The religion of the heathen Slavs

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Религия язычников-славян

The modern Ukrainian historian J. E. Borovsky wrote about the rites and customs of the pagan Slavs in the book “the Mythological world of ancient Kiev”: “From ancient times, long before the adoption of Christianity, our ancestors worshiped them incomprehensible forces of nature and worshiped rivers, lakes, springs, trees and animals.”

The annals, talking about East Slavs, celebrating the diversity of their pagan rites: “…had their customs, and the laws of their fathers, and the traditions and every your disposition”. These words belong to the tribes of the field, Drevlyans, dregovichs, Polotsk Krivichi, northerners, Radimichi, Vyatichi.

Especially the chronicler highlights the fields that are honored “custom of their fathers, meek and quiet, and before her daughters in law and sisters, mothers and parents, to the mother in laws and doors with great modesty.” The field there was a marriage custom by which a brother-in-law did not go to take the bride. Brought it the day before and the following day brought for her, “who would give”. But the Drevlyans, the nearest neighbors of the field, the marriage did not know they kidnapped the girls himself near the water and lived “like animals”. Such customs were the Radimichi, Vyatichi northerners. They lived in the woods, says a chronicler, like animals, marriages had, and arranged games between the villages.

Agreed on the merrymaking, dancing and all sorts of devilish songs and here Snitch (kidnapped) wives in collusion with them.

In the chronicle descriptions notice the sharp contrast between the tribes. Nestor the chronicler, who formed “the Tale of bygone years” in 1113 in Kiev, praised baptized at the time of the field and, on the contrary, showed a rather ugly life of other tribes, who “lived in the woods like beasts,” and followed pagan customs.

Clearing (especially Kiev) were at a higher level of development than the Northern tribes, and called the wise and smyshlenye. They build cities, adhere to the good customs of the fathers, have the correct family relationships…

The story of the glades-the Gentiles refers to the famous legend about the founding of Kiev by three brothers – Kyi, Schek and Horiv.

Interestingly, in the “history of Russia” V. N. Tatishcheva (XVIII) the message about honoring meadows lakes, wells and trees are complemented by strings that are not present in any of the Chronicles lists. This refers to the worship of the Dynamo of the Sun, Fire and the other gods: “These men were wise and zmyslony, they are called the meadows and to this day, faith was a Gentile, they brought the victim’s lakes, wells and Romanian. The sun and fire, and other revered as gods, like other pagans do.”

(From the book V. Balyazin “Unofficial history of Russia”. I’ll try to continue to publish here excerpts from this book.)

 

Религия язычников-славян

 

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