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Thread: Slavic Paganism

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    Quote Originally Posted by Svarog View Post
    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.
    You know, the Celtic world seems to have had a similar level of internal variety. One good exploration of this idea - the presence of several different pantheons in a smallish area - is detailed in this paper on Celtic Iberia.
    http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8622
    The entire Slavic religion that we know today is based on a theory and semi-reliable sources.
    That's it, exactly; too much effort to find the 'true' ultimate version, and dismissing the many true versions that existed in reality.
    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
    Could I ask you to detail your own personal take on this? Do you actually DO anything, in terms of worship of deities, or is it a much vaguer sort of reverence. I find it easier to empathise with the latter, to be honest.
    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..
    Hehe, quite! Any better ideas?
    'Slavic Religion' simply?

  2. #22
    Senior Member Amarantine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sarmata View Post
    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"
    no connections with swan...there is no linguistic connection...

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svetovid
    http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/...5935/Svantovit

    Have to add, I'm so proud on you Jarl, this is a small research and thank you for this nice thread! We don't know enough about our Paganism, probably cause we "entered" a lot of from our Slavic heritage into Christianity.

    http://www.starisloveni.com/English/index.html
    veni, vidi, dormivi


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    Swentowit - Świętowit - Swiatowid has no connections with swans of course. The root is Slavic *swęt (ę is nasal e), read as "*swent". It is translated as (and is cognate to) "saint" ("holy"). Modern Polish "święt-", modern Russian "swiat-" , modern Czech "swat-". And "-wit" is a Slavic name affix, roughly meaning "lord". Thus, Swentowit is basically "holy lord".

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    A reconstruction of a Slavic temple at Arkona:



    In Radogost (there should be no stone walls and funky spires):



    The walls should look more like this (the way Slavic fortifications really looked like):



    Boats of Pomeranian Lechites:






    Światowid:



    A deity from Wolin island (Światowid?):


  5. #25
    Amor Patriae Suprema Lex Ariets's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cail View Post
    Swentowit - Świętowit - Swiatowid has no connections with swans of course. The root is Slavic *swęt (ę is nasal e), read as "*swent". It is translated as (and is cognate to) "saint" ("holy"). Modern Polish "święt-", modern Russian "swiat-" , modern Czech "swat-". And "-wit" is a Slavic name affix, roughly meaning "lord". Thus, Swentowit is basically "holy lord".
    Are you sure? I'd say world ruler

    *swiat* - world
    *wit* - lord

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    Senior Member Sarmata's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cail View Post
    Swentowit - Świętowit - Swiatowid has no connections with swans of course. The root is Slavic *swęt (ę is nasal e), read as "*swent". It is translated as (and is cognate to) "saint" ("holy"). Modern Polish "święt-", modern Russian "swiat-" , modern Czech "swat-". And "-wit" is a Slavic name affix, roughly meaning "lord". Thus, Swentowit is basically "holy lord".
    Indeed but old meaning of word "Święt/Svąt" was might/power.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ariets View Post
    Are you sure? I'd say world ruler

    *swiat* - world
    *wit* - lord
    Nope, it was *swęnt. "Swiat" is a root form from Russian, where it means "holy" (Polish "swięt-"), while Polish "swiat" (world) in Russian is "swiet".
    These two roots (Russian "swiat" and "swiet", Polish "swięnt" and "swiat", Czech "swat" and "swiet") come from common Slavic *swięnt and *swiet, which meant the same as in modern languages ("saint" and "world/light" respectively). Nasalisation is very important here, it denotes remains of IndoEuropean "n" in this word (see "saint")

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sarmata View Post
    Indeed but old meaning of word "Święt/Svąt" was might/power.
    Nope. It was only used in this meaning in relation to gods (swiętość), the original meaning is same as it is now ("holy"), see IndoEuropean cognates - "saint", Latin "sanctus", Avestan "spǝnta", Lithuanian "šventas" et cetera, all meaning the same.

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    To make it easier for the readers - the divison of Polabian Lechites:




    Yellow - Drzewianie from Wendland, on the left bank of the Elbe. The first one to be conquered and christianised. But ironically the last one to be germanised. Local Polabian went extinct in XVIII century.

    "Red" - The Obodriti Union, centralised and ruled by local dukes. They were the earliest Polabian Slavs who came here from the Sukow-Dziedzice culture in Polan in early VI century, and created the local Feldberg culture. A pagan confedertaion which fought against and raided the Danes and Saxons until 1147 when the Polabian Crusade is defeated by the pagan duke Niklot. After his death Obodrites were defeated by Heinrich der Löwe in 1160. They had to accept Christianity and became part of German Empire. Niklot's son, Przybyslaw became the first Christian duke of the Obodrites, giving rise to the House of Mecklenburg, later "Herzogtum Mecklenburg-Schwerin". Their descedants still live today.

    Blue - The Veleti Union. Pagan confederation ruled by elders. They came later from Poland in VII century, displacing partly the Oborites, creating the Menkendorf culture. The union fell apart in 1050. Tribes of Kissini and the Circipani were subsequently conquered by the neighbouring Obodrites. However majority were conquered by Polish duke Boleslaw III Wrymouth of the PIast dynasty and Pomeranian Wartislaw I of Gryfici, in 1120s. They subsequently formed a part of the Duchy of Western Pomerania.

    Green - The Rani, on the island of Rugia. Were an independent tribe known from its piracy. Pagan and independent was conquered as the last pagan Slavic outpost by the Danes in 1168. It subsequently became part of the Duchy of West Pomerania in 1325.




    Most scholars think that Slavs did not develop a single uniform pantheon, but rather worshipped a similar deity - god of war, sun, fire and thunders - under different local variants. Only Swaróg/Swarożyc was known to be worshipped among both the West and the East Slavs - however, only locally.


    The temple of Swarożyc in Radegost was by far the main holy site in the whole Lutici federation. Most historian agree that this strong sense of paganism, and one common cult was the key uniting factor among the various tribes that formed the Lutici. What is interesting these tribes were ruled by the elders and only in the event of war they would unite under one leader. The temples were lookad after by a separare class of priests (ministri). The Radegost temple of Swarożyc was most likely the place were Polabian warriors gathered and left for war with their holy banners (vexilla), and where they re-assembled after the war. They holy banners were so important for the Veleti that when they lost one at a river crossing, during an expedition against the Polish duke Boleslaw Chrobry, they wanted to withdraw back to their coutry. The Emperor, whom they were aiding at that time, had to intervene to prevent them from going back.


    What about the other gods then??? Helmond said that Światowid was the "god of gods" and most important deity of the Slavs. Światowid was worshipped on the island of Rugia, ni Arkona. The tribe of Rani inhabiting Rugia, were an independent group of sea-faring Polabians. They did not belong to the Veleti/Lutici confederation, nor to the Obodriti - the two main Polabian groups encompassing most of Polabian tribes. It is unthinkable that Światowid was the "god of gods" among the Veleti whose main god was by far "Swarożyc"... unless...both Światowid of the Rani, and Swarożyc of the Veleti, were one and the same deity! There are many analogies here. Both were the key deities and both were gods of war. Both had major wooden temples whose priets would use a white horse for fortune-telling.


    Fortune telling from the way a horse would run seems to have been a Polabian, or perhaps Lechitic, Slavic specialty. Thietmar wrote about the way the priets of Swarożyc would tell the future for the Veleti tribes:


    "Whispering to each other mysterious words, they dig the soil with trembling, in order to tell the uncertain future from the drawn lots. After the end of the divinations, they bury the lots covering them with turf, and having stuck two crossed spears into the ground, with gestures of humility, they lead through them a horse which they worhsip as the highest sacrum. So having cast the lots, which they had used for fortune-telling before, they now begin the fortune ritual anew using this divine animal. If both these auguries result in the same sign, all the tribes would follow it in their actions, if they do not, with sadness, they resign."



    Saxo Gramaticus reported a similar tradition in the temple of Swiatowid, in Arkona. The white horse represented the god and his will. However according to his relation, in Arkona, the horse was used mainly for war fortune-telling. It seems well plausible that these two gods were two variants of the same "god of gods". The connection of Polabian Swarożyc from Radegost, to Swaróg from Kievan Rus is not clear, mainly whether it was his son, or just a Polabian variant of Swarog. There however definitely a real, strong connection between them. Chronicles from Kievan Rus say that Slavs prayed to fire, calling it "Swarożyc". East Slavic Swaróg was mainly a god of fire. It is very possible then that also West Slavic, Polabian Swarożyc was a god of fire (and war like I said before).



    Saxo Grammaticus wrote that Światowid from Arkona, was worshipped "with the efforts of whole Slavdom" and that "the neighbouring kings visited him with their offerings. He had also other temples and priests of minor importance [in comparison to Arkona temple]". Światowid was the main god of the Ranii, for them as important as Swarożyc for Veleti. Because the Rani were independent I am inclined to believe this was their own version of the key Slavic deity. Here is how Saxo Grammaticus describes Swiatowid:

    "The statue was enormous, bigger than a human body, with four heads and as many necks, evoking marvel/amazement. Two of the heads were looking at the chest, and the other two at the back. ... In the right hand he was holding a horn made of stone, which the priest would fill once a year with honey, to tell the future of the forthcoming year from the condition of the drink. The Left hand rested on his side and formed an arch. (...) Nearby there was the birdle and the saddle, and several other symbols of the god. And admiration for them was increased by the presence of a sword of great size, whose scabbard and handle struck with their appearance and excellent craftsmanship."

    It is interesting that a similar statue was found in Zbrucz, in Ukraine:



    If you look carefully and the sculpture, you will also notice that he is holding a horn, and smong the symbols below the god, there is a horse and sword. It must have been the statue of the same common Slavic deity. If so the Światowid was present among West and East Slavs alike.


    Saxo wrote that Świętowid had his own horse, kept in Arkona, just like Swarożyc in Radegost. Additionally Swarożyc had a helmet, and armour. Both were war deities and both were the most important gods in their local communities. This is a strong argument for a common identity. Świętowid was also worshipped during harvests. Fortune telling and feasts would be held at those celebrations. The first part of the name "święty" - might be equated with "powerful", the other part "wit" meant more less "lord".




    Polabians and Pomeranians had another deity called Triglav, Trzygłów. It was worshipped in Wolin, Szczecin and Brenna (Brandenburg). It had three faces and its priets would also keep a sacred horse (this time a black one) in the temple, which they used for divinations. The temple was used as treasury. Again - many analogies with Veleti Radegost and Swarożyc, and Rani Arkona and Światowid emerge...




    On Rugia, Saxo and Knýtlinga-saga mention also the cult of Rugewit and Porenut. Both has many faces. Rugewit had swords. Perhaps they represent the same deity, but in other "minor temples". They could also be other, minor gods.


    More here (in Polish):

    http://drax.jogger.pl/files/po%C5%82...ie%20wojny.pdf
    Last edited by Jarl; 12-23-2009 at 11:10 AM.

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    Anyway. From folklore reconstruction it seems that Slavic creation myth was based upon the dualistic model of fight of light and fire versus darkness. Similar to Indo-Aryan belief in Mitra-Waruna antagonism, and mitraism, and particularly the Iranian religions which developed into mazdaizm, then zoroastrianizm, and finally, as Christian sects, into manicheism and bogomilism.

    From folklore it also seems that Slavs might have imagined the universe under the form of an oak tree, or a sacred mountain, with Nawii or Wyraj, land of the dead, at the top or at the bottom. In some tales there are apparently traces of beliefs in reincarnation.

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