Slavic culture — BlogENG

Slavic faith – part 2 – the meaning behind prayers

In the previous post we discussed religious sacrifices made by pre-Christian Slavs. We came to conclusion that, considering the historical context, our ancestors’ sacrifices to the Gods were of much higher value than our modern offering are. We also mentioned that, due to the nature of Slavic Gods, our ancestors had to be precise in their prayers – know exactly what they wanted to pray for, which God they wanted to pray to, when and how.

Today as promised we will discuss if it’s possible to adapt prayer/sacrifice rituals of pre-Christian Slavs for the reality of XXI century and - if so - how can it be done.

A disclaimer: this post discusses exclusively the issues off the worship of Slavic Gods. The issues of veneration of the ancestors will be discussed another time.

Slavic FaithMagda LewandowskaFebruary 23, 2020Slavs, Slavic culture, slavic ethics, slavic prayerComment

Contemplating the Slavic soul

Recently I was following a Facebook discussion about Slavic souls, focusing particularly on when the soul develops. As it usually happens with this sort of discussions in a few comments the topic branched off towards abortion, pro-life movements and family planning. Again – as it usually happens - the gist of some of the comments indicated that at least some of the commentators remain under a more or less conscious influence of Judeo-Christian ideas. Therefore, I decided to contemplate the topic of the Slavic soul, to try and separate the Judeo-Christian layer of indoctrination from the true Slavic tradition.

Magda LewandowskaNovember 30, 2019Slavic culture, Slavs, slavic demonology, Slavic soulComment

The lost ancestors

Veneration of the dead has always been one of the most important pillars of the Slavic culture. One of the way in which our ancestors revered their dead was by preparing celebratory feasts, during which the departed were summoned, and then fed, asked for advice or for blessings. Initially those feasts were lead by a priest (zhrets, volkhv), who after the Christianization of the Slavic land was replaced by a dziad – a travelling bard. It is difficult to say which came first – the name of the celebratory feasts (Dziady) or the name of the traveling bard (dziad), but there is no doubt that both played a significant role in the Slavic culture. The function of the travelling bard was still known in the XIX century and the tradition of Dziady (the feasts for the ancestors) remains live even now, after it was incorporated in the Christian liturgical year.

Magda LewandowskaOctober 23, 2019Slavs, Slavic culture, Dziady, All Souls Day Comments

A fabric embroidered with fate

Embroidered towel carries many symbolic meanings. For centuries it has been a companion of human life, from sunrise to sunset, on regular and on holy days, from birth to death. It used to be present in every household, today it’s seen rarely – on icons in Orthodox churches or in small villages in Eastern Poland. Do we realise that this white piece of fabric is a magical object, full of mysterious and deep meaning?

Magda LewandowskaOctober 23, 2019Slavs, Slavic culture, Embroidered towels, Scared towels, SymbolsComment

The miracle of marketing – a few words about pop-culture and Christianisation

Why is pop-culture so popular? What makes the simple, predictable and often unoriginal melodies, paintings or movies be so popular, have hordes of fans and generate so much profit? There is for sure many reasons, but the main one is… their popularity – not in the “well known or accepted” meaning of this word but rather in the other “plain, easy to grasp, common, ordinary” meaning.

Magda LewandowskaOctober 22, 2019Slavs, Slavic culture, Christianisation, pop cultureComment