Slavic Paganism

[Sarmata]

Background


Svantevit, Świętowit or Światowid was the other chief diety of the Slavic panthenon, symbolised by a swan or a white horse:

Are you sure? It's first time when I heard about swan Original(Polabian) name of Swiętowit(according Bruckner Polish correct transcription) was Svątewit which means "mighty lord". Svantevit it's twisted word from chronicles... which indeed contains word "swan"

[Jarl]

Are you sure? It's first time when I heard about swan Original(Polabian) name of Swiętowit(according Bruckner Polish correct transcription) was Svątewit which means "mighty lord". Svantevit it's twisted word from chronicles... which indeed contains word "swan"

Im far from being sure. But that was apparently what the folklore legends on creation myth said. Birds and swans were frequentl symbols of solar, sky deities (Zeus). However, I would be not so certain if they symbolised the main solar deity of Slavs.

I can really trace that info, but it's also mentioned on that French/German website about Arkona:

http://wanclik.free.fr/Svantevit.htm

However it only says that Swan was a symbol of fertility, believed to bring children.

[Sarmata]

It is necessary not to take it too categorically. Many tribes could worship same gods under different names. Personally, I think there is a big overlap between Svarog, Polabian-Lechitic Svarożyc and Sventovit from Rugia. Consequently, Svarog seems to be all-Slavic.


Perun was only known from Kievan Rus. Its also the chief deity. And to me it seems he is pretty much the same as Svarog. Just a local Kievan form. The same opinion was expressed by one of the most prominent Polish historians stuying early Slavs - H. Łowmiański. They are represented by the same attributes and both seem to be primarily gods of sky and thunder, as well as sun and fire.


Here I found a fragment on Thietmar description of the temple in Radogoszcz and worship of Swarożyc:

http://books.google.com/books?id=gjq...ietmar&f=false

Perun owe his "popularity" to Waregs who identified him with Thor. I don't remember but it was probably from Nestors chronicles that Waregs members of Dukes army proclaimed oaths by Perun and Slavs by Wolos/Weles. So Perkunas/Perun/Thor was real Pan-European god

[nisse]

On the topic of slavic pagan symbols, have you come across anything like the finnish hannunvaakuna?



My grandma gave me a pendant with the symbol when I was little, and I am wondering if there is some slavic meaning to it? To date I have only seen it on the cover of Kalevala.

[Jarl]

Like Łowmianski, I think Perun is an Eastern variety of Svarog, perhaps influenced by Baltic religions.

On the topic of slavic pagan symbols, have you come across anything like the finnish hannunvaakuna?



My grandma gave me a pendant with the symbol when I was little, and I am wondering if there is some slavic meaning to it? To date I have only seen it on the cover of Kalevala.

No. I have never seen it. And it does not like Slavic patterns/ornaments to me.



Here is Lysa Góra, another Lechitic sacred site, in Polan:







According to folklore tales, also the site of witches' sabbaths.

[Osweo]

Excellent posts! Do you have any books to recommend on either the original wave of Slavic Pagans or on the modern revival? I've seen quite a bit of good literature on Baltic Paganism (Romuva), but not much on the Slavic.

There's a good book here for downloading:
http://historic.ru/books/item/f00/s00/z0000031/
http://www.alleng.ru/d/relig/relig042.htm

Whaddyer mean you don't speak Russian?!?!

It's Rybakov's 'Paganism of the Ancient Slavs'. 1985, the edition I read.

Is it well respected among Slavonicists, I wonder? Do Polish scholars have much to say about his ideas?

He has a lot to say about this, for instance:

Another such site was on the Ślęża (Slenza) mountain in Silesia:

I was especially taken with the way in which Rybakov involved modern folklore and embroidery traditions in his investigation. Some VERY startlingly long-lived ideas at work.

He has very interesting things to say about tangential subjects too, and the stuff on the Cucuteni Tripolye pottery was well worth reading. He treats Slavonic religion NOT as though isolated from its ethnocultural surroundings, and deals with a lot of Finnic material. I still can't help looking at Ursa Major after reading this book, and thinking 'ЛОСЬ' (Elk)!

[Jarl]

Thanks for links! In free time I might translate some of it for those who are interested.

[Cail]

On the topic of slavic pagan symbols, have you come across anything like the finnish hannunvaakuna?
My grandma gave me a pendant with the symbol when I was little, and I am wondering if there is some slavic meaning to it? To date I have only seen it on the cover of Kalevala.

It might be a Finnish variation of solar symbol, the swastika. Swastika was very popular in all Indo-European cultures, Slavs had used it in decoration as long as XX century (before it gained negative Nazi connotations). This is a XIXc. Russian elderly woman in a traditional dress (check the skirt ornament) -



Actually solar symbols were popular nearly all over Eurasia, from Japan to Israel (ironically, Swastika symbols were used in Judaism).

[Svarog]

Are you sure? It's first time when I heard about swan Original(Polabian) name of Swiętowit(according Bruckner Polish correct transcription) was Svątewit which means "mighty lord". Svantevit it's twisted word from chronicles... which indeed contains word "swan"

I haven't heard of it either but it does not surprise me. Slavic Religion is the least known out of all other European and non-European religions and it had huge differences between different Slavic people. Ignore the language difference, you'll write it Swarog and I'll write it Svarog, the mythology and believes are different, some Gods had different purposes, characteristics etc in different people, some Gods that would exist in Russian believes would not in Serbian, I have came across on major differences between Serbs and Slovenians which are closer than Serbs and Russians are. Folklore is different, customs, rituals, magic, most things, even tho it is one faith it is hard to unite it as one and same for all.

The entire Slavic religion that we know today is based on a theory and semi-reliable sources.

The beauty of Slavic religion is that it gives you endless freedom and a great background to build your believes upon your capabilities and sphere of interest, you have no rules to follow but minor guidelines and endless freedom to express yourself through the religion and it is rare to find. So, even tho the religion itself is not discovered enough, it's still the history, you have everything you need to live your life dedicated to it and follow the road of the ancestors. My parents does, I do, hopefully my kids will etc

Great thread Jarl, thank you.

PS small complain tho, goes to the name of the thread, it's not Paganism, I hate that word, let's leave it to Wiccans and metal bands..

[Svarog]

It might be a Finnish variation of solar symbol, the swastika. Swastika was very popular in all Indo-European cultures, Slavs had used it in decoration as long as XX century (before it gained negative Nazi connotations). This is a XIXc. Russian elderly woman in a traditional dress (check the skirt ornament) -

Actually solar symbols were popular nearly all over Eurasia, from Japan to Israel (ironically, Swastika symbols were used in Judaism).