How To Get Free Books On Folklore

“Interestingly, travellers, nomads, and foreigners also were thought to have a special status and possess secret knowledge. They were often imagined as soldiers, beggars, hermits, old men, and so on. Seeing most of them as intermediaries between the worlds, as possessing magic knowledge, is not accidental, as, in Ukrainian folk imagination, occult powers are connected to paths and the other side. Foreigners and visitors had powers ascribed to them as they come from “the outside” (unlike people of settled lifestyle), and that is where they go, as well.”

— Ritual and Magic in Ukrainian Cultural Tradition, by Iryna Ihnatenko

rusalki are not mermaids. stop translating the word "rusalka" as "mermaid" and stop calling rusalki "slavic mermaids". it's confusing, it's misleading, and it's simply isn't true. the association of rusalka with a western mermaid and undine began in 19th century, when russian empire poets wanted to adapt a popular western motif of a sorrowful water maid that is unrequitedly in love with a mortal man. this literature character of rusalka has nothing to do with actual rusalki folklore and cult.

rusalki are natural undead spirits that are connected to slavic ancestral worship. they don't have tails. they are not in any way connected to the sea: only lakes, ponds, and rivers. often, they're not even connected to water at all: there are forest rusalki, field rusalki, meadow rusalki, etc. they are in close relationships with their human kin: during the spring and summer, they are used in agricultural rites and are believed to help with farming and raising crops. rusalki were sacred to slavic people. the "week of the rusalki" festival, when rusalki are believed to walk on earth and visit their relatives, is celebrated to this day. to call them "slavic mermaids" is very diminutive of their actual role in slavic cultures.

Mavka

Day 5 of Annie Week on Twitter: Mythology In Ukrainian mythology, the mavka is a forest spirit, close to a mermaid, in the form of a beautiful naked girl or girls dressed in a long white shirt with green hair and pale skin, plant crown with plants as a fern (also magical plant in Ukr mythology). According to folk beliefs, the souls of drowned women turn into mavka. They also live not only in the forest but close to rivers, lakes, etc. The tales of mavka are popular in the West of Ukraine, Carpathians, Podilla, and Galicia regions. Each region of Ukraine has a unique embroidery style and the embroidery is used in traditional clothes in Ukraine. Patters are used primarily on the shirts and we call it "vyshyvanka"/"vyshyta sorochka" which is literally translated as "embroidery shirt". The pattern I used here is a mix of patterns from Galicia region. Each shirt is like a separate work of art.

A Welcomed Place

As our Lord entered the holy city, the Hebrew children professed the resurrection of life. Holding palm branches, they cried out, “Hosanna in the highest!” – Antiphon 1: Procession for Palm Sunday

My ancestors’ holy days are my holy days. I reinterpret and redefine to create personal meaning, so my connection to them is genuine yet reflective of my own beliefs. Even though Jesus Christ isn’t my savior, he has a welcome place at the table of resurrective gods I waitress.

see also: #altar, #palm sunday

Is Slavic polytheism closed or open to anyone? Does it depend on the branch so to speak? I know Slavic polytheism is a broad term.

The Yaga journal: Witches and demons of Eastern Europe

The next article I’ll translate from the issue (I won’t translate all of them since some are not very relevant for this blog) is “Baba Yaga, witches, and the ambiguous demons of oriental Europe” by Stamatis Zochios.

The article opens by praising the 1863′s “Reasoned dictionary of the living russian language”. by scholar, lexicograph and folklorist Vladimir Dahl, which is one of the first “systematic essays” that collects the linguistic treasures of Russia. By collecting more than thirty thousand proverbs and sayings, insisting on the popular and oral language, the Dictionary notably talked about various terms of Russian folklore; domovoi, rusalka, leshii… And when it reaches Baba Yaga, the Dictionary calls her : сказочное страшилищ (skazochnoe strashilishh) , that is to say “monster of fairytales”.But the article wonders about this denomination… Indeed, for many people (such as Bogatyrev) Baba Yaga, like other characters of Russian fairytales (Kochtcheï or Zmey Gorynych) do not exist in popular demonology, and is thus exclusively a character of fairy tales, in which she fulfills very specific functions (aggressor, donator if we take back Propp’s system). But the author of this article wonder if Baba Yaga can’t actually be found in “other folkloric genres” - maybe she is present in legends, in popular beliefs, in superstitions and incantations. 

Baba Yaga, as depicted in the roleplaying game “Vampire: The Masquerade”

Keep reading

Not an anon, but still curious: what are your thoughts on braids and binding one's hair, particularly in the context of Ukrainian folklore? What is its use and meaning? I believe we have discussed this before but it has been on my mind lately, so I would be interested in any thoughts you might have.

There is, of course, the practical part to it - in a historically largely farming area, it makes sense to put your hair away from your face. And thus a long, thick, preferably black braid becomes an indicator of someone’s well-being and an important part of the folk beauty ideal, alongside dark, arched eyebrows, red cheeks, and a strong yet slender figure. It also signifies a woman’s neatness and modesty. In Ukrainian, when someone is described as простоволоса, it not only speaks of their unbound hair, but also implies, in the best case scenario, the individual’s distress or mental illness, or their existence outside of society and its norms, often through strange or immoral behaviour. In that sense a braid is as much of a mark of civilisation as a belt is.

The perspective on hair can be traced not only through a belief that is straightforwardly about it, but also through rituals and superstition that involve it. We see the obligation for married women to put their hair up and thoroughly cover it, otherwise she may be the cause of illness and misfortune upon her household or even entire village - it would have been easy to dismiss it as a mechanism of societal control, if unbound hair was not featured in rituals with a clear magical purpose, or during childbirth, with aim being to help the newborn pass through into this world, to untie everything that may hold it back. Hair becomes, pardon my unintentional pun, thoroughly entangled with the notion of a life path, of experience and personal, even magical power.

We see a similar sentiment in certain marriage rituals, in which the bride’s hair is braided into one strand and even cut off. The former was more common in the past: the hair is let down the morning of the wedding, and into it braided coins or items symbolising protection and prosperity. It after can be cut off to regrow in the marriage, by her older brother or the husband, and the woman’s head is immediately after covered never to be shown bare to anyone outside of her immediate household. That is the moment she becomes a wife. In the modern day, the ritual, still widely practiced in West Ukraine, usually looks like putting some money into the bride’s hairstyle or, more traditionally, a single braid, and letting a younger brother comb it out before putting a bridal veil on.

Magically, hair can be used to represent an individual for potentially malicious spells, and it is believed that if a bird takes the hairs someone loses to build a nest, they shall suffer from headaches.

And so, hair put up traditionally shows personal decency and reproductive and societal role, the hairstyle serves a protective function for a part that signifies someone’s life, power, and the very person - but also, even though it is not so frequently talked about, it serves to divide time and space. It is acceptable not to cover your (still braided once the person leaves childhood) hair when unmarried, and so it separates single and paired life. It is acceptable not to be covered in the presence of your husband, and so it separates home and intimacy from the outdoors and more practical relationships. It is acceptable to let your hair loose for a ritual, often performed at night in solitude or in the company of other women, and so it separates a magical action from a mundane one.

The principle is expressed in my own practice, even though I shall be the first to admit not to have given it that much thought: I myself cover my head for formal prayer, put my hair up when I expect to be in front of strangers, and last I cut it was very much in the first couple of weeks of speaking to my beloved. I am starting to suspect ancestors were involved in the last decision. Dead people, I swear.

Forgotten Galicia

Forgotten Galicia - A Protection Symbol for the Home: The Six-Petal Rosette оn the Crossbeams of Galicia

The Six-Petal Rosette The six-petal rosette, the flower-like symbol created by overlapping seven circles, as well as the expanded variants w

The Six-Petal Rosette

The six-petal rosette, the flower-like symbol created by overlapping seven circles, as well as the expanded variants with 7 interlocking rosettes and 19 interlocking rosettes (the latter is called the “Flower of Life” in the New Age movement), is an ancient symbol that has been used across cultures and religions for millennia.

The rosette is a solar symbol in many cultures and many peoples believed it to be magical. It was commonly used as a decorative motif to adorn doors, ceiling beams, crosses, cornices, coats of arms, everyday objects, furniture, musical instruments, ritual items, graves.

In ancient Slavic tradition, the rosette was associated with the chief pagan god Perun, the god of thunder and lightning, and was supposed to protect against lightning and generally ensure the favor of the Thunderer. Appropriately, the symbol is also called the “symbol of Perun” and a “thunder mark” in Ukrainian.

The Rosette on Crossbeams

Supporting a ceiling with large wooden crossbeams (“svolok” in Ukrainian and “sosręb” in Polish) was once a common construction practice, found in noble residences as well as in burgher homes, and through the early twentieth century in regional construction, especially in the Carpathians.

The crossbeam was not only an important structural element of the home, but also a symbolic and decorative one: it was in the center of this beam that the rosette was engraved to protect the house against misfortune and especially against fire. Additionally, the date of construction, decorative motifs, the name of the owner, the name of the carpenter, mottos, or religious symbols could be engraved on the beam, turning the crossbeam into a vital record of the house.

Detailed information about the use of crossbeams and the rosette in the architecture of the peoples of Galicia can be found in excellent works of research from the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries by Władysław Matlakowski and Kazimierz Mokłowski. Władysław Matlakowski, a surgeon, ethnographer, and researcher of Podhale architecture and folk art, published Budownictwo ludowe na podhalu (Folk Buildings in Podhale) in 1892 and Zdobienie i sprzęt ludu polskiego na Podhalu (Decoration and Domestic Utensils of the Polish People in Podhale) in 1901, while Kazimierz Mokłowski, a Polish architect and art historian, who later lived and worked in Lviv, published Sztuka Ludowa w Polsce (Folk Art in Poland) in 1903. These three works include thorough descriptions as well as a plenty of illustrations of various elements of the architecture and applied art of the region.

Crossbeams in the Folk Architecture of Galician Highlanders

Though historically used across much of Ukraine and Poland, today the rosette is most associated with and best preserved in the culture of the Carpathian highlanders of Galicia, in particular in Hutsul, Boyko, Lemko, and Goral folk architecture, woodwork, and household objects. Accordingly, in Ukrainian it also has such names as “hutsulska rozetka” (Hutsul rosette), “boykivska rozetka” (Boyko rosette) and in Polish “rozeta karpacka” (Carpathian rosette), “rozeta podhalańska” (Podhale rosette), “rozeta góralska” (Goral rosette).

Goral Cottages

Podhale is a region in the Polish Tatra Mountains inhabited by highlanders known as Gorals. Władysław Matlakowski writes in his book Zdobienie i sprzęt ludu polskiego na Podhalu that the “gwiazda” (meaning “star”—another name for the rosette in Polish) is “the most common and the most characteristic ornament in Podhale: it is found everywhere, but mostly on every crossbeam.” Indeed, throughout this book as well as his other book Budownictwo Ludowe na Podhalu, the gwiazda appears in illustrations of such items as spoon racks, chairs, distaffs, and lintels, but most notably on crossbeams.

Examples of old crossbeams with rosettes from the Podhale region can still be found in Poland, especially in open air museums which have preserved the local folk architecture.

Hutsul, Boyko &  Lemko Cottages

The Hutsuls, Boykos and Lemkos inhabit what is today the Ukrainian and eastern Polish Carpathian Mountains. Just as among the Gorals, the rosette is found in the architecture and folk crafts of these highlanders.

A testament to the ubiquity of the rosette in the folk architecture of the Carpathian highlanders is Lviv’s Museum of Folk Architecture and Rural Life, which features examples of the architecture of the Hutsuls, Boykos, and Lemkos. The rosette can be seen all over the open air museum, including on several crossbeams inside the homes. It is no wonder the museum uses the rosette as its logo.

Crossbeams in Renaissance Buildings in Lviv

In addition to examples from the Carpathian Mountains, Kazimierz Mokłowski’s book Sztuka Ludowa w Polsce includes illustrations of crossbeams from buildings in Lviv which include the rosette, as well as other solar symbols, often along with the year of construction and religious symbols.

Fortunately, not only do these original engraved Renaissance-era crossbeams, as documented by Kazimierz Mokłowski, still support the ceilings of the buildings in Lviv’s historic center, but many of them are open to public viewing as they are generally located in shops, restaurants, and museums.

Crossbeams in Zakopane Style Villas

A widespread symbol among the Gorals, the rosette was a popular symbol in the architecture and interior decor of Zakopane Style villas. Zakopane Style architecture emerged at the end of the nineteenth century when architect Stanislaw Witkiewicz, rejecting foreign building styles that had started to appear in the booming ski resort of Zakopane, chose to embrace traditional Podhale-style architecture, enriching it with elements of Art Nouveau. The new Zakopane Style villas included large intricately engraved crossbeams prominently featuring the rosette, such as can be found in Villa Oksza (built in 1894 by Witkiewicz, today an art gallery) and in the guest house Villa Orla (built 1901). Though by this time the symbol likely lost its meaning as a “thunder mark” and was used purely as a decorative element cherishing the local culture.

A Sign from the Past

Today, the rosette has found new places to thrive across Galicia—for example, it is used as logos for museums and a microbrewery, and found on folk-inspired accessories. Although its history, meaning, and usage may have been forgotten, the “Carpathian” rosette is in fact still alive and well today.

So don’t forget—next time you enter a Carpathian highlander’s cottage, a Renaissance building in Lviv, or a Zakopane Style villa, look up! If you are lucky, you will find an authentic example of this ancient and mystic symbol.

Written by Areta Kovalska

(Wonderful photos on the page)

Altar placement by Ukrainian tradition

The information I will share in the post is mainly about the Christian home altar, but it may provide some ideas for individuals interested in Slavic paganism, as well.

The altar is called “червоний кут”, which translated to “red corner” (here is another post on red colour in the Slavic tradition that I made). It used to be the most important part of the house that usually contained items valuable from cultural and religious point of view: icons, the Bible, books of prayers, candles, pictures of deceased relatives, all decorated with beautifully embroidered cloths. The table was placed in that corner, too. As a general rule, it was across the room from the oven, well-lit, which would make it South or East.

The person to sit in that corner was the master of the house or the most important guest; in times of death, forty days after, the person who passed away - they also get a plate and a cup of their own, of course. Due to the importance associated with the red corner, it was said that if you hear cracking in the walls on that side, the master may soon die.

Ukrainians say, “у своїй хаті й кути помагають” - “at home even corners help”, which was true in the more literal sense for women giving birth back when doing it at home was the usual practice for most. People believed that, should the process be especially difficult, the woman should be led around that very table every now and then.

"Найбільш яскраво межова семантика виявляється у віруваннях, приурочених до трьох безмісячних, «пустих», днів. У координатах місячного часу межею називають фазу Місяця, яка передує його народженню, так називають і відповідний час (на межі, переміна, перекрій, чернець). Вірять, що той, хто народився на межі фаз Місяця, не буде мати дітей. У безмісячні дні не сватались і не справляли весілля, вважаючи цей час несприятливим для подальшого подружнього життя. З межовою семантикою таких днів пов’язане вірування в місяшників – трансвеститів, у яких перемежовується жіноча й чоловіча самоідентифікація: «Се такий мущинина, що він раз жинка, а раз чоловік. Місьишники ходьи ув дню у мущинскім убраню. Домашні знати можут за се, хто у них місьишник, більше ніхто. Він може бути годину, дві, днину або ½ місьицьи жинков; се находит єго при зміні місьицьи» 

- Фольклорна семантика фаз місяця в часовому коді традиційної культури східних слов'ян, О.Ю. Чебанюк

"The semantic association with liminality is expressed the most vividly in beliefs about the three moonless, "empty" days. Among the coordinates of lunar time the edge is the phase that preceds its birth, the appropriate time is called likewise (on the edge, the change, the cut, chernets). It is believed that those born between moon phases shall remain childless. People would not get engaged or married on the dark moon, as this time was believed to be inauspicious for married life. The liminal association is tied to the belief in misiachnyks - transvestites whose male and female self-identification is interchanged: "It is the kind of man, that he is at some times a man, and some a woman. Misiachnyks walk in a male dress during the day. The family might know which one is misiachnyk among them, but nobody else. He may be a woman an hour, two, a day, or half a month; this happens to him with changes of the moon".

- Folkloric Semantics of Moon Phases in the Time Code of the Traditional Culture of Eastern Slavs, O.Ju. Chebaniuk