Pagan rites and rituals. Rituals of the ancient Slavs at funerals and weddings

It is a big misconception that people’s memory can be erased to a blank slate. The image of paganism, which seemed to have disappeared many centuries ago, was being restored piece by piece. Surprisingly, while fiercely fighting with previous beliefs, Christianity nevertheless adopted many elements of pagan antiquity. On the site of disappeared temples, temples were very often built, which in the minds of people were identified with the familiar deities from ancient times. Saints, mountains, forests, rivers and lakes revered by pagans were called after Christian saints, bringing these images closer to people

In Slavic religious beliefs there was a hierarchy characteristic of many peoples who worshiped several gods. The ancient Slavs also had a unique pantheon of gods.
The most ancient supreme male deity among the Slavs was Rod. Already in Christian teachings against paganism in the 12th-13th centuries. they write about Rod as a god who was worshiped by all peoples. Rod was the god of the sky, thunderstorms, and fertility. They said about him that he rides on a cloud, throws rain on the ground, and from this children are born. He was the ruler of the earth and all living things, and was a pagan creator god. IN Slavic languages The root “genus” means kinship, birth, water (spring), profit (harvest), concepts such as people and homeland, in addition, it means the color red and lightning, especially ball lightning, called “rhodia”. This variety of cognate words undoubtedly proves the greatness of the pagan god.

All Slavic gods that were part of the ancient pagan pantheon, divided into solar gods and functional gods.
The supreme deity of the Slavs was Rod.
Solar gods there were four: Khors, Yarilo, Dazhdbog and Svarog.

Dazhdbog

Functional gods: Perun - patron of lightning and warriors; Semargl - the god of death, the image of the sacred heavenly fire; Veles - black god, lord of the dead, wisdom and magic; Stribog is the god of the wind.

Since ancient times, the Slavs have celebrated the change of seasons and the changing phases of the sun. Therefore, each season (spring, summer, autumn and winter) had its own god (Hors, Yarilo, Dazhdbog and Svarog), who was especially revered throughout the season.
The god Horse was worshiped between the winter and spring solstices (December 22 to March 21); Yarile - between the spring and summer solstices (from March 21 to June 22); Dazhdbog - in the period between summer and autumn solstices(from June 22 to September 23); to the god Svarog - between the autumn and winter solstices (from September 23 to December 22).
To denote share, luck, happiness, the Slavs used the word “god”, common to all Slavs. Take, for example, “rich” (having God, a share) and “poor” (the opposite meaning). The word “God” was included in the names of various deities - Dazhdbog, Chernobog, etc. Slavic examples and evidence of other most ancient Indo-European mythologies allow us to see in these names a reflection of the ancient layer of mythological ideas of the Proto-Slavs.

Chernobog

All mythological creatures responsible for. this or that spectrum of human life can be divided into three main levels: highest, middle and lowest. Thus, at the highest level are the gods, whose “functions” are most important for the Slavs and who participated in the most widespread legends and myths. These include such deities as Svarog (Stribog, Heaven), Earth, Svarozhichi (children of Svarog and Earth - Perun, Dazhdbog and Fire).

At the middle level there were deities associated with economic cycles and seasonal rituals, as well as gods who embodied the integrity of closed small groups, such as Rod, Chur u Eastern Slavs etc. Most female deities, somewhat less human-like than the gods, may also have belonged to this level. top level.

At the lowest level were creatures that were less human-like than the gods of the highest and middle levels. These included brownies, goblins, mermaids, ghouls, banniki (baenniks), etc.

Bannik or baennik

Kikimora

When worshiping, the Slavs tried to observe certain rituals that, as they thought, allowed them not only to receive what they asked for, but also not to offend the spirits they were addressing, and even to protect themselves from them, if necessary.
One of the first to whom the Slavs initially began to make sacrifices were ghouls and bereginii. A little later, they “began to serve the meal” to Rod and the women in labor - Lada and Lela. Subsequently, the Slavs prayed mainly to Perun, however, maintaining faith in other gods.
The beliefs themselves had a system determined by the living conditions in which this or that Slavic tribe found itself.

Pagan totems

In an era when the main occupation of the Slavic tribes was hunting, they believed that wild animals were their ancestors. Therefore, animals were considered powerful deities who should be worshiped.
As a result, each tribe had its own totem, in other words, its own sacred animal, which the tribe worshiped.
For example, several tribes considered the wolf to be their ancestor and revered him as a deity.

The name of this beast was sacred, it was forbidden to say it out loud, so instead of “wolf” they said “fierce”, and they called themselves lutichs. During the winter solstice, the men of these tribes wore wolf skins, which symbolized the transformation into wolves. This is how they communicated with the animal ancestors, from whom they asked for strength and wisdom. For these tribes, the wolf was considered a powerful protector and devourer of evil spirits. The pagan priest, who performed protective rites, also dressed in animal skin.
However, after the adoption of Christianity, the attitude towards pagan priests changed, and therefore the word “wolf-lak” (that is, dressed in dlaka - wolf skin) began to be called an evil werewolf, later “wolf-lak” turned into a “ghoul”.

Since the owner of the pagan forest was the most strong beast“The bear,” he was considered a protector from all evil and the god of fertility, and therefore the ancient Slavs associated the onset of spring with the spring awakening of the bear. For the same reason, almost until the 20th century. many peasants kept in their homes bear paw as a talisman-amulet that should protect its owner from illness, witchcraft and all kinds of troubles.
The Slavs believed that the Bear was endowed with great wisdom, almost omniscience: they swore by the name of the beast, and the hunter who broke the oath was doomed to death in the forest.

This same mythological idea of the bear as the owner of the forest and a powerful deity is also reflected in Russian fairy tales. The true name of this beast-deity was so sacred that it was not spoken aloud and therefore did not reach us. Bear is the nickname of the beast, meaning “undereaten”; in the word “den”, a more ancient root is also preserved - “Ber”, i.e. “brown” (den - Ber's lair). For quite a long time the bear was revered as a sacred animal, and even much later, hunters still did not dare to pronounce the word “bear” and called it either Mikhail Potapych, or Toptygin, or simply Mishka.

Of the herbivorous animals in the hunting era, the Deer (Moose) was the most revered. This was the ancient Slavic goddess of fertility, sky and sunlight. In contrast to real deer, the goddess was represented as horned; her horns were a symbol of the sun's rays.

Therefore, deer antlers were considered a powerful amulet against all night evil spirits and were attached either above the entrance to the hut or inside the dwelling. By the name of their horns - plow - deer and elk were often called elk. Russian women who wore a headdress with horns made of fabric - kichka - were likened to goddesses. An echo of the myths about the celestial Moose are the popular names of the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor - Elk and Elk Calf.
The heavenly goddesses - the Reindeer - sent newborn fawns to earth, which fell like rain from the clouds.

Among domestic animals, the Rodnovers revered the Horse most of all. This was due to the fact that once upon a time the ancestors of most peoples of Eurasia led a nomadic lifestyle, and they imagined the sun in the guise of a golden horse running across the sky.

Somewhat later, a myth arose about the sun god riding across the sky in a chariot. The image of the sun-horse was preserved in the decoration of the Russian hut, crowned with a ridge with the image of one or two horse heads. An amulet with the image of a horse's head or simply a horseshoe, like other solar symbols, was considered a powerful amulet. Gradually, man became increasingly freed from fear of the animal world, and therefore, gradually, animal features in the images of deities began to give way to human ones.

Now the owner of the forest has turned from a bear into a shaggy goblin with horns and paws, but still resembling a person. The goblin, as the patron of hunting, always left the first game caught on a stump. It was believed that he could lead a lost traveler out of the forest. At the same time, if he gets angry, he can, on the contrary, lead a person into the thicket and destroy him. With the adoption of Christianity, the goblin, like other spirits of nature, began to be perceived as hostile.

The main deities of moisture and fertility among the Slavs were mermaids and pitchforks, pouring dew from magic horns onto the fields. They were spoken of either as swan girls flying from heaven, or as mistresses of wells and streams, or as drowned mavkas, or as midday women running through the grain fields at noon and giving strength to the ears of corn.

According to popular beliefs, on short summer nights mermaids come out of their underwater shelters, swing on branches, and if they meet a man, they can tickle him to death or drag him with them to the bottom of the lake.

Household deities.

According to Slavic beliefs, spirits inhabited not only forests and waters. There are many known household deities - well-wishers and well-wishers, headed by a brownie who lived either in the oven or in a bast shoe hung for him on the stove. They carried the brownie to the new house in a pot of coals from the old stove, repeating: “Brownie, brownie, come with me!” .

The brownie patronized the household: if the owners were diligent, he added good to the good, and punished laziness with misfortune.
It was believed that the brownie paid special attention to the cattle: at night he combed the manes and tails of the horses (and if he was angry, then, on the contrary, he tangled the animals’ fur into tangles), he could take away the milk from the cows, and he could make the milk yield abundant. He also had power over the life and health of newborn pets. That’s why they tried to appease the brownie.

Belief in the brownie was closely intertwined with the belief that dead relatives help the living. In people's minds, this is confirmed by the connection between the brownie and the stove. In ancient times, many believed that it was through the chimney that the soul of a newborn came into the family and that the spirit of the deceased departed in the same way.
Images of brownies were carved out of wood, and they represented a bearded man in a hat. Such figures were called churas, and at the same time they symbolized deceased ancestors. The expression “Forget me!” meant a request: “Ancestor, protect me!”
In Rus' they believed that the brownie's face was similar to the owner of the house, only his hands were covered with fur.

Completely different deities lived in the bathhouse, which in pagan times was considered an unclean place. Bannik was an evil spirit that scared people. Therefore, in order to appease the bannik, after washing, people left him a broom, soap and water, and sacrificed a black chicken to the bannik.

In the bathhouse they also left sacrifices to navyam - the evil souls of those who died a violent death. Navyas were imagined as huge birds without feathers, flying at night, in storms, and rain. These birds screamed like hungry hawks, and their cry foretold death. To protect themselves from the wrath of the Navi, they always carried a head of garlic, a needle without an eye, or a silver amulet.

Monster deities in paganism

Ghouls are vampires, fantastic creatures, werewolves who personified evil.

Various conspiracies were used against ghouls, and amulets were worn. In folk art, many ancient symbols of goodness and fertility have been preserved, depicting them on clothes, dishes, homes, ancient man as if driving away the spirits of evil. Such symbols include images of the sun, fire, water, plants, and flowers.

One of the most formidable deities of the ancient Slavs was considered the ruler of the underground and underwater world of the Serpent. The serpent, a powerful and hostile monster, is found in the mythology of almost every nation. The ancient ideas of the Slavs about the Snake were embodied in fairy tales.

Zmey Gorynych

The Northern Slavs worshiped the Serpent as the lord of underground waters, calling him the Lizard. The Lizard's sanctuary was located in swamps, the banks of lakes and rivers. The coastal sanctuaries of the Lizard had a perfectly round shape. As victims, the Lizard was thrown into the swamp with black chickens, as well as young girls, which was reflected in many beliefs.
Almost everything Slavic tribes, who worshiped the Lizard, considered him the absorber of the sun, every evening descending beyond the boundaries of the world and floating in an underground river to the east. This river flows inside the two-headed Lizard, swallowing the sun with its western mouth and spewing out of the eastern. The antiquity of the myth is evidenced by the fact that the Lizard is not hostile to the sun: he returns the luminary voluntarily.
The custom of sacrificing a person to the underwater god existed in the north in a transformed form until the beginning of the 20th century. The old people made a stuffed animal and sent it into the lake in a leaky boat, where it sank. Another sacrifice made to the Lizard was a horse, which was first fed by the entire village and then drowned.
With the transition to agriculture, many myths and religious ideas of the hunting era were modified or forgotten, and the cruelty of ancient rituals was softened. The Slavic gods of the agricultural era are brighter and kinder to people.

Funeral rites of the pagans

From the times of shepherd life until the adoption of Christianity, the most common form of burial was the burial mound. When burying the dead, the Slavs placed weapons, horse harness, slaughtered horses, dogs with the man, and sickles, vessels, grain, slaughtered cattle and poultry with the woman. The bodies of the dead were placed on the fire, believing that with the flame their souls would immediately go to the heavenly world. If a noble person was buried, several of his servants were killed along with him, and only fellow believers - Slavs, and not foreigners, and one of his wives - the one who voluntarily agreed to accompany her husband to afterlife. Preparing for death, she dressed up in her best clothes, feasted and had fun, rejoicing in her future happy life in the heavenly world. During the funeral ceremony, the woman was brought to the gate, behind which the body of her husband lay on the firewood, raised above it, and she exclaimed that she saw her dead relatives and ordered them to quickly lead her to them.
The funeral ended with a celebration - a funeral feast and a funeral feast - military competitions. Both symbolized the flourishing of life and contrasted the living with the dead. The custom of abundant food at funerals has survived to this day.

The funeral rites of different groups of Slavs were different at different times. It is believed that the ancestors of the Slavs were carriers of the culture of “fields of funeral urns” (2nd millennium BC), that is, they burned the dead, and the ashes were placed in a clay vessel and buried in a shallow hole, marking the grave with a mound. Subsequently, the rite of cremation prevailed, but the form of 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 mound mound - among the Rus.

Zhelya is the messenger of the dead, the goddess of sorrow and pity, funeral lament, escorting to the funeral pyre. Karina's sister. Daughter of Mary and Koshchei.
Request: funeral mylodars.

Karina - Slavic - is a mourner goddess, accompanies funeral rites, hovers over battlefields, grieves at the resting places of the deceased together with Zhelya, her sister.
Known from the “Tale of Igor’s Campaign”: “following him I will call Karn and Zhlya, gallop across the Russian land” (in the first edition of the monument, in an earlier handwritten copy, - continuous writing: Karnaijl). A similar designation for the rituals of “jelly and punishment” (in reverse order) is found in the listing of various pagan rituals in the list of the 17th century. Old Russian “Words of a certain Christ-lover...”. Apparently, Karna is formed from the verb kariti (cf. Old Russian “to punish for one’s sister” in the sense of “to mourn”); Zhelya is an old Russian word for crying.

Yuletide holidays of the Rodnovers

Carols are a very ancient pagan holiday that was not at all connected with the Nativity of Christ. Among the ancient Slavs, on December 25 (the month of Jelly), the sun began to turn toward spring. Our ancestors represented Kolyada (cf. bell-wheel; circle is a solar sign of the sun) as a beautiful baby who was captured by the evil witch Winter. According to legends, she turns him into a wolf cub (compare the synonyms for “wolf” - “fierce” with the Proto-Slavic name for the harshest month of winter: February - fierce). People believed that only when the wolf's skin (and sometimes other animals) was removed from him and burned in the fire (spring warmth) would Kolyada appear in all the splendor of his beauty.
Kolyada was celebrated on the so-called winter Christmastide from December 25 (Nomad, Christmas Eve) to January 6 (Veles Day). This same time used to coincide with severe frosts (cf. Moro - “death”), blizzards (cf. Viy) and the most frantic dens of the unclean. This evening everything is covered with a frosty veil and seems dead.

The diagram below shows the evolution of caroling

1. Ritual. It represented a sacrifice (goat). After which the mummers performed a sun spell.
2. Pagan rite. This included a ritual meal (kutya, cookies in the form of livestock figurines). Walking around the yards with the “sun”, singing agricultural carols, “feeding Frost”.
3. Christian rite (this included Christmas Eve).

“Kolyada, Kolyada!
And sometimes Kolyada
On the eve of Christmas.
Kolyada has arrived
Brought Christmas.”

Later, with the advent of Christianity, some not so significant changes were introduced into the celebration of Kolyada. Boys and girls still acted as carolers, sometimes young people took part in caroling married men and married women. To do this, they gathered in a small group and walked around peasant houses. This group was led by a fur-bearer with a large bag.
Carolers walked around the houses of peasants in a certain order, calling themselves “difficult guests”, bringing the owner of the house the good news that Jesus Christ was born. They called on the owner to greet them with dignity and allow them to call Kolyada under the window, i.e. sing special benevolent songs, called in some places carols, in others - ovseny, grapes.

After singing the songs, they asked the owners for a reward. In rare cases, when the owners refused to listen to the carolers, they reproached them for greed. In general, they took the arrival of the carolers very seriously, gladly accepted all the dignifications and wishes, and tried to give them gifts as generously as possible.
“Difficult guests” put the gifts in a bag and went to the next house. In large villages and villages, five to ten groups of carolers came to each house.

“And whoever doesn’t give a penny -
Let's close the loopholes.
Who won't give you some cakes -
Let's block up the windows
Who won't give pie -
Let's take the cow by the horns,
Who will not give bread -
Let's take grandfather away
Who won't give ham -
Then we will split the cast iron!”

New Year for the Rodnovers

For the ancient Slavs, the year began in March, and therefore January was the eleventh month. Somewhat later, the New Year was celebrated in September, on Semenov Day, after which January became the fifth month of the year. And only in 1700, after the introduction of a new calendar by Peter I, did it become the first of twelve months.
On February 20, 1918, a new chronology was introduced in Russia. In order to convert the date from the old style to the new one, we had to add 11 days for the 18th century, 12 days for the 19th century to the date of the old style. and 13 days for the 20th century.
As a result, it turned out that on the night from January 13 to January 14, the so-called Old New Year is celebrated, and on the night from December 31 to January 1, according to tradition, we celebrate the New Year.
From the New Year (January 1) to the Old New Year (January 13), people celebrated the weather for every day. So, it was believed that what the weather would be like every day in this period, the same weather would happen in the corresponding month of the coming year.

Some people who especially trusted omens advised memorizing not only the weather, but also the mood and events in each of the first twelve days of the year, assuring that the corresponding month of the year would turn out the same.

New Year was not just a celebration of the end of the old and the beginning of the new year. It was one of the mysterious and mystical days. And therefore, it is no coincidence that on this day, when congratulating each other, they say: “Happy New Year, with new happiness,” because this day is responsible for the events that will happen during the year. Therefore, at midnight, when the clock strikes 12 times, everyone makes their most cherished wishes that should come true in the coming year.

Spring. Carnival

Maslenitsa is a mischievous and cheerful farewell to winter and a welcome to spring, bringing revival in nature and the warmth of the sun. From time immemorial, people have perceived spring as the beginning of a new life and revered the Sun, which gives life and strength to all living things. In honor of the sun, unleavened flatbreads were first baked, and when they learned how to prepare leavened dough, they began to bake pancakes.

The ancients considered the pancake a symbol of the sun, since it, like the sun, is yellow, round and hot, and they believed that together with the pancake they eat a piece of its warmth and power.

With the introduction of Christianity, the celebration ritual also changed. Maslenitsa got its name from the church calendar, because during this period of time - the last week before Great Lent - eating butter, dairy products and fish, otherwise this week in the Orthodox Church is called cheese week. The days of Maslenitsa vary depending on when it begins Lent.

Among the people, every day of Maslenitsa has its own name.

Ivana Kupala

The holiday of Ivan Kupala was one of the most revered, most important and most riotous holidays of the year. Almost the entire population took part in it, and tradition required the active inclusion of everyone in all rituals, actions, special behavior and, most importantly, the mandatory implementation and observance of a number of rules, prohibitions, and customs.

Nature, as if sensing the approach of old age, is in a hurry to live full of life. Last month The cuckoo is crowing, the nightingale is singing its last wonderful song, and soon the other songbirds will calm down. This rotation of the sun, dividing the year into two halves, summer and winter, has been accompanied since ancient times by a special festival, in general outline similar among many peoples.

Preparations for the holiday began early in the morning on July 6. Well, the Kupala holiday itself began in the afternoon. At this time, the girls gathered in groups and went to the rye fields to pick flowers and curl wreaths. Moreover, flowers were collected from different fields that belonged to neighboring villages. This was due to the fact that there were beliefs according to which in this way it was possible to lure grooms from these villages.
Ivan Kupala is popularly called “clean”, since at the dawn of this day it was customary to swim. This bathing was attributed healing power. We started swimming in the morning on Midsummer Day. And although swimming on this day is practically universal, there are areas where it was considered dangerous due to the fact that this day, according to legend, is the name day of the waterman himself, who cannot stand it when people interfere in his kingdom, and takes revenge on them by doing so. , which drowns anyone who is unwary.

With music, round dances, dances, the Kupala group, led by Kupala, left the village to Kupala songs

Kupala walked through the village, through the village,
Covering my eyes with a feather, a feather.
On Ivan Kupala, on Ivan Kupala
She greeted the guys with her brow, brow,
The night was shining with fire, fire.
I wove wreaths with silk, silk,
We sing the glory of Kupala, we sing.

In this article:

In Rus', pagan beliefs were widespread. People believed and worshiped various Gods, and this continued until 988, when Christianity became the official religion in the country. Since then, the pagans have been persecuted by the Orthodox Church, which has done everything to eradicate ancient beliefs from the minds of the Russian people. However, Christianity never managed to completely destroy Slavic paganism, and in a modified form it has survived to this day.

Today, pagan beliefs and related magical rituals are becoming increasingly popular among ordinary people. The rituals of the Slavs were very diverse, but they were all based on the worship of the Gods of nature, which Christianity equated with demons.

Our ancestors worshiped nature and the basic elements; they sincerely believed in the kinship of man with animals and the Gods. Each Slavic community in Rus' worshiped its own Deities. In the pre-Christian world there was no single idea of the Gods and high world in general, there was no single pantheon of Gods, as was the case, for example, in ancient Greece or Ancient Rome.

Slavic rituals

Our ancestors had a huge number of different rituals, as they say, for all occasions. But special attention The Slavs paid special attention to burial rites. On the territory of Rus' there were two main methods of burial: burning and corpse placement. Everything is clear with the burning ritual; it is still used by people today in the form of cremation. Corpse deposition is the oldest type of burial used by the Slavs. It involved giving the human body the position of an embryo in the mother's womb.

This ritual was associated with the belief that after death a person experiences a rebirth. This type of burial existed until Bronze Age, when it was abandoned due to the emergence of new beliefs that after death a person’s soul rises to heaven to the Gods. To help the soul free itself from its corporeal shell, our ancestors began to burn the bodies of their dead relatives, and gave the ashes to the earth, that is, they returned the remains of the human body to where it came from.

Yuletide festivities

Many Slavic rituals were associated with various holidays, which were revered by various communities and tribes. Christmastide was considered one of the most revered holidays; at this time, people dressed up in animal-like clothes and danced and had fun. Such masquerades continued throughout the Christmas season and reached their climax in early January.

With the advent of Christianity, pagan holidays were replaced by Orthodox ones, however, people did not forget their roots and, along with the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, they celebrated the holiday of all women in labor.

Paganism and modernity

Paganism was never eradicated from the minds and hearts of the Russian people. Today we continue to follow the traditions and beliefs of our ancestors, without even thinking about it. For example, who hasn’t heard stories about various evil spirits that can be found in forests, rivers and even houses? Has anyone forgotten about the goblin, the brownies, mermaids and kikimoras?

All this came to us from time immemorial, from the beliefs of our ancestors in pre-Christian times. Even many old tales, retold famous writers, are rooted in the beliefs of the pagans. Thus, even today mothers tell their children the same instructive stories that generations of the ancient Slavs grew up with. And nothing can be done about it. So it was, so it is, and so it will always be in Rus'.

Brownie

Pagan rituals

Pagan Slavic magical rituals are an integral and very important part of folk traditions. Many witchcraft rituals were timed to coincide with various holidays, and they could only be held at strictly defined times. Magic was most often used at housewarmings, after a wedding, during the harvest and at other important moments in the life of the community.

Almost all Slavic magical rituals are based on a call for help directed to higher powers.

Both Gods and natural spirits, as well as the souls of departed ancestors and various mythological creatures could act as higher powers. The Slavs believed that there were three worlds: the world of Reveal, the world of Navi and the world of Rule. The Manifest World is visible world where people live. The Navi world is a world where spirits, mythological creatures, evil spirits and the souls of the dead live. The World of Rule is the world in which the Gods and Souls of the Glorious Ancestors live. The human world must be in harmony with other worlds.

Any pagan Slavic ritual- a sacred action in which a special place is occupied by serving the Gods, showing respect and honor to the Ancestors. That is why a person must approach the process of performing a magical ritual very seriously, and this required special theoretical and practical preparation. Complex rituals could only be performed by the Magi, however, there were many rituals that were known to every person, including spells for health and good luck, rituals for love and well-being in the family, and much more. Many such rituals have survived to this day in their original form.

Pagan love spell

This magical ritual must be performed on a dark night during the waxing moon or on a new moon. To carry out the ritual, you need to take some water from a clean spring located far from where people live. At this time, you need to listen to all sounds from the outside world.

Phenomena such as the loud croaking of a raven, the barking of a dog or the howling of a wolf were considered a bad sign, and if such a sign was given, then water could not be taken from the selected source.

After the water has been collected, you can proceed to the ritual. To do this, go with your two closest friends to a clearing in the forest, light a small fire there and place a pot on it. In this pot you need to boil the water collected from the spring, throw in a rowan leaf, count to three and take it out.

After removing the water from the fire, throw any silver object into it and whisper the words of the conspiracy nine times:

“I (name) will get up and go into a clean field, a wide field. On my way I will meet a bright fire and a violent wind. I bow to (name), fire and wind. I will bow low, to the ground itself. I will bow low, and I will ask tearfully:
“Here you are, there is fire, there is a violent wind, and there is fast water. You do not water the green meadows, you do not sink ships in the blue sea, but serve me (name). Do a faithful service, a great service, take out of me the bitter melancholy, the weeping dryness. Carry my melancholy through the forests, but don’t lose it along the way, carry it through the rapids, but don’t let it drop, carry it across the seas, but don’t drown. Bring it to my water, and put melancholy into this water, so that melancholy will burn in it day and night. Let this water burn the white chest, let it dry the zealous heart of the one who drinks this water. So that he yearns for the one who will bring him this water. My word is strong. So be it."

After this, the water is placed outside the outlined circle and the words of the conspiracy are read nine more times. Only after this can the liquid be poured into another vessel for transportation, for example, into a plastic bottle.

Having delivered the water home, it must be hidden in a secluded place and stored there until the full moon. On the night of the full moon, you need to return to the place where the ritual was held, build a fire in the old place, count three steps from it, and in a circle from the central fire, add 8 more fires, so that there are 9 lights in total. Now you need to collect dew in the field in three thimbles, pour them into the charmed water, and then walk in a circle (clockwise) and read the spell:

“I conjure (name), you, mighty forces, the forces that are hidden in the tears of mother earth. I conjure you, the forces that have been collected in centuries of antiquity. I conjure you, the powers that rule over human destiny. I collect (name), moonlight, the whistle of the wind, the whisper of grass, the twinkling of stars, my love and maternal tenderness. I will put everything collected into this water, into the water of the curse, into the water of the curse. I conjure (name), you, Dennitsa, weave for me, braid two threads of fate into one thread, so that the knot is powerful, so that it will last for a lifetime. Tie me threads not to death, but to the love of a strong maiden and a good fellow. I conjure (name). You Mother Goddess. May the grandmothers who give birth, the grandmothers who give birth, help me, help me, protect me from dangers. No one can unravel a braided knot. No one can make one fate go back two, except me alone. I will weave that knot myself, I will unravel it myself, as I wish. So be it."

After this, the performers must pass the charmed water from hand to hand and read the words of the spell eight more times. For the ritual to work. You need to leave a good sacrifice to the Goddess, for example, the fur of a wolf and one chicken. Now the performers must prick their fingers and drop one drop of blood onto the damp ground. Cover the water with a white canvas, extinguish the fires and, without looking back, return home.

This is a very powerful magical ritual that allows you to create love water that is extremely effective. With its help, you can make absolutely any man fall in love with you, while the target will not lose his individuality.

Since ancient times, pagan beliefs were widespread in Rus', placing the relationship between man and nature above all else. People believed and worshiped various Gods, spirits and other creatures. And of course, this faith was accompanied by countless rituals, holidays and sacred events, the most interesting and unusual of which we have collected in this collection.

1. Naming.

Our ancestors took the choice of a name very seriously. It was believed that a name is both a talisman and a person’s destiny. A person’s naming ceremony could occur several times during his life. The first time a newborn baby is named is done by the father. At the same time, everyone understands that this name is temporary, for children. During initiation, when a child turns 12, a naming ceremony is performed during which the priests of the old faith wash away their old childhood names in sacred waters. The name was also changed during life: for girls getting married, or for warriors on the verge of life and death, or when a person did something supernatural, heroic or outstanding.

The naming ceremony for young men took place only in flowing water (river, stream). Girls could undergo this ritual both in flowing water and in still water (lake, creek), or in Temples, Sanctuaries and other places. The ritual was performed as follows: the person to be named takes a wax candle into right hand. After the words spoken by the priest in a state of trance, the person being named must plunge his head into the water, holding a burning candle above the water. Little children entered the sacred waters, and nameless, renewed, pure and immaculate people emerged, ready to receive adult names from the priests, beginning a completely new independent life, in accordance with the laws of the ancients heavenly gods and their births.

2. Bath ritual.

The bath ceremony should always begin with a greeting to the Master of the Bath, or the spirit of the bath - Bannik. This greeting is also a kind of conspiracy, a conspiracy of the space and environment in which the bathing ceremony will be carried out. Usually, immediately after reading such a greeting spell, a ladle is placed on the stone hot water and the steam rising from the heater is evenly distributed with circular movements of a broom or towel throughout the steam room. This is the creation of light steam. And in the bathhouse the bath broom was called the master, or the largest (the most important), from century to century they repeated: “The bath broom is older than the king, if the king takes a steam bath”; “The broom is the boss of everyone in the bathhouse”; “In a bathhouse, a broom is more valuable than money”; “A bathhouse without a broom is like a table without salt.”

3. Trizna.

Trizna is a funeral military rite among the ancient Slavs, which consists of games, dances and competitions in honor of the deceased; mourning the dead and a funeral feast. Initially, the tributary consisted of an extensive ritual complex of sacrifices, war games, songs, dances and ceremonies in honor of the deceased, mourning, lamentations and a memorial feast both before and after the burning. After the adoption of Christianity in Rus', the funeral feast was preserved for a long time in the form of funeral songs and feasts, and later this ancient pagan term was replaced by the name “wake”. During sincere prayer for the dead, a deep feeling of unity with family and ancestors always appears in the souls of those who pray, which directly testifies to our constant connection with them. This ritual helps to find peace of mind living and dead, promotes their beneficial interaction and mutual assistance.

4. Unlocking the ground.

According to legend, Yegoriy the Spring possesses magic keys with which he unlocks the spring land. In many villages, rituals were held during which the saint was asked to “open” the land - to give fertility to the fields, to protect livestock. The ritual action itself looked something like this. First, they chose a guy called “Yury”, gave him a lit torch, decorated him with greenery and put a round pie on his head. Then the procession, headed by “Yury,” walked around the winter fields three times. After which they made a fire and asked a prayer to the saint.

In some places, women lay naked on the ground, saying: “As we roll across the field, let the bread grow into a tube.” Sometimes a prayer service was held, after which all those present rode in the winter fields so that the grain would grow well. Saint George released dew onto the ground, which was considered healing “from seven ailments and from the evil eye.” Sometimes people rode along the “St. George’s Dew” to get healthy; it was not without reason that they wished: “Be healthy, like St. George’s Dew!” This dew was considered beneficial for the sick and infirm, and about the hopeless they said: “Shouldn’t they go out to St. George’s dew?” On the day of Yegor the Spring, the blessing of water on rivers and other sources was performed in many places. This water was sprinkled on crops and pastures.

5. Start of construction of the house.

The beginning of house construction among the ancient Slavs was associated with a whole complex of ritual actions and rituals that prevented possible opposition from evil spirits. The most dangerous period was considered to be moving to a new hut and starting life in it. It was assumed that the “evil spirits” would seek to interfere with the future well-being of the new settlers. Therefore, until the middle of the 19th century, in many places in Russia, the ancient protective ritual of housewarming was preserved and carried out.

It all started with finding a place and building materials. Sometimes a cast iron pot with a spider was placed on the site. And if he began to weave a web overnight, then it was considered good sign. In some places on the proposed site, a vessel with honey was placed in a small hole. And if goosebumps climbed into it, the place was considered happy. When choosing a safe place for construction, they often first released the cow and waited for it to lie on the ground. The place where she lay down was considered good for a future home. And in some places, the future owner had to collect four stones from different fields and lay them out on the ground in the form of a quadrangle, inside which he placed a hat on the ground and read the spell. After this, it was necessary to wait three days, and if the stones remained untouched, then the place was considered well chosen. It should also be noted that the house was never built on the site where human bones were found or where someone cut an arm or leg.

6. Mermaid week.

According to popular belief, the entire week before Trinity, mermaids were on earth, settling in forests, groves and living not far from people. The rest of the time they stayed at the bottom of reservoirs or underground. It was believed that the dead became mermaids unbaptized babies, girls who died of their own free will, as well as those who died before marriage or during pregnancy. Mermaid image with fish tail instead of legs was first described in the literature. The restless souls of the dead, returning to earth, could destroy the growing grain, send disease to livestock, and harm the people themselves and their economy.

These days, it was unsafe for people to spend a lot of time in the fields and go far from home. It was not allowed to go into the forest alone or swim (this was of a special nature). Even livestock was not allowed out to pasture. During Trinity Week, women tried not to do their daily household chores in the form of washing clothes, sewing, weaving and other work. The whole week was considered festive, so they organized general festivities, dances, danced in round dances, mummers in mermaid costumes sneaked up on the gape, frightened and tickled them.

7. Funeral rites.

The funeral customs of the ancient Slavs, especially the Vyatichi, Radimichi, Severians, and Krivichi, are described in detail by Nestor. They performed a funeral feast over the deceased - they showed their strength in military games, equestrian competitions, songs, dances in honor of the deceased, sacrifices were made, the body was burned on a large bonfire - stealing. Among the Krivichi and Vyatichi, the ashes were placed in an urn and placed on a pillar in the vicinity of roads in order to support the warlike spirit of the people - not to be afraid of death and immediately get used to the idea of the perishability of human life. A pillar is a small funeral house, a log house, a house. Such houses survived in Russia until the beginning of the 20th century. As for the Kyiv and Volyn Slavs, from ancient times they buried the dead in the ground. Special ladders woven from belts were buried along with the body.

An interesting addition about the funeral rite of the Vyatichi can be found in the story of an unknown traveler, set out in one of Rybakov’s works. “When someone dies among them, their corpse is burned. Women, when they have a dead person, scratch their hands and faces with a knife. When the deceased is burned, they indulge in noisy fun, expressing joy at the mercy shown to him by God.”

Wedding ritual - According to Slavic custom, the groom abducted the bride at the games, having previously agreed with her about the abduction: “I went to the games... and that wife was taken away by myself, and whoever met with her: I have two and three wives.” Then the groom gave the bride's father a veno - the ransom for the bride. The day before the wedding, the future mother-in-law bakes chicken, sending it to the groom's house. The groom sends a live rooster to the bride's house. There is no entertainment on the pre-wedding day. Everyone is carefully preparing for the fun. On the morning of the wedding day, the groom notifies the bride to prepare for the wedding. The bride's parents spread a fur coat on the bench, sit their daughter on it and begin to dress her in her wedding dress. As soon as they are dressed, they send a messenger to the groom. Soon the wedding train arrives at the gate. The groom's friend knocks on the gate, calls the owner and says that, they say, we are hunting hares, but one hare waved to you at the gate, you need to find it. The groom diligently searches for the hidden “hare” (bride), and, having found it and asking for blessings from the parents, he puts it on the wedding train and goes to the wedding.

For a long time, a “wedding” in the Greek Catholic Church with an obligatory sermon about the “family happiness” of some Israeli family was not considered a real wedding, because people for a long time still respected the customs of THEIR ancestors. Stepan Razin, for example, abolished the church “wedding”, ordering the wedding to take place around an oak tree. The wedding took place in the afternoon, towards evening. At this time, the groom's mother was preparing the marriage bed in the crate: first she laid out sheaves (21 in number), a feather bed and a blanket on top, and threw a marten fur coat or marten skin (or weasel) on top - a single search center for tula. Tubs with honey, barley, wheat, and rye were placed near the bed. Having prepared everything, the future mother-in-law walked around the bed with a rowan branch in her hand. 21 sheaves mean “fiery passion” (triple seven, the number of Fire), the marten coat was supposed to magically ignite the passion of the bride, just like the skin of a marten or weasel. Pay attention to the names of the animals, whose skins have been used for magical purposes, apparently since common Indo-European times, if not earlier. Kuna (marten) - the same root as the Latin cunnus, mink - the same thing, only allegorically, and, finally, weasel actually means affection. The rowan branch serves, firstly, as a kind of cleansing agent, and, secondly, as a sign of fertility. The word wedding itself means covering the head with a wreath (crown).
Before the wedding, the groom's place was taken by a younger brother or teenager, a relative of the bride, from whom the groom had to buy a place next to the bride. The ceremony is called "selling my sister's braid." “Eyes” also sit near the bride - two relatives of the bride, most often sisters (i.e. cousins). They help the bride throughout the wedding. Each of the “eyes” holds in their hands a dish tied with scarves, ends down. In one dish there is a scarf, a warrior, a comb and a mirror, and in the other there are two spoons and a loaf of bread. After the ransom, the bride and groom, holding a lit candle in their hands, walked to the temple or illuminated oak tree. The dancers walked ahead of them, and behind them they carried a cow, on which lay pieces of silver. Behind the young ones, the young man carried a bowl of hops, grain and silver. The matchmaker showered the bride and groom with a bowl. The guests wished the bride as many children as there were hairs in a sheepskin coat. After such wishes, the matchmaker mercifully showered the guests as well.

Previously, the priest performed the wedding, took the bride by the hand, handed her over to the groom and ordered them to kiss. The husband covered his wife with the hem of his dress or cloak as a sign of patronage and protection, after which the priest gave them a bowl of honey. Standing before the altar, the husband and wife drank from the cup three times in turn. The groom splashed the remaining honey into the altar and threw the cup under his feet, saying: “Let those who sow discord among us be trampled underfoot.” The one who first stepped foot on the cup, according to legend, became the head of the family. The village healer or sorcerer always sat in a place of honor at the wedding table. However, he occupied a place of honor not because he could, angry from insufficient respect for him, “turn the wedding train into wolves” (why does a sorcerer need trains with wolves?), but because he was often a descendant of those same magicians , who for hundreds of years crowned our great-great-grandfathers and great-great-grandmothers. On the way home, the young couple walked tightly clinging to each other, and the guests alternately tugged at their sleeves, trying to separate them. After such a simple test, everyone sat down at the table and began to feast. Everyone except the young ones, who, although there was fried chicken in front of them, ate it only at the end of the feast. The newlyweds were not allowed to drink or eat during the wedding feast. When chicken was served on the table, it meant that the time had come - “Tetera flew to the table - the young woman wanted to sleep.” At the height of the fun, the young people went to the cage, where the marriage bed had been prepared in advance. Under the warning, the newlyweds, taking a ritual cow wrapped in a towel and a chicken, locked themselves in a cage. The groom's groomsman walked at the door with a drawn sword, guarding the peace of the newlyweds.

Trample the marten's coat!
Push each other!
Have a good night's sleep!
Have fun getting up!

After such rather frank wishes, the guests retired to the house, but after a while they were sent to inquire about their “health.” If the groom answered that he was in “good health,” then “good” had happened. “Having risen cheerfully,” the young people began to eat. Having taken the chicken, the newlywed had to break off the leg and wing, and then throw them back over his shoulder. Having tasted chicken and cow, the young people joined the guests, and the fun continued. The groom's friend read blessings, for example, the following: To the guests:

Yesta, good people!
Amicable guests,
Invited and uninvited
Mustached and bearded,
Single, unmarried.
At the gate gate,
There are pretenders at the door.
Walking on the floor
Standing in the middle.
From the corner to the shop
Along the curve, along the bench!
Bless!
To the young ladies:
Young, young!
Good gaits
Mustel fur coats,
Sable fluff,
With glazed eyes,
With a little head,
Kokoshka golds,
Silver earrings,
Fathers' daughters,
Well done wives!
Bless!
To the girls:
Red girls
Craftsmen's cakes,
scratchy heads,
Shoed shins,
Krinochny harlots
The sour cream was removed
Kokurki kneaded
They were buried under arrest
Shepherds were given as gifts.
Bless!
To the guys:
Yes! Small guys
Pig bastards!
Crooked stomachs
Honeysuckle legs,
Gastrointestinal faces,
They look like an ass.
Bless!

After such blessings, the feast flared up with renewed vigor. The feast ended with games, after which those who could still walk went home.

Naming rite - If a Slav or Slavic woman was given a Slavic name from birth, then the naming rite is not necessary. Of course, if there is no need to give it a new name. If a person has not been baptized or brought to any other foreign faith, then the naming ceremony is carried out as follows. The Named One stands facing the Illuminated Fire. The priest sprinkles spring water three times on his face, forehead and crown, saying the words: “As this water is pure, so will your face be pure; as this water will be pure, so your thoughts will be pure; as this water will be pure, so your name will be pure!” Then the priest cuts off a lock of hair from the person being named and puts it in the Fire, while whispering the new name. Before a person receives a name, no one except the priest and the person being named should know the chosen name. After this, the priest approaches the person and loudly says: “Narcemo is your name... (name).” And so three times. The priest gives the betrothed a handful of grain to bring the required food and a brother of surya to commemorate the ancestors. A Slav who was previously baptized, or was brought to some other foreign faith, must first undergo a purification ceremony. To do this, sit a person on his knees on a deck (he should not touch the ground with his knees), and draw a closed circle around this place. Before sitting in a circle, the person being named takes off his clothes, revealing himself to the waist. The circle is drawn with a knife, which is then left in the ground until the end of the ceremony. As a rule, before the naming begins, lots are cast: is a person worthy of such an honor to receive a Slavic name and come under the protection of the Ancestors. This is done as follows: the priest, standing behind the victim, swings the ax three times over the latter’s head, trying to lightly touch the hair with the blade. Then he throws the ax on the ground behind his back. If the blade of the fallen ax points to the person being named, then the ritual is continued. If not, they postpone the naming until better times. So, if the lot falls out successfully, then the person being named is lightly washed with spring water, surrounded with salting fire, sprinkled with grain, making cleansing movements with his hands. The purification is carried out by a priest or three priests. They walk around the person being called salt in a circle, holding their right hands above his head. At this time, they loudly proclaim the cry “Goy” - three times. Raising their hands to the sky, they solemnly exclaim: “Narcemo is your name...”, then the name chosen by the community (in agreement with the priest), or the name that the person being named chose for himself (again, with the consent of the priest) is pronounced. And so they exclaim three times. The circle is broken, the betrothed is given a handful of grain for his first sacrifice and a ladle of honey to commemorate the ancestors, under whose protection he now passes.

It all started with finding a place and building materials. Judging by the ethnographic data of the 19th century, there were many methods of divination when choosing a place for a house. Sometimes a cast iron pot with a spider was placed on the site. And if he began to weave a web overnight, then this was considered a good sign. In some places on the proposed site, a vessel with honey was placed in a small hole. And if goosebumps climbed into it, the place was considered happy. When choosing a safe place for construction, they often first released the cow and waited for it to lie on the ground. The place where she lay down was considered good for a future home. And in some places, the future owner had to collect four stones from different fields and lay them out on the ground in the form of a quadrangle, inside which he placed a hat on the ground and read the spell. After this, it was necessary to wait three days, and if the stones remained untouched, then the place was considered well chosen. Belarusians have a popular belief that a house should under no circumstances be built on disputed land, because this could bring curses from the loser of the dispute and then the new owner of such land would not see happiness forever. It should also be noted that the house was never built on the site where human bones were found or where someone cut an arm or leg.

tonsures (tonssures)

tonsure (tonsure) is a Slavic pagan rite consisting of cutting the hair of a child seven years old, as a sign of the transition from the care of the mother to the care of the father, from the care of the deities Lelya and Polel Perun and Lada. The ritual was preserved in Poland until the 14th century. In Rus', there has long been a custom of cutting the hair of male children for the first time - tonsure for power and protection (obsolete - tonsure).

The tonsure is usually carried out in the morning in sunny weather. Characters: Magus (Priest, Elder); squire (for the Rusichs - governor); father; mother; son-junak (initiated); gudkovtsy (musicians) and singers (choral); participants and guests (relatives and friends).

The following ritual objects and elements must be present at the ceremony: breastband; sign of the elder (hryvnia); breviary, stool for a young initiate; scissors on the tray held by the Voivode; a white shirt or Slavic shirt for a yunak (initiate); The fire that the Magus (Priest) kindles; a “male” gift for a tonsured man, in the hands of his father; Gudtsy (musical instruments); cups for honey and other ritual utensils.

All participants in the ceremony stand throughout the entire solemn ceremony. Yunak in a white shirt sits on a stool near the sacred Fire. The elder, having put on a bandage, opens it solemnly and reads the words from the breviary.

Yunak sits on a stool, the elder takes scissors from the tray, cuts off a bunch of hair with them and puts them to the Fire. Yunak gets up, the elder (Magic) announces the initiation of RODich into adulthood (as is known from historical sources, our ancestors taught their children the art of war from a young age). At the elder’s sign, everyone stands up and sings the anthem to the music.

Caroling

The origin of the ritual of caroling goes back to ancient times. Even in pagan times, several times a year, the Slavs cast a spell against evil spirits. This ritual, both before and after the adoption of Christianity in Rus', was timed to coincide with the Yuletide period and the great holiday of Kolyada
. It consisted of groups of carolers (glorifiers), consisting mainly of teenagers, going from house to house. Each group carried a six- or eight-pointed star glued from silver paper on a stick (pole). Sometimes the star was made hollow and a candle was lit inside it. The star glowing in the dark seemed to float down the street. The group also included a fur bearer, carrying a bag for collecting gifts and gifts.

The carolers walked around the houses of their fellow villagers in a certain order, calling themselves “difficult guests”, bringing the owner of the house the joyful news of the birth of a new Sun - Kolyada. The arrival of carolers in Rus' was taken very seriously, they gladly accepted all the dignifications and wishes, and tried, if possible, to generously reward them. The “difficult guests” put the gifts in a bag and went to the next house. In large villages and villages, five to ten groups of carolers came to each house. Caroling was known throughout Rus', but was distinguished by its local originality.

The bath ceremony should always begin with a greeting to the Master of the Bath, or the spirit of the bath - Bannik. This greeting is also a kind of conspiracy, a conspiracy of the space and environment in which the bathing ceremony will be carried out. This is setting up a given environment in a certain way. Such an attunement can also occur either according to a pre-prepared spell - a greeting, or according to one born spontaneously right at the entrance to the steam room.

Usually, immediately after reading such a greeting spell, a ladle of hot water is applied to the heater and the steam rising from the heater is evenly distributed in a circular motion of a broom or towel throughout the steam room. This is the creation of light steam. The fact is that steam in a steam room usually stands in layers. At the top there are hotter, drier and lighter layers of air - steam, and the lower, the layers of steam become colder, wetter and heavier. And if you do not mix these layers with each other and create a steam space in the steam room that is uniform in temperature and humidity, then such steam will be perceived as “heavy”. It is difficult because the head will heat up and the legs will cool down, and the whole body will be in different temperature and humidity layers, in layers of different pressure. All this will create a feeling of disunity and fragmentation in the body, and will be perceived as a feeling of heaviness.

And the bath broom was called in the bathhouse the master, or the largest (the most important), from century to century they repeated: “The bath broom is older than the king, if the king takes a steam bath”; “The broom is the boss of everyone in the bathhouse”; “In a bathhouse, a broom is more valuable than money”; “A bathhouse without a broom is like a table without salt,” in a field - in a slope, in a stone chamber, a fine fellow sits, plays nutcracker, killed everyone, and did not let the king down.

Funeral rite - The simplest funeral rite is as follows: “If someone dies, they perform a trespass on him, and therefore they do a great steal (a special fire, “steal” (stealing objects from our world that are placed on it) is laid out in the form of a rectangle, shoulder-high For 1 domovina, you need to take 10 times more firewood by weight. The firewood should be oak or birch. The domovina is made in the form of a boat, a boat, etc. Moreover, the bow of the boat is placed at sunset. The most suitable day for the funeral is Friday. - Mokosha’s day. The deceased is dressed in all white, covered with a white blanket, the funeral food is placed in the house and the pot is placed at the feet of the deceased. The deceased should lie with his head to the west), and the victim is burned and the dead is stolen (the elder sets it on fire, or the priest, undressed to the waist and standing with his back to the krada, is set on fire during the day, at sunset, so that the deceased “sees” the light and “walks” after the setting sun. The interior of the krada is filled with flammable straw and branches. After the fire burns, the funeral prayer is read:

Se sva one yde
And there is a branch of the onia gate.
And when you get there, Iriy is all red,
And there is Ra-river tenze,
Jacob dresses up Sverga odo Java.
And Chenslobog studied in our day
And God’s chessla sva reshet.
And life will be different
Below is life at night.
And you will be beheaded,
Bo se ese - java.
And here you are in the divine day,
And there is no one in my nose,
Sometimes the god Did-Oak-Sheaf is ours...

At the end of the prayer, everyone falls silent until a huge column of flame rises to the sky - a sign that the deceased has risen to Svarga), and then having collected the bones (among the Northerners, for example, it was customary not to collect bones, but to pour a small hill on top, on which the funeral feast was held, having thrown weapons and mylodars from above, the participants of the feast dispersed to fill their helmets with earth and fill a large grave mound), putting mala into the vessel ( clay pot) and placed it on a pillar (in a small funeral hut “on chicken legs”) on the way (on the way from the village to sunset), which is still done in Vyatichn today (the custom of putting huts “on chicken legs” over the grave has been preserved in Kaluga region until the 30s of the XX century)".

Rituals in honor of the dead - in many Slavic lands traces of holidays in honor of the dead are still preserved. People go to the burial grounds on Suhenya (March) 1st, at dawn, and there they make sacrifices to the dead. The day is called “Navy Day” and is also dedicated to Morena. In general, any ritual in honor of the dead has its own name - Trizna. A funeral feast for the dead is a feast dedicated to their honor. Over time, the Slavic Trizna was changed into a wake. Trizna used to be a whole ritual: they bring cakes, pies, colored eggs, wine to the burial ground, and commemorate the dead. At the same time, women and girls usually lament. Lamentation is generally called crying for a dead person, but not a silent, not a simple hysterical attack, allowing the loss of tears, often without a sound, or accompanied by sobbing and occasional groans. No, this is a sad song of loss, deprivation, of which the author himself suffered or suffered deprivation. The author of such lamentations, shedding burning tears for a deceased relative, and being unable to conceal within himself mental anxiety falls on the burial ground where the ashes are hidden, or hits her chest, cries, chanting in the form of folk songs, the word she said with all her soul, with all her heart, often deeply felt, sometimes even bearing a deep imprint of folk legend. Below are examples of such songs:

Daughter's cry for her father

From the eastern side
The violent winds rose and
With thunder and rattlers,
With prayers and fire;
A star has fallen, fallen from heaven
All for Father's grave...
Break it, Thunder Arrow,
Still mother and mother earth!
You fell apart, mother earth,
What on all four sides!
Hide away from the coffin board,
Open up your white shrouds?
Fall off and white hands
From zeal from the heart.
Unclench your lips, sugary lips!
Turn around and look at me, my dear father
You are migratory and a clear falcon,
You fly off to the blue sea,
On the blue sea, and Khvalynskoe,
Wash me, my dear father,
There is rust from the white face;
Come here, my father,
On its own and on the high tower,
Everything is under the curtain and under the window,
Listen, dear father,
Woe to our bitter songs.

An old woman's cry for an old man

Whom are you relying on, my dear?
And who do you rely on?
You leave me, bitter grief,
Without heat, your nest!...
The bitter grief is not from anyone.
I don’t have any kind words,
There is no word for me to say hello.
I don’t have it, my grief is bitter,
Neither clan nor tribe,
No drinker for me, no breadwinner...
I remain, bitter grief,
I'm old, old lady,
Alone, and alone.
I am not exhausted to work.
No, I have a family-tribe;
I have no one to think with,
I have no one to say a word to:
I don't have a sweet tooth.

After the lamentations, a funeral feast was held. There are also national funeral feasts, during which the whole nation remembers. In modern times, people perform such a funeral feast on Radunitsa or Great Day (Easter). Songs, rituals, and lamentations bring joy to the souls of the dead, and for this they inspire the living with useful thoughts or advice.

Trizna is a funeral military rite among the ancient Slavs, which consists of: games, dances and competitions in honor of the deceased; mourning the deceased; funeral feast. Initially, the tributary consisted of an extensive ritual complex of sacrifices, war games, songs, dances and ceremonies in honor of the deceased, mourning, lamentations and a memorial feast both before and after the burning. After the adoption of Christianity in Rus', the funeral feast was preserved for a long time in the form of funeral songs and feasts, and later this ancient pagan term was replaced by the name “wake”. During sincere prayer for the dead, in the souls of those who pray, a deep feeling of unity with the Family and Ancestors always appears, which directly testifies to our constant connection with them. This ritual helps to find peace of mind for the living and the dead, promotes their beneficial interaction and mutual assistance.

Trizna is the glorification of the Native Gods, dedicated to the remembrance of a deceased relative. This service affirms the eternal victory of Life over Death through unity three worlds in Triglav of the Family of the Almighty. The word “trizna” itself is an abbreviation of the phrase: “Triglav (three worlds) to know,” that is, to know about the commonality of the three levels of existence (Nav, Yav, Rule) and fulfill the sacred duty of supporting communication between generations, regardless of the location of the Ancestors. During this ritual, greatness, justice and mercy are glorified Slavic Gods, and also the exploits and righteous deeds of the glorious Knights, Bogatyrs and Ancestors of ours, who died defending the Native Land and the Slavic Family, are glorified. With the help of this memorial rite, the Slavs turn to the Gods with a request to protect and preserve the sacred Slavic ROD and the Russian Land - the NATIVE, as well as to give the opportunity to deceased relatives, in the world of Navi, to correct all the wrong they have done (if any) and get a decent life (reborn again ) in Yavi.

The ritual action itself looked something like this. First, they chose a guy called “Yury”, gave him a lit torch, decorated him with greenery and put a round pie on his head. Then the procession, headed by “Yury,” walked around the winter fields three times. After which they made a fire and asked the saint:

Yuri, get up early,
Unlock the ground
Release the dew
For a warm summer.
For a lush life...

Harvest is one of the main periods of the agricultural cycle. In the cycle of rituals that accompanied the harvest, its beginning (zazhinki) and end (harvest, dozhinki, spozhinki) are especially distinguished.

An extensive complex of rites and magical rituals was associated with the harvest period. They were not timed to a specific date, but depended on the time of ripening of cereals. Sacrificial rituals were performed to thank mother earth for the long-awaited harvest. With the help of magical actions, the ritual participants sought to restore fertility to the land, ensuring the next year's harvest. In addition, the ritual had a practical significance: the reapers needed a certain break from work.

To begin the harvest, the main thing was considered right choice“zazhinschitsy”, a reaper who was famous for her health, strength, dexterity, agility, and “light hand”; the knife was never entrusted to a pregnant woman (popularly called “heavy”); she was forbidden to even watch how they reaped, so that the Harvest would not be “hard.” The woman elected at the general meeting prepared for the dinner with special care: she washed the altar, benches, and table in the house, and covered it with a tablecloth in order to worthily receive the first handful of harvested ears of grain. Then she washed herself, put on a clean white shirt and went to the field in the evening. In order for the harvest to go quickly and successfully, the worker walked to the place of work at a fast pace and without stopping; Having arrived at the field, she immediately took off her outer clothing and began to reap; After work I hurriedly returned home. Sometimes the harvest took place in secret: the harvester tried to go unnoticed to her field, and when she returned home, it became known in the village that the harvest had taken place, and the next morning all the owners began to reap.

In the middle of the first millennium AD, the Slavic tribes that inhabited the western part of the territory of the European part of Russia were at the last stage of development of the primitive communal system. In their economic structure, agriculture came first. All their beliefs were based on the worship of deities who personified the forces of nature and ancestors. The ancient Slavs were pagans, and above all else they valued the relationship between man and nature.

Picture of the world as imagined by the ancient Slavs and pagan gods

The pagan Slav’s picture of the world was presented in this way: the Earth is motionless, the planets and stars revolve around it, and at night the Sun floats through some kind of underground ocean. IN pagan beliefs ideas from different stages of primitiveness came together. The ancient Slavs worshiped various idols, believing that their large number confirmed the safety of a mortal, and human wisdom was knowledge of the names and functions of these patrons. These idols were considered not an image, but the body of the gods whom they animated; people fell on their faces “before a piece of wood or an ingot of ore, expecting salvation and prosperity from them.”

However, the Slavs also had an idea about the only highest Deity, to whom, in their opinion, the heavens “serve as a worthy temple,” who rules the sky, and leaves the management of the earth to other gods. They called him White God and they did not build temples for him, because they believed that mortals could not communicate with him, but must turn to other gods with their requests. The Slavs attributed evil to a special creature they called Chernobog, they made sacrifices to him to appease him, and at meetings they drank from a special cup dedicated to him and the good gods. Chernobog was often depicted as a lion. That is why there is an opinion that the Slavs borrowed the idea of Chernobog from Christians, who likened the devil to this beast. But, most likely, this comes from hatred of the Saxons, who were dangerous enemies of the northern Slavs and were for them the embodiment of evil. Saxon banners featured lions. It was believed that Chernobog terrified people with menacing ghosts called bogeymen, and that only the Magi could tame his anger. These magicians, whom Nestor talks about in his chronicle, made music their weapon, playing the gusli truly masterfully, and therefore in some Slavic lands they were called guslars.

In Russia before Christianization the supreme god was Perun, the god of lightning, whom the Slavs worshiped back in the 6th century, “adoring in him the Supreme Ruler of the World.” The name "Perun" comes from the Slavic verb "peru", which means not only "pru", but also "I hit", "I hit". It’s not for nothing that in the old days the devices used to beat clothes during washing, rollers, were called spinning wheels. The name Perun meant the destroying god. Later Perun began to be called lightning. Karamzin writes: “Starikovsky, Guagnini and the Writer of the Synopsis say that Perun of Kiev stood on iron legs, in his hand he held a stone, like a lightning bolt, decorated with rubies and carbuncles; that Perunov’s clothes were skillfully carved from wood; that an oak fire forever burned in front of the idol, and if the priests, through negligence, allowed the fire to go out, they were punished with death as criminals and enemies of God." The Kiev idol of Perun stood on a hill outside the courtyard of Prince Vladimir, and the Novgorod idol stood above the Volkhov River: it was wooden, with a silver head and a golden mustache.

The chronicles also mention Horse, Evenbog (Dazhdbog), Stribog- god of the winds. In “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” it is said: “Behold, the Stribozhi in your hearts, are shooting from the sea with arrows at Igor’s brave warriors.” Also known Samargl And Mokosh, but the chronicles do not mention exactly what properties and actions were inherent in them. Oleg's treaty with the Greeks mentions God Volos (Veles), in whose name, as well as in the name of Perun, the Slavs swore allegiance. Volos enjoyed extreme reverence and respect, since he was the patron saint of livestock, and livestock was the main wealth of the Slavs. The patron saint of flocks, St. Blaise, so respected by the Russian peasantry, adopted many of the features of ancient Volos. Even their names are similar. The god of fun, love, harmony, prosperity was called Lado. Young people getting married made sacrifices to him, chanting his name, which is still preserved in ancient choruses. In the old days, such a custom existed in villages. In the spring, young women gathered to play and sing in round dances, repeating “Lado, di-di Lado.” To this day, loved ones are called frets.

Bathing rituals

Sacrifices were made to Kupala, the god of earthly fruits, right before the harvest of bread, on the day of St. Agrippina (June 23), which was popularly called the Bathing Lady. Young people decorated themselves with wreaths made of a special grass - bathing suit - attributing to it various magical and healing properties. For example, it was believed that this grass expels evil spirits, for which the so-called Ivanovo wreaths woven from it were hung on the roofs of houses and in barns. In the evening they lit a fire, danced around it and sang Kupala.

In the mornings on this day it was necessary to take a steam bath in the baths, and in the afternoon to swim in rivers and ponds. The villagers of the Ryazan province call the bathing grass and this day “fierce roots.” Wise old men, while washing in the bathhouse, steamed themselves with brooms made from fierce roots in the hope of becoming younger. In steppe villages, they put stinging nettles in the oven instead of straw and steamed on it. All this was done with one goal - to cure diseases. Sakharov writes: “Upon leaving the bathhouse, they sat down at the table to have breakfast, where the votive porridge was prepared in advance. ... The bathing votive porridge departed with various rituals, ... leaving this task to the red maidens. There they gathered to one of their friends in the evening: pound barley in a mortar. The pounding of barley was accompanied by songs and fun games. Early in the morning they cooked porridge from this barley, which they ate at midday, with butter.” Swimming in the rivers began at noon and continued until the evening. While some were swimming, others were singing songs on the shore. Between bathing there were games and feasts.

Kolyada

On December 24, the Slavs celebrated Kolyada, the god of celebrations and peace. Even in our time, on the eve of the Nativity of Christ, children and young people gather to carol under the windows of rich people and, pronouncing the name of Kolyada and honoring the owner in carol songs, receive money and treats.

The "unclean" force of the ancient Slavs

In the traditions of the Russian people, especially superstitious ones, as well as in fairy tales, some traces of ancient Slavic worship of God are revealed. Russian goblins are similar to Greek satyrs, “they seem to live in the darkness of forests, equal to trees and grass, terrify wanderers, go around them and lead them astray.” There is a lot of mention of mermaids - this is the Slavic version of the nymphs of oak forests, where they run around with their hair flowing on the eve of Trinity Day. Brownies - evil and beneficent - are still especially revered. Small children are frightened by kikimoras and beeches.
Wanting to express the power and formidability of their gods, the Slavs represented them as giants, with terrible faces and many heads. In contrast to the Greeks, the Slavs valued strength, not beauty, in God.

Holy water

Pagan beliefs attributed divinity and holiness to lakes and rivers. If a person suffered, for example, from an eye disease, he was washed with water from special healing springs, and silver was thrown into them. It is customary among the people to bathe, pour over or wash people who have slept through matins on Easter Day in order to wash away sin. The same applies to the evil eye and damage.

Reserved groves

Many Slavic tribes had protected groves, “where the sound of an ax was never heard, and where the worst enemies did not dare to engage in battle among themselves.” The Slavs also prayed to individual trees, especially hollow ones, tying their branches with ubruses (the so-called ancient women's headdresses), blankets or scarves. The celebration of Semik and the folk custom of waving wreaths in groves on this day is also a remnant of ancient beliefs that survived even after the introduction of Christianity, and no attempts to destroy these traditions were successful. An example of this is the unsuccessful enterprise of Bryachislav in 1093, who tried to burn the holy oak forests of his people.

Gods-banners

The Slavs adored banners and believed that in wartime they were holier than any idols. Some sources, for example, the Dietmar Chronicle, mention two famous Slavic banners that were considered female deities. Faith in them was so great that during battles it ignited the fighting spirit in the soldiers.

Temples and their guardians

There is almost no information about the temples (temples) of the ancient Slavs. Nestor, for example, speaks only of idols and altars. But, however, sacrifices had to be made at any time, and respect for the shrine required protection and shelter, especially in northern lands with a harsh climate. Therefore, there is no doubt that on the Kiev hill and on the banks of the Volkhov, where Perun stood, there were temples, of course, not as huge and luxurious as Byzantine or Greek, but “in keeping with the simplicity of the then morals and with the small knowledge of people in the art of architecture.”

Nestor the chronicler does not mention anything about priests, but in any faith there are rituals, the execution of which is entrusted to selected people, virtuous and respected by everyone for their wisdom, therefore, without any doubt, the ancient Slavs had priests. In any temple, at sacred tree, at the healing spring, there were special guardians who constantly lived nearby in tiny huts, feeding on the sacrifice that was brought to their deities. They were respected by all and had some exclusive rights, for example, they could sit during the sacrifice, wear a long beard, or enter the sanctuary. A Slav, and especially a warrior, having successfully completed some task and wishing to thank the gods, had to share his spoils with a servant.

The priests made sacrifices on behalf of the people, and also predicted the future in all sorts of ways, for example, by the movement and color of water. In ancient times, when the Slavs worshiped the invisible White God, they sacrificed oxen and other animals, but later, worshiping idols, they practiced human sacrifices and stained the altars, which were called treasuries, with human blood. The victim was chosen from among the captives by lot, or was purchased specifically for this purpose. Such customs were preserved in Rus' even during the time of Prince Vladimir.

Funeral customs of the ancient Slavs

A pillar is a small funeral house, a log house, a house. Such houses survived in Russia until the beginning of the 20th century. As for the Kyiv and Volyn Slavs, from ancient times they buried the dead in the ground. Special ladders woven from belts were buried along with the body.

An interesting addition about the funeral rite of the Vyatichi can be found in the story of the unknown Traveler, set out in one of Rybakov’s works. “When someone dies among them, they burn his corpse. Women, when they have a deceased person, scratch their hands and faces with a knife. When the deceased is burned, they indulge in noisy fun, expressing joy at the mercy shown to him by God.”

Ibn Rust says that “if the deceased had three wives (and polygamy among some Slavs was not forbidden, and in some tribes, on the contrary, it was encouraged) and one believes that she especially loved her husband, then she brings two pillars to the body, which are driven into the ground upright, and the third pillar is placed across. Then a rope is tied in the middle of this crossbar, which serves as a voluntary noose for the woman. When a faithful wife suffocates and dies, she is thrown into the fire and burned.” The gallows gates of the “thefts of the great” are quite often mentioned in various sources. Through these gates, the doomed woman seemed to be looking into the other world. Death in any case was achieved by strangulation, strangulation, but if among the Vyatichi widows went to such death voluntarily, then among the Rus this terrible procedure was entrusted to special female witches, whose job was to strangle the unfortunate widows. A year after the death, family and relatives came to the burning site, bringing food and honey. This custom of remembering the dead has survived to this day.

Little is mentioned about other pagan customs, but it is known that fire is Svarozhich- was revered by all Slavs, of which funeral burnings are an example. Some Arab travelers also described that the Vyatichi revered the bull. This issue has been the subject of debate among various historians, however, in the land of the ancient Vyatichi, a girl’s headdress with huge rag horns, which was called a turitsa, was preserved until the 19th century. These half-meter horns of Kaluga brides were so pagan that priests refused to let girls dressed up according to this ancient custom into church.

Slavic pagan dance - fun and ritual

Dancing was the favorite pastime of the Slavs. The ancient dance can be judged from some ancient Russian dances. It consists of waving your arms under great tension, squatting, spinning in one place, stamping your feet, which, according to Karamzin, “corresponds to the character of strong, active and tireless people.” Dancing was an integral part of many sacred rites and important events. The most common musical instruments of the ancient Slavs were pipes and eight-stringed lutes. The miniature of the Radziwill Chronicle depicts two groups of people and musicians. In the center is the figure of a girl with flowing hair, dressed in a wide dress with long sleeves dropped well below her wrists. This is the mermaid dance, which is reflected very widely in Russian applied art and folklore. Rusalia- these are ritual dances associated with prayer for rain (mermaids were also deities of field irrigation). These dances were one of the most important pagan rituals of the Slavs, and even the church for a very long time could not destroy this ancient agricultural custom. During the sacred dance, the girl portrayed a mermaid-bird, and the long sleeves of her clothes depicted both the wings of the deity and water pouring onto the ground. It is interesting that the most popular Russian fairy tale about the frog princess, which quite possibly took shape on the Vyatic or Krivian lands, gives a colorful image of a woman who danced the ritual dance of the mermaids with her sleeves down - and each swing of her sleeve gave birth to birds, lakes and trees.

Marriage customs

Marriage customs among different Slavic peoples were different. For example, near the clearings everything was meek and quiet. Their main virtues were modesty and chastity. Marriage among the Polans was considered a sacred duty. The Drevlyans, on the contrary, did not know marriages based on the mutual consent of the spouses and their parents. They took the girls away by force or kidnapped them. The northerners and Radimichi also knew neither chastity nor marriage. However, everything was decided more diplomatically than with the Drevlyans. Young people of both sexes gathered at games between villages, grooms chose brides and agreed to live with them, without any rituals. Polygamy was common. The Vyatichi had no marriage customs at all. They had remnants of the so-called matrilocal marriage - future son-in-law came to the bride's house on their wedding night. Moreover, the chronicler hints at some reprehensible morals within the family - the female half of the family has no “shame” towards the male half and vice versa, which can be understood as remnants of endogamy. These features of primitiveness were reflected in the ancient Kyiv epic about Ilya Muromets and Nightingale the Robber: “If I raise a son, I’ll give him a daughter for him; if I raise a daughter, I’ll give him for a son, so that the Nightingale family will not be transferred.”

Later, the Vyatichi overcame this ancient tradition of endogamy and replaced it with exogamous relationships, that is (and in the chronicles there is an indication of this) the games at which young men confer with their chosen ones no longer took place within one settlement, but between different ones. There was a strict patriarchy within the family. For example, for adultery, a husband could simply kill his wife, without accepting any explanations or apologies. Gender inequality also confirms this fact. Any mother had the right to kill her newborn daughter, when the life of her newborn son was protected in every possible way. The living widow dishonored the family. Most likely, this was a cruel but sure measure to prevent secret murders of husbands, so wives were extremely careful to avoid death. As for polygamy, as already mentioned, this was a common occurrence. It testified to social differences, different wealth - the greater the wealth, the more wives.

All of the above allows us to draw the following conclusion. Most of the pagan Slavic beliefs and rituals did not sink into oblivion without a trace and were not erased from the memory of the Russian people. Sometimes, involuntarily, involuntarily, we turn to a kind of genetic memory in everyday life, celebrating weddings, telling fairy tales. Our pagan past is very persistent, it exists in folk songs, games, divination, in joys and sorrows, it will always remain in the mysterious and beautiful Russian soul.