“Our ancient faith, the book of our prominent recently deceased linguist Radoslav Katicic, presents a simple summary of his thirty-year research on the beliefs of Slavic peoples before their Christianization. This was not an easy task because there are hardly any material remains. It is not known whether the Slavic peoples had a writing system before their Christianization, but all beliefs and traditions have come to us through oral transmission.”
“A relief from Zrnovnica (8th century) – depicting the victory of Perun over Veles.”
“The Slavs appeared late on the European scene; they were first mentioned by the Byzantine historian Procopius in the 6th century. One of the essential characteristics of the ancient Slavic faith is the diversity of its traditions, which is a result of the weak connection between tribes considering the large area they inhabited, from the Baltics to the Black Sea and the Adriatic. However, it seems that one common thread runs through all these beliefs, which, according to Katicic, leads back to Indo-European roots. Antun Mihanović also stated so.” has proved that Slavic languages belong among Indo-European languages and that Slavic ritual poetry is similar to the Indian Vedas, Iranian Avesta, and German Edda.
Veles – the god of earth, water, and the underworld.
Interestingly, Katičić rejects the terms pagan and paganism, and uses the term our ancient faith. The process of Christianization of Slavic nations lasted for several centuries, and in some places even longer, however, the old beliefs did not simply disappear, so the old tradition reaches us in a Christian clothing, which Katičić calls dual faith.
One cannot rip the faith out of people’s souls by a decision. The people are also obedient. They are all publicly Christians, they attend Sunday and holy liturgies, they celebrate church holidays. But in their souls, most of them believe as they believed before, they remember the holy myths well, they know the sacred places, and secretly continue to perform sacred rituals, gradually turning them into folk customs that no longer need to be hidden from the priest.
In the 14th century, an unknown Franciscan in the Soča Valley He recorded that the inhabitants who live there worship a certain tree and spring underneath it as if it were a deity. This worship could be linked to Perun and Veles, even though the inhabitants publicly identified as Christians.
Svarog – the god of fire and sky, the creator of everything in heaven and earth. re of faith with Christian saints. Thus, the thunderer Perun becomes St. Elijah the thunderer, and often also St. Michael, the leader of the heavenly army, and St. Vitus. The Christian transformation of the goddess Mokoš is the Mother of God, and often also St. Paraskeva. The young god Jarilo transforms into St. George. These substitutions often hold the key to understanding the old faith. According to Katičić, the old faith can be most easily recognized from the Old Slavic ritual texts that linguistic science has so far been able to reconstruct. Two figures stand out in the pantheon of Old Slavic gods: the thunderer Perun in the form of an eagle or falcon, and the god of cattle, Veles, in the form of a snake, dragon, or bear.
The goddess Mokoš embodies mother nature and her fertility.
The myth of the conflict between Perun and Veles in the so-called divine battle is an extremely important belief as it reveals the essence of the old faith. Namely, this is not a conflict between good and evil, as Katičić says, and it is assumed that its origins date back to ancient Indo-European times, which has also been confirmed by Russian scientists Vyacheslav Vsevolodovich Ivan My name is Vladimir Nikolaevich Toporov. The battle in which Perun defeats and kills the dragon, serpent, bear, or mythical creature – a serpent with a bear’s head, depending on the geographic origin of the myth, does not mean literal murder. Here, the word “kill” does not mean to cause death, but rather to restore the dragon to its place, which means restoring the natural order of things. The dragon, or Veles, does not have a negative meaning; he is the ruler of livestock, water, and valleys. But when he decides to take Perun’s place, the ruler of mountain peaks, a divine battle occurs. They do not always fight; coexistence is present, often mediated by Perun’s wife, the goddess Mokoš. When Perun takes his place up above and Veles below, peace reigns in the world.
Among the female deities, the goddess Mokoš is important, the housewife and ruler of Perun’s court. Thus, Mokoš is the prototype of a housewife in the Slavic home. She is also an tireless weaver. Her characteristic place is the wetland, a place on the edge of the village where flax and hemp are soaked. She is also the protector of fertility and marriage.
Jarilo – the fertility god etations, the son of the god Perun and the goddess Mokoš.
The sacred wedding of Perun’s children is described in Russian poetic tradition. There are many children, but we will mention two: the son Jarovit or Jarilo and his sister Mara – Morana. Katičić believes that they are very present in the religious image of the world of the ancient Slavs because they play an important role in the changing of the annual fertility cycles and in the life of people. Additionally, there is a myth associated with the sacred wedding, a wedding within the closest kin, which in symbolic meaning has the power to initiate all the annual joy and keep the human race alive. The young god Jarilo goes far away and then returns to come to the wedding with Mara. By overcoming great obstacles and by going and returning, he sets the world in motion. He stimulates the fertility of the year and initiates its cycle so that in songs a special connection is created between Jarilo’s journey and the awakening of nature in spring. A successful harvest is only possible if Jarilo’s journey is successful. This is best shown in a ritual song: “Where Jura walks, there the field bears fruit”. Jarilo’s sister Mara longs He eagerly awaits him. When they unite, they become bearers of divine life until they pass away as old people, Jarilo and Morana, and then they are reborn and live in yearly cycles.
According to Katičić, apart from the mentioned ones, there are also other gods in the ritual poetry and folklore of the ancient Slavs, such as Svarog, Svarožić and Dajbog, sun and fire deities. The goddess Lada or Lada is mentioned as the goddess of springs, and among the southern Slavs, there is Troglav or Triglav. The goddess Lada is also associated with love and beauty. The goddess of spring Vesna and her companions, the dodolas, are mentioned. The god of the sun and light is Svetovid or Svantevid, associated with wars and divination. He is described as a god with four heads, and his statue has been found in the Baltic.
Katičić believes that the connection between the Old Slavic ritual texts and the ancient Indo-European sacred poetry and tradition has been reliably established. And this leads us further to a unique distant source from which many ancient religions of the world were nourished…
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