3.2.9. The Religious System of the Ancient Slavs The standard academic approach to the question of the origin of the so-called Slavic community suggests the origin of the Proto-Slavs - from one of the branches of the Indo-European community. Since the Russians are considered

The history of the pre-Christian beliefs of the Slavs has come down to us in the form of echoes of folk rituals, fairy tales and rare archaeological finds. Writing in Russia arose around the 9th century. n. e. Chronicle sources include the description of the marriage ceremonies of the Slavs by Nestor the chronicler in The Tale of Bygone Years and the description of the pantheon collected by Vladimir in 980.

The term paganism was introduced by later Christian theologians. The word itself comes from the ancient Slavic "language" - peoples, tribes. It is customary to call pagans all peoples who do not profess the three main (Abrahamic) world religions - Christianity, Judaism, Islam.

Slavic paganism was formed in the 2nd millennium BC, when our ancestors separated from the Indo-European group. Obviously, the beliefs of the peoples and tribes that inhabited Ancient Russia differed from each other. The traditional beliefs of Ancient Russia, like all ancient peoples, were worship of the forces of nature. It was on these forces that the very factor of survival of our ancestors depended. The sun, rain, nature surrounding man, fire became deified objects of veneration. The whole world around was filled with spirits, creatures from world of the dead and gods.

The place of residence determined the name and properties of the spirit. A goblin lived in the forest - the owner of the thicket, an evil old man, the patron of forest animals and plants. The reservoirs were inhabited by water and waterwomen (mermaids) - insidious creatures seeking to drag a person to the depths. The owners of the fields - the field workers spoiled the crops, diverted the rains. In the dwellings, respectively, brownies lived, and in the baths - banniks. A good brownie keeps well-being in the family, an evil one spoils food and utensils. The female analogue of the brownie is a kikimora, a sloppy and ugly old woman, a petty dirty trick. As a rule, all these creatures were perceived by our ancestors as the spirits of dead people. This sends us to the cult of ancestors who magically participate in the life of descendants. So, one of the brightest spirits of Baba Yaga is the guardian of the border between the world of the living and the dead. Therefore, people cajoled the spirits, made offerings before the start of each important business.

Pagan gods of ancient Russia

Perhaps the only mention of a pagan temple in the annals we find in the "Tale of Bygone Years"

“And the beginning of Prince Volodimer in Kiev is one, and put idols on the hill, outside the yard of the tower: Perun is ancient, and his head is silver, and we are evil, and Kharsa and Dazhbog and Stribog and Smargl and Mokosh. And I zhryahu I call the gods "

These six gods were called the pantheon of Prince Vladimir.

Perun- God of thunder and lightning. Perun moved across the sky on a golden chariot drawn by winged horses. Since he was the patron god of the prince and his squad, he naturally became the eldest of the gods and head of the pantheon. Bulls were brought to him as a request. One of the attributes of Perun was considered an ax. Amulets in the form of axes were worn by the prince's combatants. The oak was also a symbol of Perun, a sign of strength and eternity. The princes swore by his name, concluding agreements. Perun's oaths are contained in prisoners after campaigns in 907, 945 and 971:

"... and Oleg and his husbands were taken to swear allegiance according to Russian law, and they swore by their weapons and Perun, their god, and Volos, the god of cattle, and approved the world."

Horse- the sun-god (according to another version - the god of the month, the "night sun"). They brought him pancakes (pancakes are similar in color and shape in the sun). On holidays dedicated to Khors, round dances were danced.

Dazhbog(Dazhdbog) - "giving prosperity", a solar deity, giving fertility. The patron saint of farmers. The author of "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" calls the Russians "Dazhdbozh's grandchildren."

Stribog- the patron saint of merchants and sailors, possibly the god of wind and air, this conclusion was made on the basis of a quote from "The Tale of Igor's Campaign": "Behold the winds, Stribozh's grandchildren, blow from the sea with arrows on Igor's brave plucks"

Simargl(Semargl) - a semi-divine character, perhaps a deity of the original fire, an intermediary between the world of people and the world of gods. Depicted as a winged dog.

Mokosh(Makosh) is the only female deity in the pantheon of Vladimir. Goddess of fate, abundance, fertility, family hearth, patroness of women. She also patronizes weavers, she spins the thread of fate of all living beings, people and gods.

But there were deities that were not included in the pantheon of Vladimir:

Veles- cattle god, one of the most revered gods among the Slavs. Unlike the god of the prince and the warriors of Perun, Veles is the deity of plowmen, cattle breeders, and merchants. His temple stood in Kyiv, below, on Podol near the trading piers of Pochaina. Patron of storytellers and poetry. His name was also sworn at the conclusion of contracts.

Svarog God of the sky and heavenly fire. There is a version that he was the supreme god of one of the tribal unions. God-smith, taught people to melt metals. The Ipatiev Chronicle claims that Svarog was the father of Dazhdbog.

Genus- the Slavic god, the creator of all living and existing. The patron of family and destiny. Mentioned with Rozhanitsy, spirits that determine the fate of a child at birth.

Lada- the goddess of youth, spring, beauty and love. The demand was laid to her in the form of a white rooster. According to some versions, she was the wife of Svarog, or his daughter.

temple

If communication with spirits and guardians among the Slavs took place daily at the household level, then the appeal to the gods required a special place. They became temples, pagan sanctuaries of the Russians. Since they were wooden, they have not survived to our time. Reconstructions of temples found by archaeologists are round platforms bounded by a moat and rampart. In the center is the idol of the deity to whom the temple is dedicated. Sometimes there are several idols of "younger" gods around him. The territory inside the temple was covered with clay, sand or stones. Numerous traces of fire and remains of coal indicate the burning of ritual fires. Finds of animal bones (and sometimes human skulls) indicate that sacrifices were made here or, as the ancestors said, they laid trebs.

Slavic priests - Magi - served in temples. They conveyed to the common people the will of the gods, were prophets, keepers of secret knowledge.

Rites of pre-Christian Russia

Pagan rites accompanied the Russian from birth to feast (funeral rite, feast in honor of the deceased).

V. M. Vasnetsov. Trizna according to Oleg. 1899

Many rituals of the ancient Russians have survived to this day. Shrovetide, Christmas mummers, fortune-telling, the night of Ivan Kupala, the offering of food to the graves of dead ancestors - all this came to us from the ancients.

In 988, the prince. The idols of the old gods were chopped up and burned, Perun was thrown into the Dnieper. From that moment on, paganism retreats before Christianity. It was a long and often bloody process. Until the 12th century, uprisings of the Magi and pagans broke out. Moreover, in 1534 Metropolitan Macarius wrote to Ivan the Terrible:

“In many Russian places, nasty idol prayer places were preserved, and until the reign of Grand Duke Vasily Ivanovich, they worship all creatures like a god and honor and sacrifice blood to demons - oxen and sheep and all cattle and poultry”

Vasily Ivanovich is the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily III, father of Ivan the Terrible. He ruled from 1505 to 1533. Pagan holidays and rituals gradually merged into Christianity. There was a long period of dual faith, when official Christians in everyday life continued to make requests for household spirits and guardians. And even now, its echoes are heard in our lives, when a cat is the first to be let into a new home, they sit down “on the path”, leave food on the graves, commemorating the dead.

Literature:

1. Rybakov B.A. Paganism of Ancient Russia. M., 1988
2. Anichkov E. V. Paganism and ancient Russia. - St. Petersburg: Printing house of M. M. Stasyulevich, 1914.

West Slavic twin idol

The beliefs of the Slavs and the Balts were very close. This applies to the names of such deities as Perun (Perkunas) and Veles. There is a similarity in the names of the gods of the Slavs and Thracians (most often they cite Dazhbog as an example). There is also a lot in common with German, in particular with Scandinavian, mythology (the motif of the world tree, the cult of dragons, etc.).

In the same period, with the division of the Proto-Slavic community, the tribal beliefs of the Slavs began to form, which had significant regional differences. Along with the common Slavic deities (Svarog, Perun, Lada), each tribe developed its own pantheon of gods, the same gods received different names. It can be argued that in the early Middle Ages, the beliefs of the western Baltic Slavs and the eastern Dnieper Slavs were divided, while the paganism of the southern, eastern and also Polish Slavs largely retained unity.

During the resettlement of Slavic tribes in - centuries. their culture mixed with the beliefs of the local Finno-Ugric, Baltic and Turkic peoples.

Worldview of the Slavs

The nature of beliefs

Slavic paganism refers to polytheistic religions, that is, the Slavs recognized the existence of many gods. The pagan, using the word "god", did not mean a specific deity.

A feature of Slavic paganism is often the allocation of its main deity for each tribe. So in the treaties of Russia with Byzantium, Perun is called "our god", "in whom we believe." Helmold speaks of the worship of Svyatovit, "to whom they dedicated the temple and idol to the greatest splendor, attributing to him the primacy among the gods."

At the same time, the Slavs, like the Balts, had an idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe supreme deity.

Animals and a female bird, figurines of the Ant type of the 6th-7th centuries, Velestino

Paganism is often referred to as the deification of natural forces. Slavic pagans praised their ancestors and the surrounding nature (thunder and lightning, wind, rain, fire). The Slavs are characterized by the veneration of animals (bear, wolf, lizard, eagle, horse, rooster, duck, tour, wild boar). But totemism is practically unknown.

The sun, moving around the world of people along its own path ("Khors' path"), visits both the sky and the underworld (the night Sun). A special place is occupied by the moments of sunrise and sunset (images of the evening and morning Dawn).

The Slavs singled out four or eight cardinal directions. The most significant were the west, as the orientation of the body of the deceased in the grave, and the northeast, as the orientation of the temples to the point of sunrise on the day of the summer solstice.

The element that binds the universe for the Slavs was fire. It was used in offering sacrifices, at funerals, at holidays, for protective purposes, etc. Fire was a symbol of eternity. The personification of fire was Svarog. Researchers call Svarog the god of the universe. Arab authors call Slavs and Russes fire-worshippers.

It is believed that the Slavs had ideas about " paradise", Which in East Slavic folklore is called Iriy (Vyriy), this place is associated with the Sun and birds, is located in the south or underground (under water, in a well). The souls of the dead go there. There are also ideas about Buyan Island, also identified with the other world. In medieval Novgorod, there was an idea that paradise could be reached by sea, and that allegedly one of the Novgorodians did this by going east. Ibn Fadlan (vek) conveys the views and vision of paradise during the funeral of the Rus as follows:

And there was a certain Russian husband next to me ... and he said: “You, O Arabs, are stupid ... Truly, you take the person most beloved to you and from you the most respected by you and throw him into the dust, and eat his dust and vile, and worms, and we burn him in the twinkling of an eye, so that he enters Paradise immediately and immediately.”

Origin of people East Slavs associated with Dazhbog, the son of Svarog. In the "Word of Igor's Campaign" (XII century), he is called the ancestor of princes and Russian people in general, and in the "Sofia Time" (XIII century) - the first king of the Slavs.

The Slavs considered the Danube lands to be their ancestral home. Procopius of Caesarea (VI century) called the ancestral home of the Slavs “the country of Sporaden”, the Bavarian Geographer (IX century) left the following legend about the Danube region of Zaryania: “Zeruyans (Zeriuani), who alone have a kingdom and from whom all the tribes of the Slavs, like them assert, originate and lead their own kind. In the annals of the 17th century, in the legend of the ancestor Slovene, Zardan is named among the Danube ancestors. Some historians also note that among the Slavs there were ideas about the Carpathians as the Holy Mountains, where their ancient ancestors (“foremothers”) lived. The personification of such ideas is the epic giant Svyatogor.

Each tribe told about their migration from their ancestral home, naming their ancestors: Radim and Vyatko, Kriv, Chekh and Lekh. Legends were transmitted about the founders of dynasties and cities - Kiy, Krak (Krok), Piast.

The Slavs believed in life after death, believed in immortality, and according to some researchers, in reincarnation.

Periodization of the development of Slavic paganism

There were also ideas about the Stone Age and the Iron Age. The legends about the Asilk giants say that they did not know God and threw stone clubs into the sky. In the north of Russia there were legends about "divine people" who changed fur for iron things. As far back as the century, the Slavs, according to Theophylact Simokatta, spoke about the production of iron as follows:

There were also tribes that had personalized gods, and those that did not have idols. Helmold (XII century) writes that some Slavs did not have idols:

"The Slavs have many different types idolatry. For not all of them adhere to the same pagan customs. Some cover the unimaginable statues of their idols with temples, such as, for example, the idol in Plun, whose name is Podaga; among others, deities inhabit forests and groves, like Prove, the god of the Aldenburg land, - they do not have any idols.

B. A. Rybakov also draws attention to the ideas of the ancient Russian scribe that before the establishment of faith in Perun, the Slavs believed in Rod, and even earlier - only in ghouls and beregins. Thus, paganism developed from beliefs with lesser personification of deities to idolatry. B - cc. part of the tribes retained paganism without the personification of gods and without idols, the other part - worshiped the idols of the gods.

The issue of idol worship in Europe was discussed as early as the time of Pythagoras, who lived in the century BC. e. Iamblichus (-3rd century BC) and other authors describing the life of this ancient Greek sage tell that a Scythian priest of Apollo named Abaris came to him, who was interested in particular in the veneration of the gods through idols:

“When Pythagoras was in captivity ... a wise man appeared to him, a native of Hyperboreans, named Abaris, who arrived precisely for a conversation with him, and offered him questions about the most sacred objects, namely about idols, about the most reverent way of worshiping God ... "

The very first Slavic idols can be dated to -VII centuries, although there are also earlier datings of idols - centuries. D.N. Kozak and Ya.E. Borovsky tend to combine all monuments of paganism of the Zarubinets culture with monuments of a later time into a common branch of evolution, supporting the “Scythian” concept of B.A. Rybakov, who sees in the Scythian funeral idols of the 7th-4th centuries. BC e. statues of the Slavic-Scythian god Goytosir. Apparently personification. Slavic gods took place in the second half of the 1st millennium BC. e., when the Iron Age began, and at the beginning of our era. By the century, the Slavs knew both weapons (Pshevorsk swords) and strong princely power (Prince Bozh), and, probably, the first gods. This is evidenced by indirect references to names formed from the names of deities. In the 5th century, the vandals were led by a leader named Radigast (Radogais), who was also worn by the god of the Baltic Slavs (Veneti) Radegast. In the century, among the mercenaries in Byzantium was a Slavic warrior named Svaruna, whose name contains the same root as the name Svarog. In the description of Procopius of Caesarea (v.), the main god of the Slavs and Antes is the Thunderer, therefore, we can talk about the personification of Perun. There are also studies that bring together the already mentioned Apollo and Leto with Kupala and Lada, the personification of which was never completed, but took place from the earliest centuries of the development of Slavic paganism.

The third stage, identified by Rybakov, is recognized by most researchers who tend to separate pre-state paganism (“the paganism of the ancient Slavs”) and the paganism of the state period (“the paganism of Ancient Russia”). In the most general framework, this period is limited to -XII centuries. So it is generally accepted that with the advent of the state, Perun becomes the head of the gods of the Eastern Slavs, as the patron of the prince and squad.

In addition, state paganism evolved into state polytheism, when the prince selected some gods for the pantheon and did not accept others.

It is also necessary to single out the period of development of paganism after the adoption of Christianity, when the latter significantly influenced traditional beliefs and mythology. This period in the most general framework can be limited to -XIV centuries. This period is characterized by “dual faith”, and for Russia of the XII-XIII centuries they even talk about a pagan renaissance.

In the future, open manifestations of paganism among the Slavs can rarely be found. Pagan beliefs become part of popular culture, remnants that are found in Christian culture to this day, but are not seen as opposed to it (except for the Church's struggle with superstitions).

On the present stage pagan beliefs are being revived in the form of neo-paganism, including the Slavic Rodnoverie.

Myths of the ancient Slavs

Sources of information about myths

Quite a lot of texts, collections of myths, Russian fairy tales and significant pictorial compositions on mythological themes such as "The Tale of Prophetic Oleg" have survived from Slavic paganism. The Tale of Bygone Years says: "All these tribes had their own customs, and the laws of their fathers, and traditions, and each had its own temper."

Scientists also reconstruct Slavic mythology according to various other sources.

First, there are written sources. Texts of Byzantine authors - centuries: Procopius of Caesarea, Theophylact Simocatta, Constantine Porphyrogenitus, Leo the Deacon and others. Western European authors -XIII centuries: Bavarian Geographer, Titmar of Merseburg, Helmold, Saxo Grammaticus and others. Arab authors -XIII centuries: al- Masudi, Ibn Fadlan, Ibn Ruste and others. In the Scandinavian sagas of the 13th century, in the Elder and Younger Eddas, there is also information that can be used to reconstruct Slavic paganism. Russian, West Slavic (Kozma of Prague) and South Slavic sources - centuries: chronicles, teachings and instructions against the pagans (Kirill of Turovsky, Kirik Novgorodets, etc.) and inserts in translated literature, including apocrypha. A special place is occupied by "The Tale of Igor's Campaign", which reflected a significant layer of pagan myths mentioned by the heir and bearer of pagan culture - an anonymous songwriter. All these texts do not contain any holistic expositions of mythology or individual myths.

Secondly, written sources -XVII centuries. and folklore sources of the 18th - centuries, which are less close to paganism, but contain a number of information from earlier sources that have not come down to us, as well as detailed records of legends, fairy tales, epics, conspiracies, bylichki and byvalshchina, proverbs and sayings, on which it is possible to reconstruct ancient myths. A special role is played by the information of Polish, Czech and German authors and historians who wrote down the local legends of the Western Slavs, who preserved the information from ancient Russian sources. In Russia XVI-XVII centuries. some information was recorded by Western diplomats, military men and travelers (Sigismund Herberstein, Olearius, etc.). Among folklore stories, epics about Svyatogor, Potyk, Volga (Volkh), Mikul are usually attributed to paganism; fairy tales about Kashchei the Immortal, Zmeya Gorynych, Baba Yaga, Alyonushka and Ivanushka. The difficulty of interpreting these sources lies in the fact that later layers, fabrications of authors, storytellers, collectors of folklore are superimposed on ancient ideas. Among the authoritative researchers of folklore Sakharov I.P., Afanasyev A.N., Propp V.Ya. and others.

Archaeological sources are more reliable, but less informative: information from excavations of places of worship, finds of idols, ritual objects, decorations, pagan symbols, inscriptions mentioning pagan gods or pagans, remnants of sacrifices and ritual actions. A significant contribution to the study of pagan antiquities was made by Nederle L., Lyavdansky A. N., Hermann I., Kyassovskaya E., Gyassovsky E., Losinsky V., Lapinsky A., Sedov V. V., Tretyakov P. N., Rybakov B. A., Vinokur I. S., Tolochko P. P., Kozak D. N., Borovsky Ya. E., Timoshchuk B. A., Rusanova I. P. et al.

No less important are the data of linguistics, comparative religion and the study of mythological subjects from other peoples. In addition to the world authority in this area, D. Fraser, we can name Tokorev S. A., Toporov V. N. and Ivanov V. V. Many Slavic myths are known from scientific reconstructions.

Mythological connections in the "Tale of Igor's Campaign", XII century.

A figurine in the Antian style from Velestino, 6th-7th centuries, depicting a baby lizard in the arms of a mother holding a seven-stringed harp depicting a nightingale.

Chi whether it was sung, Boyana things, Velesov's granddaughter ... About Boyana, the nightingale of the old time!

A div sitting on top of a tree (perhaps the world tree) predicts disaster with his cry, like an eclipse of the Sun

The sun blocks the way for him with darkness; night, moaning to him with a thunderstorm, wake the bird; whistle beast vsta; Zbisya Div, calls to the top of the tree

Anyhow, you tickled the regiments, jumping ... rushing into the path of Troyan through the fields to the mountains ... There were Trojan’s veins ... Resentment arose in the forces of Dazhdbozh’s grandson, entered the land of Troyan as a virgin ...

now they began to put the words of rags, Rodow and the women in childbirth, before Perowne their god, and before that they laid the treb with the opirem and the coast ... So it’s up to the sloven to reach these words, and you began to lay the treb to the Family and the Rozhanits, ... and now the Egyptians put the treb to the Nile and fire, the river Nile is the fruit-giver and grower of the class.

Pagan wrote, Novgorod. Miniature idols are depicted: a lizard, twins, a lizard, a four-faced god.

Reconstruction of the myth about Svarog and Svarozhichs

The fourth idol is Lado. This name is the god of joy and all prosperity. Offering sacrifices to him who is preparing for marriage, with the help of Lada, imagine good fun and kindly acquire life. This charm from the most ancient idolaters originated, even some gods Lel and Polel are honored, their Bogomeric name is still proclaimed in some countries in the hosts of merrymakers with the singing of Lelyum-Polel. So is the mother of Lelev and Polelev - Lado, singing: Lado, Lado! And that idol of the decrepit charm of the devil at the wedding oars, splashing his hands and beating on the table, sing.

The simplest form of a specially organized cult place among the Slavs is cult sites with idols and sacrificial pits. Such places were supposedly called "demands", on which they "made treb", or "temple"- from "kap", that is, they performed what was necessary to glorify their native gods. Sacrificial pits were located on the outskirts of the villages and did not have fences. Sometimes several idols-drops were arranged in a geometric order on the cult sites: the main idol stood in the center or behind, and the secondary idols stood around or in front.

Sometimes places of worship and idols were fenced off. The fence could be "stamens", on which the skulls of sacrificial animals were hung, or from pillars on which the curtain was attached. The fenced area became a sacred area. The most common form of fencing was a rampart, a moat, and artificial elevation. Some temples are oriented to the northeast, in which case the entrance was in the southwest, and entering the temple one could watch the sunrise on the day of the summer solstice.

Among the settlements-sanctuaries, there are large cult centers, which included a trespass, several temples, sacred paths (roads to temples), temple buildings with idols, wells, springs and buildings for holidays. On the territory of the sanctuaries there were ritual burials of older members of the clan, which became objects of veneration.

Cultists, sacrifices and predictions

The sources contain references to special men and women who performed pagan rites and took care of the temple. According to various sources, their names are as follows: sorcerers (“volkh” - a wolf, from “hairy” - shaggy, lost from the custom of putting on clothes with fur outward when performing certain ceremonies), princes (among the Western Slavs, it approaches “prince”), keepers ( creators of amulets - amulets), panders and indulgences ("indulgence" - secret ritual actions), cloud chasers and wolves (from "wolf" and "skin"), blasphemers ("koshchi" - words at burial, keepers of the wisdom of departed ancestors), sorcerers and sorceresses, enchantresses and enchantresses (from “ charm" - ritual vessels and magical actions), bayans (" bayat" - to speak, tell), "healers", sorcerers, witches (from "to know" - to know) and sorcerers (from " broadcast"), sorcerers (from "kudesa" - a tambourine), obavniki, kobniki ("kob" - fortune-telling about fate, fortune-telling by the flight of birds, "koben" - unusual body movements), fortune tellers (from "thief" - a fence), nauzniki and nauznitsy (from "nauzy" - knots tied in a special way). In synchronous Russian sources, the word "magicians" was most often used.

The various titles of pagan priests are related to their status, the cult they served, and the activities they performed. Most often, the main duty of the priests was to conduct rituals, glorify the gods and make sacrifices in accordance with which god the holiday was in honor of. In addition, such designations of victims as “treat” and “treba” were used. Drinks (wine), food (pie), part of the crop (grain, straw) were used as sacrifices, there were birds (roosters and chickens) for the celebration of Perun's day.

Sacrifices are closely related to predictions. Procopius of Caesarea (v.) writes about the faith of the Slavs and Antes:

When they gather there to offer sacrifice to the idols, or to appease their wrath, they sit while the rest stand by; secretly whispering to each other, they dig the earth with trepidation, and, having cast lots, they learn the truth in matters of doubt. Having finished this, they cover the lot with green turf, and, having stuck 2 pointed spears crosswise into the ground, with humble obedience, they lead a horse through them, which is considered the largest among the others and therefore is revered as sacred; despite the already thrown lot, which they observed earlier, through this, allegedly divine animal, they again carry out divination. And if in both cases the same sign falls out, the plan is carried out; if not, the saddened people give up the idea. An ancient legend, entangled in various superstitions, testifies that when they are in the terrible danger of a long rebellion, a huge boar comes out of the said sea with white fangs shining with foam, and happily wallowing in the mud, reveals itself to many.

When it was supposed to start a war against any country, according to custom, ministers placed three spears in front of the temple. Of these, two were stuck with tips into the ground and connected [by the third] across; these structures were placed at an equal distance. To them, a horse, during a marching performance, after a solemn prayer, was led out in a harness by a priest from the entrance. If the erected structures were crossed right foot before the left, it was considered a sign of the coup of the war; if he stepped on the left before the right, then the direction of the campaign was changed. Speaking also at various enterprises, predictions were received from the first movement of the animal. If it was happy, they joyfully moved on; if unfortunate, they turned back.

Three wooden boards, white on one side and black on the other, were thrown into the pit as a lot; white meant good luck, black meant bad luck.

The same said: “The gods tell us: you can’t do anything to us!” ... When they were beaten and torn out with a split beard, Yan asked them: “What do the gods say to you?” They answered: “To stand before Svyatoslav ... But if you let us in, you will have a lot of good; if you destroy us, you will receive a lot of sadness and evil ”... Such a sorcerer also appeared under Gleb in Novgorod; he spoke to people, pretending to be a god, and he deceived many, almost the whole city, he said after all: "I foresee everything"

So it is said that his mother was a prophetess... Such was their custom that on the first evening of Yule they had to bring her to a chair in front of the king's high seat. And ... the king asks his mother, does not see or does not know if she knows any threat or damage hanging over his state, or the approach of any non-peace or danger, or an attempt by someone on his possessions. She replies: “I do not see anything, my son, that, I would know, could harm you or your state, as well as anything that would frighten away your happiness. And yet I see a great and beautiful vision. The son of a king in Noreg was born at this time ... "

The Magi differed from other people in their clothes, long hair, a special staff (for example, in Novgorod - with the head of a god) and a way of life. Only priests in a number of cases could enter the sacred zone of temples, temples and sacred groves. Priests were held in high esteem by the people.

In separate tribes or among the priests of individual gods, a hierarchy developed, high priests stood out. Saxo Grammatik about the priests of Svyatovit:

To maintain the idol, each inhabitant of the island of both sexes contributed a coin. He was also given a third of the booty, believing that his protection would grant success. In addition, he had at his disposal three hundred horses and the same number of horsemen, who handed over everything that was obtained in battle high priest… This god also had temples in very many other places, ruled by priests of lesser importance.

They revere the priest more than the king. They send their army where divination will show, and when they win, they take gold and silver to the treasury of their god, and divide the rest among themselves.

They have healers, of whom others command the king, as if they were their bosses (Rus). It happens that they order to bring a sacrifice to their creator, whatever they want: women, men and horses, and even when the healers order, it is impossible not to fulfill their order in any way.

Bogomil, superior to the priests of the Slavs, called the Nightingale because of sweetness, strictly forbade people to submit to forced Christian baptism.

B. A. Rybakov recognized the historicity of Bogomil and even attributed to him the Novgorod gusli of the 11th century with the inscription “Slavisha”.

From the sources, only a few names of people are known that can be attributed to pagan ministers. Firstly, this is Prince Vseslav of Polotsk, who, being a Christian, according to the annals, was born from sorcery, “in a shirt”, and “The Tale of Igor's Campaign” endows him with such features of the Magi as the ability to guess about fate by lot, werewolf ( “jump away from them like a fierce beast”, “jump like a wolf”) and guidance (“get pissed off in the blue mist”). Another character is the Kyiv witch Potvora, whose name is written on a whorl from the 13th century treasure. Along with the whorl, a knife was found, possibly of a ritual nature.

Holidays and rituals

Pagan holidays: a dancing bird woman, a harper, military games, a treat for a deity, a run, a feast. Draw images of ancient Russian bracelets of the XII-XIII centuries.

Calendar holidays

The calendar holidays of the Slavs were associated with the agricultural cycle and astronomical phenomena. There are a huge number of reconstructions of the calendar of Slavic holidays, while there are quite a few synchronous sources on this issue. Important information about the festive rituals is provided by archeology, but all this data again has to be interpreted through the late folk calendar.

Most researchers refer to pagan holidays as Maslenitsa (“komoeditsy”), the day of Ivan (Yanka) Kupala, Kolyada. Less well known is Tausen (Ovsen), which belongs to a number of these holidays associated with the days of the solstice and equinox. The symbolism of these holidays is associated with the sun, fertility and procreation. The burning of an effigy of Mary (the goddess of winter and death) on Maslenitsa, round dances on Ivan Kupala record the ritual dances and marriage customs of antiquity. The Kupala cult is noted on Slavic calendars of the 4th century from the village of Romashki and the village of Lepesovka, as well as on the Zbruch idol of the 10th century.

On the Romashkin calendar, the holidays of Perun on July 12 and 20 are marked - which was replaced by Christians with "Ilyin's Day". Day of Veles (patron of wisdom and housekeeping) - was also replaced by Christianity on the day of St. Blaise (patron of livestock)

The calendar also records the holidays that lasted several days or even weeks: the “Rusal Week” and “Ladovanie” that preceded the Kupala holiday. Such a holiday is known to many peoples and at the beginning of autumn - "Indian summer", it lasted from one to two weeks.

Saxo Grammatik described in detail the feast in the church of Svyatovit, which took place in August:

Every year, after the harvest, a mixed crowd from all over the island in front of the temple of the god, sacrificing cattle, celebrated a solemn feast, which was called sacred. His priest… the small sanctuary… was carefully cleaning… The next day, when the people stood at the entrance, he, taking a vessel from the statue, carefully observed whether the level of the poured liquid had dropped, and then he expected a crop failure next year… Having made a cake with honey wine round shape, the size of such that it was almost equal to human growth, proceeded to the sacrifice. Putting him between himself and the people, the priest, according to custom, asked if the rouge could see him. When they answered that they saw, he wished that in a year they would not be able to see. With this kind of prayer, he asked not for his own or the people's fate, but for the growth of the future harvest. Then, on behalf of God, he congratulated the crowd present, for a long time called on them to worship this god and diligently perform sacrificial rites, and promised the surest reward for worship and victory on land and sea. Having finished this, they themselves turned the sacrificial dishes into a feast food ...

wedding customs

Wedding customs varied among different tribes depending on the type of marriage. Slavic marriage was strictly monogamous, that is, it allowed only one wife or husband. The Tale of Bygone Years distinguishes two types of marriage and wedding ceremonies among the Slavs, which can be conditionally called patriarchal and matriarchal.

Glades have the custom of their fathers meek and quiet, bashful in front of their daughters-in-law and sisters, mothers and parents; before mothers-in-law and brothers-in-law they have great modesty; they also have a marriage custom: the son-in-law does not go for the bride, but brings her the day before, and the next day they bring for her - what they give.

Similar customs are described as early as the 6th century. Among the Rus, the payment for the bride was called "veno". Mention is made of the wedding ceremony of "taking off the shoes" of the groom.

... And they didn’t have marriages, but they kidnapped girls by the water ... And they shamed them under their fathers and daughters-in-law, and they didn’t have marriages, but games were arranged between villages, and they converged on these games, on dances and on all kinds of demonic songs, and here they kidnapped their wives in collusion with them.

At the end of May - June, round dances (“ladovanie”) were held, representatives of different clans (villages) gathered around the fire on Ivan Kupala and chose brides and grooms from another clan (such a marriage is called exogamous). Women played the role of the “eldest child” in families; when the husband changed, the boys were sent to their father. The symbolism of such a marriage is two crosses, wedding ring, wreaths, tufts of hair or a belt with which plants or trees were tied. Love conspiracies are considered traditional for the Slavs, with the help of which girls or boys could influence their fate, attracting the attention of the chosen one. A number of incantations (in different languages) are read in the birch bark letters of Novgorod - centuries.

Funeral rites

Funeral rites various groups Slavs at different times were different. It is believed that the ancestors of the Slavs were carriers of the culture of the "fields of funeral urns" (II millennium BC), that is, they burned the dead, and the ashes were placed in an earthen vessel and buried in a shallow pit, marking the grave with a mound. Subsequently, the rite of cremation prevailed, but the shape of the burials changed: volotovki (round mounds-hills with a wooden fence) - among the Slovenes, long family mounds - among the Krivichi, cremation in a boat and a barrow mound - among the Rus.

The Russian chronicle very briefly describes the funeral rite of the northerners, Krivichi, Radimichi and Vyatichi:

And if someone died, they arranged a funeral feast for him, and then they made a large deck, and laid the dead man on this deck, and burned it, and then, having collected the bones, they put them in a small vessel and placed them on poles along the roads, as they still do now. Vyatichi.

The described rite is recorded among the Vyatichi and some Baltic Slavs - archaeologists note the absence of burials, suspecting the "scattering" of ashes, but ethnographic data and some written sources speak of dominas ("theaters of death") - funerary buildings at the forks in the roads where urns with ashes were stored. Outwardly, they sometimes resemble the “hut on chicken legs” of Baba Yaga in Russian fairy tales, and Baba Yaga herself is sometimes regarded as a priestess who performed the cremation. To XIII century Vyatichi began to build barrows.

"Krada" (treasure, deck) is a funeral pyre. It is customary to distinguish between "feast" (feast at the grave and military games) and "strava" (memorial feast). Princess Olga describes the feast in the following way in her address to the Drevlyans: “I’m already coming to you, prepare many honeys in the city where my husband was killed, let me cry on his grave and create a feast for my husband.” Ibn Fadlan describes an old woman and her daughters, who led the funeral of the Rus, killed sacrificial animals and a concubine, he calls her "the angel of death." Funeral idols ("bdyn"), installed over the grave, are also mentioned. They depicted the deceased and had an inscription containing his name and the name of the prince.

In mythology, the deities of the wind (Stribog, Viy) and the sun were associated with the funeral rite. The wind fanned the fire, and the sun delivered the souls of the dead to the world of shadows, so the time of burial (sunrise, sunset or night) and the orientation of the grave during the burial were of particular importance. Such animals as a rooster, a horse, a dog were associated with the burial. The serpent was the collector of the bodies of the buried. The Tale of Igor's Campaign mentions Karna and Zhlya (Zhelya), who are preparing the burial of the dead soldiers, their names are reconstructed from the words "reproach" and "regret" ("zhalnik" - a burial mound). In the "Word of St. Dionysius about those who are sorry" it is said about behavior during burial:

“Is there any benefit to the departed souls there from pity? The devil teaches pity and causes others to fight over the dead, while others drown themselves in water and teaches them to choke.

White mourning clothes of women and the ritual of cutting faces and tearing their hair are also mentioned.

The burial rites of the Rus and Slavs are described in detail by the Arab authors Ibn Ruste and Ibn Fadlan. The rite of inhumation (body position) is also described, which is indirectly mentioned in The Tale of Bygone Years and legends in relation to princes and various revered characters. Burials by the type of inhumation are typical for ritual burials.

The most famous pagan funerary monument is the Black Grave of the 10th century in Chernihiv.

Calendar and writing

Old Slavic calendar

From the "Sofia Time" we learn about the presence of the Slavs lunar and solar calendars. It is generally believed that the lunar calendar was adopted by the Slavs from the Bulgarians. But in the “Teaching about Numbers” by Kirik of Novgorod (XII century), one of the options is described lunar calendar, other options were used in Easter tables, and in Russian chronicles - centuries. dates are marked according to the lunar calendar - all this allows researchers to assert that, along with the solar calendar of 12 months, a lunar calendar of 13 months also constantly existed in Russia. The earliest date of the lunar calendar is applied to the campaign of Oleg the Prophetic Year in the Chronograph of the Western Russian edition: "This summer is evil: 13 months to have."

Due to differences in the solar and lunar calendar, as well as variants of the lunar calendar, the Slavs have the same month names, but they do not match when paired with the months of the modern solar calendar, that is, the Slavs did not have a single chronology.

Calendar ornament on a Chernyakhiv jug of the 4th century, the arrow marks the sign of the holiday of Perun on July 20

The number 5 has a lunar character and is found on brooches and temporal rings of the Slovene tribe.

Some authors claim that the number 5 is the number of days in the Slavic week, which was later supplemented with Saturday and Sunday. No confirmations but five Slavic names days of the week, this is not available, on the contrary, the number 7 is also sacred and is often found in the symbolism of idols. The days of the week were dedicated to different gods among the Eastern and Southern Slavs: Thursday - Perun, and Friday - Mokosh. In Russian Orthodoxy, the veneration of 12 Fridays a year has been preserved. Friday had, apparently, an important meaning when conjugating the lunar and solar calendar, since there is a Russian proverb: "Seven Fridays in a week." For example, in some Christian calendars, the time count began from the creation of the world, starting from Friday.

On the question of when the Slavs began the year, there are several opinions. Most often referred to as March. The March New Year was tied in Russia for up to a century either to March 1 or to the 20th of the month. A number of researchers claim that the Slavs had a January New Year. In any case, all calendar calculations were consistent with the points of the equinox and solstice. The conjugation of the lunar and solar calendar took place in the spring. According to an old belief, the sun meets the month in April, and from the first frost they diverge to far sides: one to the east, the other to the west, and from then on they do not meet each other until the very spring (Indo-European motif of the wedding of the month and the sun).

Features and cuts

A number of sources mention writing among the pagan Slavs. Chernorizet Khrabr called this writing "features and cuts", with the help of which they "counted and guessed." Al-Masudi speaks of multiple inscriptions on the walls (stones) in the temples of the Slavs, containing predictions. Ibn Fadlan mentions the inscriptions of names on the grave idol of the Rus. Titmar of Merseburg knows about the inscriptions of names on the idols of the Baltic Slavs.

This kind of use of letters can speak of the runic nature of writing, when the letters had sacred, verbal and sound meanings.

Some archaeological finds allow us to speak of "features and cuts". The inscriptions on the idols of the Baltic Slavs, which may form the alphabet, but are considered fake, have analogues among the Prussians and on the “Novocherkassk eggplants” (Khazar lands), but there are no serious studies on this issue.

Runic signs from the temple of Lepesovka, II-IV centuries.

The earliest signs of the runic type, which can be attributed to the Slavic, are found in the temple of the Chernyakhov time c. Lepesovka. In the same temple, two divination bowls with clay rings on the handles were found. There is a lot of ceramics with Greek inscriptions, and the material culture of the settlement belongs to the Wielbar culture (presumably the Goths). Three inscriptions were found. One of them is “karakul-shaped” on the whorl, the other two are on ceramics and correlate with Germanic runes. E. A. Melnikova read one of the inscriptions as lwl, but could not identify it with the German language.

Signs on ceramics, which are attributed to the Slavs, are also known in a later period, for example, on ceramics from the village. Alekanovka.

Literature

Literature of the 18th - first half of the 20th century.

• Anichkov E.V.(1866-1937) Paganism and ancient Russia. St. Petersburg, 1914. M., 2003.
• Afanasiev A. N. Poetic views of the Slavs on nature. Comparative Study Experience Slavic legends and beliefs in connection with the mythical tales of other kindred peoples. In 3 vols. M., 1865-69. In 3 vols. M., 1994.
• He is. Tree of Life: Selected Articles. M., 1982.
• Bogdanovich A. Remnants of the ancient world outlook among Belarusians. Ethnographic essay. Grodno, 1895.
• Bolsunovsky N.V. Monuments of Slavic mythology. Issue 2. Perunov oak. Kyiv, 1914.
• Bulashev G. O. Ukrainian people in their legends and religious views and beliefs. Issue 1. Cosmogonic Ukrainian folk views and beliefs. Kyiv, 1909.
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• Vinogradov N. Conspiracies, amulets, saving prayers, etc. St. Petersburg, 1907-09.
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• Maksimov S.V. Unclean, unknown and cross power. St. Petersburg, 1903.
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• Nikolsky N. Pre-Christian beliefs and cults of the Dnieper Slavs. M., 1929.
• Popov M.I. Description of the ancient Slavic pagan fable. St. Petersburg, 1768.
• Potebnya A. A. On some symbols in Slavic folk poetry. Kharkov, 1914.
• Sakharov I.P. Russian folk blackbook. SPb, 1997.
• Sobolev A. N. Afterworld according to ancient ideas. Sergiev Posad, 1913. = Mythology of the Slavs. St. Petersburg, Lan. 1999.271 p.
• Sokolov M. E. Old Russian solar gods and goddesses: Ist.-ethnogr. research. Simbirsk, 1887.
• Sreznevsky I.I. Women in labor among the Slavs and other pagan peoples. St. Petersburg, 1855.
• He is. Research on the pagan worship of the ancient Slavs. St. Petersburg, 1848.
• Stroev P. Brief review of the mythology of the Russian Slavs. M., 1815.
• Syrtsov I. The worldview of our ancestors of the Russian pagan Slavs before the baptism of Russia (in 988). Issue 1. Mythology. Kostroma, 1897.
• Trever K. V. Sanmurve Pascuj. Bird dog. L., 1937.
• Famintsyn A. S. Deities of the ancient Slavs. St. Petersburg, 1884. St. Petersburg, Aleteyya. 1995.363 p.
• Schepping D.O.(1823-95) Myths of Slavic paganism. M., Terra. 1997.239 p.

• Leger L. Slavic mythology. Voronezh, 1908.
• Mansikka V.P. Religion of the Eastern Slavs. M., IMLI. 2005.365 p.
• Niederle L. Slavic antiquities. / Per. from Czech. M., IIL. 1956. M., 2001.

Popular literature of the mid-20th - early 21st centuries

• Bazhenova A. I.(ed.-comp.) Myths of the ancient Slavs. Saratov, Hope. 1993.
• Belyakova G.S. Slavic mythology: a book for students. M., Enlightenment. 1995.238 p.
• Borovsky Ya. E. Mythological world of ancient Kyivans. Kyiv, 1982.104 p.
• Bychkov A. A. Encyclopedia of pagan gods: Myths of the ancient Slavs. M., 2001.
• Vachurina L.(comp.) Slavic mythology: a dictionary-reference book. M., Linor-perfection. 1998.
• Vlasova M. N. Russian superstitions. SPb, 1998.
• Voloshina T. A., Astapov S. N. Pagan mythology of the Slavs. Rostov-n/D, 1996.
• Gavrilov D. A., Nagovitsyn A. E. Gods of the Slavs: Paganism. Tradition. M., Refl-book. 2002.463 p.
• Grushko E. A., Medvedev Yu. M. Dictionary of Slavic mythology. Nizhny Novgorod. 1995.367 p.
• Mother Lada: Divine Genealogy of the Slavs: Pagan Pantheon. / Prev., slovar.st., glossary and comments. D.Dudko. M., Eksmo. 2002.430 p.
• Kazakov V. S. World of Slavic gods. 5th ed. M.-Kaluga. 2006.239 p.
• Kapitsa F. S. Slavic Traditional Beliefs, Holidays and Rituals: A Handbook. 2nd ed. M., Flint-Nauka. 2001.215 p.
• Kulikov A. A. Space mythology of the ancient Slavs. SPb, 2001.
• Levkievskaya E. E. Myths of the Russian people. M., Astrel. 2000 = 2002.526 p.
• Russian mythology: Encyclopedia. / Comp. E. Madlevskaya. M.-SPb, 2005.780 p.
• Mizun Yu. V., Mizun Yu. G. Secrets of pagan Russia. M., Veche. 2000.441 p.
• Mironchikov L. T. Dictionary of Slavic mythology and the origin of Slavic mythology and ethnos. 2nd ed. Mn., Harvest. 2004.302 p.
• Muravieva T.V. Myths of the Slavs and peoples of the North. M., Veche. 2005.413 p.
• Nagovitsyn A. E. Secrets of Slavic mythology. M., Academic project. 2003.477 p.
• Nosova G. A. Paganism in Orthodoxy. M., 1975.
• Osipova O. S. Slavic pagan world outlook. M., 2000.
• Popovich M.V. Worldview of the ancient Slavs. Kyiv, 1985.
• Prozorov L. R. (Ozar Raven) Gods and castes of pagan Russia. Secrets of the Kyiv Pentatheism. M., Yauza-Eksmo. 2006.317 p.
• Putilov B. N. Ancient Russia in faces: gods, heroes, people. St. Petersburg, Azbuka. 1999.
• Semenova M.V. Life and beliefs of the ancient Slavs. St. Petersburg, Azbuka-classika.2001.
• Semina V.S., Bocharova E.V. Religion and mythology in the culture of the ancient Slavs: a course of lectures. Tambov, TGU Publishing House. 2002.377 p.
• Seryakov M. L. Birth of the Universe. Pigeon book. M., Yauza. 2005.573 p.
• Speransky N. N. (vlh. Velimir). Russian paganism and shamanism. M., 2006.607 p.3 t.e.
• Chudinov V. A. Sacred Stones and Pagan Temples of the Ancient Slavs: An Experience of Epigraphic Research. M., 2004.618 p.
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• Shuklin V.V. Myths of the Russian people. Yekaterinburg, 1995.

• Mash A. G. Treasures of Retra. / Per. with him. M. Glory! 2006.349 p.

Scientific literature of the middle of the XX-beginning of the XXI century

• Slavic Antiquities: Ethnolinguistic Dictionary. In 5 volumes / Ed. N. I. Tolstoy.

T.1. M., 1995. T.2. M., 1999. T.3. M., 2004.

• Slavic mythology: encyclopedic dictionary. AND I. M., 1995.414, 2nd ed. / Ed. S. M. Tolstaya. M., 2002.509 p.

• Belova O. V. Slavic bestiary: Dictionary of names and symbols. M., 2001.
• Vasiliev M. A. Paganism of the Eastern Slavs on the Eve of the Baptism of Russia: Religious and Mythological Interaction with the Iranian World. The pagan reform of Prince Vladimir. M., Indrik. 1999.325 p.
• Veletskaya N. N. Pagan symbolism of Slavic archaic rituals. M., Nauka. 1978.239, 2nd ed. M., Sofia. 2003.237 p. See also www.veletska.lodya.ru
• Velmezova E.V. Czech conspiracies. Studies and texts. M., 2004.
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• Gura A.V. The symbolism of animals in the Slavic folk tradition. M., Indrik. 1997.910 p.
• Dubov I.V. And bow to the stone idol ... St. Petersburg, 1995.100 p.
• Zhuravlev A.F. Language and myth. Linguistic commentary on the work of A. N. Afanasyev "Poetic views of the Slavs on nature." M., 2005.
• Ivanov V. V., Toporov V. N. Slavic language modeling semiotic systems: (Ancient period). M., 1965.
• They are. Research in the field of Slavic antiquities: (Lexical and phraseological issues of text reconstruction). M., 1974.
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• Krinichnaya N. A. Russian mythology: The world of folklore images. M., 2004.
• Kuznetsov A.V. Bolvantsy on Bald Mountain: Essays on pagan toponymy. Vologda, 1999.98 p.
• Pomerantseva E. V. Mythological characters in Russian folklore. M., 1975.
• Rusanova I. P., Timoshchuk B. A. Pagan sanctuaries of the ancient Slavs. M., 1993.144+71 p.
• Rusanova I. P. The origins of Slavic paganism. Religious buildings Central and Eastern Europe in the 1st millennium BC e.-I millennium AD e. Chernivtsi, 2002.
• Rybakov B. A. The paganism of the ancient Slavs. M., Nauka. 1981.608 p.
• He is. Paganism of Ancient Russia. M., Nauka. 1987.784 p.
• Tkachev A.V. Gods and Demons of the Tale of Igor's Campaign. In 2 books. M., Life and Thought. 2003.
• Tolstoy N.I. Essays on Slavic paganism. M., Indrik. 2003.622 p.
• Uspensky B. A. Philological research in the field of Slavic antiquities: (Relics of paganism in the East Slavic cult of Nicholas of Myra). M., Publishing House of Moscow State University. 1982.245 p.
• Froyanov I. Ya. Beginning of Christianity in Russia. Izhevsk, 2003.
• Cherepanova O. A. Mythological vocabulary of the Russian North. L., 1983.

• Aladzhov Zh. Pmentnitsa on Proto-Blgarian Hezichestvo: [Album]. Sofia.1999.44+71 p.
• Wrazinowski T. Folk mitology in Macedonian. Skopje, 1998.

Book 1. 351 p. Book 2. Ethnographic and folklore materials. 323 p.

• Gimbutas M. Slavs are the sons of Perun. / Per. from English. M., 2003.
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• Lovmiansky H. The religion of the Slavs and its decline (6th-12th centuries). / Per. from Polish. St. Petersburg, Academic project. 2003.512 p.
• Panchovski I. G. Pantheon in the ancient Slavs and mitology to them. Sofia.1993.280 p.
• Petrovic S. Serbian Mitology. At 5 books. Nis, Prosveta.2000.

Book 1. System srpske mitology. 404 p. Book 2. Mitołoška Mape sa pregled of the South Slavic space. 312 p. Book 3. Anthropology of the Serbian ritual. 225 p. Book 4. Mitology coloring. 187 p. Book 5. Mitology, magic and custom: the destruction of the region. 512 p.

• Chausidis N. Slick slicks in slovenian. Skopju, 1994.546 p.
• Kosman M. Zmierzch Perkuna, czyli ostatni paganie over Baltykiem. Warszawa.1981.389 p.
• Profantova N., Profant M. Encyclopedie slovanských bohû a mýtû. Praha, Libri. 2000.260 p.
• Rosic S. Interpretacja chrześcijańska religii pogańskich slowian w świetle kronik niemieckich XI-XII wieku: (Thietmar, Adam z Bremu, Helmold). Wroclaw.2000.368 p.

Paganism is a religion based on belief in several gods at the same time, and not in one creator God, as, for example, in Christianity.

The concept of paganism

The term "paganism" itself is not entirely accurate, as it includes several concepts. Today, paganism is understood not so much as a religion, but as a set of religious and cultural beliefs, and 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 originate from the concept of polytheism (many deities), but from the fact that the ancient tribes, although they lived separately, were based on one language. 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 used to refer to religion.

The emergence and development of paganism in Russia

Slavic paganism began to take shape around the 2nd-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 6th-7th centuries. the religion of the Eastern Slavs was quite noticeably different from the religion of the Western Slavs.

It should be noted that often the beliefs of the top of society were very different from the beliefs of the lower strata, and what was believed in large cities and settlements did not always coincide with the beliefs of small villages.

From the moment the Slavic tribes began to unite, began to form, external relations of the Slavs with Byzantium began to develop, gradually paganism began to be persecuted, old beliefs began to be doubted, even teachings against paganism appeared. As a result, after the 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 information, in many territories paganism is still preserved, and in Russia it existed for quite a long time, until the 12th century.

The essence of Slavic paganism

Although 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. From this follow the gods - the lords of the elements and natural phenomena, mother earth. In addition to the higher pantheon of gods, the Slavs also had smaller deities - brownies, mermaids, etc. 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 underworld kingdoms, 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, 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 - god of thunder chief god 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;
• Dazhdbog - 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.

The Slavic pagans also had various images who personified certain natural phenomena, but were not deities. These include Maslenitsa, Kolyada, Kupala, etc. 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 play a huge political and social role. The pagans who didn't want to accept new religion(and there were a lot of them), entered into open confrontation with the Christians, but the latter did everything to reason with the "barbarians". Paganism persisted until the 12th century, but then it gradually began to fade away.

During this time, their views have undergone significant changes. According to the most prominent researcher of Slavic paganism, Academician B.A. Rybakov, subsequent views, plots and myths did not erase the previous ones, but were layered on them and continued to coexist with them. Thus, even in the era of the most developed mythological ideas, the memory of the most archaic layers of the beliefs of their ancestors was preserved in the people's consciousness.

The history of the development of Slavic paganism can be summarized as follows:

Initially, the Slavs believed in good and evil spirits of nature - coastlines and ghouls. Ideas about them were rather vague, apparently, a person has not yet given anthropomorphic features to these spirits. Both people made sacrifices to give thanks to the good and propitiate the evil.

Then came the era of the great gods. According to B.A. Rybakov, the god Rod, who always acted surrounded by two women in labor, came to the fore. This god was given the character of the head of the pantheon, the demiurge, the creator of the universe (not all researchers agree with this opinion).

Further, the cult of Rod broke up into many smaller cults, of which, in the end, the most important was the cult of Perun, the patron of the prince and his squad, the god of war and battles, throwing lightning at his chthonic opponents.

Currently wide use received the idea that Perun's duel with a serpent is a Slavic version of the main Indo-European myth about the struggle of a heavenly horseman-hero with a serpentine enemy. Indeed, images of a horseman slaying a snake with a spear can be found everywhere in Europe - this myth was assimilated by Christianity, taking the form of a fight between St. George and a dragon. The image of a spear-bearing horseman, at whose feet a snake wriggles, we can see, for example, on the modern coat of arms of Moscow, as well as on kopecks, repeating the shape of those that were first minted in 1534. All this testifies to the incredible vitality of ancient images, which, having lost their original meaning, continue to live among us as the most important symbols of our consciousness.

The development of Slavic paganism cannot be reduced only to the periodization cited above, gleaned from the work of an informed Old Russian scribe. At a certain stage in the formation of the ancient Slavic religion, the most important role was played by the god Svarog, the master of Heaven, the patron of crafts. His name is common to the Indo-European peoples and is associated with the Indian word "svarga" - Sky.

The cult of Svarog eventually broke up into the cults of his sons - Svarozhich, the god of fire, and Dazhdbog, the god of the sun. Dazhdbog, apparently, played an important role in the ideas of the ancient Slavs. In "The Tale of Igor's Campaign", which has preserved many mythological images, the Russian people are called the descendants of the sun god.

In addition to them, the Eastern Slavs also worshiped Veles, the god of cattle and wealth, Stribog, the god of winds and storms, Khors, also associated with the solar cult. God Yarilo was responsible for the germination of cereals, Kupalo was responsible for the ripening of fruits, the Court was in charge of human destinies, Chur guarded the boundaries between the fields and all kinds of borders. The meaning of some gods remains mysterious: these are Troyan, who is mentioned four times in the Tale of Igor's Campaign, and Semargl, who is more often considered the god of seeds and plants.

There were also goddesses in the Slavic pantheon: Makosh, the goddess of the harvest and divination, Lada, the keeper of the hearth and the patroness of marriage; Lelya, the goddess of the spring flowering of nature; Dennitsa, personification morning star. The goddesses Karna and Zhelya personified the most important funeral rite for a pagan: they were responsible for crying for the deceased and the fire of the funeral pyre - theft. The goddess Morena was conceived as a goddess dark forces nature - winter, cold, possibly death.

In addition to the characters of higher mythology (gods and goddesses), the Slavs also inhabited their world with less significant creatures: mermaids (spirits of nature, originally living everywhere: in forests, meadows, valleys, and not just in water), goblin, water, brownies, ovinniks, banners and a whole host of other small gods and spirits, the memory of which has not reached our times.

The creation of Slavic statehood in caused the promotion of a new social stratum - the prince with his retinue. Moved among the gods and their patron - the Thunderer Perun, who initially occupied not the most significant place. Prince Vladimir, being at the top of the process of creating a unified Russian statehood, decided to give pagan religion socially significant state character. To this end, in 980, he established a single pantheon, obligatory for the veneration of all his subjects. This pantheon included: Perun, Khors, Dazhdbog, Stribog, Semargl and Mokosh.

Mokosh was the only female deity in this patriarchal pantheon. Perun was given the character of the head of all the gods: for this, his head was cast in silver, and his mustache was gilded. However, the reform did not satisfy the prince, who was building a unified state. A few years later, he decided to take Christian religion, actively distributed by the most powerful state of that time - the Byzantine Empire.

In 988, the baptism of Russia took place, but pagan beliefs were not immediately supplanted by the new faith. For about two centuries, the so-called dual faith was preserved, when the worship of pagan deities was combined with construction Christian churches and approval of a new religious consciousness. In the form of various folk rituals and games, the remains of Slavic mythology survived until the 19th century, when they were studied and comprehended by ethnographers. Epics, fairy tales, riddles, patterns on traditional folk embroideries, woodcarving and many other manifestations of folk art also preserve traces of the plots of ancient Slavic mythology. Many of the images generated Slavic paganism, peacefully coexist with the century scientific and technological revolution, and we are so used to them that we do not even notice their unusualness.