Related: pisanica-croatianslavic-easter-eggs
www.paganspace.net
www.spellintime.fsnet.co.uk
pagan-soul.blogspot.ca
www.discussionworldforum.com
I decided to post this interesting article because it's right up my alley, regarding Croatian mythology, folklore, Slavic deities and I guess just basically Slavic and Croatian history. I'm not a professor of antiquities or history, but have done a fair amount of reading in the past regarding these topics.(As opposed to most church going androids who think spending 1 hour a week, or year in some cases, makes you holy.) My personal library is quite eclectic also.( I'm not a bookworm though, just a fast reader and hater of dumbass sitcoms) I remember reading quite a bit about this subject, along with works of many of the famous thinkers and philosophers, especially when I was in the military, believe it or not. While some guys wanted to constantly rent Arnold Swarzenegger, Rambo and various Vietnam War flicks and watch them again, ad nauseum, during the week. Seeing "Raw Deal" once was enough for me. I'd drive downtown to one of local used bookstores and found a plethora of intriguing, thought provoking books.(And met some pretty hot women too) Books that really made you ask yourself some questions. Anyway, I guess these subjects interest me because they feel closer to my heart and being than mainstream religions.(In this case Christianity, the overwhelming majority of Croatians declare themselves to be Roman Catholic, whatever identifying yourself as part of a religious oraganization means these days. Saying you're of this or that religion these days is like saying "I'm a Republican", "I'm a Green Bay Cheesehead" or "I'm a Libra".) I just consider myself Croatian.first and foremost. Period.
This is a photo is from the Modern Art Gallery in Zagreb. The painting is "Gundulićev san" (Gundulic's dream) by superlative Croatian painter Vlaho Bukovac. The painting which portrays the famous Croatian writer/poet Ivan Gundulić, can immediately sense the earthy, pagan feel. The painting based on writings of Ivan Gundulić, portrays the writer's (And painters, I believe) desire for freedom and a return to peace, prosperity and nature for the Croatian, and other Slavic peoples. The Modern Gallery in Zagreb is just one of many that contain art with this theme.
I think there is something in the Slavic mentality and spirit that never let their pagan roots completely disappear. I see it also in lots of other European countries too. People are searching for more information and are curious about their peoples past, what they believed. Why they believed what they believed. How they communicated with their neighbors who in many cases had gods and goddesses very similar to their own. I see this interest from my internet friends, various websites and blogs. It's actually all over the web these days, if one felt so inclined as to pursue these topics. This interest is especially evident because of the similarity between deities of the Slavic, Nordic and Baltic peoples. More so between the Roman and Greek peoples, where some deities were borrowed, then given new names.
Foto: www.slavicpaganism.com
A strong pre-Christian Croatian tradition survived through many rituals, folk stories and gastronomy. It can be seen in especially remote villages. Afterall, when Croatians first came to the lands that make up our country, it wasn't called Croatia (Hrvatska) already. We didn't take the language of the various peoples who were around there. We didn't take the name of any of the peoples who were living there before us either. Just like we didn't take the name or language of people/empires that came after us. We gave the land the name of our people, our nation, which also included our language, customs, religious beliefs and seksi women that we brought with us to our new lands and home. THAT'S why it's called "Hrvatska"
"The arrivial of the Croats to the Adriatic" by Croatian painter Oton Ivekovic.
Another painting by Oton Ivekovic
1870's painting by Ferdo Quiquerez, The Arrival of the Croats at the sea (Dolazak Hrvata k moru) depicting the five brothers Kluk, Lobel, Muhlo, Kosenc, Hrvat and their two sisters, Tuga and Buga climbing down a clif towards the sea. The painting was inspired by a poem by August Šenoa and a cantata by Ivan pl. Zajc based on the writings of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus about the Croatian people: "One of their tribes, namely five brothers Klukas, Lobelos, Kosentzes, Muhlo, Hrobatos and their two sisters, Tuga and Buga, separated themselves from them and came together with their people to Dalmatia and found the Avars governing these lands. After they waged wars with eachother for some time, eventually the Croats overpowered and killed some of the Avars forcing the rest into submission." - De Administrando Imperio. Source: wikipedia.org
Another painting by Ferdo Quiquerez symbolizing the Croatian National Revival
during the times of the Turkish incursions.
Traces of our old pre-Christian mythology are still visible in those areas with its unique fusion along with Roman Catholicism. I've noticed over the past few years that interest in Slavic pagan beliefs, (even wiccan) earthy Croatian/Slavic folk customs are making a comeback. (Since this post, the newly elected President of Croatia, Ivo Josipovic, a declared Agnostic, (Which pretty well every scientist is btw, and probably also the majority of poets, philosphers, painters, artists throughout recorded history) was victor in the recent elections, taking around 60.3% of the vote. That was even with a member of the Catholic clergy endorsing his rival and even making unsensical comments that a vote for Mr. Josipovic was a vote for Lucifer. (Last I heard, lightning did not come from the skies and strike him dead or turn him into a frog at his inauguration) Like I said, many of the worlds greatest thinkers, writers, scientists were agnostics, if not downright atheist. The odd statement like that really doesn't do well to gain support from educated, well read, life experienced people. (I personally call this phenomena "god on the brain sydrome", and this thinking pattern has multiplied with the advent of cable televangelist programs)
Now the interesting thing about this painting, named "Pokrštenje Hrvata" (Christianization of the Croats) by Croatian painter Bela Čikoš Sesij, is that the people always look unwilling to be converted. As if tremendously sad to have to throw away their familiar age old gods, goddesses, beliefs, and any trace of their remembrance. Scared by teachings of fire and eternal damnation, demons with pitchforks and big sharp yellow teeth, prodding you into a lake of fire to burn and burn forever, worse than any sunburn. This is not just a common theme in similar paintings by other Slavic painters regarding their peoples Christianization either. It is a common visual portrayal by painters all over Europe. People weren't exactly lining up to become Christians, but were rather sort of given the "boogie-man" treatment or forced. Click for larger image HERE.
Veles is a very influential and cherished pagan deity, revered even these days in parts of Croatia. For instance, in some wedding ceremonies of northern Croatia (which continued up to 20th century), the music would not start playing unless the bridegroom, when making a toast, spilled some of the wine on the ground, preferably over the roots of the nearest tree. The symbolism of this is clear, even though forgotten long ago by those still performing it: the musicians will not sing until a toast is made to their patron deity. Source: wikipedia.org/veles
I even have a tattoo of the symbol of the Slavic deity Perun on my chest. (It covers over a maple leaf that I had there for years, until one day it just sort of became meaningless. Besides, I spent a few years in the military, which is more than most Canadians have done.) All of my Myspace friends, especially the ones in Croatia agree. Christianity is a big hoax of edited, and re-edited Middle East religions. With just some feel good elements, usually borrowed from pagans, repeated in churches and on 24 hour televangelist channels ad nauseum. Anyone who believes those biblical stories shouldn't be allowed to preach on the streets I say, but rather go see a psychiatrist. People have been forced to enter psychiatric hospitals for far less. Or possibly be forced to read the entire bible, and fool themselves even more. But around here, that is exactly the case.
People who have wasted years on drugs, and doing nothing with their lives, are suddenly "born again" and actually set up shop on downtown corners, attracting crowds. They hoot and holler about "Brother, do you have Jesus in your heart?!" and slapping their bibles. One of these guys sets up on a downtown corner by the Central Public Library. He will sometimes get over 100 of his downtown people to come down. He even had the audacity to grab my sleeve one time and ask me if I was saved. This is normality here. The drug pushers a few feet away he doesn't feel inclined to save. Some of the most selfish, hypocritical, busy bodies I have ever met were proud Christians. Paganism, Atheism, Agnosticism, whatever you want to label it as, just feels right.(If by chance the reader has reservations concerning the tattoo's, rest assured. I do not rob liquor stores on weekends, sell crack to kids or sacrifice virgins.) Tomislav (Tom) Sunić, a former US professor, author, translator and a former Croat diplomat concures with me on this point. He touches upon this topic in his written piece Marx, Moses and the Pagans in the Secular City.
I have shorter hair now, and don't colour it black anymore btw.
I was raised a Catholic, but in my early years when I was still just a tween, I saw through a lot of the hypocrisy, fables, falsehoods and the borrowing of beliefs from other more ancient belief systems, in this case, pagan Slavs.(If there is any fun thing about Christianity for instance, you can usually thank our Pagan predecessors from which we incorporated into Christianity pagan customs and then gave it a new name.) And I felt there was something not quite right, an element of chicanery one might call it, and not with Catholicism alone. Heck no. It was the whole package. Orthodoxy, Protestanism, Ecumenism and all the rest. And not only that, but pretty well any religion/theology that stemmed from, or had it's roots from the same basic tenents/beliefs/source, with just some modifications and a new name. Y'know , all those stories from that book(s) written ages ago by who knows who? (And don't tell me you know who, because you don't, they didn't have Youtube, Twitter or Skype in those days)..and re-edited countless times, again, by who knows who.
Even many saints and their stories are nothing but pagan deities and their stories painted anew on a Christian person, substituting the saints miracles to the deities powers. This may ruffle some feathers, but to me Christianity seems foreign, imposed on the Slavic mentality. (The way some men at weddings have to wear those dumb looking cumberbuns) Who knows? Perhaps someday Croatians/Slavs and other Europeans will be looking at the centuries old cathedrals and churches dotting the landscape the same way we admire and gaze upon Roman, Illyrian, Etruscan and Greek buildings and ruins today. Besides, most of todays customs and rituals relating to Christmas and Easter have many pagan elements. From Christmas trees, mistletoe and exhanging of gifts to wreathes, bunny rabbits and Easter eggs,
Some footage of some of the giant Easter Eggs found in Zagreb during the holidays. Eggs like this can be seen in other cities across Croatia as well.
Dating back from pagan times, Croatian Pisanica (Easter Eggs) are still very popular today.
Related: paganheart.tumblr.com
People also have been uninformed and have misconceptions about what Slavic paganism is and was. At the time, their beliefs and rituals made perfect sense. They had to make an understanding of the world they lived in and that they could see and touch. Many of the gods, godesses, elfs, fairies and other deities made perfect sense, and showed great imagination and common sense. One of the misconceptions about our Slavic pagan ancestors is that they were simple, ignorant and simpletons. On the contrary, the average person in those days was smarter than most people today that these days you pass on the street. A person back then didn't have just one occupation, but had to know many different skills. An average person had to know about agriculture/horticulture/husbandry and farming methods to grow crops. Carpentry skills to build homes etc. Knowledge of science to forge their weapons, tools, ornaments, jewelry and build homes of brick and stone, make wine, incense and medicines. Even an artist to decorate their homes, important places and places of worship. And of course astronomy and science again to know when to plant the crops, the coming of the seasons, weather patterns, just to name a few. It was from these everyday tasks that their dieties made sense of the world around them and spoke to them. Their concept of good and evil were totally different in those days. Many of todays Christian beliefs to them would seem very strange and bizarre, however they did have their own code of ethics and rules which they followed.
Followers of Slavic neo-pagan religious movements gather in a Russian forest for a summer solstice 2010 celebration on Saturday. The summer solstice is recognized and often celebrated in many cultures around the world—in both the past and present, experts say. For instance, Stonehenge in the United Kingdom has been associated with the winter and summer solstices for about 5,000 years.(Pictures: "Summer Solstice Marked With Fire, Magic" [2008].) Source: nationalgeographic.com
Evening celebrations of the Summer Solstice in Croatia. Link to images of Slavic pagan celebrations in Croatia, Poland, Russia, Ukraine and other Slavic countries: www.slavorum.com
Belorusian youngsters celebrate the festival of Ivan Kupala, a traditional Belorusian one mixed with ancient Pagan Slavic beliefs, the Summer solstice and the day of birth of John the Baptist. This feast is usually celebrated on June 22 or 23 or July 6 (accorded to Julian calendar).
Traditionally, village youngsters made wreaths, light fires and jumped over them which meant cleansing from sins. Young men and girls tried to find a fern flower that blossomed this night only. Those who had found it got magic abilities. Girls put their wreaths with candles on a river water and those men who would get them would become their suitors. Source: www.demotix.com
Zvončari, or Pagan Bell Ringers, during the Rijeka Karneval in Croatia. A custom that dates to pre-Christian times.
Even the names of the Croatian months of the year, have retained their earthy, pagan origins. Names that are very related to other Slavic nations....
Croatian...... English
Siječanj...... January
Veljača....... February
Ožujak........ March
Travanj....... April
Svibanj....... .May
Lipanj.......... June
Srpanj...........July
Kolovoz....... August
Rujan........... September
Listopad...... October
Studeni........ November
Prosinac...... December
Note: In Macedonian, Listopad is also the (archaic) name for October but in Polish, Czech listopad and Ukrainian "lystopad" means November. Likewise, Polish sierpień, Czech srpen and Ukrainian "serpen'" mean August rather than July, and Polish lipiec (Ukrainian "lypen'") means July rather than June.
Source: en.wikipedia/Croatian_months
Related: www.irminsul.org
Y' know? There are people out there who might misconstrue this piece and categorize me as a hater, bad, lost, having a stinky finger and a whole bunch of other derogatory terms. (oouu, your're gonna be the main course in a 4,893 year long barbeque, being pitchforked by chubby little demons with pointy tails and big yellow teeth!!!) If that is the case, then all I can say as my rebuttal is quite simply.. "I don't make the rules, I just ask the questions." Does this mean if someone rubs garlic on me, or sprinkles some kind of water or oil on me, that I will melt, grow a big hairy butt, start listening to gospel-rap or start watching Benny Hinn? heh heh, The answer is definitely NO. Heck, if the situation arises and I have to attend someone's funeral or marriage in a church, rest assured, I wont burst into flames. Just don't expect me to go any further than attending the event. I actually don't even think about religion, per se, anymore. I only did this piece because of some recent experiences and an interesting article I came across.
Lada
Just to elaborate a little more on this theme of comparing an organized mainstream religion, (Christianity in this case), I present this comparison of two different ways for a person to profess their beliefs, views, feel closer to their deity, show alleigance to a particular way of thinking...whatever you want to call it. I ask the reader to compare the following two methods and decide which one seems more sensible, and which one gives you the heebeegeebees and seems sort of "sick". (Whatever makes you happy I guess)
Foto: news.bbc.co.uk
www.index.hr
www.tportal.hr
A small piece of body art that is done in a hygenic and safe manner for one's own reason. Which is quicker and less painful than most ear piercings. Much like a tattoo, but much cheaper.
Very interesting subject all this, very interesting indeed, why we believe what we believe. I'm not particularly religious, but perhaps in the future I may start another blog dedicated solely to these topics. My opinion of the article I posted below is this. Slavic Mythology never really was totally lost. It just needs to be re-examined and studied more, on the same level as archeologists and historians examine ancient Egypt, Rome, Greece, Mesopotamia, The Etruscans, The Illyrians, etc. I feel Slavic Mythology and Pre-Christian Slavic writing is much more of an interesting topic to study than finding out whether there is ice or carbon on a rock or meteor in deep space, or a planet sometimes light years away. For further reading on the subject of Croatian/Slavic Mythology, I recommend www.leluya.org
The Indo-European custom of communal feasts was known as bratchina (from brat, "brother") in Kiev Rus, as slava ("glorification") in Serbia and Macedonia and as sabor ("assembly") in Croatia and Bulgaria. Foto/Source: wikipedia.org
Lost Slavic Mythology?
From Slavic mythology up to today, little has been preserved with the people. At best only few have heard of Perun, Svarog or Veles.
And Slavic? We know that Croatian Ivana Brlić –Mažuranić captured a part of this tradition and recorded it in “Tales from Long Ago”, therefore we can even see Svarogich on multimedia CD editions. She is the only one who captured a small part, in the 20th century. What could have been if Ivana was born earlier and has heard some other interesting tales?.......
Footage of Etno Selo performing the popular Mažuranić tale 'Stribor's Forest' (Šuma Striborova) at the main park in the town of Lukavec, Croatia in 2009.
........Why have the “literate” and the Christianised people from the Middle Ages failed to record what mattered from the Slavic tradition? Numerous questions, and until the uncertain future finding of the answers, meet some of the Slavic mythology characters:
Svarog: According to legends, god of fire and heaven, creator of all on heaven and Earth. The first divinity of the Sun with the Slavic people linked with heaven, blacksmithing and fire. He can be compared to Greek gods Uranus and Hephaestus.
The name Morana is linked with the ancient Indian word “mara” which means to die with force. Morana is a goddess of death and winter. Most often, she has the form of a beautiful dark-haired girl and has extremely fair skin, wolf-like fangs and claws on her hands.
Perun even as a Marvel Comics Superhero. marvel.wikia.com
Y'know, I wonder if any of the 'Conan' artwork of Frank Frazetta or Boris Vallejo was influenced by the feats, legend and imagery of Perun. But that's another topic...
Perun, Slavic god of thunder and lightning, similar to Scandinavian Thor or Parjany of Indian mythology. He is a supreme divinity of the Slavic pantheon.
Veles is the god of the flock, a chthonic god associated with waters and valleys. Worshiping Veles was practiced by Balkan and Carpathian peoples for the longest period of time.
Cernog is a divinity that is associated with misfortune. He is an evil god, with a big moustache and pointy head and eyebrows, yellow teeth, god of darkness.
Ziva is the goddess of life. She is normally presented sitting down with an ornament on top of her head, which suggests of sun rays.
Pagod was god of beautiful weather, while Semenik or Karas god of food and drink. Pikutic was god of the dead, while Davor or Rugovit was god of war, a seven-headed creature.
Many generations of Slavic artists were inspired by their national folklore. Illustrated above is Ilya Yefimovich Repin's Sadko in the Underwater Kingdom (1876).
Foto/Source: wikipedia.org
Alphonse Mucha was a famous Czech Art Nouveau painter and artist. He included in his massive "Slav Epic" series of paintings, an underlying respect and homage to Slavic pagan history, highlighting which were for him important moments in Slavic culture. Even though some of the paintings in the series deal with the introduction of Christianity to the Slavs, it is nevertheless done against the backdrop of Slavic people's history through the ages along with their never to be forgotten pagan beginnings.
This is footage of a museum located in Russia dedicated to Old Slavic deities, traditions, customs that many Slavic nations share. A place for people to re-introduce themselves to their peoples long and interesting history. (When reruns of "Alf" aren't on TV of course)
Lidija Bajuk singing her folk song "Šetala Se Lepa Mara", about legendary "Lepa Mara" (Beautiful Mara) A very popular legendary character still celebrated in song and dance to this day, in and outside of Croatia.
Jasna Horvat is a Croatian writer, cultural theorist and a Professor of Economics at the University of Osijek. She has writen works which explore this topic of Croatian/Slavic mythology, deities, glagolitic script and a host of other subjects. She also writes novels, essays, books for children and young people, and about the scientific and professional work of the two branches of knowledge (humanities and social). You can find out more about her and these subjects on her website at www.jasnahorvat.com
"LADO" - An archaic Slavic word which is a synonym for nice, kind and friendly.
The LADO Croatian National Folk Ensemble website: www.lado.hr
The Hrvatska Zora Croatian Folklore Ensemble.
The Zagrebački Folklorni Ansambl .
The Tanac Croatian Folklore Ensemble in Hungary.
Some footage of The Croatian National Folk Ensemble LADO.
Croatia - Folklore and regional stories
Source: observer.guardian.co.uk
Related: www.jasnahorvat.com
Towards sunset, having 'done' a few more sights, I sat with a pivo in the Stradun, the Old Town's only wide street - of polished stone, lined with tall, gravely imposing buildings. And there Dubrovnik's free evening entertainment mesmerised me: thousands of swifts giving a dizzying display of aerobatics, circling high in the sky , then swooping and darting low between the buildings, their speed and flock coordination something to marvel at, their shrill frenetic twitterings so loud I had to raise my voice when ordering another pivo. Looking up and down the Stradone, I mentally congratulated the successors to the Major Council: no plastic disfiguring of shop façades is allowed and only café table sunshades - Coca-Cola and Marlboro - marred the Adriatic's most famous thoroughfare.
The above extract is taken from Through the Embers of Chaos: Balkan Journeys by Dervla Murphy (John Murray, 2002).
Folklore
Croatian mythology should be told on a cold winter's night. It's the sort of stuff that needs flickering light from a dying fire and a howling wind whistling outside, occasional draughts sending extra shivers down your spine. Sitting in a semi-circle before a wise old woman, or a huge bearded man, you don't get Croatian folk stories from a book, just from memory and invention.
Croatian myth is part of the Slavic tradition that sweeps across Baltic, central and Eastern Europe, terrifying children and giving nightmares a ghoulish flavour. There is almost nothing that can be called specifically Croatian, hardly surprising given that there has hardly been an area that would answer to the name of Croatia for very long.
The Slavic tradition itself is nothing like as hard and fast as Greek mythology. There are no ancient written authorities and all that survive are the characters, but without any actual stories.
There are Gods like Perun, God of Thunder, King of the Gods, who are recognisable from all mythologies. Most of the Slavic Gods, like Veles, God of the Underworld, would feel at home round a Greek or a Norse Gods' banqueting table. But it is the lesser deities, who inhabit the world around us every day, who give Slavic myth its own peculiar dimensions.
Harry Potter fans might recognise the Vila, fairies who appear in the shape of beautiful women. There are also the domaci, good house spirits who live in cupboards and under the stairs. And who could forget those most famous of mythological demons, the vampires and werewolves!
Some fables are specific to Croatia, like that of Malik Tintilinic, a very naughty little boy dressed in red from head to toe. Known to the story-tellers of coastal Croatia, Malik loves to joke and dance and brings good fortune to his master. Typical to all Croatian stories, though, there is a darker subtext: folk say that Malik is the spirit of an unbaptised dead child.
These, and many other Croatian stories - like the tale of the frozen city of Legen - have been adopted and put into stories by one great Croatian writer. In her Croatian Tales of Long Ago (1916), long overdue for a new English edition, Ivana Brlic Mazuranic, used the rudiments of Slavic mythology to create a real mythology just for her country Croatia.
Called by contemporaries "The Croatian Andersen", and more recently "The Slavic Tolkien", Ivana was nominated twice for the Nobel Prize for Literature. Her characters include Mokos, wife or helper of the chief God Perun, who is the Earth Goddess. We also meet gods of beauty, morning, bright skies, and a sphinx-like creature who asks travellers awkward questions.
In Brlic's work, as in all Slavic tales, everything is black and white: there are creative and destructive forces and each good character has a nemesis, an opposing force in a dualistic universe.
These are folk tales with simple messages and characters in search of narrators; luckily, although Croatian mythology lacks a Homer or an Ovid, it has its Tolkien.
*So if after reading this post one is left scratching their head, wondering what to make of all this information,or asking "What's the point?" I guess it would be this. Slavic/Pagan traditions ARE alive and found in some of the least likely of places. Found in those songs and poems that you thought had nothing to do with Paganism. One just has to scratrch beneath the surface, to find what was there all along. They are found in some of those popular songs, poems, stories, traditions and customs that you thought had nothing to do with ancient deities, elves and beliefs in gods and goddesses. And interest in this long unstudied and gathering dust on the shelf topic is growing in many countries.
As a humorous adendum to this post which sort of touched upon topics I didn't really plan on discussing originally at all, and which may leave some people thinking this post is all a bunch of hogwash and rubbish... I leave funnymen Penn and Teller and the late great George Carlin with their humorous observations about some other well known stories and beliefs.....
www.tportal.hr
A small piece of body art that is done in a hygenic and safe manner for one's own reason. Which is quicker and less painful than most ear piercings. Much like a tattoo, but much cheaper.
Pentagram with a round interlacing-ribbon pattern, found on an 11th century church choir screen panel in Solin, near Split, Croatia. Foto/Source: www.soa.hr
Very interesting subject all this, very interesting indeed, why we believe what we believe. I'm not particularly religious, but perhaps in the future I may start another blog dedicated solely to these topics. My opinion of the article I posted below is this. Slavic Mythology never really was totally lost. It just needs to be re-examined and studied more, on the same level as archeologists and historians examine ancient Egypt, Rome, Greece, Mesopotamia, The Etruscans, The Illyrians, etc. I feel Slavic Mythology and Pre-Christian Slavic writing is much more of an interesting topic to study than finding out whether there is ice or carbon on a rock or meteor in deep space, or a planet sometimes light years away. For further reading on the subject of Croatian/Slavic Mythology, I recommend www.leluya.org
The Indo-European custom of communal feasts was known as bratchina (from brat, "brother") in Kiev Rus, as slava ("glorification") in Serbia and Macedonia and as sabor ("assembly") in Croatia and Bulgaria. Foto/Source: wikipedia.org
Lost Slavic Mythology?
From Slavic mythology up to today, little has been preserved with the people. At best only few have heard of Perun, Svarog or Veles.
Source: dalje.com
Author: Josip Madunic
Translation: Karmen Horvat
Published: May 16, 2007 09:31h
As opposed to the ancient Greek, Slavic mythology did not leave any written documents behind. Why?
Slavic peoples did not use writing before Christianisation. Due to “illiteracy”, Slavic believes, and myths together with them, continued to be passed down orally after Christianisation and the beginning of literacy and in time have disappeared “into oblivion".
Up to today, little has been preserved with the people. At best, we have heard of Perun, Svarog or Veles. We see the word Triglav as a toponym and we do not know that Triglav was a three-part Slavic god who unified three roles of beings. The realistic one, the unrealistic and the right one.
On the other hand, we have Nordic or Scandinavian mythology. North-European peoples were Christianised in the 11th century and they started writing down their tradition since the 13th century, as well as mythology. Today, it is exactly because of this fact that Nordic mythology is alive and known, but exploited to the maximum for popular-cultural purposes.
For instance, an entire music style, Viking Metal, is focused on Nordic myths and folk-Nordic melodies. There are countless computer games inspired by the Vikings. Not to mention literature and film.
"The Slavic Tolkien"
Ivana Brlić – Mažuranić (1874-1938)
And Slavic? We know that Croatian Ivana Brlić –Mažuranić captured a part of this tradition and recorded it in “Tales from Long Ago”, therefore we can even see Svarogich on multimedia CD editions. She is the only one who captured a small part, in the 20th century. What could have been if Ivana was born earlier and has heard some other interesting tales?.......
Footage of Etno Selo performing the popular Mažuranić tale 'Stribor's Forest' (Šuma Striborova) at the main park in the town of Lukavec, Croatia in 2009.
........Why have the “literate” and the Christianised people from the Middle Ages failed to record what mattered from the Slavic tradition? Numerous questions, and until the uncertain future finding of the answers, meet some of the Slavic mythology characters:
Svarog: According to legends, god of fire and heaven, creator of all on heaven and Earth. The first divinity of the Sun with the Slavic people linked with heaven, blacksmithing and fire. He can be compared to Greek gods Uranus and Hephaestus.
The name Morana is linked with the ancient Indian word “mara” which means to die with force. Morana is a goddess of death and winter. Most often, she has the form of a beautiful dark-haired girl and has extremely fair skin, wolf-like fangs and claws on her hands.
Perun even as a Marvel Comics Superhero. marvel.wikia.com
Y'know, I wonder if any of the 'Conan' artwork of Frank Frazetta or Boris Vallejo was influenced by the feats, legend and imagery of Perun. But that's another topic...
Veles is the god of the flock, a chthonic god associated with waters and valleys. Worshiping Veles was practiced by Balkan and Carpathian peoples for the longest period of time.
Cernog is a divinity that is associated with misfortune. He is an evil god, with a big moustache and pointy head and eyebrows, yellow teeth, god of darkness.
Ziva is the goddess of life. She is normally presented sitting down with an ornament on top of her head, which suggests of sun rays.
Pagod was god of beautiful weather, while Semenik or Karas god of food and drink. Pikutic was god of the dead, while Davor or Rugovit was god of war, a seven-headed creature.
Many generations of Slavic artists were inspired by their national folklore. Illustrated above is Ilya Yefimovich Repin's Sadko in the Underwater Kingdom (1876).
Foto/Source: wikipedia.org
"The Celebration of the God Svantovit" from Mucha's "Slav Epic". More information about the series of paintings can be found at www.pricejb.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk
Alphonse Mucha was a famous Czech Art Nouveau painter and artist. He included in his massive "Slav Epic" series of paintings, an underlying respect and homage to Slavic pagan history, highlighting which were for him important moments in Slavic culture. Even though some of the paintings in the series deal with the introduction of Christianity to the Slavs, it is nevertheless done against the backdrop of Slavic people's history through the ages along with their never to be forgotten pagan beginnings.
From a 1930 poster advertising the showing of Mucha's "Slav Epic" series of paintings.
This is footage of a museum located in Russia dedicated to Old Slavic deities, traditions, customs that many Slavic nations share. A place for people to re-introduce themselves to their peoples long and interesting history. (When reruns of "Alf" aren't on TV of course)
Lada was goddess of beauty and opulence and at the same time the most beautiful female.
Svibor, on the other hand, was god of light, knowledge, fertility and war victory.
Svibor, on the other hand, was god of light, knowledge, fertility and war victory.
The one who is least known is goddess of winter, Zermagla, and probably most famous among Slavic goddesses is Vesna, goddess of youth and spring time.
Lidija Bajuk, (Above) An internationally recognized Croatian folk musician/poet who has penned many songs based on Croatian stories, myths and legends.
Lidija Bajuk singing her folk song "Šetala Se Lepa Mara", about legendary "Lepa Mara" (Beautiful Mara) A very popular legendary character still celebrated in song and dance to this day, in and outside of Croatia.
Jasna Horvat is a Croatian writer, cultural theorist and a Professor of Economics at the University of Osijek. She has writen works which explore this topic of Croatian/Slavic mythology, deities, glagolitic script and a host of other subjects. She also writes novels, essays, books for children and young people, and about the scientific and professional work of the two branches of knowledge (humanities and social). You can find out more about her and these subjects on her website at www.jasnahorvat.com
"LADO" - An archaic Slavic word which is a synonym for nice, kind and friendly.
Also very well known is the the Croatian National Folk Dance Ensemble "LADO" which is based in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Every major Croatian community in the world has it's own folk dance ensemble. Folk dance ensembles carry on the folky traditions that have been carried on through the centuries. They are earthy, folksy songs and dances that tell the stories of life, joy, relationships, thinking about getting hitched, all that, and taking pleasure in the simple things. (You have to remember, believe it or not cable TV is just a recent invention, and pop music hits and Michael Jackson jackets come and go)
Also, folk dance ensembles tell different stories, depending on which region of Croatia you came from, be it the North Western Zagorje, Eastern Slavonija or Dalmation coast regions. Pride is also taken in recreating the beautiful costumes, intricate patterns, lacework, jewellery, etc, that people used to actually wear centuries past in the rural areas. Every Slavic country has it's own regional and National Folk Dance Ensembles, much like any other ethnic group in the world. Surprising to many, the songs and dances really have nothing to do with religion. It's old songs and dances about life in the country with themes like' Hey Ana, Are you coming to the party this weekend after chores" kind of stuff. Kind of a simplification, but essentially true. They help to keep ones culture and heritage alive, as well as remind one of one's roots and where his/her people came from.
Also, folk dance ensembles tell different stories, depending on which region of Croatia you came from, be it the North Western Zagorje, Eastern Slavonija or Dalmation coast regions. Pride is also taken in recreating the beautiful costumes, intricate patterns, lacework, jewellery, etc, that people used to actually wear centuries past in the rural areas. Every Slavic country has it's own regional and National Folk Dance Ensembles, much like any other ethnic group in the world. Surprising to many, the songs and dances really have nothing to do with religion. It's old songs and dances about life in the country with themes like' Hey Ana, Are you coming to the party this weekend after chores" kind of stuff. Kind of a simplification, but essentially true. They help to keep ones culture and heritage alive, as well as remind one of one's roots and where his/her people came from.
The LADO Croatian National Folk Ensemble website: www.lado.hr
The Hrvatska Zora Croatian Folklore Ensemble.
The Zagrebački Folklorni Ansambl .
The Tanac Croatian Folklore Ensemble in Hungary.
Some footage of The Croatian National Folk Ensemble LADO.
Croatia - Folklore and regional stories
Source: observer.guardian.co.uk
Related: www.jasnahorvat.com
Towards sunset, having 'done' a few more sights, I sat with a pivo in the Stradun, the Old Town's only wide street - of polished stone, lined with tall, gravely imposing buildings. And there Dubrovnik's free evening entertainment mesmerised me: thousands of swifts giving a dizzying display of aerobatics, circling high in the sky , then swooping and darting low between the buildings, their speed and flock coordination something to marvel at, their shrill frenetic twitterings so loud I had to raise my voice when ordering another pivo. Looking up and down the Stradone, I mentally congratulated the successors to the Major Council: no plastic disfiguring of shop façades is allowed and only café table sunshades - Coca-Cola and Marlboro - marred the Adriatic's most famous thoroughfare.
The above extract is taken from Through the Embers of Chaos: Balkan Journeys by Dervla Murphy (John Murray, 2002).
Folklore
Croatian mythology should be told on a cold winter's night. It's the sort of stuff that needs flickering light from a dying fire and a howling wind whistling outside, occasional draughts sending extra shivers down your spine. Sitting in a semi-circle before a wise old woman, or a huge bearded man, you don't get Croatian folk stories from a book, just from memory and invention.
Croatian myth is part of the Slavic tradition that sweeps across Baltic, central and Eastern Europe, terrifying children and giving nightmares a ghoulish flavour. There is almost nothing that can be called specifically Croatian, hardly surprising given that there has hardly been an area that would answer to the name of Croatia for very long.
The Slavic tradition itself is nothing like as hard and fast as Greek mythology. There are no ancient written authorities and all that survive are the characters, but without any actual stories.
There are Gods like Perun, God of Thunder, King of the Gods, who are recognisable from all mythologies. Most of the Slavic Gods, like Veles, God of the Underworld, would feel at home round a Greek or a Norse Gods' banqueting table. But it is the lesser deities, who inhabit the world around us every day, who give Slavic myth its own peculiar dimensions.
Harry Potter fans might recognise the Vila, fairies who appear in the shape of beautiful women. There are also the domaci, good house spirits who live in cupboards and under the stairs. And who could forget those most famous of mythological demons, the vampires and werewolves!
Some fables are specific to Croatia, like that of Malik Tintilinic, a very naughty little boy dressed in red from head to toe. Known to the story-tellers of coastal Croatia, Malik loves to joke and dance and brings good fortune to his master. Typical to all Croatian stories, though, there is a darker subtext: folk say that Malik is the spirit of an unbaptised dead child.
An image of elves Malik Tintilinic and Kosjenka from the story “Regoč” by Ivana Brlić Mažuranić. More information about them at: www.posta.hr
These, and many other Croatian stories - like the tale of the frozen city of Legen - have been adopted and put into stories by one great Croatian writer. In her Croatian Tales of Long Ago (1916), long overdue for a new English edition, Ivana Brlic Mazuranic, used the rudiments of Slavic mythology to create a real mythology just for her country Croatia.
Called by contemporaries "The Croatian Andersen", and more recently "The Slavic Tolkien", Ivana was nominated twice for the Nobel Prize for Literature. Her characters include Mokos, wife or helper of the chief God Perun, who is the Earth Goddess. We also meet gods of beauty, morning, bright skies, and a sphinx-like creature who asks travellers awkward questions.
In Brlic's work, as in all Slavic tales, everything is black and white: there are creative and destructive forces and each good character has a nemesis, an opposing force in a dualistic universe.
These are folk tales with simple messages and characters in search of narrators; luckily, although Croatian mythology lacks a Homer or an Ovid, it has its Tolkien.
*So if after reading this post one is left scratching their head, wondering what to make of all this information,or asking "What's the point?" I guess it would be this. Slavic/Pagan traditions ARE alive and found in some of the least likely of places. Found in those songs and poems that you thought had nothing to do with Paganism. One just has to scratrch beneath the surface, to find what was there all along. They are found in some of those popular songs, poems, stories, traditions and customs that you thought had nothing to do with ancient deities, elves and beliefs in gods and goddesses. And interest in this long unstudied and gathering dust on the shelf topic is growing in many countries.
As a humorous adendum to this post which sort of touched upon topics I didn't really plan on discussing originally at all, and which may leave some people thinking this post is all a bunch of hogwash and rubbish... I leave funnymen Penn and Teller and the late great George Carlin with their humorous observations about some other well known stories and beliefs.....
