Slavic paganism

Almost nothing is known about the religion of the ancient Slavs: the first fragmentary information about Slavic culture in written sources appears only after they reached the borders of the Byzantine Empire in the VI century.

The only convincingly reconstructed pan-Slavic deity is Perun (* Perun ), the god of thunder and lightning. Apparently, it was he who had in mind Procopius by "creator of lightning, sovereign over all." This deity was best preserved among the Eastern Slavs and acquired, in addition to the indicated ones, the features of the patron god of the prince and the squad.

As Leszk Moshinsky showed in his research, concepts such as spirit, soul, nav ("dead"), paradise ("other world"), wolkolak ("werewolf"), ghoul ("vampire"), treba (" sacrifice ") ^[3] . Moreover, the pagan understanding of the soul should not be confused with the Christian . The soul was not some kind of abstract intangible entity, the soul was the very personality of a person who, after death, became a navue, going to another world, paradise. Moreover, as noted by O. N. Trubachev , among the Europeans who adopted Christianity, only among the Slavs the concept of "paradise" ( Praslav. * Raj ) was primordial, and "hell" was borrowed ^[4] .

Trubachev is trying to restore some more abstract concepts of the pre-Slavic religion, finding Latin parallels to them. For example: prasl. * gověti and lat. favēre “fast, keep silent, favor”; prasl. * mana and lat. mānēs "spirits of the dead, ghosts, ghosts"; prasl. * basъ / * ne-basъ “beautiful, good” / “rude, villain” and lat. fās / ne-fās “divine law” / “sin” ^[5] .

In general, scientists have very little information about the mythology of the ancient Slavs, especially with regard to the times of general Slavic unity. This is due to many factors, and above all - the lack of their own written language and remoteness from the main centers of urban Latin or Greek-language written culture. One of the first written descriptions of the religion of the ancient Slavs is the description of the Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea ( VI century ):

These tribes, Slavs and Ants , are not governed by one person, but since ancient times live in democracy (democracy), and therefore they have the happiness and misfortune in life is considered a common thing. And in everything else, both of these barbarian tribes have the same life and laws. They believe that one of the gods ^[6] , the creator of lightning, is the lord over all, and bulls are sacrificed to him and other sacred rites are performed. They don’t know fate and don’t recognize at all that it has any power with respect to people, and when they are about to face death, whether they are covered by a disease or in a dangerous situation in war, they make a promise if they are saved, immediately sacrifice to God for his soul; avoiding death, they sacrifice what they promised, and they think that their salvation was bought at the cost of this sacrifice. They honor rivers, and nymphs , and all sorts of other deities, offer sacrifices to all of them, and with the help of these victims make fortune-telling.

- Procopius of Caesarea. The war with the Goths. Book VII (Book III of the War with the Goths)

The Slavic religion was formed over a long period in the process of separation of the ancient Slavs from the Indo-European community of peoples in the II — I millennium BC. e. and in conjunction with the mythology and religion of neighboring nations. Therefore, naturally, in the Slavic religion there is a significant Indo-European layer . It is assumed that it includes the images of the god of thunder and the fighting squad ( Perun ), the god of cattle and the other world ( Veles ), elements of the images of a twin deity ( Yarilo and Yarilikha , Ivan da Marya) and the deity of Heavenly Father ( Stribog ). Also Indo-European in essence are such images as the Mother of the Earth-Cheese , the goddess of weaving and spinning ( Mokosh ) associated with her, the solar deity ( Dazhbog ), and some others ^[7] .

In the first half of the 1st millennium BC. e. the mythology and religion of the Slavs was significantly influenced by the Celts and the steppe Iranian-speaking population ( Scythians , Sarmatians and Alans ). According to one version, under the influence of the Celts was the paganism of the Western (Puddle) Slavs , in particular, the architecture of religious buildings was formed ^[8] . Some researchers suggest Celtic-Slavic parallels between the deities Dagda and Dazhbog , as well as Mach and Makosh ^[9] . The Slavs apparently borrowed the word “god” from the Iranian-speaking population (which also had the semantics “share”, cf. “godhood”, “from god ”), which replaced the common Indo-European designation for the deity * divъ . It is quite possible, however, that the word "god" is a primordially Slavic development of great-ie. * bhag- "share" ^[10] , which experienced only semantic Iranian influence.

The Eastern Slavs had deities of allegedly Iranian origin in their pantheon - Khors , Semargl, and others ^[11] . Data on Czech pagan gods are also very scarce and unreliable. There is evidence of the existence of Perun and Veles, as well as relevant toponymic facts (for example, relating to Mokoshi) ^[12] . A similar situation characterizes the South Slavic lands. In the absence of primary sources, traces of the names of Perun and Veles and their cult, as well as some other mythological characters (Mokosh, Dazhdbog, Troyan, etc.) are found (primarily in toponomastics). With the division of the Pre-Slavic community, tribal beliefs of the Slavs began to form, which had significant regional differences. In particular, the religion of the Western Slavs, due to historical circumstances, before the start of Christianization was significantly different from all others ^[12] .

The main features of Slavic paganism as a worldview are faith in the animation of nature ( animatism and animism ), the cult of ancestors and supernatural forces that are constantly present and participate throughout the life of every person, developed lower mythology , a belief in the possibility of influencing the state of things in the world by means primitive magic, anthropocentrism . In the absence of original mythological texts, it is possible to judge the paganism of the Slavs as the historical stage of the common Slavic culture only by secondary data - archaeological and book-written sources (annals, chronicles, etc.), foreign evidence, church teachings against paganism (see N. M. Galkovsky , E. V. Anichkova , V. I. Mansikki , D. K. Zelenin , L. Niederle , G. Lovmyansky , A. Geishtor , S. Urbanchik , V. Chaykanovich and others), as well as on the basis of comparison of Slavic data with data of other Indo-European (Baltic cultural, Iranian, German, etc.) cultural traditions (see, first of all, the works of V.V. Ivanov and V.N. Toporov ). The most reliable and rich sources of studying Slavic paganism as a cultural model and reconstruction of ancient Slavic representations remain “modern” (related to the 19th – 20th centuries) linguistic, ethnographic and folklore evidence of Slavic traditions ^[2] .

Archeology and written sources indicate that the Slavs had sculptural images of deities ( idols ). They could be both wooden and stone. The idols of the Eastern Slavs are distinguished by simplicity and crude execution, while among the Western Slavs the idols were more skillful and complex ^[13] . In addition, a distinctive feature of West Slavic idols is polycephaly (multi-headedness) ^[14] . The appearance of Slavic idols can be judged by the so-called " Zbruch idol " ^[15] , as well as descriptions in written sources: it is known, for example, that the idol of Perun , set in Kiev by Prince Vladimir, was wooden, with a silver head and a golden mustache ^{[ 16]} .

The Slavs worshiped idols in open shrines ( shrines ). Typically, among the Slavs, the forest played the role of a temple ^[17] . The presence of temple premises among the Slavs (with the exception of the western ones) was not recorded, but they could well have taken place without leaving any traces of themselves, being wooden ^[18] . At the temple, rituals of idol worship were held. The shrines could be fenced; their usual attribute was a bonfire, temporary or permanent. Obviously, the temple was built by Prince Vladimir for his pantheon, but it has not yet been discovered by archaeologists. The arguments of B. A. Rybakov in this regard ^[19] , which supported archaeologists P. P. Tolochko and Y. E. Borovsky , who “discovered” the temple of Vladimir ^[20] , have recently been disputed ^[21] . Judging by the annals, the temple of Perun was in Novgorod , on Peryn . It was allegedly discovered by the Soviet archaeologist VV Sedov ^[22] , however, its reconstruction today is causing great doubts ^[23] . Of the Slavic sanctuaries discovered by archaeologists, the Zbruch cult center is also especially distinguished ^[24] . Recently, there have been suggestions that the function of sanctuaries in the North-West of Russia could be performed by hills - sacred monuments in the form of embankments over burials. At least the embankment itself most often played a ritual function more than a funeral one. The remains of just such a sanctuary could be found in Peryn ^[25] .

In addition to idols, the Slavs (as well as their neighbors - the Balts and Finno-Ugric tribes) worshiped the sacred stones- boulders. On the eastern edge of the Slavic space, before the Slavs came here, the Finno-Ugric tribes apparently worshiped the sacred stones ^[26] .

In a letter to Metropolitan Makarii Ivan the Terrible (1534), it was reported that “bad idols were preserved even before the reign of Grand Duke Vasily Ivanovich,” and that “forests and stones and rivers and swamps, springs and mountains and hills, sun and month, and stars and lakes ” ^[27] .

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  Copy of the Zbruch idol in Krakow

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  Idol (“ Svyatovit ”), found in 1974 on Wolin (Poland)

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  " Blue Stone " near Pleshcheyev Lake

According to V. V. Sedov , the leader ( prince ) of the ancient Slavs combined administrative, military and religious functions ^[28] , which is generally characteristic of the period of military democracy .

By the middle of the 1st millennium AD e. Slavic tribes settled on a fairly large area, so their levels of social development differed. The Southern Slavs very early came under the strong influence of Byzantium and, consequently, Christianity, therefore it is not possible to talk about priesthood among them. The Western Slavs overtook the Eastern Slavs in terms of social development, therefore, as can be seen from the sources, the priesthood among the Baltic Slavs reached significant influence, and sometimes concentrated political power in their hands. Apparently, priesthood as an estate among the Eastern Slavs was only in the process of formation ^[29] , which was interrupted by the introduction of Christianity . Nevertheless, priests of pagan deities among the Eastern Slavs in pre-Christian times most likely were. However, apparently, there were not so many of them - there were much more fortunetellers, sorcerers and healers . Old Russian sources call them as follows: wise men , witches ^[30] , obavniks, Zeelyniks, nauchniks, sorcerers, magicians, warlocks, “godless women” , etc. ^[31] As a rule, their main functions were quackery - treatment by conspiracies , rituals and natural medicines; household magic - love and protective (with the help of rituals, potions , amulets , amulets , etc.); predictions and fortune-telling - by the cry of birds and animals, the solidification of tin and wax, etc. assisted childbirth and so on ^[31] .

The cult of ancestors was reflected in the Slavic funeral rite. The Tale of Bygone Years describes this rite among the Vyatichi:

Here, apparently, by trisny are meant contests in memory of the deceased and memorial events in general. The custom of leaving the vessel with the bones of the deceased on pillars by the road is clarified by later ethnographic records: the poles in the cemeteries were considered a kind of border between the living and the dead. The dishes used at the funeral were thrown at these columns. The columns themselves were often made with a semblance of a roof and recesses - for the convenience of the souls of the dead who lived near them. Later cemetery columns were replaced by Orthodox crosses ^[34] . In addition, the funeral posts refer to the archaic custom of burial on trees and tree trunks. Thus, the pillar can play the cosmogonic role of the World Tree in the funeral ritual, according to which the souls of the dead rise into the heavenly world of their ancestors ^[35] .

Data on the funeral rite can also be obtained from the annalistic story of how Olga buried her husband, Prince Igor , who was killed by the Drevlyans :

From this passage it follows that the trizny included drinking honey, that mounds were arranged above the graves (apparently, their size depended on the status of the person being buried) and that there was a custom to cry over the grave of the deceased. All this information is confirmed by ethnographic records and (about mounds) archeological data. In addition to these customs, the Prologue mentions such an element of funeral ritual as как badyn ’, that is, vigil, wakefulness near the deceased during the night, which, apparently, was performed by a significant number of people with lamentations, songs and games ^[37] .

Interesting information about the funeral rite gives a chronicle story about the death of Vladimir Svyatoslavich :

In this case, one can observe the most ancient rite, which has been preserved in Ancient Russia - to take out the dead, they dismantle the wall. This was probably done with the aim that the deceased, carried out in an unusual way, could not return and would not disturb the living. Another ancient rite described in this passage is the use of a sleigh to transport a dead person, even in the summertime. Sledges were used at the funeral as the most honorable, calm and respectable mode of transport ^[39] . In addition, the sled, by virtue of its archaic nature, apparently had some sacred meaning in the funeral rite ^[40] .

There is also a ritual food common for all Eastern Slavs at the wake - these are kutya , pancakes and jelly . Almost all of the East Slavic holidays are associated with the cult of deceased ancestors, whom they remembered at the crucial moments of the year - at Svyatki , on Pure Thursday and Radonitsa , in Semik and before Dmitriev’s day . In the days of the commemoration of the deceased, they heated a bathhouse for them, burned bonfires (so that they would warm themselves), left food for them on the festive table. The sacred ones were including ancestors who came from the next world and collected gifts. The purpose of all these actions was to appease dead ancestors, who could bless the family, or they could cause evil - to frighten, appear in a dream, torment and even kill those who did not satisfy their needs .

Very widespread among the Slavs was the belief in the so-called " mortgaged dead ". It was believed that people who did not die of their own death do not calm down after death and are able to harm the living, therefore they were superstitiously afraid and revered during general commemoration ^[41] .

• Folk christianity
• Pra-Indo-European religion
• Slavic neopaganism
• Pre-Christian writing among the Slavs
• Folk calendar of Eastern Slavs

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