Paganism of the Slavs in Russia
Paganism is a religion based on belief in several gods at the same time, and not in one Creator God, which is characteristic, in particular, of Christianity.
The concept of paganism
The term "paganism" itself is not entirely accurate, since it includes several concepts, and not one single one. Today, paganism is understood not only and not so much as a religion, but as a set of religious and cultural beliefs, and instead of paganism, belief in several gods is referred to as "totemism", "polytheism" or "ethnic religion".
The paganism of the ancient Slavs is a term that is used to refer to a complex of religious and cultural views on the life of the ancient Slavic tribes before they converted to Christianity and converted to a new faith. There is an opinion that the term itself in relation to the ancient religious and ritual culture of the Slavs did not come from the concept of polytheism (many deities), but from the fact that the ancient tribes, although they lived separately, had one language at the core. So Nestor the chronicler in his notes speaks of these tribes as pagans, that is, having one language, common roots. Later, this term gradually began to be attributed to Slavic religious beliefs and generally used to refer to religion.
The emergence and development of paganism in Russia
Slavic paganism began to take shape around the 2-1st millennium BC under the influence of Indo-European culture, when the Slavs began to stand out from it into independent tribes. Moving and occupying new territories, the Slavs got acquainted with the culture of their neighbors and adopted certain features from them. So, it was the Indo-European culture that brought into Slavic mythology the images of the god of thunder, the god of cattle and the image of mother earth. The Celts also had a considerable influence on the Slavic tribes, who also enriched the Slavic pantheon and, in addition, brought to the Slavs the very concept of "god", which had not been used before. Slavic paganism has a lot in common with the German-Scandinavian culture, from there the Slavs took the image of the world tree, dragons and many other deities, which later transformed depending on the living conditions and the characteristics of the Slavic culture.
After the Slavic tribes formed and began to actively populate new territories, move away from each other and separate, paganism was also transformed, each tribe had its own special rituals, its own names for the gods and the deities themselves. So, by the 6-7th century, the religion of the Eastern Slavs was quite noticeably different from the religion of the Western Slavs.
It should also be noted that very often the beliefs of the top of society were quite different from the beliefs of the lower strata, and what was believed in large cities and settlements did not always coincide with the view of the paganism of small villages.
From the moment the Slavic tribes began to unite, began to form single centralized state, external relations of the Slavs with Byzantium began to develop, gradually paganism began to be persecuted, more and more often the old beliefs were questioned, even teachings against paganism appeared. Finally, after Baptism of Russia in 988, when Christianity became the official religion, the Slavs began to gradually move away from the old traditions, although the relationship between paganism and Christianity was not easy. According to some reports, paganism is still preserved in many territories, and in Russia it existed for quite a long time, until the 12th century.
The essence of Slavic paganism
Despite the fact that there are a sufficient number of sources by which one can judge the beliefs of the Slavs, it is difficult to form a unified picture of the world of the East Slavic pagans. It is generally accepted that the essence of Slavic paganism was faith in the forces of nature, which determined human life, controlled it and decided fate - hence the gods-rulers of the elements and natural phenomena, mother earth. In addition to the highest pantheon of gods, the Slavs also had smaller deities - brownies, mermaids and others. Minor deities and demons did not have a serious impact on human life, but actively participated in it. The Slavs believed in the existence of a human soul, in the heavenly and underground kingdom, in life after death.
Slavic paganism has many rituals that are associated with the interaction of gods and people. They worshiped the gods, they asked for protection, they asked for patronage, they made sacrifices - most often it was cattle. There is no exact information about the presence of human sacrifices among the pagan Slavs.
List of Slavic gods
Common Slavic gods:
Mother Cheese Earth - the main female image, the goddess of fertility, she was worshiped and asked for a good harvest, a good offspring;
Perun is the god of thunder, the main god of the pantheon.
Other gods of the Eastern Slavs (also called the pantheon of Vladimir):
Veles is the patron of storytellers and poetry;
Hair is the patron saint of cattle;
Dazhbog - a solar deity, is considered the ancestor of all Russian people;
Mokosh is the patroness of spinning and weaving;
Rod and women in labor - deities personifying fate;
Svarog - the blacksmith god;
Svarozhich - the personification of fire;
Simargl - a messenger between heaven and earth;
Stribog - a deity associated with the winds;
Khors is the personification of the sun.
Also, the Slavic pagans had various images that personified certain natural phenomena, but were not deities. These include Shrovetide, Kolyada, Kupala and others. Effigies of these images were burned during holidays and rituals.
The persecution of the pagans and the end of paganism
The more Rus united, the more it increased its political power and expanded contacts with other, more developed states, the more the pagans were persecuted by the adherents of Christianity. After the Baptism of Russia took place, Christianity became not just a new religion. But a new way of thinking began to have a huge political and social role. Pagans who did not want to accept a new religion (and there were a lot of them) entered into open confrontation with Christians, but the latter did everything to reason with the "barbarians". Paganism persisted until the 12th century, but then it began to gradually fade away.
So, someone decided to become a Slavic pagan, or at least understand this topic enough to understand if it suits him. I, for many years now, as a pagan, and at the same time, as a scientist who studies the faith of the Slavs by a certified religious scholar, I will try to give such a small guide on this issue.
First, as I like to do, a few sobering facts:
1) There is not a single text written by a Slavic pagan in antiquity. It just so happened that the Slavic pagans, for example, unlike the Greek ones, despised writing, relying on the once highly developed oral tradition. Alas, the bet did not quite work. Folklore (= oral folk art), of course, brought to us some fragments of past traditions, but it is not possible to reliably identify basic things about paganism after a millennium of Christianity domination, heaps of losses, foreign borrowings and author's inclusions. So immediately throw in the trash "Veles Book" (1950s) and other "Vedic scriptures" on "Slavic runes", especially if the names of Asov or Khinevich (1990s) are seen there. All authentic sources on Slavic paganism were sometimes written by unbiased bearers of Christianity or Islam before the 13th-14th centuries. Almost everything (with rare exceptions) that appeared later is speculation or direct forgeries of varying degrees of inadequacy. In my opinion, the greatest danger for a novice Slavic pagan lies in early falling under the influence of inadequate authors: too many such authors have divorced.
2) As with any Indo-European paganism of Europe (Germanic, Celtic, and the same Greek), the continuity of the transmission of faith in Slavic paganism is interrupted. That is, in 1150 there were still people who clearly spoke about themselves: “I am a Slavic pagan” and taught the basics of the faith of their ancestors. Perhaps the last such people were as early as 1250. But it is absolutely certain that there were no such people in 1550. Paganism as self-consciousness perished at the end of the Middle Ages. The remnants of paganism were carried by Christians by self-determination, even if they used magic that was completely pagan in origin or celebrated Maslenitsa, which was completely pagan in origin (no matter what individual shots grumbled). For at least 500 years there were no people in the world who recognized and called themselves a Slavic pagan. And suddenly - time! - and people appeared in the 20th century who again began to call themselves Slavic pagans and try to revive in one form or another the foundations of the old faith. In science, they are called neo-pagans, that is, "new pagans." No one forces you to call yourself that - but we must admit that this term is correct.
3) Thus, the main task of a beginner Slavic neo-pagan is to find such a form of a recently created spiritual system that would most adequately ensure continuity with the spirituality of the ancient religion of the Slavs, and at the same time be adapted to modern realities. It is not so simple: we know far from everything about the ancient faith, and how to adapt it to the current age and no one at all knows “how to” correctly. Hence the diversity of communities and teachings. But some build these systems on lies about Slavic antiquity and culture (what then is their "Slavic"?); and some - on the foundations that really constituted the spirituality of our ancestors.
Now let's move on to the positives.
- Slavic paganism is basically the faith of the ancestors. The ancient Slavs did not borrow this religion from anyone, but took the precepts of antiquity from their fathers and grandfathers, who learned to live in harmony with the environment typical of the Slavs, which is characteristic precisely and only for them. There is something in common between Slavic paganism and the Slavic language: it has the same amount of not always clear depth at first glance, it has the same amount of mysteriously “native” and accurate, and at the same time this is the heritage of the ancestors, somewhat changing over the centuries. No one invented it entirely, but everyone could offer him something new, which, if successful, could take root in him.
– Slavic paganism is really a “natural faith”. The ancient Slavs did not know the concept of "ecology" and in some ways would definitely not seem ecologically friendly to us. However, due to objective factors, they lived in harmony with nature and maintained this harmony - simply because it was impossible to do otherwise at that time. They were not even particularly aware of the concept of "nature", because it was not so clearly visible to its antipode - culture. I left the house - here is the field, then the forest: nature. There was a drought, and you are not ready - hunger. Late spring has come, and you are not ready - hunger, death. A wolf rushing from the forest to bite a cow is another disaster. With all these and far from only these natural phenomena, the Slavs were forced to skillfully interact. Of course, this influenced religion and a special spiritual connection with Nature in general, and its objects in particular. This concerned far more than everyday practical issues.
- Slavic paganism is a full-fledged religion that millions of people have preserved for many, many centuries. She did not die herself - she was destroyed from the outside, when people no longer corresponded to her level. And if some priest chuckles at the inferiority of paganism, laugh at him in response. They are much more stuck in the past than neo-paganism, which is being revived at a pace that frightens these priests.
Now for some practical advice. First, read more and be smart less.
A) sources. There are quite a few of them, but don't expect them to be complete. These are pieces of the puzzle, having accumulated which, it will not be possible to recreate the whole picture. However, its common features will become clear, and, no less important, it will become clear what does not apply to it. The southern Slavs, Poles and Czechs poorly preserved pagan antiquity. Therefore, the two main corps are Old Russian and Polabsky (Polabsky Slavs have now disappeared, and in the Middle Ages they lived next door to the Germans in the east of present-day Germany and the west of Poland). The Old Russian Corpus compiles The Tale of Bygone Years, The Tale of Igor's Campaign, and teachings against paganism, which are nicely presented in Galkovsky's book (I recommend) The Struggle of Christianity with the Remnants of Paganism in Ancient Russia. The Polab corpus consists primarily of chronicles, which can be found by the names of the authors: Titmar of Merseburg, Adam of Bremen, Helmold from Bosau (I recommend him first of all) and Saxo Grammatik. Soon, I hope next year, we are waiting for the important edition of the Polabian sources in the book with the appendices “The Life of St. Otto of Bamberg” – so far their Russian translation is sorely lacking. All the most basic I have listed; approach the rest more carefully, and don’t draw big conclusions from what you read at the first stages. Moreover, some authors, like the same Saxo Grammatik, are very biased towards the Slavs.
B) One reading of sources for order in the head is not enough, although it is it that contributes to this order to the greatest extent. In parallel, you should get acquainted with the best scientific works. Not everyone will approve of my initial reading list, but I recommend the following books. I have already named Galkovskiy. Geishtor A. The mythology of the Slavs is an excellent survey work on all regions, texts and archeology, suitable for the very beginning. Mansikka V.J. The religion of the Eastern Slavs is the most detailed and qualitative examination of the Old Russian corpus of sources. Niederle L. Slavic antiquities - a description not so much of religion as of the whole life, customs and culture of the ancient Slavs as a whole. Klein L.S. The Resurrection of Perun is a chic historiography, beautiful language and a fairly complete overview of ancient Russian paganism in all respects. This book is criticized a lot, but it is much better than the works of B.A. Rybakov, which I will not advise reading at all, especially at the beginning of the search. After the above, but not the first, Lovmyansky’s skeptical work, “The Religion of the Slavs and Its Decline,” will also go out of business, rather abstruse, but with a very wide coverage of source texts. For the Polabian Slavs, for a century and a half, Hilferding’s work “History of the Baltic Slavs” has remained unsurpassed, which lacks only an archaeological block.
B) practice. There are several approaches. Polytheists ("polytheists" from Greek) choose the closest Deities and establish a special connection with them. Higher Gods are popular, among which in the late ancient Russian pantheon Perun, the God of warriors, was supreme, but Veles, a shaman and sage with a special connection with nature, Svarog, an artisan and fire, and Mokosh, the “woman” Goddess, were also revered. Personally, I have a special respect for Heavenly Father - Dazhbog, whom I see as the head of the pantheon before Perun ( http://dajbojic.livejournal.com/2757.html), and self-explanatory Mother Earth. Rodnovers - those who re-read the not always adequate Rybakov - greatly elevate Rod, but in my eyes this is not God, but rather the image of their ancestors. To read - I read, but I do not attribute it to the highest Gods. Polabian Deities are not so popular, although it is quite possible that Sventovit is Perun, and Triglav is Veles, etc .; but it is not exactly. The gods are worshiped, communicated, meditated, sacrifices and vows are made, and in return they help - if it pleases them. Another approach is pantheistic (however, almost every polytheist is a pantheist), this is when the Universe or Nature is presented as Divine. It does not require the study of personal Deities, which is quite convenient in conditions of a lack of sources. This communion with Nature is also in a variety of ways.
D) The practice should also include festivities, of which three are the most important. The most important (although some argue) is the spring equinox or near it, preserved in Christianity as Maslenitsa. This is the beginning of the pagan year, although they still argue what it was called in the old days, and whether it is necessary to involve lunar cycles in its calculation. The second most important holiday is the summer solstice or around it, among the people - Kupala. Since the end of June is a vacation or vacation for many, and the weather finally pleases, many communities spend the most significant festivities on Kupala. Finally, on the winter Solstice or so, Karachun (Christian Kolyada) is held. There are several smaller holidays - I would be careful about those where the names of the Deities appear (such as "Day of Veles"). Basically, such holidays are sucked from the finger for no particular reason.
e) What is good and what is bad? – I tried to answer this question in detail here: vk.com/wall-119055965_1835 In short, there are three values, the well-being of which can serve as a sufficient meaning of life: Nature, People and Kin. How to combine it - now everyone decides for himself. But it is absolutely certain that, unlike world religions, Slavic paganism will not hope for “salvation” in the afterlife for a righteous life here. Paganism is paganism because it is aimed at the prosperity of these values here and now. If you like, we are building a pagan paradise on earth for the benefit of our Nature, People and Family.
E) I tried to describe the device of the world here: vk.com/wall-119055965_7223 Three layers of worlds, the totality of which is infinite. Did you think that ancient mythology did not take into account something? What is there, it is far ahead of physics - I, a scientist (albeit a humanist), am firmly convinced of this.
G) I tried to describe something on the topic of theology and myths here.
I. Introduction
The word "culture" comes from the word "cult" - faith, customs and traditions of ancestors. Anyone who forgets this has no right to be considered a cultured person.
Before Christianity and other monotheistic religions, all nations were pagans. The culture of earthlings dates back millennia.
Now not a word is spoken about paganism in schools. Not only students, but also teachers have no idea about paganism. Meanwhile, the school curriculum should begin with a fairy tale, song, myths of their ancestors. Myths are the primary layer of the cultural life of mankind; religion, science, and art draw their origin from them.
Slavic paganism developed along different channels: some tribes believed in the forces of space and nature; others - in Rod and Rozhanits, others - in the souls of dead ancestors and spirits (inspired forces); the fourth - in totem animals - ancestors, etc. Some buried (kept) their dead ancestors in the ground, believing that they then help the living from the Other World, left them something to eat. Others burned the dead in boats (boats), sending their souls on a heavenly voyage, believing that if the body is burned, the soul will quickly rise to heaven and there each will perish in its own star (hence - to perish).
According to the ideas of the ancient Slavs, the highest gods lived in the sky, the spirits of nature lived on the earth, and evil demons lived underground. Probably, such a structure did not appear immediately. In the beginning there was a cult of the spirits of nature, the spirits of the patrons of man, the spirits of ancestors. Then the images of the gods were formed, the list of which was gradually replenished. Man improved, and spirits and gods became more and more humanized.
II. Slavic pagan world
Today it is possible to give only a general idea of the Slavic pagan world. Moreover, if individual gods can be described in more or less detail, then only names have been preserved from others.
The most ancient non-personalized gods of the Slavs are Rod and Rozhanitsy. The genus is sometimes identified with the phallus, sometimes with grain (including solar and rain grain, fertilizing the earth). Women in labor are the female giving birth, giving life to all living things: man, flora and fauna. Later, Rod and Rozhanitsy began to perform more functions, unified into supreme gods and personified in different tribes of the Slavs - they received proper names: Yarovit, Svetovid, Rigevit, Makosh, Golden Baba, Didiliya, Zizya, etc.
The ancient Slavic ones include the worship of ghouls and coastlines.
1. Beregini and spirits
Beregini(like the Greek penates) kept the well-being of different places and types of nature, as well as the house. There were many house spirits: brownie, kutny god, grandfather, ergot and hurry (spirits that contributed to human affairs), drowsiness (home peaceful deity of sleep), bayunok (storyteller, night storyteller, lullaby songwriter), laziness, otet (extreme laziness) , okoyoms, prosecutors, prokudy (rogues, non-rumors, pranksters), bannik (bath spirit), evil spirits, demons, devils, shishigs (devils with hair sticking out a bump), kikimora or shishimora (devil with hair sticking out a bump, deity of restless dreams and night phenomena). The Orthodox "devil" means the damned, who has crossed the line, the border.
There were many beregins; they protected people everywhere: at home, in the forest, in the field, on the water, protected crops, stockyards, children, sang lullabies to them, told fairy tales (tales), evoked dreams. Later they received some proper names, some proper group names, for example, own Did, Baba - progenitors; group - mermaids, goblin, etc.
Here is some of them:
grandfather (did)- progenitor, ancestor For those who believed that they were descended from Perun (Olgovichi and others), this is also a synonym for Perun. Grandfather is the guardian of the family, and, above all, children, of course. The senior man, a representative of the tribal eldership, who pacifies the passions within the clan, keeps the basic principles of the morality of the clan, strictly following their implementation. The forest deity was also called grandfather - the keeper of the Perunov treasure (gold, silver, i.e. Lightning, thunderstorms, silver rain). Grandfather prayed for guidance, the discovery of the treasure. According to legend, where the light shines, there is this treasure (rain with a thunderstorm), which is vital and important for people.
Woman. The most ancient of them is Baba Yaga.
What does Yaga mean? Why is she so scary? And even more so, no one believes that the terrible Baba Yaga is originally a caring coastline.
The word "Yaga" coarsened from "Yashka". Yasha in Slavic songs was called foot-and-mouth disease - once living on earth and the disappeared progenitor of all living things; hence our more understandable - ancestor. Baba Yaga was originally a progenitor, a very ancient positive deity of the Slavic pantheon, the keeper of the clan and traditions, children and the near-home (often forest) space. During the period of Christianity, all pagan gods and deities, spirits, including those who protected people (shorelines), were given evil, demonic features, ugliness of appearance and character, evil intentions. So the pagan strict progenitor was turned into an evil demon, which is used to scare our little children. In different Slavic tribes, there were later other progenitors who received proper names: Golden Baba, Golden Mother, Makosh, etc.
There are especially many coastlines (they were also later given evil features) among the wood spirits: a forester, a woodsman, a leshak, a wild man, Mikola (Nikola) Duplyansky, a companion, a boletus, crafty (bent and twisted, like a bow, and the same internally, which is the main thing) , grandfather, grandfather; as well as demons (Slavic “demon” literally means “without”, and then any positive concept could follow, for example, a person without conscience, God, concept (knowledge), goodness, justice, honor, mind, etc.) devils ; shishigi; mavki forest; ghouls; anchutki (a cross between a devil and a duck); werewolves; werewolves (dlaka - skin); bats; miracle Yudo; forest king; sudichki and hartsuks (small spirits, assistants to Perun); famously one-eyed; bird fear-Rah - this is an incomplete list of forest dwellers who were the embodiment of the forest as a space hostile to man.
Sometimes the goblin did not differ from people, but more often the owner of the forest seemed to be dressed in an animal skin (dlaka); sometimes it was with animal attributes: horns, hooves, etc.
In winter, the usual goblin in the forest was forced out by Perun's helpers, who were even more strict with a person - Kalinniks (from the word "fire"): Morozko, Treskunets, Karachun. Thus, a person, leaving the house in the forest, field, tuned in to a constant struggle with unforeseen circumstances and merciless elements; on the other hand, he could always count on the unexpected help of the forest deity, the forest owner, so he tried to please him; do not harm in the forest, do not beat animals unnecessarily, do not break trees and bushes in vain, do not litter the forest, do not even shout loudly, do not disturb the peace and quiet of nature.
The fact that from the Slavic kikimora (shishimora) - the deities of sleep and night ghosts tried to make an evil spirit, is evidenced by the second part of the word - “mora”. Mora (Mor), Mara is the goddess of death. But still, kikimora is not death. If she gets angry and plays pranks, for example, disturbs babies at night, confuses yarn left for the night, etc. - does not mean that someone will die as a result of her evil tricks. Kikimora is a weak, as it were, mirror image of only the fear of death, or even just fear.
Christianity managed to turn into its opposite and mermaid- the oldest type of coastline that lived in the waters. She was always depicted with a female face and breasts, a fish body and tail. The very word "shore" comes from the concept - to protect, to help the wandering, sailing, in distress to get to the shore. This was done by the Slavs mermaids. However, during the period of criticism and denial of paganism, the idea was gradually introduced that mermaids were drowned women and dead unbaptized children. They became afraid. It was believed that they are more dangerous for people in the Russian week (June 19 - 24), before Ivan Kupala, especially on Thursday (Perun's day). During the Russian week, they sang mermaid songs, hung yarn, threads, towels on trees and bushes - symbolic clothes for mermaids; either to appease them, or to pity ...
The ancient Semargl also ascended to the shores - a sacred winged dog that guarded seeds and crops. Semargl is, as it were, the personification of armed (warlike) good. Later, Semargl began to be called Pereplut, perhaps because he was more associated with the protection of plant roots (Pluto is the Greek god of the underworld). The cult of Pereblut celebrated the Russian week. And the seeds and crops began to protect Yadrey and Obilukh. Mermaids brought news of rain.
Bereginami were the same bird with a woman's face: the sweet-sounding Sirin, the Phoenix bird reborn from the ashes, Stratim - the mother of all birds, the oldest in the big one, the Firebird, swan girls (swans), Nail-bird, etc.
mythical half-animal, half-human also called chimeric or chimeras. The purpose of many coastlines is now lost. For example, the dog name Polkan, many people think that in ancient times there was such a winged dog (confusing it with Semargl), while polkan (half-horse) is literally a half-horse. The half-horse guarded the solar horses of Svetovid, the horses of the sun gods or the gods of thunder.
Among the half-horses are Russian Little Humpbacked Horse, Sivka Burka, etc. In appearance, they are half or much smaller than the heroic horses of God, they are plain, sometimes even ugly (hump, long ears, etc.). In a metaphorical sense, it is the half-horses-half-people who understand the affairs of people (gods and demons), speak human language, distinguish between good and evil, and are active in affirming good.
There is another extraordinary deity: Chur- the deity of the borders, one of the oldest deities of the coastline. Derived from "shur". Ancestors (ancestors) of any kind. Chur is connected with the world. He consecrates and protects the right to property (cf. “Chur-mine”), divides everything fairly: “Chur-in half!”, “Chur-together!”.
The word “chur” is associated with “damn”, “outline”, “outline”. Proto-Slavic "devil" - cursed, possibly violating boundaries, boundary, geographical, and then - inevitably, moral; replacing good with evil.
2. Pagan gods
Many references to solar cosmic pagan gods have come down to us.
Svarog- the god of the sky (Svarga - the sky), hence our expression "svara", "cook" - swear, scold, be like the sky in bad weather. Son of Svarog - Dazhdbog
Associated with Svarog Stribog - the god of air currents and elements. It was he who obeyed the winds. The proper names of some of them have been lost, perhaps one of them was called Wind, the other Hurricane, etc. But the names of the two winds have come down to us. This is Weather (Dogoda) - a light, pleasant westerly breeze. It is no coincidence that all the rest of the state of the atmosphere, except for the one named, is called bad weather. Posvist (Pozvist or Pokhvist) is the elder (or lord) wind living in the north. Depicted in a huge fluttering cloak.
Some believe that the sun god of the ancient Slavs was Yarilo, others - Dazhdbog, others call Svetovid. However, the Slavs had their own sun god. Name to him. It is best known among the southeastern Slavs, where, of course, there is a lot of sun.
From the ancient roots "horo" and "kolo", meaning a circle, the solar sign of the sun, the words "round dance", "mansions" (circular building of the courtyard), "wheel" are formed.
Hors is dedicated to two very large Slavic pagan holidays in the year - the days of the summer and winter solstices in June (when a cart wheel was rolled down from the mountain to the river - a solar sign of the sun, symbolizing the sun's rollback for the winter) and December (when they honored Kolyada, Yarila and so on. ).
Kolyada- a diminutive of "kolo", the sun-baby (it seemed to be a boy or a girl, because for a small age of a child, gender still does not play any role; the sun itself is of a middle gender). This deity arose from the winter solstice, from the poetic idea of the birth of the young sun, that is, the sun of the next year (This ancient idea of \u200b\u200bthe annual baby has not died to this day. It has been transferred to the concept of "new year". On postcards and in New Year's design of festivities it is no coincidence that artists depict the new year in the form of a boy flying in space).
Kolyada was celebrated during winter Christmas time from December 25 (Novel, Christmas Eve) to January 6 (Veles Day). This time coincides with severe frosts (cf. Mora - death), blizzards (cf. Viy) and the most violent abysses of unclean (in the Christian view) spirits and evil witches who hide the moon and the stars. Everything is covered with a frosty veil and seems dead. However, winter Christmas time is the most cheerful revelry of Slavic festivities. The mummers walked around the yards, sang carols - songs glorifying Kolyada, who gives blessings to everyone. They also glorified the well-being of the home and family.
On the nights of winter Christmas time, fortune-telling took place for the future harvest, for offspring, and most of all - for marriage unions. There are countless ways to guess. This custom comes from the desire to communicate with the ancient Slavic goddess, who was represented as a beautiful spinning girl spinning the thread of fate, the thread of life - Srecha (Meetings) - in order to find out her fate. For different tribes, the synonyms “court”, “rock”, “share”, “fate”, “lot”, “kosh”, “verdict”, “decision”, “choice” have the same meaning.
Srecha- goddess of the night No one saw how she was spinning, so fortune-telling took place at night. Most often they guessed at the betrothed (cf. The word “bride” literally means “unknown”). It is assumed that the duties of the goddess of fate among other East Slavic tribes were performed by Makosh who patronized household chores.
If during the winter holidays, fortune-telling took place at night, then during the days - ladins - conspiracies of brides, and then weddings.
The Slavic holiday Kupalo is associated with the summer solstice. The day of the summer solstice is the most important holiday of the Slavs, the time of the highest development of the creative forces of nature.
On the night of June 24, there was a custom not to sleep: to guard the meeting of the month with the sun, in order to see how "the sun is shining." The Slavs went to the ritual hills or glades near the rivers, burned fires, sang, danced round dances, streams. Jumping over bonfires was both a test of dexterity and fate: a high jump symbolized good luck in plans. With jokes, feigned cries and obscene songs, the straw dolls of Yarila, Kupala, Kostrubonka or Kostroma were burned (fire - woody parts of flax, hemp).
At dawn, all those who participated in the holiday bathed in order to remove evil infirmities and illnesses from themselves.
On the Kupala night, according to legend, all sorts of miracles happened: rare mysterious herbs bloomed - gap-grass, fern, etc .; unseen treasures were discovered. Evil spirits - witches and sorcerers - also indulged in all sorts of revelry, hid the stars, the month and so on.
From the merger of the name of the pagan Slavic holiday of Kupala and the Christian Ivanov's day (meaning John the Baptist), a new name for the holiday appeared - Ivan Kupala.
If Khors was the god of the sun, then Svetovid, Dazhdbog, Rugevit, Porevit, Yarovit, Belbog carried in themselves both the masculine tribal principle, and the solar, cosmic one. These gods of late Slavic paganism are the supreme (ancestral) gods of different tribes, so there is a lot in common in their functions. Dazhdbog- one of the most famous gods of the East Slavic tribes. This is a giving god, a giver of earthly blessings, as well as a god protecting his family. He gave man everything that is important (by cosmic standards): the sun, heat, light, movement (of nature or calendar - the change of day and night, seasons, years, etc.). Probably, Dazhdbog was more than the god of the sun, although he was very close to this, he denoted what we call "the whole wide world."
Belbog- the keeper (conservative) and the giver of goodness, good luck, justice, happiness, all the best. An ancient sculptor made a statue of Belbog with a piece of iron in his right hand (hence - justice). Since ancient times, the Slavs have known a similar (trial by iron) method of restoring justice. A person suspected of some misconduct was given a red-hot piece of iron in his right hand, ordered to walk ten steps with him; the one whose hand remained intact was recognized as right. The concept of "branded with iron" from ancient times was equivalent to "branded with shame." From here we learn that the supreme Slavic gods carried another function - the Supreme Judge, Conscience, the Zealot of Justice, as well as the punishing god, protecting the family from moral decline.
Svetovid(Svyatovid) - the god of war, the sun, victory among the Western Slavs, was depicted as four-headed. Holidays in his honor began at the end of the harvest, in August. The Slavs brought fruits collected from fields, orchards and orchards as a gift to God. The priest filled Svetovid's horn with young wine, symbolizing the fullness of the next year's harvest. A lot of young animals were sacrificed to Svetovid, which were eaten right there during the feast.
Rugevit- the supreme god of one of the Slavic tribes. Rugevit had seven faces, seven swords with scabbards hung from his belt, and he held one sword in his right hand. Rugevit stood guard over the life of his tribe.
Porevit- one of the tribal supreme gods, more ancient. Pora (spore) is nothing but a seed, and vita is life. That is, this is the god of the male seed, the giver of life and its joy, love, just like the East Slavic Yarovit and the already named Svetovid, Belbog, Dazhdbog, Rugevit.
Something close to all these gods Perun, thunderer, god of the Western Slavs. Perun had a huge retinue of relatives and assistants: Thunder, Lightning, Hail, Rain, mermaids and water, winds, of which there are four, like the four cardinal points. Hence the day of Perun is Thursday (cf. “after the rain on Thursday”, “pure Thursday”), sometimes there are seven, ten, twelve or just a lot of winds.
Bogatyrs, oxen serve Perun and other gods, personifying the forces of nature. If they roam, then stones are turned out from the mountains, trees are felled, rivers are dammed up with rubble. There are many such heroes of different strengths in Slavic mythology: Gorynya, Verni-gora, Valigora, Vertigor, Dubynya, Duboder, Vertodub, Vyrvidub, Elinya (spruce), Lesinya (forest), Duginya (arc oppression), Bor, Verni-voda, Zapri - water, Potok-bogatyr, Usynya, Medvedko, Nightingale the robber (hurricane wind), Force-tsarevich, Ivan Popyalov (Popel), Svyatogor, Water, etc.
Forests and rivers were dedicated to Perun, which were considered sacred, for example, the Bug, the Volkhov.
Associated with Perun and snakes. There were several meanings and purposes for snakes (as symbols).
There are two holidays in the calendar of the Slavs, during which snakes are remembered (more often these are harmless snakes), March 25 is the time when cattle are driven out to St. George's dew and snakes crawl out of the ground, the earth becomes warm, agricultural work can begin. September 14 - snakes leave, the agricultural cycle basically ends. Thus, these animals, as it were, symbolized the cyclical nature of rural field work, they were a kind of natural climatic clock. It was believed that they also help to beg for rain.
Images of snakes - snakes - adorned ancient vessels with water. The snakes from the Perunov retinue symbolized the clouds of heaven, thunderstorms, the powerful revelry of the elements. These snakes are multi-headed. You cut off one head - the other grows and shoots fiery tongues (lightning). Serpent-Gorynych - the son of a mountain - heavenly (clouds). These snakes kidnap beauties (the moon, stars and even the sun). The snake can quickly turn into a boy or girl. This is due to the rejuvenation of nature after the rain, after each winter.
Snakes are the keepers of countless treasures, healing herbs, living and dead water. Hence the snake-doctors and symbols of healing.
Snakes from the retinue of the gods of the underworld - Viy, Death, Mary, Chernobog, Kashchei, etc. Guard the underworld. A variant of the snake - the owner of the underworld - Lizard, less often - Fish. The lizard is often found in folk songs of archaic times, sometimes, having lost the ancient meaning of symbolism, it is called Yasha.
Many tribes, especially in hunting, forest regions, believed that their ancestor was a mighty gigantic beast. For example, bear, deer, foot-and-mouth disease, etc. The cult of Veles is associated with such ideas. The ancients believed that the family is descended from a god, who is shown only in the form of a beast, and then again goes to the heavenly chambers (the constellation Ursa Major, etc.).
Veles- one of the oldest East Slavic gods. At first he patronized hunters. Due to the taboo on the deified beast, it was called “hairy”, “hair”, “veles”. It also denoted the spirit of a killed animal, hunting prey. "Vel" is the root of words meaning "dead". To die, to repose means to be attached in spirit, soul to the heavenly ancestors, whose soul flies to heaven, but the body remains on earth. There was a custom to leave on a harvested field “I harvest ears of hair to Hair on a beard”, that is, the Slavs believed that the ancestors resting in the ground also help its fertility. Thus, the cult of the cattle god Veles was somehow associated with the ancestors, with the harvest, with the well-being of the family. Herbs, flowers, bushes, trees were called "hair of the earth."
Since ancient times, cattle has been considered the main wealth of the tribe, family. Therefore, the cattle god Veles was also the god of wealth. The root "volo" and "vlo" became an integral part of the word "volodet" (to own).
The cult of Veles goes back to the cult of Rod and Rozhanitsy. Therefore, together with Yarila, the Slavs paid tribute to the voluptuous cattle gods Tur and Veles on the holiday of Semik, on the oil week and on the winter Christmas holidays, sacrificing round dances, singing, kisses through a wreath of fresh flowers and greenery, all kinds of loving actions.
The concept is also connected with the cult of Veles. Magi, since the root of this word also comes from "hairy", "hairy". Magi during the performance of ritual dances, spells, rituals in ancient times dressed in the skin (dlaka) of a bear or other animal. Magi are a kind of scientists, sages of antiquity, who know their culture, in any case, better than many.
Very revered among the Slavs were female goddesses, dating back to the ancient cult of Rozhanitsy. The most ancient is the goddess of the Western Slavs Triglav(Trigla). She was depicted with three faces, her idols always stood in the open air - on the mountains, hillocks, by the roads. She was identified with the goddess of the Earth.
Makosh- one of the main goddesses of the Eastern Slavs. Her name is made up of two parts: "ma" - mother, and "kosh" - purse, basket, koshara. Makosh is the mother of filled cats, the mother of a good harvest. This is not the goddess of fertility, but the goddess of the results of the agricultural year, the goddess of the harvest, the giver of blessings.
The volume of the harvest with equal labor costs each year is determined by lot, fate, share, a lucky break. Therefore, Makosh was also revered as the goddess of fate. In Russian Orthodoxy, Makosh reincarnated as Praskeva Friday.
Makosh patronized marriage and family happiness.
The Slavs were especially fond of fret- the goddess of love, beauty, charm. With the onset of spring, when nature itself enters into an alliance with Yarila, Ladin's holidays also came. These days they played burners. Burn - love. Love has often been compared to red, fire, heat, fire.
Many words of marital meaning, union and peace are associated with the root “lad”. Lad - conjugal consent based on love; get along - live lovingly; get along - marry; frets - engagement; got along - matchmaker; ladniki - an agreement on dowry; Ladkanya - a wedding song; fine - good, beautiful. And the most common - fret, so they called loved ones.
Her child is associated with Lada, whose name is found in female and male incarnations: Lel(Lelya, Lelio) or Lyalya (Lelia). Lel is a child of Lada, he induces nature to fertilization, and people to marriage unions.
Paulel- the second son of Lada, the god of marriage. He was depicted in a white simple everyday shirt and a wreath of thorns, he gave the same wreath to his wife. He blessed people for everyday life, a family path full of thorns.
Also associated with Lada Znich- fire, heat, ardor, the flame of love, the sacred ardor of love (cf. on the back).
3. Gods of death and the underworld
The gods of the sun, life and love, the earthly kingdom were opposed to the gods of death and the underworld ... Among them - Chernobog , the ruler of the underworld, the representative of darkness. The negative concepts of “black soul” (a person who died for nobility), “rainy day” (day of disaster) are associated with it.
One of the main servants of Chernobog was Viy(Niy). He was considered the judge of the dead. The Slavs could never come to terms with the fact that those who lived lawlessly, not according to conscience, deceiving others, and unfairly used the benefits that did not belong to them, were not punished. They sincerely believed that they would take revenge, that someone else's grief would be cast off, at least not in this one - but in the next world. Like many peoples, the Slavs believed that the place of execution for the lawless was inside the earth. Viy is also associated with the seasonal death of nature during winter. This god was considered the sender of nightmares, visions and ghosts, especially for those who have a guilty conscience.
Associated with the seasonal death of nature during winter Kashchei- deity of the underworld. It symbolizes ossification, numbness from frost in the winter season of all nature. Kashchei is not a real god of death, his power is short-lived.
The real goddess of death was Mara(Mor). Hence, probably, the words “die”, “death”, “die”, “die out”, “dead”. The Slavs also had touching images of female deities of mortal sorrow. karny(cf. okarnat, punishment befell) and jelly ; KruchinyandZhurba(in other tribes) - embodying boundless compassion. It was believed that the mere mention of their names (regret, pity) relieves souls and can save them from many disasters in the future. It is no coincidence that there are so many cries and lamentations in Slavic folklore. The root "three" is associated with the denial of an unfavorable sign - "odd", as a symbol of unhappiness, which is why it is often found in spells.
III. Conclusion
Fusion of paganism and Christianity
Christianity has ruled our land for a thousand years. If it had come to bare ground, it would not have taken root so firmly. It lay down on the prepared spiritual soil, its name is faith in God. Paganism and Christianity, despite the fact that you can find in them the most opposite positions in relation to certain phenomena (for example, to sacrifices, to the concept of sin, enemies), the main thing is in common: both of them are faith in God - the creator and guardian of the entire world we see.
The ancient Slavs did not separate the gods from the forces of nature. They worshiped all the forces of nature: large, medium, small. Every force was for them a manifestation of God, God was everywhere for them. Light, heat, lightning, rain, a spring, a river, wind, an oak that gave them food, fertile land, etc. All this, large and small, which gave and moved life, was a manifestation of God and, at the same time, God Himself.
A person changed, thinking changed, faith became more complicated, and faith changed. Christianity, which came to Russia with the sword of Prince Vladimir and trampled on pagan temples and shrines, could not resist the ethics of the people, their aesthetic predilections, could not but take into account the established rules of life.
So Easter- optimistic holiday of Christian salvation and resurrection - united with pagan rainbow- the day of memory of the ancestors and all the dead. In Christianity, it was not customary to commemorate the dead with food - this is a purely pagan tradition, but it is she who has now taken over. Even seventy years of atheism have not crossed out of the life of an Orthodox Slav the day when he is accustomed to commemorate dead relatives. During the rampant most terrible orgy of the union of militant atheists, during the years of war, famine, the flow of people to the cemetery on Easter days was not interrupted, because this tradition is not a thousand, but several thousand years old.
Thus, not only Christianity influenced paganism, but vice versa. After a millennium of Christianity, a pagan holiday passed safely - buttermilk. This is the farewell to winter and the meeting of spring. The pagans baked a pancake - a symbol of the hot spring sun - and ate it hot, thus filling themselves with the solar energy of life, solar power and health, which should have been enough for the entire agricultural annual cycle. Part of the pechev was given to animals, not forgetting to commemorate the souls of the dead.
Winter and summer Christmas time- games in honor of the god Svetovid during the turning of the sun for summer or winter are also not completely forgotten. Summer Christmas time partly merged with Christian Trinity and winter ones happy christmas holidays .
More examples of the fusion of holidays and individual gods can be given. Thus, both faiths have undergone many changes from their original nature and now already exist together and monolithically, having received, not by chance, the name Russian Orthodoxy .
All the current disputes about which is better - paganism or Christianity? - groundless. Well, let's say paganism is better. So what? After all, it does not exist in its pure form, in the broad faith of the people, in broad knowledge. Ask people who knows the name of the Slavic god of the sun? - no one will say. Also Christianity - it was split into many currents: Catholicism, Lutheranism, Gregorianism, etc.
The only acceptable thing for a modern Russian person is to return to Russian Orthodoxy. But this does not mean that everything pre-Christian should be considered useless and useless. Paganism must be studied as the most ancient period of our culture, the infantile and youthful period of the life of our ancestors, which will strengthen our spirit, give each of us the strength of the spiritual and national soil, which will help us endure in the most difficult moments of life.
Literature
1. A.A. Kononenko, S.A. Kononenko. "Characters of Slavic Mythology". Kyiv, "Corsair", 1993.
- A.I. Bazhenova, V.I. Verdugin "Myths of the ancient Slavs." Saratov, "Hope", 1993.
- G. Glinka. "The Ancient Religion of the Slavs". Saratov, "Hope", 1993.
- A. Kaisarov "Slavic and Russian mythology". Saratov, "Hope", 1993.
- B. Cresen. Veles book. Saratov, "Hope", 1993.
Applications
Characteristics and drawings of some characters of the mythology of the ancient Slavs
(drawings by E.I.Obertynskaya)
Perun - the supreme god of Kievan Rus; a formidable god commanding celestial phenomena; god of War. Tall, broad-shouldered, black-haired, big-headed, golden-bearded (honey flows down his beard). In his right hand is a bow, and in his left hand is a quiver with arrows. The strongest in nature, fights evil forces. August 2 - Perun's day. On this day, all evil spirits, escaping from the fiery arrows of Perun, turn into various animals. In the old days, on August 2, dogs and cats were not allowed into the house, so as not to cause a thunderstorm - the wrath of Perun. Perun's bird is a rooster, Perun's day is Thursday. The statue of Perun the Thunderer stood in the pantheon of the gods of Prince Vladimir.
Veles (Volos) - the god of cattle breeding and wealth, the patron of the animal world. He related man and animal, taught people not to kill animals, but to use them in the household. Veles - the guardian of the Magi, creators, shepherds, merchants; endows a person with talent, physical data: tall, good voice, hearing. He is the father of giants; ox - mighty, big. Volos is one of the gods of the pantheon of Prince Vladimir, his day is Monday. The ancient Slavs had a reaping custom - "curling a beard." The last ears were not reaped, but woven into a beard, as a gift to the god Veles. Grass and forest are the hairs of the earth.
Yarilo (Yar) - the deity of awakening nature, the patron of the plant world. This is a young handsome man on a white horse and in a white robe with a wreath of spring flowers on his head. In his left hand he holds ears of corn. In the spring, "yarils" were celebrated, which ended with the funeral of Yarila. Where Yarilo passes - there will be a big harvest, whoever he looks at - love flares up in his heart. Yarilo was identified with the Sun. In many songs, sayings, people turn to this deity with requests for a warm summer and a good harvest. June 4 - Yarilin day.
Dazhbog (Dazhdbog) - the god of the sun, harvest, the son of Svarog, the husband of the goddess of love. In myths - one of the first kings and legislators, laid the foundation for the chronology according to the solar calendar. A handsome strong young man, a young prince, a trustee of plowmen and sowers. Gives a person physical strength, health, wisdom, skill. In the annals, he is called the ancestor of the Russians. Dazhbog is also the keeper of earthly keys. The sun god closes the earth for the winter and gives the keys to the birds, which take them to the vyrey - the summer kingdom, the country of departed souls. In spring, the birds return the keys and Dazhbog opens the earth. One of the gods of the pantheon of Prince Vladimir, his day is Wednesday.
Belbog is a god who lives in heaven and controls them. It appears as an old man with a long gray beard, in white clothes and with a staff in his hand. There is the personification of a bright day. All the time in contradiction with the dark forces of the night, the personification of which is Chernobog. Belbog with his staff collects white clouds, if they were dispersed by the winds, pierces them to make it rain.
Zibog is the god of the earth, endowed with great power. He is the Creator, the Creator. He raised the earth in one place and mountain ranges, ridges, hills stood up; lowered it in another - water poured out, seas and oceans formed; made a furrow with huge fingers - rivers flowed. And where the little finger touched - the small lakes splashed. Zeebog keeps the earth, and people make him angry - the earth shakes, erupts volcanoes, raises huge waves. Zeebog is mighty, shaggy eyebrows, a beard is developing, it’s better not to anger him.
Rod is the god of the universe, living in heaven, who gave life to all living things that only exist in the world. Genus is credited with creative and masculine power (a phallic deity). Clay, wooden and stone images, protective talismans of this god are found during excavations. The genus is the embodiment of the ancient goddess of fertility, the masculine principle. The cult of this god, like most pagan gods, was lost after the introduction of Christianity.
Svarog is the god of heavenly fire, the father of Dazhbog. He threw Kuznetsk pincers to the ground from the sky and since then people have learned to forge iron. Svarog broke the heavenly cover with rays and arrows, opened the sky and the sun, sent heavenly fire to people, without which you can’t make weapons or jewelry: he kindled inspiration with sparks in the hearts and souls of the masters. Svarog is a capricious god, he rarely revealed his secrets to anyone. He presented himself in the form of a young broad-shouldered blacksmith, silent and strict; patronizes blacksmiths, whom they call his grandchildren - svarozhichs.
Khors is the god of the solar disk, the eye of the sky. An affectionate and kind god who gives his warmth to everyone. No one can defeat him, because it is impossible to approach him: he rises above all in heaven. Appears to be a handsome young man. On the idols of the god Khors, solar signs were depicted. Khors is the god of the pantheon of the Kyiv prince Vladimir, his day is Tuesday.
Stribog is the god of the air elements, the ancient supreme deity of the sky and the universe. He breathes evenly and noisily, walks along the expanses of the sea. And if he gets angry, he will buzz, spin, howl, gather clouds, raise a wave, scatter ships, or even sink. It is presented in the form of a harp plucking the strings, with a bow behind his back, and on his belt - a sagaidak with arrows. Stribog - overcoming obstacles, the winds are his grandchildren, his day is Sunday. One of the gods of the pantheon of the Kyiv prince Vladimir.
Beregini - air maidens that protect people from ghouls. The Slavs believed that beregini live near the house and protect the house and its inhabitants from evil spirits. Cheerful, playful and attractive creatures, singing enchanting songs with delightful voices. In early summer, under the moonlight, they circle in round dances on the banks of reservoirs. Where the coast ran and frolicked, there the grass grows thicker and greener, and in the field bread will be born more abundantly.
Numerogog is the goddess of the moon. She holds in her hand the moon, according to which time was calculated in ancient times, she is characterized by calmness, measuredness, impassivity. Her period is from early twilight to dawn, but despite this, she is indifferent to the dark forces of evil. Contemplating reality, calmly counts both seconds and centuries. He likes to walk in the snowy expanses on long winter nights, and to swim in warm water on short summer nights.
Nemiza is the god of air, the lord of the winds. His head is crowned with rays and wings, and a flying bird is depicted on his torso. Light as a feather, and sometimes he turns into a feather and sways in the air, resting from worries. When, in the very heat, a slight coolness suddenly touches the brow, it is Nemiza who favors, lazily flapping her wing. Nemiza is not grumpy and allows the winds to frolic without interfering in their affairs. But if they really quarrel and spin a crazy carousel, he will intervene and put things in order.
Alive (Zhivana, Siva) - "giving life", the goddess of life, she embodies the life force and opposes the mythological incarnations of death. He holds an apple in his right hand and a grape in his left. Alive is in the form of a cuckoo. In early May, sacrifices are made to her. The girls honor the cuckoo - the spring messenger: they baptize in the forest, fumble among themselves and curl wreaths on a birch.
Frost (Frost) - the god of winter, cold weather. Dressed in a warm fur coat, walks through the forests and covers the trees with snow. In winter, he is a complete master, in his submission are snowfalls, blizzards and blizzards. Always at war with the spring, resisting its coming, attacking at night, but always retreating in the end. Not all travelers are happy in their possessions. Depending on the behavior of a person, and sometimes on his own mood, he can reward a person or punish him. If he gets angry, he will sprinkle with snow, zavyuzit, knock him off the road, climb under his clothes. It can freeze your ears or hands, or even completely freeze.
Lada is the goddess of love, the patroness of marriages, the hearth, the goddess of youth, beauty, fertility. Femininity itself, tender, melodious, fair-haired; in white clothes - she will bring a guy to a sweetheart on Kupala night in a round dance, and hide her stepdaughter from her evil stepmother under the branches when she gathers to meet her friend. In young families, the hearth supports: it’s about to go out, and Lada will throw a twig, wave her clothes - the hearth will flare up, touch the hearts of the unreasonable with warmth, and again the harmony in the family.
Makosha (Mokosh, Makesha) - Slavic deity, patroness of women's work, spinning and weaving. Also agricultural deity, mother of the harvest, goddess of abundance. The flower is a poppy, intoxicating like love. From the name of this bright flower, which the girls embroidered on wedding towels, is the name of the goddess. Makosha is the deity of female vitality. The only female deity whose idol stood on a hilltop in the pantheon of Prince Vladimir. For some northern tribes, Mokosh is a cold, unkind goddess.
Lel is the young god of love. Due to his youthful years, Lel is sometimes simply amused by love, although he does it out of good intentions - for him this is a fun game. A handsome young man with curly hair makes girls fall in love with him by playing the flute and singing to them. When he doesn’t have a pass from another chosen one, Lel finds a boyfriend for her and convinces both that they were looking for each other. Lel appears in the spring, lives with his brother Polel in the forest. Together they go out in the morning to meet Yarilo. Lelya's pipe can be heard on the Kupala night.
Weather is the god of clear days, the herald of spring, the husband of the goddess Zimtserla. Light-faced, clear-eyed, beardless, cheerful in disposition. And sometimes he quarrels with his wife and walks gloomy. That's why the days are cloudy, and even rainy: Zimtserla pours tears. And when bad weather - a serious quarrel. Anger and anger pass, the weather is reconciled with his wife, again the days are clear and beautiful. We ask: “What will the weather be like?”, but we should be: “What will the weather be like?”
Karna (Karina) - the goddess of sorrow, the weeping goddess of the ancient Slavs, the sister of Zhelya. If a warrior dies far from home, Karna is the first to mourn him. According to the legends, weeping and sobbing can be heard over the dead battlefield at night. This goddess Karna in black long clothes performs a difficult female service for all wives and mothers.
The Magi (magician, wizards) are the chosen ones of the gods, mediators between heaven and people, executors of the will of the gods. Every popular faith presupposes rituals, the performance of which is entrusted to chosen people, respected for virtue and wisdom, real or imaginary. The Magi were the guardians of the faith, lived as hermits, ate gifts and sacrifices that were intended for the deities. They had the exclusive right to grow a long white beard, to sit during the sacrifice, to enter the sanctuaries. After the introduction of Christianity, they were persecuted, as they worshiped pagan deities and defended the old faith and rituals.
Bes is one of the names of Chernobog. Later - a generalized name for evil spirits. Ugly, with pig snouts, long ears and tails, horned and shaggy. Able to move quickly in space. Especially zealous in bad weather in autumn and winter. They grunt, champ, howl, squeal, spit, spinning in a frenzied dance. They lead a lone traveler astray, lead him into an impassable thicket or into a quagmire, push him into an ice-hole; they frighten the horses and, clinging to the mane, drive them to death. They can transform into inanimate objects.
Brownie is the patron of the house. They also call him for obvious and proven merits with the name “master” and for the antiquity of the years of his life - “grandfather”. Appears in the form of an old man, a shaggy little man, a cat or other small animal, but it is not given to see him. He is the guardian not only of the whole house, but mainly of all who live in it. Naughty: making noise, rocking the bed, throwing off the blanket, scattering flour. But it also helps: washing dishes, chopping wood. Rocks a child. On February 7, on Efim Sirin, the brownie is fed porridge so that he does not sneer. On April 12, at John of the Ladder, the brownie rages until the first roosters.
Bannik (baennik, laznik baynik) - an evil spirit that lives in a bathhouse, appears in the form of a small naked man with iridescent eyes. He always lives in an unheated bath, the steam drives him out for a short time. Can kill a person washing at an inopportune time (after midnight). First, it puts you to sleep, then with long and thick lips it envelops your mouth and drives hot air into your chest. He especially dislikes drunkards. Skillful people kick him out with a bath broom. The bannik washes along with the devils, goblin, ovinniks in the fourth place, whoever gets caught by them at this time will be steamed. If it happened, you need to run backwards.
Vodyanoy (vodyannik, vodyadnik) - the spirit of rivers and lakes, like all spirits from evil spirits - is not only a "grandfather", as he is usually called, but also a genuine "ancestor". Always naked, in black scales, wrapped and girded with mud, with long green hair and a beard, in a hat made of kugi. Instead of hands - paws with membranes, a fish tail, eyes burning with red-hot coals. He sits on a snag and loudly claps on the water. He gets angry - he breaks dams, washes away mills, drags animals and people into the water. Fishermen, millers, beekeepers sacrifice to him.
Chur (Tzur) - the ancient god of the hearth, protecting the boundaries of land holdings. A hearth and a warm hut are Chur's habitat. He is called upon during divination, games, etc. (“Church me!”). Chur sanctifies the right of ownership (“Chur is mine!”). He also determines the quantity and quality of the necessary work (“Too much!”). Churka is a wooden image of Chur.
Witch - according to ancient legends, a woman who sold her soul to the devil. In the south, this is a more attractive woman, often a young widow; in the north - an old woman, fat as a tub, with gray hair, bony hands and a huge blue nose. It differs from other women in that it has a small tail and has the ability to fly through the air on a broomstick, a poker, in a mortar. He goes to his dark deeds without fail through the chimney, can turn into different animals, most often a magpie, a pig, a dog and a yellow cat. It gets older and younger with the month. On Sila August 12, witches die after drinking milk. A well-known gathering place of witches for the Sabbath on Kupala Night is in Kyiv on Bald Mountain.
Baba Yaga is a forest old sorceress, witch, sorceress. The character of the fairy tales of the Eastern and Western Slavs. She lives in the forest, in a "hut on chicken legs", she has one bone leg, she does not see well, she flies around the world on a mortar. You can trace parallels with other characters: with a witch - a way to move, the ability to transform (turn into animals); with the goddess of animals and the forest - life in the forest, the complete subordination of animals to her; with the mistress of the world of the dead - a fence of human bones around the hut, skulls on stakes, a deadbolt - a human leg, constipation - a hand, a lock - teeth. In most fairy tales, she is the opponent of the hero, but sometimes his assistant and giver.
Slavic paganism or about the name "Paganism"
We have a common word that unites us, which came from the depths of centuries. We are pagans. There is no other such word. Another name, for example, "Natural Faith" only refines this ancient word. Names such as “Vedic religion” or “pre-Christian faith” are invented today and do not have the proper strength in themselves. The direct bearers of the Vedic religion never called themselves that, and no one called them that at the time of their historical life. By the way, the first Christians also did not call themselves "Christians" - that's what the pagans of ancient times called them - after the name of the Messiah revered by them ("Christ-worshippers"). The creators of new self-names do not want to soil themselves with the dirt that world mono-religions have inflicted on paganism. They are cunning or sincerely do not realize that if “do not get dirty”, then this means “do not pick up”. And if you don’t “take it into your hands”, then all these new “Vedic orthodox believers” will be filled with content that is not related to our historical paganism. It will simply be Russian-Slavic rehashings of Indian religions, there will be a profanation of our national paganism, a remake sewn from patches of foreign traditions. Among a certain part of modern pagans, there is an opinion that pagan ancestors called themselves Orthodox, because, they say, they “praised the rule”. It is possible that somewhere there were “Orthodox” pagans, but, in fairness, it should be noted that not a single historical evidence of such a self-name of the ancient Slavic pagans has been preserved. Let's analyze the essence of the word "rule" in order to understand - should the pagans be called "Orthodox"? Rule is included in such our modern words as “truth”, “right” (in the sense of fair), “rule”, “rule” (country or boat), “ruler”. So, the word "rule" refers mainly not to the management of the boat (for example, along the river of life), but to the ideological justification of government, to the justification of the power of the prince. To his “just judgment”, which always had to be in accordance with the will of the gods. But someone was satisfied with the power of the prince and his truth, but someone was not satisfied. A thousand years ago, in the very depths of the forests, the freedom-loving tribes of the Drevlyans, Vyatichi and Radimichi lived, they did not let anyone in, so that they would not know their land and the princes from Kyiv or Novgorod would not go to them with armies. With the expansion of the range of princely power, the Vyatichi went to the northeast, and the independent land of the Drevlyans and Radimichi narrowed to Polesie. On this earth, free people were called by a word opposite to "princely truth." They were called “Krivichi” (by the way, Lithuanians to this day often call Russians “Krivi”). The Krivichi were a union of tribes, they were blood brothers, and a special place in their religious veneration was assigned to female deities and coastlines.
Let us remember that the title of the Baltic High Priest Krive-Kriveite is translated as Teacher of Teachers, and not at all as a teacher of untruth. The self-name "Krivichi" and the title of the high priest of the Balts become close, if you pay attention to the fact that a significant part of the population of the land of the Krivichi was of Baltic origin, and that a significant part of the territory of the present Baltic was inhabited by Slavic tribes. Over time, many Balts became Russified and began to classify themselves as Slavs, and many geographical names of rivers and villages remained of Baltic origin. The same should have taken place for sacred concepts, including such as “curve”. This approach naturally forces us to change the flat idea of the origin of the words truth and falsehood. As you know, the Krivichi long and stubbornly resisted the introduction of Christianity, held on to the “old faith” and “old gods”. Perhaps this is also why the word “curve” has acquired a negative connotation. There were, of course, those Slavic tribes that did not actively oppose themselves to anyone - neither to the will of the prince, nor to his priests, who performed the task of their master in the mass baptism of the population.
These tribes lived peacefully and quietly, but even they did not realize that they should somehow designate themselves by faith. But their language worked for them. In Old Russian, “tongues” means “peoples”. Therefore, by the nature of the language, the pagan faith is the faith of the common people, who are naturally close to the earth. As soon as the Christian priests realized that their task included not only the ideological suppression of the Krivichi (Krivi) who stubbornly held on to their faith, but also the subordination of “black people” (village residents) to the prince in general, then among the servants of the new Christian cult, the already existing in language the generalizing word: "paganism". In general and initially - they did not put a negative meaning into it, as they did with the word "crooked", putting into it the meaning of falsehood - deceit. By “paganism” they understood beliefs, as well as spiritual and legal institutions that turned out to be outside the princely truth, beyond his power. Therefore, the word "paganism" gradually acquired the spirit of something suspicious, but not yet received an accurate assessment. He was connected directly with the "demons and demons" by later strengthened Christianity. The very word "paganism" was not created or invented by priests - neither pagan nor Christian. It was already contained in the Slavic language before them as a generalizing concept (the word “paganism” comes from the root “language”, which in Old Slavonic means “people, tribe”). It was supposed to sound when the princes approved any new official deity and carried out his cult to the people. So it should have been when Vladimir Perun was approved in Kyiv and Novgorod. So it happened later, with the introduction of Christianity. The fact that Christianity is not just a cult of a new god, but carries a qualitatively different spiritual content, was still little understood by the Russian people, in the time of Vladimir. The priests of the official cult called “pagans” the tribes that did not follow the princely cult with its new crucified god (Christianity), but believed in their own way, in the “old gods”. They were considered “black people” if they were submissive to the prince, and they turned out to be “Krivichi” if they lived from the side of Lithuania and did not agree with the prince's policy.
As already noted, the very word “languages” means, firstly, “peoples”. Secondly, it also meant a speaker, a person who conveys a message. So, in Afanasyev's fairy tale "Ivan the Fool", published in 1855, we find: "Ilya Muromets killed everyone, left only the pagans for the king." It follows that in addition to the concept of “people”, the word “pagan” also contains another concept - “messenger”, or one who speaks (“speaking”, i.e. “knowing the word”). If we combine both of these ancient concepts, then we can easily see that in the religious sense, a pagan is one who carries news, knowledge, a word about the religion and faith of his people. And if today we say that we are pagans, it means that we are the messengers, we carry the message: "it's time for our people to remember their original beginnings." In Latin countries, the synonym for paganism was the word "paganism", derived from the word "paganus" - "farmer" (more broadly - "rural, village dweller", "village"). For many modern Slavic pagans, it does not seem very decent to be called a pagan or filthy - here the language forms developed over a thousand years, clichés and patterns imposed by those who decried and destroyed the ancient Natural Faith are pressed. But Western European pagans freely call themselves "Paganists". For example, when Lithuanian pagans found out that Russians are ashamed of their self-name (“pagans”), they were surprised: how can Russian pagans renounce themselves?
Indeed, to refuse such a high title as "pagans" - to humiliate themselves before the authorities and priests; in front of those who themselves (once upon a time) changed this word “in a crooked way” - just like many other words related to folk / natural faith. The same is true with other words, for example, with the word "blasphemous." In pagan terms, this means “to perform pagan hymns, songs or tales about the deeds of the gods and about the afterlife”. In modern language, it means to say something that defiles some kind of holiness. This is also the result of thousands of years of work of Christianity on our language. Historical truth will be restored. We must return to our everyday life such necessary words as “paganism” or “blasphemers”, and not be ashamed of them just because mountains of lies were piled on them. After all, we are not afraid of this lie. Therefore, let's be honest and consistent.
The problem of somehow naming their faith, and even more so of naming the type of their faith, could arise among the Slavs only with the beginning of the expansion of monotheistic religions. Prior to that, there was no need to give a name to your faith, the faith of your ancestors - it was called just that: “faith”, “our faith”, “faith of the ancestors” or “Slavic, Russian faith”. Actually, faith was - in fact - one common to many peoples; the concept of faith was broader than the concept of the tribe. And the Slavs, and the Germans, and the Scandinavians - all were pagans and, in general terms, adhered to the same pantheon and belief system. Moreover, all sorts of more distant neighbors - all without exception were pagans. The difference was only in the specific names of the same gods, or in which of them occupies the “main” place in the composition of a particular pantheon (and, consequently, the main, most noticeable from the outside, place in the cult), or in the composition itself. pantheon. Hence the variants of names for specific varieties of beliefs - either by the name of the tribe (the faith of the ancestors, the faith of the Slavs, the Busurman faith), or by the name of the “main” deity (fire-worshippers, Jesusists). There were simply no other names. There were not only “atheistic cults” around (such as “scientific atheism”), but also “author's” religions (such as Mohammedanism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism), which claimed not to be one single tribe, but an alternative to the entire generally accepted system of beliefs (For example, Judaism among the Khazars was called by neighbors only as “Khazar faith”). Thus, the Slavs (like all neighboring tribes and peoples) did not and could not have any special name for the faith of their ancestors, and even more so for the type of faith itself. Some conditionally generalizing names (for clarification in conversations with strangers) could be, but most often, of course, the name was used by belonging to a tribe (depending on the context - more general or more particular) - Slavic faith, faith of the Polyans, faith of the Normans, etc. . The need to determine the type of one's faith in opposition to the faith of a fundamentally different type arose only in theological disputes during the period of dual faith - when it was necessary to oppose the faiths of all nations with monotheistic religions. This is how the concepts of “paganism” and “paganism” arose. According to the most linguistically substantiated versions, both of these words come (in fact) from the concept of “people” (respectively, in Slavic “language” is the people, and in Latin “pagan” - rural, rural, soil - in terms of meaning, these are synonyms for the word “ people"). These words mean "folk faith", as a type of traditional beliefs of all peoples. Therefore, in this context, it is more correct to speak not about paganism in general, but more specifically about Slavic paganism. There is no way to determine which side of the theological dispute put forward it - this term is equally acceptable to both sides.
To consider it invented by Christians to humiliate pagans is as stupid as to consider the word "monotheism" offensive to Christians. This is a completely neutral scientific term, which very clearly and correctly draws a line between natural (natural) beliefs and artificial monotheistic denominations such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
All the emotions [of some pagans who do not want to call themselves "pagans" and their faith "paganism"] about the name of our faith are absolutely understandable, but naturally one has to reckon with the surrounding reality. If there is a war going on between the “Whites” and the “Reds”, between the “Point-Tipped” and the “Dull-Tipped” (an analogy, of course, does not apply to the essence of the process), then say something like “I wear a green tunic and, therefore, that says it all” - it means not to say anything definite. In fact, you still have to explain in a roundabout way that in fact you are “White”, “Red” or some other, but you do not want to talk about it directly. It is in this way that any explanation of abstract self-definitions will be perceived by everyone. We repeat once again - the emotions are understandable: the word "pagan" is not the most successful, but it is a very specific neutral scientific term. In any reference book, article, encyclopedia, everyday conversation, criminal case, we will still be called “pagans”. Up to our complete victory and even further - already as a result of the tradition that has arisen. Remember - the name "Bolsheviks" has remained with the Communists to this day. What can you do if monotheists (and Christians in particular) plowed up almost all the terms that belonged to the pagan religious sphere? But this does not mean that now it is impossible to use the words “requirement”, “goblin”, “witch”, “nauznik”, “accomplice”, “superman”, “sorcerer”, “blaspheme”, “get out”, etc. But, on the other hand, the reality of the consequences of [Christian] foreignness must also be taken into account - calling our faith “Orthodoxy” (as some “praise praising” pagans do *) is also not very reasonable in this situation. Finally, to finally resolve the issue of the origin of the word "paganism", let's turn to an academic scientific publication. So, “Old Slavonic Dictionary (according to manuscripts of the 10th-11th centuries): About 10,000 words; Moscow; Russian language; 1994; – 842 p.”. The article is in Old Slavonic and Ancient Greek, the following is written (4 fixed meanings): “LANGUAGE” - 1. language (organ) ... 2. language (speech) ... 3. people, tribe ... For example, “tongue will stand on tongue”; “Yes, one h (love) to die for the people, and not the whole language perish”; “vskuyu shatashya ezytsi”; “as if pr (oro) ka bo put thee in the tongue”, etc. [characteristically, this word is used even in relation to Christians! ]. 4. strangers, foreigners; pagans ... For example: “all of these languages are ishtut; idols of language (s) to silver and gold”…
Here you can clearly see the original, most ancient meaning of the word "language" - "people" (who owns a certain language). Also here one can clearly see the beginning of the opposition by Christians of the meanings of the word in question: “folk, natural” & “Christian, divine”. Thus, everyone can choose for himself in what sense to use the word “paganism” - either in the original 3rd meaning (that is, according to the ancient sense), or in the 4th later meaning (that is, in the changed under the influence of Christianity ). Also in the explanatory dictionary of V. Dahl you can find the meaning of the word “language”: “a people, a land, with its same-tribe population, with the same speech”. Thus, “paganism” for the Slavs is, first of all, a folk, primordial, Native Tradition. Accordingly, paganism is tribal beliefs, and in this sense it has long been used by our ancestors.
So, pagans are people who belong to the same clan-tribe, who honor its customs, love and protect their land, keep tribal myths and reproduce these relationships in new generations. At the same time, the land, the tribe that inhabits it, other forms of life and the gods form a single tribal whole, which is reflected in tribal myths and rituals, in the way of life and management. Do not be ashamed of the name "pagan". It is not necessary, if only for the reason that all Christians shudder at this one word: they are afraid of it like fire, like excommunication from the parish humanitarian trough; for them the word "pagan" is more terrible than "satanist". Have you ever seen the pitiful white frightened face of a Christian who accidentally wandered into the forest to the pagans and found out where he ended up? The phrase: “I am a pagan” sounds proud and militant; it strikes the enemy like lightning; it contains the power of a millennial spiritual confrontation with [Christian] foreignness. There is nothing offensive in the word "paganism" for the pagans themselves.
The fact that such words as “paganism” = “paganism” today are almost swear words for some pagans speaks only about the results of Christian propaganda, and about nothing more (“propaganda” in Latin is ideological “work” among the pagans). What can we say, many centuries have passed, the language has changed, many concepts have changed, and today almost all words related to paganism and the pagan worldview in one way or another have been turned into curse words (see examples above). On this basis, to engage in word-creation (and, in fact, verbiage) and invent some new words for everyone and everything is at least stupid and even one-god (monotheists) have too much honor. It is much more reasonable to direct the same efforts to ensure that completely different words that really deserve it become abusive. It is also important that by the very fact of calling ourselves “pagans”, we select the same Bogey, with the help of which some try to belittle those they do not like. We are not afraid to call ourselves “pagans” and even “pagans” - there is a Slavic pagan community in Belarus, whose representatives do not hesitate to call themselves just like that - but after that, any detractors simply have nothing to hide. Analogy: at one time in the States, the word “cop” was abusive (as well as the word “cop” in our country), but time has passed, and now every American police officer can proudly say “yes, I am a cop.” This positive image, as well as the word it stands for, has been created for decades with the help of films and the daily work of the law enforcement agencies themselves; the same process has begun with us - books with the mention of the word “cop” are already being published, the television series “Cops” has been released, and after a couple of decades no one will even remember that once a word was for someone abusive or inelegant. That's about the same thing can happen with the word "paganism" (as well as with any other word). Moreover, this has already happened in antiquity, when Christians took it into their arsenal and used it all as a “chase” – now it remains only to return it to our arsenal. And, what can we say, when the word “symposium”, which is commonly used even in high politics, comes from the Greek “binge drinking”; and the word "pluralism" in the ancient Greeks meant multiple copulations during an orgy. And the word “pagan” against this background looks much more decent: just something like “soil, rural, rural”. Simply, in later times this word was used by Christians, who contemptuously called adherents of the faith of their ancestors “hillbilly”, considering them unenlightened and dark when they stubbornly did not want to convert to the “true faith of Christ”.
And such a word as “paganism” and in general has the root “people” (“language”), that is, “pagans” are essentially “populists” - such a translation is the most elegant, and therefore this particular translation will continue to be used ( whatever lovers of “originality” and other historical naphthalene say, dreaming of the “harmony of a stagnant swamp” and not understanding that everything changes and must change - for Movement is Life).
SLAVIC TRADITIONS
In all official papers - statutes, names of communities, etc. it is necessary to use the term “paganism” or the phrase “Slavic paganism”. Otherwise, we are closed to the creation of an all-Russian confession and the recognition of modern Slavic paganism as the historical successor to the pre-Christian beliefs of the Slavs. For any religious examination, appointed in such cases according to the current legislation, recognizes our entire movement as just a collection of small scattered sects belonging to various newly minted faiths that have nothing to do with the ancient Slavic faith (Slavic paganism) and, therefore, fundamentally unable to be considered as belonging to traditional Russian confessions. Accordingly, the official (registered in the authorities) name of the community as “pagan” should be considered the only acceptable one. The sooner we can achieve universal acceptance of this term, directly in line with the goals of our entire movement, the better. In this regard, it should be especially noted that no one calls for calling themselves only “pagans” (or even, for example, “Pagans”). On the contrary, any other identifiers can be used in parallel, such as “rodnovers”, “rodnovers”, “rodyans”, “polytheists”, “traditionalists”, “pantheists”, etc. It's just that one should not be afraid and should not be ashamed of strangers (and indeed of any kind) Labels and Bogeys used by motley detractors - only then will they cease to be such. We have already selected them and, if necessary, we will select them again. You just need to not be afraid of anything and calmly do your job. [* To call paganism “Orthodoxy” (“Glorification of the Rule”) is historically and linguistically illiterate. Nowhere and in no historical sources is it even hinted that the pagan Slavs, they say, “praised Rule” (all the more, why praise it? Will it wither away without glorification, or what? Rule is the laws of the Universe, perfectly managing and without human intervention). Being extremely honest, one has to reckon with the facts. And the fact is that "Orthodoxy" is a literal tracing-paper from the Greek "orthodoxis": from "orthos" - "correct" & "doxa" - "faith in", "opinion about" (someone), "good name ”, “glory”, “(pro) glorification”; i.e., the word "Orthodoxy" has the meaning of "correctly glorify" (the Judeo-Christian God, respectively). The given etymology of the word “Orthodoxy” is officially scientific and is shared by all modern historians and linguists. Citizens who disagree with this can try to provide evidence of their point of view in strict accordance with scientific methodology: 1) facts, 2) sources, 3) references, 4) reasoned justifications. Before citing all of the above - any statement has no scientific value, but is only an opinion (which may well turn out to be erroneous; and that is why evidence and sufficient evidence are required).]
The separation of the ancient Slavs from the Indo-European community and the formation of the Proto-Slavic ethnic and linguistic unity occurred already in ancient times. Approximately by the middle of the 1st millennium from R.Kh. beginning-
There is a disintegration of the Proto-Slavic unity and the formation of three separate language groups: Eastern, Southern and Western Slavs.
Sources and problems of study. The ancient beliefs of the Slavs are restored on the basis of written sources, the results of archaeological excavations, ethnographic material and data from comparative historical linguistics. Among the written sources that make it possible to reconstruct East Slavic paganism, the most interesting are the Old Russian chronicles, hagiographic and polemical texts, in which pagan beliefs are presented in the context of the Christianization of Russia. Valuable material that makes it possible to reconstruct these beliefs is contained in The Tale of Bygone Years (beginning of the 12th century), the Novgorod Chronicles, the Sophia Chronicle, the Life of Vladimir, and other monuments. In addition, for the study of Slavic paganism, the testimonies of Byzantine authors are used - the historian, writer and approximate commander Belisarius - Procopius of Caesarea (d. c. 562), Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus (905-959), learned cleric Leo the Deacon (b. c. 950) and Arab writers, merchants and travelers of the X-XI centuries. - ibn Fadlan, Masudi, ibn Roste, al-Balkhi and others.
Despite the fact that the number of listed sources may seem significant, in reality, researchers of the religious beliefs of the ancient Slavs face a number of problems, since:
- the use of archeological and ethnographic data to study the religious ideas of the Eastern Slavs is hampered by the fact that the religious interpretation of these materials, as a rule, is not unambiguous;
- the information presented in written sources about the pre-Christian religion of the Eastern Slavs refers to the late period of development of religious ideas, which took shape on the eve of the adoption of Christianity;
- in Christian polemical texts, ancient Slavic paganism is often described in a stereotyped manner, under the influence of translated Christian texts that denounced the beliefs of the ancient world.
Unfortunately, until now, many scientific studies and popular science presentations of ancient Slavic beliefs bear traces of excessive categoricalness: hypotheses without proper justification are declared theories, polemics are conducted from the standpoint of a priori possession of the truth, and assumptions consonant with one or another concept are considered, regardless of their reasoning as evidence. Sometimes assumptions are proven by reconstructions made on the basis of those very assumptions, even though such proofs are not in any way conclusive. Scholars of Slavic paganism, without proper reason, often declare the concepts of their opponents refuted on the basis of their own disagreement, sometimes in the form of an article in a journal, and sometimes even without it. There are frequent cases of irresponsible accusations of both Russophobia and nationalism, chauvinism, betrayal of national interests - and all this is based on an assessment of scientific, and not political, views of researchers.
In this regard, the main problems of the modern scientific study of Slavic paganism should be highlighted:
- the absence at the moment of a sufficient number of reliable informative and authentic sources;
- significant politicization and ideologization of scientific discourse;
- attraction to the extremes of hypercriticism or a complete lack of criticism of sources;
- gravitation towards unconvincing reconstructions and untestable hypotheses;
- unreasonable categoricalness of many generalizations and conclusions;
- unwillingness to take into account the various available approaches to interpreting the material;
- the belief that scientific concepts can be refuted by a simple assumption, even if expressed in a categorical form.
The data of comparative linguistics and Slavic etymology make it possible to clarify some issues related to the interpretation of individual deities of the Slavic pantheon, to determine the vectors of intercultural interaction (various borrowings), but linguistic data alone is not enough to restore a complete picture of the Slavic religion.
Demonology. The most ancient and at the same time - tenacious form of Proto-Slavic beliefs was the cult of the forces of nature and spirits - the guardians of the inhabited territory, traces of which can be traced on ethnographic material at least until the beginning of the 20th century. in the characters of lower demonology - wood goblin, merman, brownie, mermaids, etc. The images of the listed characters of folk mythology include both ancient and later features, and ideas about them were formed under the influence of various cultural and religious processes, therefore they are of a pronounced synthetic and syncretic nature and it is not always possible to separate “ancient” from “new” in them. seems possible. It can be assumed that the names of demonic characters that have become traditional - "goblin", "water", "brownie" - are not original, since they are not recorded in reliable ancient Russian texts. But this does not indicate that the listed characters themselves are the result of later myth-making. So, a completely reliable mention of the "horm-bearing demon" can be reasonably correlated with the brownie. In any case, acquaintance with these characters allows us to see ancient pagan archetypes in the later folklore and mythological discourse, which were formed during the period of domination of pagan ideas in the ancient Slavic worldview.
Goblin - one of the most popular characters of Slavic demonology, the spirit is the master of the forest, the lord of forest animals. In popular perception, the goblin possessed both zoomorphic and anthropomorphic features. Despite some malignity of character, he cannot be considered a creature unequivocally hostile to man. Leshy is able to change his appearance and growth, he can lead a person astray - make him wander in the forest thickets. According to anthropologists, much in the image of the goblin brings him closer to the mortgaged dead, which will be discussed in more detail below. Also, the anthropologist D.K. Zelenin mentions the existence of ideas that the goblin is not alien to erotic attraction to women.
If a cow or other cattle disappeared in the forest, the peasant turned to a “knowledgeable” person to write a petition to the Forest Tsar (i.e., the “chief devil”) about the return of the loss. The symbolic presentation of the "petition" was accompanied by a ritual sacrifice. It was believed that shepherds grazing herds in the forests or in their immediate vicinity should conclude a special agreement with the goblin - the latter was obliged to monitor the herd, protect it from predatory animals for a special fee. Deceiving him, it was believed, could cost the shepherd his life. Folk ideas that the goblin of neighboring forests lose flocks of forest animals at cards to each other, of course, were formed not so long ago.
Another well-known image in ancient Slavic mythology is water, who was revered as a spirit - the master of the water world, the lord of fish and creatures of lower demonology - mermaids, the drowned also belong to his kingdom. He lives, according to legend, at the bottom of deep pools. The image of the merman combines anthropomorphic and zoomorphic features. It was believed that he was an insidious creature and hostile to man: he was able to drown swimmers, break through the dam of the mill, and scare away the fish. Sacrifices were made to him to propitiate the water one. In later folk mythology, there was a partial contamination of the image of the merman and the devil. Because of this, the miller was perceived as "knowing", a sorcerer who communicates with devils and can cause a lot of trouble to fellow villagers, but who can also help.
As a spirit - the guardian of the house was revered brownie - a creature disposed towards a person, at least not hostile to him. Domestic animals were considered under the special protection of the brownie. However, in the popular perception, he was characterized by selectivity, sometimes insidious: he takes care of the animals he loves, and annoys the unloved in every possible way.
In order for the brownie to favor people, he was “appeased”, i.e. made small offerings, etc. It was believed that in anger he begins to frighten people, beat them at night, spoil and break things. On the contrary, various help was expected from a benevolent brownie, a warning of impending misfortunes, help in housework. He was treated with great respect and fear, they were afraid to anger him with a careless word or deed.
When moving to a new house, a special ritual of “inviting” the brownie to move with the owners was performed.
According to the observation of S. A. Tokarev, in Slavic mythology “if the spirits of nature are to a certain extent hostile to man ... then house spirits are not at all hostile to people, according to popular beliefs they are not considered hostile to Christianity either: brownie, for example, not only not afraid of the cross, but loves incense, a wax candle, Easter eggs, holy water, juniper" 1 .
Obviously, even in later times, the listed characters of ancient mythology were not perceived as demons, since the peasants congratulated them on Easter (!), Saying three times: “Christ is risen, the owner of the field, forest, brownie, water, with the hostess and children!” Unlike them, another ancient character of mythological beliefs - hell, ideas about which are still formed in the pre-Christian period of ancient Russian culture and, regardless of it, they did not congratulate Easter. The devil was a creature a priori hostile to man, and therefore, as a result, his image was contaminated with demons.
In general terms, the habitats and attitudes towards humans listed above and other natural and domestic spirits of East Slavic demonology are presented in Table. 3.5.
Table 35
Some characters of East Slavic demonology, their localization and relation to a person
|
Character |
Localization |
Attitude towards a person |
|
If a person observes certain conditions - favorable, benevolent, desirable |
||
|
Yard |
11homestead outbuildings |
|
|
Ovin (shed where grain was dried) |
Less friendly than the previous ones, but in principle not hostile to humans |
|
|
From neutral to hostile, punishes, including death, the guilty |
||
|
Friendly to hostile, sometimes aggressive |
||
|
Rather hostile, but most often not particularly dangerous |
||
|
Mostly hostile, dangerous to humans |
||
|
Reservoirs, coast, sometimes - trees |
Neutral or hostile, often dangerous |
|
|
Difficult to localize |
Always hostile, aggressive |
1 Tokarev S. L. Religious beliefs of the East Slavic peoples of the 19th - early 20th centuries. M., 2011. C 100.
The cult of the brownie, goblin, water, is probably associated with the belief in navy and ideas about the pledged dead.
Mortgaged dead they considered those who died an unnatural death, wanderers, vagabonds, bitter drunkards, etc. who died on the way. The origin of the term "collateral" remains unclear to this day. The Russian ethnographer D.K. Zelenin suggested that in the popular mind, the ancestors who died a natural death, who were revered as patrons of the living and were respectfully called “parents”, and the harmful dead who died an unclean death, were clearly distinguished. The bodies of the latter were deprived of the traditional burial in the ground, but were left on its surface and were thrown over (“embedded”) with plant branches. It was believed that the dead dead were unclean, so their inhumation could cause the wrath of the earth, moreover, there were beliefs that the earth itself refused to accept their bodies. They were seen as a source of potential threat to the living, could be the cause of epidemics, droughts and other natural disasters. There was a belief that the bodies of the pledged dead are not susceptible to decay, so they are able to periodically return to the world of the living, bringing trouble and misfortune.
The point of view of D.K. Zelenin, authoritative to date, is not the only one. Other researchers drew attention to the similarity of the words "mortgage" and "collateral", g.e. mortgaged = pledged soul. Considering that the term “pledge” could refer to abandoned land, it can be assumed that “pledges” are the forgotten dead, whose names have been erased from the memory of the living.
A number of signs bring the false dead closer to the ancient ideas about the Navi.
Navi in ancient Slavic mythology, they acted as generally restless souls of the dead, able and thirsty to exert a harmful influence on the world of the living. Amulets and other forms of magical protection were used to protect against them, and offerings were also made to propitiate them. On the miniature of the Radzivilovskaya chronicle, depicting the attack of the navi on Polotsk, they are depicted as black demonic creatures covered with wool, tailed, but retaining some anthropomorphic features. It was believed that they send diseases and inflict mortal wounds on people.
Most likely, the rites of the listed cults were not developed and were reduced to disparate magical propitiatory actions.
Ideas about the afterlife. In general, the available materials do not allow unequivocally to restore the ideas of the posthumous existence of a person characteristic of the ancient Slavs. It is known that there were ideas about Irin - a southern country where migratory birds winter and where, obviously, also in the form of a bird, the soul of the deceased flies to rest.
In parallel with the cult of natural forces, animistic beliefs are developing associated with the aforementioned veneration of the dead, the “pure” dead, who act as benevolent spirits of ancestors,
caring for fellow tribesmen. As already mentioned, there was faith in evil spirits that are capable of bringing misfortune, sending various troubles.
Gods. Gradually, animistic beliefs transform the cult of natural phenomena, contributing to the development of religious ideas from animatism to theism, but the pantheon, judging by the available data, is formed late, shortly before the adoption of Christianity. Objecting to skeptics who believed that Slavic pre-Christian beliefs were of a primitive nature, L. Niederle 1 stated:
On the whole, comparing Slavic culture in the period immediately preceding the adoption of Christianity with the culture of neighboring and kindred Slavic peoples, in principle I cannot admit that the Slavs - the only one of the Indo-European peoples - lagged behind in the development of their religious worldview to such an extent that in general they did not rise to higher concepts and ideas about any system of gods and did not have temples and rituals corresponding to them. Looking around in my mind's eye at the peaks of Slavic culture, I completely exclude the possibility of such a situation.
Problematic issues
The religious ideas of the Slavs developed on the ancient foundation of Indo-European mythology, therefore, one should be very careful about various theories of borrowing objects of religious worship and ritual practices by the ancient Slavs from their neighbors - the Baltic and other Indo-European tribes. Most likely, most of the parallels are explained not by borrowing, but by the unity of the source of religious ideas, dating back to the era of ancient Proto-Indo-European unity.
From the moment the Slavs separated from the Indo-European community and until the baptism of Russia (the end of the 9th century), the religious beliefs of the Slavs underwent significant development, however, the early forms of beliefs did not die out, but continued to exist along with the later ones, although often in a reduced form. As a result, on the eve of baptism, the religious ideas of the Slavs included both the legacy of animism and the formed polytheistic ideas. About the gods of the ancient Slavs, although there are quite numerous, but scattered and laconic chronicle evidence.
A number of important testimonies about the pantheon are available in The Tale of Bygone Years. When describing the conclusion of an agreement that completed the campaign of Prince Oleg against the Greeks (912), the chronicler notes that the Slavs "swear by their weapons, and by Perun, their god, and Volos, the god of cattle, and approved the world." Perun, as the god of the Slavs, is also mentioned in the treaty of 945, concluded in Constantinople by the ambassadors of Prince Igor.
The cult of Perun is reconstructed quite fully, since there are numerous references to him in literary monuments, and his name is clearly recorded in the names of settlements, mountains, lakes, etc. He is the common Slavic god of thunder and thunder, while there are certain parallels between the cults of Perun and the German-Scandinavian Thor or the Baltic Nerkunas. However, this is explained not so much by borrowings, but by the fact that the veneration of the listed gods goes back to a single Indo-European foundation.
Old Russian chronicles describe the idol of Perun as an anthropomorphic image of an elderly man, with a silver head and a golden mustache. It should be noted that only in relation to the idol of Perun, the chronicler gives some details, the rest are given by a simple enumeration. Some researchers consider such an exceptional interest of the chronicler in the cult of Perun as evidence in favor of the fact that the latter was revered as the main god of Ancient Russia, the head of its pantheon. However, this remains nothing more than a guess. Moreover, the available sources do not allow a convincing answer to the question of how much the ancient Russian pantheon represented a structured and hierarchical unity. The sanctuaries of Perun were located on the tops of the mountains and were open areas fenced with a ritual rampart, behind which was the idol of Perun and sacred fires were burning.
The cult of Perun was especially popular among the princely combatants and the military aristocracy in general, the name of this god appears in the international treaties of Ancient Russia and Byzantium as a guarantor of the fulfillment of contractual obligations. The god's weapons were arrows ("thunder arrow"), an ax (which also brings Perun and Thor together) and a club. The sacred tree of Perun was an oak, some rituals dedicated to him were held in oak groves. The overthrow of the idols of Perun, described in a number of chronicles, seemed to the chroniclers an allegory for the Baptism of Russia.
Little is known about Veles: he is mentioned, for example, in the Tale of Igor's Campaign, but the functions of this god cannot be restored from the Old Russian evidence proper. On the basis of Indo-European parallels, it can be assumed that Veles was the Slavic god of the underworld.
A number of researchers consider the theonym "Volos" and the name "Veles" known from ancient Russian texts as variants of the name of one god, differing only in vocalization. However, such conclusions should be recognized as controversial from a linguistic point of view. In addition, in terms of content, they are unsatisfactory, since there is no information that Veles was related to livestock or wealth.
The so-called Veles book. A text published in the 1950s is known under this title. abroad and containing allegedly reliable information on the Proto-Slavic history, mythology and religion, written by pagans long before the Baptism of Russia. This text, as reported by the publishers, was discovered shortly after the revolution of 1917 in the Kursk (option - Oryol) province by officer T. A. Izenbek, taken abroad, where it was later published in emigrant publications. The text of the "Book of Veles" was allegedly applied to wooden boards using a peculiar alphabet, and later these boards were declared missing. As expected, the publication of the Book of Veles caused a stir in the press, but studies have unequivocally shown that it is a late rough forgery (approximately the 19th century). The text of the Veles Book is written in a quasi-language, in which there is a mixture of all possible and impossible morphemes and grammatical features, it lacks any morphological system, but at the same time there are a lot of anachronisms. Such a language simply cannot exist - it is not capable of providing communication, i.e. perform the main function of the language.
Volos is characterized by the chronicler as the "God of the Cattle", i.e. God is the protector of livestock. Also, this name is presented in a number of toponyms and in some annalistic descriptions of ancient Russian international treaties. Obviously, the functions of Volos were not limited to patronage of domestic animals: in the Old Russian language, the word "cattle" could be used to denote wealth as such.
After Christianization in the culture of "two-faithful" Russia, the cult of Volos and the Christian St. Vlasia.
Problematic issues
An important chronicle evidence of the ancient Russian gods is contained in the Tale of Bygone Years. It speaks of a peculiar reform of the pagan pantheon, carried out at the insistence of Prince Vladimir in the initial period of his reign (in 980). In the translation of Academician D.S. Likhachev, this text looks like this:
And Vladimir began to reign in Kyiv alone and set up idols on a hill outside the tower courtyard: a wooden Perun with a silver head and a golden mustache, then Khors, Dazhdbog, Stribog, Simargl and Makosh. And they offered sacrifices to them, calling them gods, and brought their sons and daughters to them ...
This evidence of the chronicle, for all its apparent simplicity, leaves open a number of questions. It is difficult to explain the absence in this list of the “cattle god” Volos, who, being the guarantor of oaths, obviously occupied an important place in the ancient Slavic religion. The name Simargl also remains mysterious, which cannot be unambiguously interpreted.
And the greatest number of questions is related to the source underlying the chronicle evidence: did the chronicler rely on an oral tradition dating back to the time of the events described, or did he use random fragmentary information about the real paganism of the Slavs to describe? The latter point of view was shared, for example, by the authoritative researcher of East Slavic paganism, V. I. Mansikka, 1 who argued that this list of gods was not trustworthy. Other scholars, among them academician B. A. Rybakov-, treated this chronicle evidence as reliable, based on the fact that the gods mentioned in it do not represent a random list or a copyist's error.
If the cult of Perun is generally understandable, then the image of Khors remains largely unclear. It is customary to interpret him as the solar god of the ancient Slavic pantheon. Difficult to interpret evidence of Khorea is contained in the Tale of Igor's Campaign, which says that Prince Vseslav Bryachislavich "at night ... crossed the path of the great Khors with a wolf." The testimony of the German traveler Wunderer, who visited Russia at the end of the 16th century, contains a mention of two ancient idols located near Pskov. One of them depicted a serpent fighter holding a sword in one hand and a sunbeam in the other, and was, according to Wunderer, the idol of Horse. Despite the fact that one of the two idols described by the traveler was actually discovered much later, on the whole, his mention of Horse the snake fighter cannot be considered reliable. Some researchers consider Khors and Dazhdbog as different names for the same god, or consider Khors to be his ancient Iranian equivalent. In favor of the latter, it is evidenced that in some texts Chore is declared a "Jewish" i.e. "Foreigner", and his name is represented by a number of spellings - up to and including Hus, which is not typical for other Slavic deities.
Unfortunately, even less is known about Dazhdbog and Stribog. It can be assumed that Stribog was revered as the lord and progenitor of the winds, and Dazhdbog - as a source of wealth, a god who bestows an abundance of material wealth on a person. But such an interpretation is based on one of the etymologies of the name Dazhdbog, according to which the latter goes back to the word form "give"("give"). Not all researchers agree with this. From the testimony of a Byzantine writer of the VI century. John Malala follows that Dazhdbog was associated with the cult of the sun, it is possible that his cult goes back to the ancient Indo-European veneration of fire. In the Tale of Igor's Campaign, Dazhdbog acts as an ancestor-patron of the Old Russian community - the soldiers of Prince Igor are called "Dazhdbog's grandchildren." As for Stribog, some researchers interpret him as a god - the giver of blessings, deriving the name Stribog from the imperative of the verb "extend".
The image of Simargl also remains mysterious in many respects. Neither the origin of the name of this deity, nor its functions, and even more so the iconography, has not been reliably clarified to date. A genetic connection between Simargl and Senmur, the winged dog of ancient Iranian mythology, is possible. In particular, academician B. A. Rybakov adhered to this hypothesis, who drew parallels between Simargl-Senmur and images of mythical winged creatures known from ancient Slavic applied art. There are other interpretations of this god.
From the annals, the name of the only goddess of the Slavic pantheon is known - Makosh. Comparative studies of ancient mythologies made it possible to make an assumption about some parallels between her cult and the cults of the ancient Greek moira and Germanic norns - goddesses of fate. Most researchers interpret Makosh as the goddess of fate and the patroness of the harvest. B. A. Rybakov suggests that her name is two-part: Ma(abbreviated "mother") and Kosh(“harvest, abundance”), i.e. Makosh
“mother of the harvest”, however, such an interpretation is not generally accepted, and from a linguistic point of view it seems generally unlikely. Some researchers explain the name Makosh with Finno-Ugric borrowing.
An appeal to the data of comparative and historical religious studies suggests that the cult of Makosh was associated with fertility and, in general, the reproductive forces of nature. In ancient Russian Christian texts, the rites dedicated to Mokosh are equated with fornication, and perhaps this is not just an allegory: in the "Word on Idols" Makosh's admirers are accused of Malachi- this word denotes voluptuousness and various perversions in the New Testament and patriotic literature.
Old Russian monuments of Christian anti-pagan apologetics mention the existence of the veneration of the Family and women in childbirth. In some of these texts, the cult of the Family is identified with the belief in the abstract concept of "fate", "happiness", but it is difficult to imagine that such beliefs were widespread among the people. It follows from other accusatory texts that ritual meals were arranged in honor of the Family, during which special chants were performed, the idols of the Family are also mentioned, but it is difficult to say anything definite about them.
In the reconstruction of Slavic paganism, performed by B. A. Rybakov, Rod takes the place of one of the main gods of the pagan pantheon of Ancient Russia. Academician O. N. Trubachev 1 believed that the existence of the cult of this god is confirmed by intra-semantic analogies with Roman, Celtic and Umbrian gods. However, this assumption about the existence of the cult of the Family in Ancient Russia is disputed by a number of scientists. It is also likely that the image of the Family goes back to the idea of the existence of a “kind of gods”, i.e. to ideas about family relationships within the pantheon.
Mentioned women in labor can be interpreted as characters of lower demonology associated with ideas of fate, or as goddesses of childbearing.
Idols. The most important attribute of the pagan cult of the ancient Slavs were anthropomorphic images made of wood or stone - idols(idols), before which prayers and sacrifices were made. The fact that it was man-made idols that were the symbolic center of the pagan religion is evidenced by the fact that the Christianization of ancient Russian cities was accompanied by the overthrow of pagan idols, during which the images of the gods underwent “ritual mockery” - they were dragged through sewage, beaten, thrown into rivers, etc. P.
The surviving Slavic idols, with few exceptions, are roughly executed anthropomorphic images; due to poor preservation and due to the lack of sufficient data, they cannot currently be reliably correlated with the known gods of the pantheon. If the images of the ancient gods, made of marble, carried a pronounced theological and aesthetic load, then the ancient Slavic idols known to us make a painful impression. Probably, the people who made them either did not claim to create masterpieces, or did not have the necessary skills for this, because it is difficult to assume that they did not endow their gods with greatness and beauty. The ancient Slavic idols of fine workmanship mentioned in the sources have not survived to our time.
The exception is the so-called Zbruch idol, discovered by chance in 1848 in the basin of the Zbruch River (the northern tributary of the Upper Dniester), well preserved and distinguished by the fineness of stone-cutting work. It is a tetrahedral pillar, carved from gray limestone, about 2.5 m high. A distinctive feature of the Zbruch idol is the richness of the composition, saturated with various anthropomorphic images, which are interpreted rather conventionally. It clearly traces the three tiers of the image presented on all four faces of the pillar, which, obviously, correlate with the idea of "three worlds": the underworld - the kingdom of the dead, the earthly world and the heavenly world. The connection of the idol with the cult center on Mount Bohit is probable.
Sanctuaries. Based on the surviving evidence, it can be assumed that the main rites of the pagan cult were performed in open sanctuaries, in which idols were installed and sacred fires were lit. The presence of temples for this period of the history of religion is not traced from archaeological sites.
The so-called swamp settlements- flat, almost perfectly round areas located among the swamps, surrounded by low ramparts. The traces of fires found in these settlements by archaeologists, the remains of wooden structures, stone pavement, in the almost complete absence of a cultural layer (household garbage, broken things, etc.), allows us to make an assumption about their ritual purpose.
Unfortunately, it should be recognized that in domestic scientific and popular science literature, artifacts and remains of structures discovered by archaeologists are often declared ritual, the economic-pragmatic or military interpretation of which is difficult. Because of this, everything that turns out to be difficult to explain and somehow interpret is often declared cult or ritual. only for this reason.
Rituals and priesthood. An integral feature of the pagan religious cult were sacrifices, primarily propitiatory. There was also the practice of human sacrifice, evidence of which is abundant both in the annals and in other sources, but, apparently, by the time the Slavs adopted Christianity, it had become an exceptional phenomenon.
The presence of developed religious ideas among the ancient Slavs is confirmed by the available data on the priesthood, which ensured both the conduct of pagan rituals and the performance of astronomical observations, the maintenance of the ancient calendar, and possibly divination and predictions. Pagan divination rituals involved the use crap and cut - special signs, which, according to Chernorizets the Brave (X century), were used by the ancient Slavs both for divination and as some analogue of writing. Old Russian chronicles contain numerous confirmations of the influence of the priestly class in Old Russian society, Magi repeatedly become the center of pagan reaction, they not only oppose the Christian clergy, but also find themselves in a position to lead quite massive popular movements of supporters of the “ancient faith”.
Analysis of the sources of the XII-XIV centuries. allowed academician B. A. Rybakov to reconstruct the names of representatives of the priestly class (Table 3.6).
East Slavic priesthood
Table 3.6
It is possible that this list contains synonymous terms. In any case, based on these data, it is impossible to draw conclusions about the existence of a priestly hierarchy.
Problematic issues
The assertion that the Eastern Slavs had written language in the pre-Christian period does not have sufficient confirmation. Moreover, the assertions of supporters of the assumption that the ancient Slavic writing was destroyed by Christian missionaries do not stand up to scrutiny. It is difficult to imagine a written tradition in which all texts are exclusively religious in nature - after all, missionaries would not destroy household and other business records. Of course, one cannot deny the possibility that even in the pre-Christian period, individual residents of ancient cities were involved in a foreign written culture, all the more so they could write their name using the Greek, Latin or even runic alphabet, but no any lengthy texts dating back to pre-Christian time in Russia, have not yet been discovered.
Slavic neopaganism. East Slavic paganism in its rudimentary forms, at the level of folklore representations, was preserved in rural areas until the 20th century. Famous Russian ethnographer and historian of the XIX century. Mikhail Zabylin, not without naivete, believed:
With the development of education everywhere and literacy in the villages and villages, with the construction of railways and their construction in all directions, our Russian backwoods and wilderness began to revive: along with emancipation 1, a close rapprochement of all classes of society began; the cheapening of communication with the main cities, or, so to speak, with trading points, made the peasants more free, cheerful, more humane and gave many of them the means for the correct development of concepts, a new life, new rights. Seeing steam locomotives, steamships, telegraphs, photographs, people began to understand more firmly that these objects are worth more attention than some barn and illiterate sorcerer and his actions. In addition, teachers began to be appointed everywhere, schools were formed for the dissemination of literacy, and the clergy themselves, by the nature of their upbringing, began to look differently at their flock, and all this has greatly influenced the peasants so far, in the future, of course, it will be even better, settling everywhere literacy and general military service will have a beneficial effect on the common people and, of course, superstitious rituals will be eradicated, and at the same time they will improve life, putting the people on good ground with new principles.
However, ideas appealing to ancient paganism should not always be considered as a result of ignorance, they may well arise in the modern information and technological society and be attractive to educated people.
Slavic neo-paganism(some adherents use the self-name " Rodnovery”) is a conglomerate of communities and individual adherents, while the range of doctrinal attitudes, mythological ideas and ritual practices is wide, and existing alliances and associations are weak and unstable. Since there are no sufficient data for a more or less accurate and detailed reconstruction of the Slavic pre-Christian religion, the leaders of neo-paganism usually offer various "author's" models, sometimes very far from plausibility. Within the framework of Slavic neo-paganism, with a certain degree of conventionality, several directions or rather trends(Fig. 3.1).
1. radical direction uses ancient Slavic mythology and various reconstructions of ancient Slavic religious practices to promote social and political doctrines. Their representatives are distinguished by a resolute rejection of modern social reality, rejection of the principle of cultural equality, xenophobia and anti-Semitism, Christianophobia. Supporters of this trend are known for their sympathy for the ideologemes and symbols of Nazi Germany, their writings have been repeatedly recognized by the courts as extremist. Many "moderate" neo-pagans distance themselves from the radicals, viewing the latter's groups not so much as religious as as political societies, belonging to which is compromising.
Rice. 3.1.
- 2. fantastic direction- adherents believe in various extremely implausible, fantastic stories about Slavic gods traveling on spaceships, about sacred books written on gold plates and kept in secret by initiates, about secret organizations that have preserved and transmitted the sacred for more than a thousand (!) Years religious knowledge and ensured the continuity of priestly initiations. Among this direction, various “sacred texts” are popular, allegedly being monuments of Slavic pre-Christian culture and containing absolutely fantastic information. In addition, among the adherents, the belief is cultivated that after the Baptism of Russia, the pagan tradition existed in deeply conspiratorial, but numerous and powerful societies of pagans, to which, they say, the modern "wizards" also belong. The question of how neither the tsarist gendarmerie nor the Soviet Joint State Political Directorate and the Committee of State Security found out anything about them is simply avoided.
- 3. historical direction- supporters are making efforts to restore the pre-Christian Slavic cult based on authentic sources and scientific research. Adherents of the historical direction distance themselves from both radicals and adherents of fantastic ideas and doctrines, respectively, their ideas about the essence of the pre-Christian religion of the Slavs are closest to the data of modern science.
- 4. Ecological direction- a kind of religious reaction to the crisis of modern urbanism. Its adherents believe that the pathological, stressful and unnatural life of the inhabitant of the metropolis should be opposed to the "natural" life on earth in close contact with the "undefiled" nature. The deification of nature is combined with references to ancient Slavic mythology.
- 5. Folklore and ethnographic direction revives pagan rituals as an element of folk culture. Like a radical
and ecological, it should be considered as a quasi-religious direction. Often, representatives unite in folklore groups, hold holidays, folk festivals with a "pagan bias", release appropriate music discs, and hold concerts of ethnic and pseudo-ethnic music.
In any case, today's "typical" neo-pagan, who grew up in modern society, has an education (secondary, higher), social connections, uses modern technologies, cannot seriously say that his worldview ideas, views on the universe and man are somehow identical pre-Christian religion of the Slavs, although, of course, the latter was not a static system. The ancient Slavic pagans were born, lived, raised children and died within the framework of a single, organic worldview, which thus permeated their entire life. A modern university graduate who belongs to some kind of native faith community, in most cases, cannot say this about himself. The teachings and ritual practice of the majority of "modern magi" contain many features of postmodern and carnival game culture.
Niederle L. Slavic Antiquities. M „ 2013. S. 379. Trubachev O. II. Thoughts on the pre-Christian religion of the Slavs in the light of Slavic linguistics // To the origins of Russia: people and language: Sat. Art. M., 2013.
