Slav Origins and Customs
Who were the Slavs and where had they come from? A branch of the Indo-European race, their language was closely related to that of the Lithuanians and Prussians, who lived on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea.
Slavic and Baltic language groups are known as “conservative” by linguists since they have not changed very much over the last several thousand years, and still have many words in common with Latin and Sanskrit, as well as Phrygian and Hittite.20 By the time of Charlemagne, the Slavs had occupied parts of eastern and central Europe, and most of the Balkan Peninsula and Greece. Today Slavic languages are spoken in all of Eastern Europe (except the Baltic countries), most of the Balkan Peninsula (excluding Romania, Greece and Albania) and as far west as the Czech Republic.There has been much speculation as to the original home of the Slavs, but today it is clear that they emerged from the great Pripet marshes and woodlands in what is today Belarus, northern Ukraine and southwestern Russia. Together with the Baltic and Finnish people they are therefore indigenous to that part of the world. The close similarity of all Slavic languages to this day indicates that they evolved from an original form spoken in a restricted area, probably no more than 2500 years ago. That the Pripet Marsh was their original home is indicated by the fact that old Slavic had no words for certain trees such as beech, larch or yew. These trees are not found in the northeastern forests but grow southwest of a line drawn roughly from where the Vistula (Wisla) River empties into the Baltic Sea to the mouth of the Dnister River on the Black Sea. The linguistic evidence is strong since the probability that people would not have a word for trees growing on their territory which were used for building and heating is virtually zero. The argument was first advanced by the Polish botanist Rostafinski in 1908, following Pogodins observation that the oldest Slavic names of rivers were in Volhyn and Podilia, two provinces in today s Ukraine.
Of course, one speaks of the “original homeland of the Slavs” as if it were a fixed, static location, ignoring the fact that even in antiquity clans and tribal units tended to move.As other Indo-European groups had done before them, Slavic tribes began to move out of the wooded wetlands and head south towards the prairies and west into the Baltic lowlands. The exact dates for the first migrations are not known, but what is certain is that the rich but limited resources of the bogs and marshes could no longer sustain an increasing population. The earliest archaeological evidence (so far) for the out migrations is the so-called Zarubintsy culture on the upper and middle Dnipro River, and the Przeworsky culture in the region of the Elbe-Vistula rivers. The culture lasted from about the early 2nd century âñ to the end of the 2nd century ad. Excavated settlements indicate that hunter-gatherers moved along the waterways draining out of the wetlands and followed the rich fish populations of the river systems. Here, increasing populations could be supported by migrants branching out into plant agriculture and animal husbandry. Burials reveal a rich variety of iron weapons and implements such as axes, daggers, knives, sickles, spear and arrowheads, as well as elements of horse-gear. Trade occurred over large distances even then, and we find Sarmatian and Celtic La Tene items in the Zarubintsiy settlements. Non-Slavic origins for these settlements have also been proposed (see Dolukhanov, 1996), but this seems unlikely given the known Slavic populations who lived in the vicinity. Also the settlements consist of typically Slavic square, sunken- floored huts with internal hearths in the corner.21 Given the earlier presence of Sarmatians in the area the Zarubintsiy culture may also have consisted of mixed populations. In any case other known cultures had existed in the region from the Bronze Age onwards, and the Slavs were simply the last arrivals.
The Przeworsky culture gave rise to the Slavic Venetic people mentioned by early Roman writers, before the arrival of the Goths and the Vandals.
Also more to the east we see the rise of a different culture named after the village of Chernihiv south of Kyiv. Arising from the earlier Zarubintsiy settlements the beginning of the Chernihiv culture dates to about the middle of the 3rd century and coincides with the arrival of the Ostrogoths. Of the IOOO sites which have been excavated over the last century, most point to multi-ethnic societies. Thus two different types of houses are found, for example sunken-floor, rectangular Slavic dwellings with open hearths against one wall, and Germanic structures consisting of two rooms—one for animals and the other for human habitation, the so-called “stall- housers.” The excavated cemeteries show that both cremation and burial of the dead was practiced side-by-side in the same settlements. Also Gothic artifacts were unearthed, and a Sarmatian presence became evident with the cranial deformations of male skeletons. This is consistent with Ermanaric s 4th century kingdom which we know was a Gothic-Sarmation-Slavic tribal federation. By now far-reaching trade contacts had become common in Europe, and the Chernihiv culture was no exception. Thus more than IOOO hoards of Roman coins have been found, most dating to the 1st and 2nd centuries, and by the 3rd centurywe see a marked increase in Romanian imports such as wine, oil, glass, and precious stones. The presence of a large number of coin hoards no doubt indicates a hurried departure in the face of the Hun onslaught of the 4th century.Slavic communities were divided on standard lines found in many other societies. At the base was the “semia” or nuclear family composed of husband, wife (wives) and offspring. Next came the “rod” or clan, which included all known blood relatives and which formed the core of Slavic society. Thus in battle the “rod” would form the basic military unit, ensuring that all blood relatives fought together. At the apex was the “plemie” or tribe, which consisted of several clans and formed a self-contained decision-making unit.
Most members of a tribe were distantly interrelated as well, since intermarriage took place between the tribal clans. The relationship between tribes, however, was no longer based on blood relations but on language, on the “slovo” or “word,” meaning one could be understood by speech. All members of such tribes were “slovins,” from where it is thought the designation “Slav” originated.22 Those speaking a different language, particularly the Germanic tribes with whom the Slavs came in contact, were referred to as “Nemtsi,” derived from the Slavic “nimoy” or someone who is speechless or dumb. Another possibility lies in “ne moy” or literally “not mine,” denoting a foreigner. A close derivative for the term “Slav” is “Slava” meaning glory or renown. Thus at birth boys would often be named after what they were hoped to become or achieve; for example “Miroslav” denoting “renowned in the community,” or “Sviatoslav” he who is renowned of the sun.23Like other Indo-Europeans the Slavs were sun worshipers, but they offered sacrifices to other gods as well. A IOth century Arab traveler Al-Masudi reported that Slavs had temples with an opening in the dome and special construction for observing the sunrise. The dead were also buried with their face pointing towards the east. They seem to have been monotheistic, however, since they believed in a single creator called Bog, the giver Ofplenty24The sky was also an object ofworship, but the chief Slavic deity was Svarog, the god of the sun, thunder and fire, with a son called Dazhbog or the Giver-God (Giver of Plenty). Svarog was also a warrior god, the giver of strength and virility, together with the god Jendru. He had the power to descent to earth in the shape of an eagle, a falcon or a wolf. Another ancient god was Perun, the god of lightning, storm and rain with the oak as his sacred tree.25 Oak trees were worshipped by the ancient Aryan people, and special fires were lit which burned oak wood and had to be started by rubbing together two pieces of dry oak.
The general religious orientation of the Slavs was dualistic, with both good and harmful spirits and deities influencing human lives. Various bad spirits lived in bogs and rivers, and offerings were made to pacify them. A female water spirit who appeared in the form of a beautiful young woman, known as a “Rusalka” in Ukraine and Belarus, would attempt to lure young men into deep water so they would drown. Legend has it that a “Rusalka” was once a young woman who drowned herself on account of being jilted by her lover. A male blood (or soul) sucking demon known as a “Stryg,” who came from the undead, was also given offerings, although they would usually attack only people from their own families!Most spirits were associated with forests and waterways. They could dance in the meadows by the new moon inviting passers-by to join them, something which had to be resisted. At times a traveler had to solve riddles in order to save himself, but sometimes he would be less fortunate and would be tickled to death. Female demon-spirits in the Balkan regions known as “Vila,” on the other hand, danced on mountaintops (or the meadows) with bows and arrows in their hands. When observed by a man they could shoot him to death, or else force him to dance with them until he dropped dead from exhaustion. Such spirits had nothing to do with the undead, but were simply a part of nature itself. To add to the mystery, a Vila could sometimes marry a human male! Holy copses of wood (a “dibrova”) could also be inhabited by forest spirits of various kinds, and had to be tended. Other groves with the trees in them were considered sacred and would be objects ofworship.
Many pagan beliefs and practices survived until recent times in spite of opposition from the Churches. The persistence of old beliefs was not only an expression of superstition or to avoid “bad luck,” but was also due to practical reasons. Pre- Christian societies had accumulated a large storage of herbal and other natural medicines and cures, some of which were passed on (in certain families) through the female line.
Such women—known as “Vedma”—survived until recent times under different names.26 Thus as late as the 19th to early 20th century, priests in Voronezh Province (Russia) complained of oak worship. Young couples on the way to their wedding, for example, would walk around a certain oak tree three times and then place an offering by it. Some pagan festivals were also taken over by Christianity and given a different religious meaning, while others persisted as folk customs. A spring custom found in many Slavic countries, at the beginning of the farming year, was to throw a human effigy into a body of water, probably a substitute for ancient human sacrifice. The changing seasons, as determined by the suns position were also an occasion for celebration, a faint memory of which has survived to this day. In spite of the fact that Easter falls in the spring it was followed a few days later by the “Green Holiday” in Ukraine. A priest would accompany members of a family to the Cemeterywhere he would bless the grave of the family member with holy water. Upon his departure food and drink would be brought out for a celebration on the grave site.The beginning of the longer day following the winter solstice was an especially major celebration, as it marked the birth of the sun. It was accompanied by feasting and gift-giving, as well as carol-singing or “koliada,” named after a Slavic pagan deity. It was taken over by the early Christian Churches, and we recognize it today as Christmas.27 Another festival which was especially difficult for the Churches to eradicate was the summer equinox, the shortest night of the year (June 24) which was replaced by St.Johns (the Baptist) Night, known as the Night of Ivana Kupala in Ukraine. In the evening huge fires would be lit, around which young people gathered to dance and sing, and young girls would throw wreaths of flowers on the running water of a river or a stream. In Ukraine, Belarus and Russia an effigy of straw would also be burned, the “Mara” (death?) which at times had a head in the form of a horse or ox. In the words of a 17th century chronicle
... in the evening the simple folk of both sexes gather together and plait wreaths of poisonous plants or roots, and girding themselves with flowers, they kindle a fire. Elsewhere they erect a green branch and joining hands dance round it singing their songs... then they jump through the fire, in this manner offering themselves in sacrifice to the “bis” (pagan devil).28
Rather than a symbolic sacrifice, the jumping through the fire, a practice which is still performed in some parts of the Carpathian Mountains, was probably a purification ritual.
The Slav world outlook was well summarized by Procopius who wrote that the Sclavenes and Antaes
... believe that one of the gods, creator of the lightning, is the ruler over everything, and sacrifice to him cattle and other sacrificial animals. They do not accept predestination but... when they are threatened by death—in illness or war, if they are spared, to sacrifice to the god in return for their lives.... They worship rivers, nymphs, and all kinds of gods, and to all of these they make sacrifices and at the same time as they sacrifice they predict the future29
Land and soil was also held in high esteem, for we are told when Slavs swore an oath they would put earth on their heads.