bringing spring w/ her • She appears as Freya, Isis, or Aphrodite in other mythologies • A symbol of the Sun is sometimes found on her breasts- symbol of life0giving power

Khars/Hars

• Khars- an Iranian name- comes from Russian word for good and is a solar deity • God of Yellow, solar/starlight, and good • Mentioned by the primary chronicle as one of the gods officially worshipped in Kieva • Rus during 960s • Khars is a direct adaptation of Khursun, an Iranian god • Usually depicted w/ a solar halo above his head, and on his head is a horn that symbolizes the moon, and on his chest is a wolf devouring the moon • Hors apparently rules over werewolves, vampires, and demons But he isn't evil

Earthly world

• Makosh- the moisture Mother Earth -Lada- a patroness of spring, love, and marriage

Chernobog

• Means "black-god" • Opposite force of Belobog, lord of darkness, the bringer of calamities and destruction

Belobog

• Means "white god," and he appears as an old man w/ a long white beard, dressed in white and carrying staff • He is a giver of light, traveling only in daytime • He leads the lost out of dark forests, bestows wealth and fertility on all, and helps reapers in fields Fights w/ Chernobog every winter and summer solstice

Who is rod depicted with?

• Rod depicted w/ 2 Rozhanizas o Dolya- good luck o Nedolya- Bad luck

Southern Slavs

• Serbo-Croatians, Macedonians, Slovenians, Bulgarians, Bosnia, and Herzegovina

Svarog

• Son of Rod, is father, creator, who forged the earth • Found magical stone Alatir and muttered an incantation over it o Stone turned white-hot and it formed the oceans—where water did not touch, dry land formed • Learned to prepare tvorog and cheese, and then created land in the heavens where gods live He created: Sun, joy, and fire • Had three sons: Dazhdbal, Senaryl, and Perun • God of blacksmithing, law and fire (like Hephaestus) Name means "sky or heaven" in Sanskrit

Semargl

• Son of Svarog • Comes from Iranian word 'close to the birds,' ... "Simurg" from Iranian myth • Born from flames when Svarog truck the edge of Alatir w/ magic and sparks flew • He was gold and silver colored

Dazhdbog

• Son of Svarog • God of sun, name= "give" and "god" • Travels in chariot across sky (like Apollo) bringing justice, prosperity, and sunshine to the world • Known as grandfather of Russian ppl • Attendants: o 2 maidens (morning and evening stars) o 7 judges (planets) o 7 messengers (the comets)

All slavs maintain close relationship between stars and men

• Stars are our ancestors, when a man dies his soul floats upwards to the clouds

The World Tree

• The Slavs believed the world was divided into three parts: • Roots existed in Nav', main section which was the human world existed in Yav', the uppermost branches reached into the land of the sky Gods, Prav' and Irij (Ray)

Svyatogor

• Titanic warriors in Russian mythology and folklore • A giant living in the Holy Mountains after he is named o Name: ♣ Svlato- holy/shepherd ♣ Gor-mountain • He protects Yav' and Prav' from Nav' o Makes sure they are safe from the dark forces in Nav'

Ovsen'

• Twin brother of Kolyada • He is the bridge to the future • Starts new day of the new year • Name came from old Russian word usen'= morning

Underground World

• Veles: the god of the underworld where the ancestors lie

Kupalo

• celebrated the 23rd through the 24th of June • the night before is Ivan Kupalo commemorating the night when he made up his mind that the light and the world would be swallowed up by malicious darkness • from the 24ht to the 29th of June the sun dreamed of the sky and didn't know where to turn, countries burned with fire and sifted with snow • kupalo is bright white and comes from the word bath or to bathe • God of Summer Solstice

Kastroma

• daughter of Semargl, twin of Kupalo • punished by gods for not marrying. They returned her to her kidnapped brother not telling them they were siblings and they married • after they discovered they were siblings, kastroma threw herself into the lake and turned into a mermaid, Mayka • a fertility goddess, personification of spring, who dies at the end of spring only to arise once more at the end of winter • her brother/husband jumped into fire • gods had mercy and turned both of them into a flower -Ivan-and-Maria • flower has 2 colors, yellow-for fire, blue-for water • now they are together forever

Jarilo

• god of erotic sexuality • son of Veles • young and fair, wears white cloak and a wildflower crown • leads a white horse and often goes barefoot, carrying a bunch of wheat in his left hand and skulls in his right • his rites are in the springtime and at the harvest, as he is a vegetation deity • at Lada's command, he opens the gates of the sky bringing springtime, then he returns to the heavens at the end of the summer

Kolyada

• he was a real man, born in 7th century • created a calendar that led ppl to understand how time passed • He gave the 3rd law of life: o Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery Today is a gift

Rod

• was considered omnipotent and omnipresent. He is believed to live in the sky and give life to everything on Earth

Solar gods

♣ Dazhdbog- god of celestial holy light (Prav') ♣ Hors- god of yellow sunlight (Yav') ♣ Jarilo- god of red light that symbolize passion, sexuality, and close to dark forces of Nav'

World Tree Division

♣ Top of tree- Prav • Correct divine order of the gods ♣ Middle- Yav • Where human terrestrial world can be seen ♣ Roots- Nav • Underworld