Kupala and Kostroma-the legend
Kupala and Kostroma are the mythical twin siblings of Simargl and Kupalnitsa, subsequently renamed to "Porushka Poranya".
According to myth, mentioned in the 10th century Book of Koledas, Kupala and Kostroma were born during summer solstice. Having ignored their mother's warning, they ran to the field to listen to the mythological creature, the Sirin. By singing the Sirin distracted the duo and the swan geese abducted the infant Kupala.
Many years later his sister Kostroma was walking along the river shore and wove a wreath for her head. She was very proud of the wreath and boasted that the wind would not take it off her head which (Russian custom was that if it fell off she would stay unmarried). The gods, angered by her boasting punished her by blowing the wreath off her head. The wind took the wreath to the water where it was picked by Kupala, her long lost brother, who sailed by in a boat. Kostroma didn't recognize her brother, and the Russian custom was whoever recovered the wreath would be your husband.
A wedding was arranged, after which Kupala and Kostroma learnt that they are siblings. Kostroma decided to commit a suicide by drowning in the river but the Gods took pity and turned her into a mermaid (rusalka), while Kupala threw himself into fire. The gods pitied him too and turned him into cow wheat.
The pagans had a song to honour the twins:
"Kostroma, fair and rosy,
Why do you love Kupala?
I love Kupala for his curly little head
And frizzy beard
"Porushka Poranya" has another rendition:
Hey, Porushka Poranya,
Why do you love Ivan?
I love Ivan for curly head
The curls wave to the face
I love fellow Vanya
During the Ivan Kupala Day people used to sing:
Behold a grass flower, the brother and sister
This is Kupala with Kostroma
The little brother is yellow
And the little sister is blue
Slavic Pantheon
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Bychan Wulf
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Re: Slavic Pantheon
"The strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack" - Rudyard Kippling ⛤
Gender: Female
Gender: Female
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moonraingirl
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Re: Slavic Pantheon
Today I got two books on Slovak folk traditions written by an ethnologist Katarína Nádaská. She's a scholar who has travelled whole country, mainly small villages, where she talked to old people. Many of them are authentic witches. Slavs have a treasure of having living pagan traditions, many of which haven't died yet in popular culture. It is a result of late industrialisation. This led to keeping of farmers pagan customs alive until 20th century, making it possible to study them "live" without having to rely on reconstructions from old written sources.
The books I got are called "Slovak year" and "Life of Slovak family".
This led me to an idea for a tiny project that I hope to make during the year in this thread.
I will try to take notes from the books about current festivals and customs, which are typical for certain dates. Also, I will describe magical rituals in all stages of human life, beginning with pregnancy this month, youth in the spring, until old age and death in the winter.
I'm looking forward to learning new things and I hope some of you will enjoy the project with me
Sources I will use
Katarína Nádaská: Čím žila Slovenská rodina. Fortuna Libri, 2014.
Katarína Nádaská: Slovenský rok. Fortuna Libri, 2012.
The books I got are called "Slovak year" and "Life of Slovak family".
This led me to an idea for a tiny project that I hope to make during the year in this thread.
I will try to take notes from the books about current festivals and customs, which are typical for certain dates. Also, I will describe magical rituals in all stages of human life, beginning with pregnancy this month, youth in the spring, until old age and death in the winter.
I'm looking forward to learning new things and I hope some of you will enjoy the project with me
Sources I will use
Katarína Nádaská: Čím žila Slovenská rodina. Fortuna Libri, 2014.
Katarína Nádaská: Slovenský rok. Fortuna Libri, 2012.
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moonraingirl
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Re: Slavic Pantheon
Hromnice: a festival of thunder
Similar to Celtic and Roman traditions, Slavs also celebrated a festival at the beginning of February. Its main name is Hromnice (hrom=thunder). In the pre-christian era, it was dedicated to the god of thunder, Perun.
First spring thunder was expected as it meant that gods will open heavens with life-bringing rain after the long winter. When this moment came, people knelt on the ground and kissed it.
Thunder scared all negative entities away. People helped the purifying process by moving furniture, making bonfires and using axes to get rid of all negativity that got stuck to their homes during dark winter. An axe was an especially efective tool as it was a symbol of Perun.
Candles blessed on this day were used throughout the year in homes as a prevention against lighting. Wax from these candles was dripped onto flax seeds placed in prayer books. This served as an insurance against fields being destroyed by storms. They were also lit near dying and dead people in order to ease their way into heaven. In folk medicine, Hromnice candles were used for treatment of sore throat.
People also believed that the ‘thunder candles’ were a protection from an attack of wolves – a small part of the candle was often buried in the middle of a crop field in order to keep the whole property safe. A small part of the gromnica was sometimes buried also under foundations or tresholds of a newly built house in order to ensure its safety.
Heading to the holy mass on the Candlemas Day. 19th-century drawing by Józef Ryszkiewicz
In the past, the ‘thunder candles’ used to be made of natural beeswax only, with a wick made of fibers of verbascum. Polish people believed that the honey aroma of the natural beeswax has a strong healing effect – strengthening the soul and immunizing the body. Verbascum was one of the most sacred herbs in the Slavic traditions, still important in rural rituals and medicine, and in the past it was dedicated to the old-Slavic goddess Dziewanna / Devana. In the Polish language this herb is still called ‘dziewanna’ – exactly like the goddess. According to Polish folklore verbascum symbolizes the triumph of mind over body – it’s the root of the symbolism of the ‘thunder candles’ mentioned above.
It was forbidden to work on this day, especially to sew, because a needle was believed to attract lighting.
On Hromnice, rites of agrarian magic were performed. Women cooked long type of pasta, šúľance, which was supposed to symbolize tall flax plants. Similar effect was achieved by skating on ice and sleighing. The longer distance you could slide, the better yields you would get.
Šúľance with poppyseeds. http://www.mimibazar.sk
Women were supposed to dress in colourful dresses- red, green and yellow which symbolised the upcoming spring.
Sources: http://slovenske-zvyky.webnode.sk/kalen ... /hromnice/
https://lamusdworski.wordpress.com/2016/01/29/gromnice/
https://www.ceske-tradice.cz/tradice/zima/hromnice
Similar to Celtic and Roman traditions, Slavs also celebrated a festival at the beginning of February. Its main name is Hromnice (hrom=thunder). In the pre-christian era, it was dedicated to the god of thunder, Perun.
First spring thunder was expected as it meant that gods will open heavens with life-bringing rain after the long winter. When this moment came, people knelt on the ground and kissed it.
Thunder scared all negative entities away. People helped the purifying process by moving furniture, making bonfires and using axes to get rid of all negativity that got stuck to their homes during dark winter. An axe was an especially efective tool as it was a symbol of Perun.
Candles blessed on this day were used throughout the year in homes as a prevention against lighting. Wax from these candles was dripped onto flax seeds placed in prayer books. This served as an insurance against fields being destroyed by storms. They were also lit near dying and dead people in order to ease their way into heaven. In folk medicine, Hromnice candles were used for treatment of sore throat.
People also believed that the ‘thunder candles’ were a protection from an attack of wolves – a small part of the candle was often buried in the middle of a crop field in order to keep the whole property safe. A small part of the gromnica was sometimes buried also under foundations or tresholds of a newly built house in order to ensure its safety.
Heading to the holy mass on the Candlemas Day. 19th-century drawing by Józef Ryszkiewicz
In the past, the ‘thunder candles’ used to be made of natural beeswax only, with a wick made of fibers of verbascum. Polish people believed that the honey aroma of the natural beeswax has a strong healing effect – strengthening the soul and immunizing the body. Verbascum was one of the most sacred herbs in the Slavic traditions, still important in rural rituals and medicine, and in the past it was dedicated to the old-Slavic goddess Dziewanna / Devana. In the Polish language this herb is still called ‘dziewanna’ – exactly like the goddess. According to Polish folklore verbascum symbolizes the triumph of mind over body – it’s the root of the symbolism of the ‘thunder candles’ mentioned above.
It was forbidden to work on this day, especially to sew, because a needle was believed to attract lighting.
On Hromnice, rites of agrarian magic were performed. Women cooked long type of pasta, šúľance, which was supposed to symbolize tall flax plants. Similar effect was achieved by skating on ice and sleighing. The longer distance you could slide, the better yields you would get.
Šúľance with poppyseeds. http://www.mimibazar.skWomen were supposed to dress in colourful dresses- red, green and yellow which symbolised the upcoming spring.
Sources: http://slovenske-zvyky.webnode.sk/kalen ... /hromnice/
https://lamusdworski.wordpress.com/2016/01/29/gromnice/
https://www.ceske-tradice.cz/tradice/zima/hromnice
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moonraingirl
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Re: Slavic Pantheon
Today, I'd like to talk a bit about the history and cultural influences of Slavic nations.
Nowadays, about a third of European population are Slavic and their territory covers about a half of European continent. It is believed that their homeland was behind the Ural mountains, Russia. The expansion to the West took place roughly between 500-1000CE.
As you can see in the map, these nations are divided into three groups: Eastern, Western and Southern. They are specific because while they were influenced by different empires later in history, their culture and traditions still remain remarkably similar. In fact, they used a single common language- Proto-Slavic until ca 1000AD which is quite recently. That is why we can speak of common Slavic folklore and culture.
At the same time, they have different temperaments.
Eastern Slavs were predominantly influenced by Russia and Orthodox Church. They use their own script. They belong to Eastern Europe. These areas are truly treasures of paganism and living traditions. In Belarus, they had an authentic pagan temple until early 20th century when communists destroyed it. Most of the mythology discussed in this thread has it's origins in Eastern Slavic nations and is preserved in a bit weaker version in the West and South. They are the green region in the map.
Western Slavs were much more influenced by Germany, Austria and Roman Catholic church. They use Latin script. They are "most Western among the Slavs". My country, Slovakia, belongs to this group. We belong to Central Europe. You may see me referring to my region as Eastern from time to time on this forum, but that is only true for era 1948-1989. For a much longer period, since about 600AD until 1948, we were either influenced by Germanic culture, were a part of Austro-Hungarian empire or had our own state/kingdom. Because we are neither Western not Eastern (and share elements of both), we refer to ourselves as Central Europe. That's the pink region in the map.
Southern Slavs are the most temperamental ones. They always fought bravely for their land and the Balkan's region is sometimes referred to as "a barrel of gunpowder". They fought bravely to protect Europe from Ottoman/Turkish invasion, however eventually they became their vassals for 500 years. You can see strong Turkish (and Greek) influence in their music and cusine. They use both Latin script and Cyrilic. Their colour in the map is yellow. Fun fact: A country named Slovenia is in this area. It is not the same as Slovakia I'm sure our countries have regular meetings where they swap incorrectly addressed correspondence :p
The origin of the term Slav/Slavic probably stems from word "slovo" which means "word" This theory is highly probable because at the time they first referred to themselves using this term, their neighbours were Germans, who are in almost all Slavic languages called Nemci or variant of this word. "Nemý" means mute, one who doesn't speak. As we know from anthropology, many nations and tribes called themselves "people" in their language or "those who can speak" in contrast to their neighbours. (but don't worry, today almost no one is aware of the original meaning of "Nemci" so it isn't an offensive name anymore) . So we can dare to say the same happened here.
Another theory is that it comes from word sláva, slávny, meaning famous, well-known.
There's no evidence that this word has anything to do with the term "slave". In fact, when Slavic tribes are mentioned in Roman chronicles, it is stated that it was impossible to enslave them.
Source of the map: University of Tartu.
Nowadays, about a third of European population are Slavic and their territory covers about a half of European continent. It is believed that their homeland was behind the Ural mountains, Russia. The expansion to the West took place roughly between 500-1000CE.
As you can see in the map, these nations are divided into three groups: Eastern, Western and Southern. They are specific because while they were influenced by different empires later in history, their culture and traditions still remain remarkably similar. In fact, they used a single common language- Proto-Slavic until ca 1000AD which is quite recently. That is why we can speak of common Slavic folklore and culture.
At the same time, they have different temperaments.
Eastern Slavs were predominantly influenced by Russia and Orthodox Church. They use their own script. They belong to Eastern Europe. These areas are truly treasures of paganism and living traditions. In Belarus, they had an authentic pagan temple until early 20th century when communists destroyed it. Most of the mythology discussed in this thread has it's origins in Eastern Slavic nations and is preserved in a bit weaker version in the West and South. They are the green region in the map.
Western Slavs were much more influenced by Germany, Austria and Roman Catholic church. They use Latin script. They are "most Western among the Slavs". My country, Slovakia, belongs to this group. We belong to Central Europe. You may see me referring to my region as Eastern from time to time on this forum, but that is only true for era 1948-1989. For a much longer period, since about 600AD until 1948, we were either influenced by Germanic culture, were a part of Austro-Hungarian empire or had our own state/kingdom. Because we are neither Western not Eastern (and share elements of both), we refer to ourselves as Central Europe. That's the pink region in the map.
Southern Slavs are the most temperamental ones. They always fought bravely for their land and the Balkan's region is sometimes referred to as "a barrel of gunpowder". They fought bravely to protect Europe from Ottoman/Turkish invasion, however eventually they became their vassals for 500 years. You can see strong Turkish (and Greek) influence in their music and cusine. They use both Latin script and Cyrilic. Their colour in the map is yellow. Fun fact: A country named Slovenia is in this area. It is not the same as Slovakia
I'm sure our countries have regular meetings where they swap incorrectly addressed correspondence :pThe origin of the term Slav/Slavic probably stems from word "slovo" which means "word"
This theory is highly probable because at the time they first referred to themselves using this term, their neighbours were Germans, who are in almost all Slavic languages called Nemci or variant of this word. "Nemý" means mute, one who doesn't speak. As we know from anthropology, many nations and tribes called themselves "people" in their language or "those who can speak" in contrast to their neighbours. (but don't worry, today almost no one is aware of the original meaning of "Nemci" so it isn't an offensive name anymore) . So we can dare to say the same happened here. Another theory is that it comes from word sláva, slávny, meaning famous, well-known.
There's no evidence that this word has anything to do with the term "slave". In fact, when Slavic tribes are mentioned in Roman chronicles, it is stated that it was impossible to enslave them.
Source of the map: University of Tartu.
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moonraingirl
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Re: Slavic Pantheon
Sources of power and clothing in Northern Slovakia 
Traditionally, there were 3 centres of power in the human body, protected by traditional clothing.
Stomach was a centre of man's strength and female reproductive power. In men's clothes, it was covered by a wide leather belt decorated with metal applications. Until 20th century, old men in rural areas believed in it's magical protective power.
In some Slavic languages, stomach is called "zhivot" which is the same word as used for "life". Life force energy, similar to prana, is called "Zhiva".
Second area of life force came from the chest area, which was marked on shirts using embroidered symbols. They could be of any color, but red was viewed as most effective.
Spiritual centre was located on forehead and head, covered by a large hat. Until 20th century, men tied their hair in 2 or 4 braids, to prevent leakage of power.
A very old legend about a wizard with three eyes and snake power was preserved. It is clear that it has a connection with Indian spirituality (kundalini = snake power and third eye chakra). There are more clues in both pagan practices and etymology that prove that in distant past, ancestors of Slavs were in a close contact with India.
Traditionally, there were 3 centres of power in the human body, protected by traditional clothing.
Stomach was a centre of man's strength and female reproductive power. In men's clothes, it was covered by a wide leather belt decorated with metal applications. Until 20th century, old men in rural areas believed in it's magical protective power.
In some Slavic languages, stomach is called "zhivot" which is the same word as used for "life". Life force energy, similar to prana, is called "Zhiva".
Second area of life force came from the chest area, which was marked on shirts using embroidered symbols. They could be of any color, but red was viewed as most effective.
Spiritual centre was located on forehead and head, covered by a large hat. Until 20th century, men tied their hair in 2 or 4 braids, to prevent leakage of power.
A very old legend about a wizard with three eyes and snake power was preserved. It is clear that it has a connection with Indian spirituality (kundalini = snake power and third eye chakra). There are more clues in both pagan practices and etymology that prove that in distant past, ancestors of Slavs were in a close contact with India.