The Slavic faith – part 1 – historical reenactment or a religion?
We don’t know much about pre-Christian Slavs, but we do know one thing about them for sure: they were tough, resilient, pragmatic and resourceful people. Their strength and determination helped them not only to live and thrive in conditions – for us, the people of the XXI century – pretty much unimaginable, but also to create a culture, which, despite active uprooting and persecution by Christians, survived through centuries in the memory and hearts of generations.
Recently the culture of our ancestors has been gradually gaining the regard and recognition it deserves. More and more Slavs find their roots, begin to discover pagan ideas and reject Judeo-Christian dogma and morality. But in the eyes of many the faith of our ancestors still remains closer to Medieval historical reenactment than to the reality of XXI century. Many still worship the old Gods by repeating the actions performed by our ancestors, without realising the meaning and purpose of those actions. It’s a bit like putting on a lab coat to become a doctor. Like wearing a lab coat does not make anyone a doctor, so throwing meat into the holy fire does not make anyone a Rodnover.
What then makes a Rodnover? Can we extract the beliefs held by our ancestors, can we separate them from their historical context? Is it possible to truly practice and follow the faith of pre-Christian Slavs in the XXI century? Will our Gods hear our prayers without the ritual slaughter of oxen or other animals sacrificed in the olden days?
The Gods of the land
Pre-Christian Slavs did not understand the concept of a ritualised, strictly codified religion, typical for Judeo-Christians beliefs. There never have been any scriptures for Rodnovery faith. The Gods of our ancestors were not (and are not) the Gods of the people. They were, are and always will be the Gods of the land. They don’t have the need to control every aspect of their followers’ lives, they don’t demand fasting, maintaining purity of the mind and body, don’t monitor what their followers do in the bedroom and don’t need constant prayers – mostly because they don’t have time for it. The Slavic Gods have their own domains – the weather, the seasons, the fertility of the land etc – which they must tend to, keeping them in order and equilibrium with the other Gods’ domains. The Slavic Gods don’t need prayers to exist. As the Universe – they were, they are and will be, regardless of whether people worship them, or not.
The Slavic Gods’ neutral attitude towards humanity required from our ancestors to develop a polytheistic religion. The Gods, or the higher powers, were not jealous of each other, did not need undivided attention and constant prayers, which are compulsory in Judeo-Christian beliefs. Perun, Svarog, Veles, Mokosh or Morena had their own responsibilities, their own domains, which, in order to be ruled properly, required cooperation rather than fighting. Domains which needed each other to reach their full potential, like the earth needs the sun, the rain and the wind to grow crops.
On the other hand, the neutral attitude towards humanity made the Slavic Gods less accessible. To gain Their attention – ensure good harvest, good weather, health or even advice about the future (during divination rituals) – Slavs needed more than prayers, hymns or fasting. To ask the Gods for Their blessing our ancestors had to sacrifice something, let’s call it, attractive enough to encourage one of the rulers of the sun, the sky, the earth or the winds to temporarily abandon Their real responsibilities and to listen to our prayers - prayers which are completely unimportant from the point of view of a supernatural being.
Besides, let’s not forget, making their “attractive” sacrifice our ancestors had to first decide to which God exactly they wanted to address their prayers – it would after all be extremely stupid to ask Veles for good weather, or Morena for help in childbirth. Our ancestors had to also know when and how to address the chosen God. They could not afford for the valuable sacrifice to go to waste, just because during the ritual Perun or Veles were busy somewhere else or for other reason not able to hear the prayer. The Slavic polytheism required the followers to be precise – in their thoughts, prayers and rituals. Our ancestors could not just – as it has been practiced by Judeo-Christians - fall down on their knees and start thoughtlessly recite the rosary prayers. In their prayers Slavs had to be pragmatic, have realistic expectations and act in a thoughtful way.
The Slavic pragmatism
Slavs made very generous sacrifices – mostly they sacrificed life. The blood of oxen and all other sacrificial animals, and sometimes even the blood of humans was spilled in the name of the old Gods. Apart of the animals also food – for obvious reasons absolutely necessary to live - was sacrificed, as well as mead and beer, both made from edible (so necessary to live) products. Some sacrifices were made during regular celebrations – before sowing seeds (Jare Gody), in the time of growing crops (Kupała) or after the harvest (Harvest). Other rituals were performed as needed – in the time of drought or excessive rains (which could affect the harvest) or before a war. In exceptional circumstances (for example in ill health or a sudden life threatening event) Slavs even dared to bargain with Gods – they promised to make an offering if they get to live through the disease or other dangerous event.
It wasn’t easy or cheap to gain the Gods’ favour. In the olden times, without refrigerators, supermarkets or internet shopping, an ox, pig, or even a chicken were resources necessary to survive winter, drought, flood or any period of scarcity. In Medieval ages a cow was worth more than a simple sword, and a sale of a sheep could provide enough money to hire a mercenary (you can check Medieval prices here). It’s no wonder then that pre-Christian Slavs sought their Gods’ help only in the most important problems. It was much easier (and cheaper) for our ancestors to deal with their problems on their own, without the help of the supernatural. There’s no doubt that this was one of the reasons, why Slavs were such prolific innovators and early adaptors of new technologies. From easy to construct and cheap to run bathhouses, through stirrups, siege weapons, warships, bridges, fortifications, to new agricultural technologies – our ancestors always strove to discover or adapt ways to improve the efficiency and quality of their work. And no wonder they did – after all it’s better to do something yourself, than to kill a cow and hope that Gods will do this something for you.
Modern Rodnovery altar - a feast worthy of Gods?
By Pola lilla - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=75915171
A feast with the supernatural
The sacrifices made by pre-Christian Slavs were worthy of Gods themselves, but – which, knowing our ancestors, is not very surprising – even if they did not satisfy the Gods (did not bring the intended effect like good harvest or war victory), they did not go completely to waste. After killing the ox or the cow – killing it in the name and for the glory of the God – the meat of this animal, at least partially was served in a ritual, celebratory feast. We don’t know for sure if the meat/food that was sacrificed to Gods had to be consumed on the same day, or if it could be eaten over a period of a few days after the ritual (which has been practiced in Judaism), nevertheless it was consumed not only by the priests, but by all the people who attended the ritual. One could say then that the rituals of pre-Christian Slavs were feasts held to honour the Gods. Feasts that had to be splendid enough to encourage the Gods to attend, but which also provided a meal for the people (and their ancestors).
In those feasts it seems lies the essence of our ancestors’ faith. Pretty much all the rituals – those planned and not planned alike – were held in the times of uncertainty. In the hungry gap, at the end of winter - when the last of stored food had been consumed and the first of the new year crop had not come yet; after the harvest – when all the crop had been collected and had to last through the winter, regardless of how long or hard the winter would be; before a war – which by definition is the time of uncertainty; in ill health, which in the Medieval times could always end in death, regardless of how serious the illness was. But no matter how much food or other goods Slavs had, they were willing to sacrifice part of it to their Gods and, in a way, use it up during the feast with the supernatural. The phrase “use up” is very important here, because what Slavs sacrificed to their Gods was not only food. After a ritual slaughter an ox could not pull a cart or a plough any more, a cow could not produce calves or give milk, a chicken could not lay eggs and seeds offered to Gods could not be use to saw the fields next year. The faith of our ancestors was based on a conviction that an important resource which could be used in the future (like an ox, a cow or seeds), can instead be sacrificed (used completely) here and now to ensure Gods’ blessings, to gain Their interest, to make them temporarily abandon Their domains, to attend a ritual feast and to share Their power with Their followers.
The real value of the sacrifice
To follow our ancestors’ faith we do not have to (or, dare I say, we shouldn’t) perform rituals in the same way our ancestors performed them. Acting in this way is historical reenactment not practicing faith. Of course, there is nothing wrong with historical reenactment – quite the opposite, it can be really helpful in promoting our heritage. But apart of promoting Slavic heritage there is also Slavic faith, Slavic Gods, Slavic way of life and way of thinking, which can all easily become lost in the very visual, Instagram-friendly manner of the modern Rodnovery movement.
How then should we practice the faith of pre-Christian Slavs in the XXI century? First of all we should follow the essence, the core of what ancestors believed in, not reconstruct more or less accurately the rituals from hundreds of years ago. Lets stop fooling ourselves that Gods, who were accustomed to organic, fresh, free range quality beef, now will suddenly be satisfied with a steak from Tesco. Lets stop offending the Gods and our ancestors’ intelligence with a sacrifice, that barely costs us anything. We should instead sacrifice something that is, in the first place, a sacrifice to us.
In the Medieval ages an ox was a valuable sacrifice, because it had a real value. It wasn’t cheap if one wanted to buy it, nor was it easy to raise it – it took time (at least a year), required providing the growing calf with food, water, shelter, pasture, protection from predators, illnesses etc, etc. In order to make, in the XXI century, a sacrifice of a value equal to a Medieval ox, we would have to throw into the fire a decent car or several I-phone 11s – and then, somehow, eat what’s left o it.
For most of us the things that have a value similar to a Medieval ox, are not material goods. Or time, our work, our skills, creativity or talents – they are nowadays truly priceless. It is our time and work we should be offering to Gods, when asking for Their blessing, or thanking Them for Their gifts. How to do it, how to pray to the Slavic Gods, how to implement the faith of our ancestors in the XXI century world – we will discuss it in the next post.
And for now –
Slava!