The myth of the creation of the earth among the Slavs. Slavic legend about the creation of the world
In most mythologies, there are common plots about the origin of all things: the separation of elements of order from the primordial chaos, the separation of maternal and paternal gods, the emergence of land from the ocean, endless and timeless. Here are the most interesting myths and legends about the creation of the world.
Slavic
The ancient Slavs had many legends about where the world and all its inhabitants came from.
The creation of the world began with filling it with Love.
The Carpathian Slavs have a legend according to which the world was created by two doves that sat on an oak tree in the middle of the sea and thought “how to found the light”. They decided to go down to the bottom of the sea, take fine sand, sow it, and from it “black earth, cold water, green grass” would go. And from the golden stone, which was also mined at the bottom of the sea, “the blue sky, the bright sun, the moon and all the stars would go.”
According to one of the myths, initially the world was shrouded in darkness. There was only the progenitor of all things - Rod. He was imprisoned in an egg, but managed to give birth to Lada (Love), and by her power destroyed the shell. The creation of the world began with filling it with Love. The clan created the kingdom of heaven, and under it - the heavenly, separated the Ocean from the waters of heaven with a firmament. Then Rod separated Light and Darkness and gave birth to the Earth, which plunged into the dark abyss of the Ocean.
The Sun came out of the face of Rod, the Moon came out of the chest, the stars came out of the eyes. Winds appeared from Rod's breath, rain, snow and hail appeared from tears. His voice became thunder and lightning. Then Rod gave birth to Svarog and breathed into him a mighty spirit. It was Svarog who arranged the change of day and night, and also created the earth - he crushed a handful of earth in his hands, which then fell into the sea. The sun warmed the Earth, and the crust was baked on it, and the Moon cooled the surface.
According to another legend, the world appeared as a result of the hero's battle with the serpent, which guarded the golden egg. The hero killed the snake, split the egg, and three kingdoms came out of it: heavenly, earthly and underground.
There is also such a legend: in the beginning there was nothing but a boundless sea. A duck, flying over the sea surface, dropped an egg into the abyss of water, it cracked, “mother-cheese earth” came out of its lower part, and “a high vault of heaven arose” from the upper part.
Egyptian
Atum, who arose from Nun, the primary ocean, was considered the creator and primary being. In the beginning there was no sky, no earth, no soil. Atum grew like a hill in the middle of the oceans. There is an assumption according to which the shape of the pyramid is also associated with the idea of a primary hill.
Atum swallowed his own seed, and then spewed out two children into the world.
After Atum broke away from the water with great effort, soared over the abyss and cast a spell, as a result of which a second hill, Ben-Ben, grew among the water surface. Atum sat on a hill and began to think about what he should create the world from. Since he was alone, he swallowed his own seed, and then vomited up the god of air Shu and the goddess of moisture Tefnut. And the first people appeared from the tears of Atum, who briefly lost his children - Shu and Tefnut, and then regained and burst into tears of joy.
From this couple, born of Atum, came the gods Geb and Nut, and they, in turn, gave birth to the twins Osiris and Isis, as well as Set and Nephthys. Osiris became the first god to be killed and resurrected for an eternal afterlife.
Greek
The Greek concept originally had Chaos, from which the land of Gaia appeared, and in its depths the abyss of Tartarus lay deep. Chaos gave birth to Nyukta (Night) and Erebus (Darkness). The night gave birth to Tanat (Death), Hypnos (Sleep), and also moira - the goddesses of fate. From the Night came the goddess of rivalry and discord, Eris, who gave birth to Hunger, Sorrow, Murder, Lies, Excessive Labor, Battles and other troubles. From the connection of Night with Erebus, Ether and the shining day were born.
Gaia also gave birth to Uranus (Sky), then the Mountains rose from the depths of her, and Pontus (Sea) spilled over the plains.
Gaia and Uranus gave birth to the Titans: Oceanus, Tethys, Iapetus, Hyperion, Theia, Crius, Kay, Phoebe, Themis, Mnemosyne, Kronos and Rhea.
Kronos, with the help of his mother, overthrew his father, seizing power and taking his sister Rhea as his wife. It was they who created a new tribe - the gods. But Kronos was afraid of his children, because he himself once overthrew his own parent. That's why he swallowed them right after birth. Rhea hid one child in a cave in Crete. This saved baby was Zeus. God was fed by goats, and his cries were drowned out by blows of copper shields.
Growing up, Zeus overcame his father Cronus and forced him to vomit from the womb of his brothers and sisters: Hades, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter and Hestia. So the era of the titans came to an end - the era of the gods of Olympus began.
Scandinavian
The Scandinavians believe that before the creation of the world there was a void Ginungagap. To the north of it lay the frozen world of darkness, Niflheim, and to the south, the fiery land of Muspellheim. Gradually, the world void Ginungagap was filled with poisonous hoarfrost, which turned into the giant Ymir. He was the ancestor of all frost giants. When Ymir fell asleep, sweat began to drip from his armpits, and these drops turned into a man and a woman.
From this water, the cow Audumla was also formed, whose milk Ymir drank, as well as the second man born from sweat - Buri.
Buri's son Bore Bor married the giantess Bestla, and they had three sons: Odin, Vili and Ve. For some reason, the sons of the Storm hated the giant Ymir and killed him. Then they took his body to the center of Ginungagapa and created the world: from the flesh - the earth, from the blood - the ocean, from the skull - the sky. Ymir's brain was scattered across the sky to form clouds. With the eyelashes of Ymir, they fenced off the best part of the world and settled people there.
Drops of sweat from the armpits of the Scandinavian giant Ymir turned into a man and a woman.
The gods themselves created people from two tree knots. From the first man and woman came all other people. For themselves, the gods built the fortress of Asgard, where they settled.
Chinese
In China, it is believed that the universe once had the shape of a huge chicken egg, in which the first ancestor Pangu was born. He slept in an egg for 18 thousand years, and when he woke up, he began to look for a way to get out. Pangu cut through the shell with an axe.
Two beginnings - light, formed by the spirit of Yang, and dark, formed by the spirit of Yin, became heaven and earth, respectively. Pangu stood on the ground and rested his head on the sky to prevent them from mixing again and turning into chaos. Winds rose from his breaths, thunder rumbled from his exhalations, day came when the giant opened his eyes, and when he closed them, night fell. Pangu grew 3 meters every day, making the sky taller and the earth thicker.
Zoroastrian
Zoroastrians created an interesting concept of the universe. According to this concept, the world has existed for 12 thousand years. Its entire history is conditionally divided into four periods, each of 3 thousand years.
The first period is the preexistence of things and ideas. At this stage of celestial creation, there were already prototypes of everything that was later created on Earth. This state of the world is called Menok ("invisible" or "spiritual").
The second period is the creation of the created world, that is, the real, visible, inhabited by "creatures". Ahura Mazda creates the sky, the stars, the Sun, the first man and the first bull. Beyond the sphere of the Sun is the abode of Ahura Mazda himself. At the same time, however, Ahriman begins to act. He invades the sky, creates planets and comets that are not subject to the uniform movement of the celestial spheres.
Ahriman pollutes the water, sends death to the first man Gayomart and the primeval. But from the first man are born a man and a woman, from whom the human race descended, and all animals come from the first ox. From the collision of two opposing principles, the whole world comes into motion: waters become fluid, mountains arise, move celestial bodies. To neutralize the actions of "harmful" planets, Ahura Mazda assigns his spirits to each planet.
The third period of the existence of the universe covers the time before the appearance of the prophet Zoroaster.
During this period, the mythological heroes of the Avesta act: the king of the golden age - Yima the Shining, in whose kingdom there is no heat, no cold, no old age, no envy - the creation of the devas. This king saves people and livestock from the Flood by building a special shelter for them.
Among the righteous of this time, the ruler of a certain region Vishtaspa, the patron of Zoroaster, is also mentioned. During the last, fourth period (after Zoroaster), in each millennium, three Saviors should appear to people, appearing as the sons of Zoroaster. The last of them, the Savior Saoshyant, will decide the fate of the world and humanity. He will resurrect the dead, destroy evil and defeat Ahriman, after which the world will be cleansed by a “stream of molten metal”, and everything that remains after that will gain eternal life.
Sumero-Akkadian
The mythology of Mesopotamia is the most ancient of all known in the world. It originated in the 4th millennium BC. e. in the state, which at that time was called Akkad, and later developed in Assyria, Babylonia, Sumeria and Elam.
At the beginning of time, there were only two gods who personified fresh water (the god Apsu) and salt water (the goddess Tiamat). The waters existed independently of each other and never crossed. But one day the salty and fresh waters mixed up - and the elder gods were born - the children of Apsu and Tiamat. Following the older gods, many younger gods appeared. But the world still consisted of only chaos, the gods were cramped and uncomfortable in it, about which they often complained to the supreme Apsu.
The cruel Apsu was tired of all this, and he decided to destroy all his children and grandchildren, but in the battle he could not defeat his son Enki, with whom he was defeated and cut into four parts, which turned into land, seas, rivers and fire. For the murder of her husband, Tiamat wanted to take revenge, but she was also defeated by the younger god Marduk, who created wind and storms for the duel. After the victory, Marduk got a certain artifact "Me", which determines the movement and fate of the whole world.
Publications in the Traditions section
How the Slavs represented the creation of the world
How did our ancestors associate the spots on the moon with the legend of Cain and Abel? How did God and the devil create a wolf together, and why was it forbidden to eat bear meat in Russia? Read our material about how the Slavs imagined the creation of the world, man and animals.
Cosmogonic myths in Russia
Different versions of the origin of the world existed among many peoples. As a rule, they left a mark in languages and rituals, legends and fairy tales, incantations and songs. Researchers call stories about the creation of the world in folklore texts cosmogonic, and those that tell about the appearance of man - anthropogonic.
Boris Olshansky. Berendei. 1997. Private collection
Many world mythologies are similar in ideas about what was before the origin of the earth: non-existence or endless chaos. He had no structure and form, and his nature, according to the ideas of many peoples, is close to the water element. But the main thing is that in the chaos there was a divine energy capable of creating life. The main plots of the legends about the creation of the world were built around the appearance of day and night, earth and sky, plants and animals.
Not much is known about the traditions of the ancient Slavs: almost no written sources have been preserved. Most of them arose in Russia after the adoption of Christianity. Along with the new creed, non-canonical spiritual books appeared, which contained theories and plots that were not accepted christian religion: they were called apocrypha or renounced books. Such manuscripts often described different models of the creation of the universe, man and animals. The Church forbade such books, but they were very popular among the people in Russia. Apocryphal stories in folklore combined with Christian motifs and traditional beliefs - this is how legends, tales and traditions about the origin of the world appeared.
Earth and sky from the abyss of the ocean
The motif of the creation of space and earth from the oceans is found in different mythologies, but in the folklore arrangement of the apocrypha in Russia, their own plots and characters appeared. According to legend, the world was created from silt, sand or earth, and it was created by a creature of divine cosmic nature - sometimes it was represented in the form of a bird, animal, or dark force. It allegedly dived into the abyss of the original ocean and pulled out the earth from there.
Ivan Aivazovsky. World creation. 1864. State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
In some variants of legends, the creators are two elemental forces, dark and light, hostile to each other - God and the devil. Satan in legends and traditions often acted as an assistant to God, but at the same time he worked with evil intentions. By order of God, he took out the earth from the bottom of the ocean, but kept part of it for himself. The dark force did not know exactly how to arrange new world, and all her actions acquired a negative connotation. It was she who, according to popular understanding, created swamps, bad roads, tobacco and vodka.
God called the devil, told him to dive into the abyss of water in order to get a handful of earth from there and bring it to him. He dived, took out earth in his hand and stuffed his mouth with it ... The Lord wherever he throws the earth - it suddenly appears so even, even ... Satan wanted to say something and choked. God asked what he wants? The devil coughed and ran out of fright. Then thunder and lightning hit the fleeing Satan, and wherever he lies down, hillocks and hills will move forward, where he coughs, a mountain will grow there ...
Konstantin Yuon. Vegetation kingdom. 1908. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
An important role in cosmogonic myths was occupied by ideas about the world tree, usually identified with oak, birch or cypress. The whole world was divided into heaven, earth and underworld- crown, trunk and roots. Animals and mythological characters were associated with each of the parts. Birds lived in the branches and crown, the trunk was associated first with ungulates, and later with humans, and a sacred spring originated at the roots of the tree: frogs, snakes and fantastic monsters lived here.
At different peoples, including among the Slavs, there is another model of the creation of the world, in which the creator acted as an artisan: a potter or a baker, a weaver or a blacksmith. For thousands of years, people considered the work of craftsmen who changed materials and objects with the help of fire and "magic" knowledge, akin to divine. Therefore, they thought that just as a potter molds and fires pots, a baker bakes bread, and a weaver creates canvases, so God creates the world and man from clay, dough and threads.
Heavenly bodies and stars
Alexander Afanasiev, a collector and researcher of folklore, wrote that according to popular beliefs, the sky was "the tower of God, and the stars - with the eyes of angels looking from there". The earth, flat as a plate, supposedly connected at the edges with the sky, which resembled a huge vaulted ceiling. It was believed that in addition to the visible firmament, there are several more. In different areas, the peasants believed that there were from three to eleven of them, and according to beliefs, God lived on the highest.
Konstantin Yuon. Creation of the luminaries of the night. From the series "Creation of the World". 1908–1919 State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Traditionally, the Slavs considered the sun to be the main luminary, which they called the "king of the sky." Versions about its origin differ, but many peasants believed that it was created from fire. It was believed that this huge spark, fireball or wheel before sunset could be reached by hand.
When God released the sun from his bosom, everyone was amazed, they looked at the sun and did not put their minds to it ... And even worse, the women - they lifted the sieves, let's gain light to bring it into the huts and shine there: the huts were still built without windows. They raise the sieve to the sun, it seems to be full of light, it pours over the edge, but just into the hut - and there is nothing. The women went crazy ... even though they didn’t get the light, and then the sun still burns - and such damnation came out: they began to spit on the sun! God was angry and turned the wicked to stone.
From the book of Alexander Afanasiev "Poetic views of the Slavs on nature"
The month was considered the second most important luminary after the sun. Among the people, he was traditionally represented as a younger brother, who illuminated the earth at night, when the elder was resting. Peasants interpreted the spots on the moon in different ways. One of the legends, for example, was associated with biblical story about Cain and Abel: the brothers who worked in the meadow quarreled, Cain killed Abel, neither land nor water could shelter the killer, only a month disobeyed God and gave him shelter. Vladimir Dal in his book "On beliefs, superstitions and prejudices of the Russian people" wrote: “There is a belief about what the spots visible on the moon mean: a fratricide and his victim are planted there forever, in the same position as the crime was committed: and the imagination of the people sees two people on the moon, of which one stabs the other with a pitchfork”.
Claudius Lebedev. Cain and Abel. 1908. Church and archaeological office at the Moscow Orthodox Theological Academy of the Russian Orthodox Church, Moscow
The stars were considered by the people as candles that God lights, or as the souls of the righteous and babies, watching their relatives from the sky. In some areas, they were called children of the sun and believed to move freely across the sky at will. The peasants recognized the time during the night by the location of the stars, and by their brightness they predicted the weather and even the harvest. In the old days, it was believed that with the birth of a child, a star lights up, and after the death of a person, it goes out or falls to the ground.
Animals and birds from God and the devil
By folk beliefs, God and Satan created many animals together. For example, a wolf was molded from clay and mud by devils, but only the creator could revive him. And the dog, a faithful friend and guardian, was allegedly created by God from the clay that remained after the creation of man.
The devil, according to legend, created unclean animals: owls, owls, owls, mice and crows, toads and frogs, which were allegedly associated with the underworld. However, in the north of Russia, they believed that frogs were people in the past, the first of them was the soul of a baby cursed by the mother. According to other versions, toads originated from people who drowned during the Flood.
Vasily Vereshchagin. Global flood. 1869. State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
A bear was considered a clean animal - they believed in its divine nature and that if you remove the skin from it, then an ordinary person would be inside. It was forbidden to eat bear meat. According to other legends, God turned people into bears as a punishment for sins: he turned an entire village into animals, the inhabitants of which did not allow the wanderer to spend the night.
According to beliefs, gulls, swallows, storks, and moles also descended from humans. The legends said that among people the bear was a baker or miller, the dove was a tailor, the stork was a mower, and the woodpecker was a carpenter. The cuckoo was considered a mysterious bird. The legends said that the bird was originally a young girl or woman. For example, a widow, yearning for her dead husband, or a daughter who was cursed by her mother.
In legends about the origin of animals, there was a motif of rivalry between God and the devil. God created bees, and Satan wanted to create the same, but he only got bumblebees. According to another version, wasps came out: the devil was able to create only two halves of an insect, and then blinded them together.
Konstantin Yuon. Animal Kingdom. 1908. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
Vladimir Dal wrote that our ancestors found mammoth bones in the ground, but could not imagine that these were the remains of an ancient animal. They came up with an explanation: a huge elephant lives underground, he digs the ground like a mole, and never appears on the surface. Only after death does the earth "spew out" his bones. Dahl noted that, apparently, the legends about giants and wolves are associated with such finds.
The myth "The Birth of the World" tells how the earth was born and people settled it. How did the Slavs in ancient times represent the process of the universe, what were the tales about it?
The myth of the universe
The Slavs had several legends about the creation of the world:
- One of them talks about princess, the underworld and three golden eggs. The myth describes the story of how the hero descended into the dark world of the dead, then moved to the silver and gold kingdoms. In the latter, he met a beautiful princess who gave him three eggs, representing the birth of life. Returning to the world of the living, he scattered them to different parts of the world - this is how 3 kingdoms appeared.
- Another Slavic myth about the creation of the world says that at the very beginning there were only boundless ocean, over which a duck flew - it was she who dropped an egg into the water, which, opening up, gave birth to the world. The lower part is the earthly firmament, and its upper part formed the vault of heaven.
- A completely different legend concerns fight hero and snake who fought for the golden egg. When a good fellow overcame an evil serpent and broke a golden egg in half, three world-kingdoms arose: earthly and heavenly, as well as the dark of the dead.
The legend of the deity Rod
In another legend, there is a story that at the very beginning there was the god Rod is the progenitor of all living and existing, which was enclosed in an egg and lived in impenetrable darkness. He gave birth to Love - the goddess Lada, and by her power destroyed the bonds of his dungeon. And so the light appeared, the world, which was filled with primordial, pure and bright love.
Having appeared in the world, Rod created the heavens and the heavenly kingdom, then the earthly firmament, separating the waters of the ocean and the sky. After that, he divided Light and Darkness between himself, gave birth to mother earth, plunging her into the dark waters of the Ocean. The face of the deity is the Sun, and the Moon is his chest, the stars are his eyes, and the morning dawn is his eyebrows. The dark night is a reflection of all the thoughts of Rod, and the wind is his violent breathing, snow and rain are a tear that rolled down from his eyes, and lightning is the personification of voice and anger.
Legends about how man appeared
The Slavic myth of the creation of the world also contains a legend about how man appeared on earth. The chronicles and legends of the ancient Magi tell their own version of the creation of the earth and man - it differs from the Biblical legend familiar to many about how the first man Adam and his wife Eve appeared on earth.
According to the myths of the ancient Slavs, God steamed in a bath, and when he sweated, he wiped himself with a rag, throwing it on the ground. After that, God and Satan argued among themselves about who should create a man out of it. After long disputes, Satan made a body out of it, and already God breathed a soul into this empty vessel - and a man appeared. That is why, after death, the human body goes deep into the earth, and the soul ascends to heaven.
In addition, the myths of the peoples of the world and Slavic myths are also based on the story of the creation of a man and a woman on earth from an egg. God, cutting the eggs in half, threw them on the earth's firmament. It was from them that people came out, men and women - they found their soul mate and got married, formed a single whole, some drowned in the swamp and therefore the spouses, not finding them, lived all their lives alone, without their couple.
Creation of the animal kingdom
According to the myths of our ancestors, both God and the Devil took an active part in the process of creating all living things. This is what the ancient legend says about the appearance of a dog - it was God who created it from the remnant of clay, which went to create the first of people. At the very beginning, the animal was completely naked and had no hair - the watchman of the first of the people created by God, she simply froze and, curled up in a ball, fell asleep.
Quietly sneaking up to the first people, the Devil began to spit on them. God, seeing all this, began to reproach the animal, to which the dog replied that she simply froze and asked for wool to become a reliable watchman. But according to another version, it was the Devil who covered the dog with hair, asking in return for the opportunity to approach the person.
Among ancient people, animals were divided into clean and unclean - the latter included mice and hares, ravens and kites, owls and owls, owls. But pigeons and swallows, nightingales and storks were considered bright, clean and divine. Among the animals that our ancestors especially revered were bears - they were considered one of the personifications among living beings on earth. pagan god Veles. The Slavic myth about the birth of the world, man and animals, are beautiful and fascinating tales that came from the depths of centuries, reflecting the identity and culture of the ancient peoples who lived in Russia.
Unfortunately, Slavic mythology originated at a time when there was no written language yet, and has never been written down. But something can be restored according to ancient testimonies, oral folk art, rituals and folk beliefs.
The myth of the creation of the world by Rod
At first there was nothing but chaos, everything was one. Then ancient god Rod descended to earth in a golden egg and set to work. At first he decided to separate light and darkness, and the sun rolled out of the golden egg, illuminating everything around.
Then the moon appeared, taking its place in the night sky.
After that, the progenitor created an immense water world, from where the land later rose - huge lands on which tall trees stretched to the sky, various animals ran, and the birds sang their wondrous songs. And he created a rainbow to separate land and sea, Truth and Krivda.
Then Rod rose up on a golden egg and looked around, he liked the fruits of his labor. God exhaled on the ground - and the wind rustled in the trees, and from his breath the goddess of love Lada was born, turning into a bird Swa.
Rod divided the world into three kingdoms: heavenly, earthly and underworld. The first he created for the gods, who should keep order on earth, the second became the abode of people, and the last - a haven for the dead. And through them grows a gigantic oak - the World Tree, which has grown from the seed thrown by the creator. Its roots are hidden in the world of the dead, the trunk passes through the earthly kingdom, and the crown supports the sky.
Rod populated the kingdom of heaven with the gods he created. Together with Lada, they created the mighty god Svarog. Having breathed life into him, the creator god gave him four heads, so that he looked to all corners of the world and looked after the order.
Svarog became a faithful assistant to the progenitor: he paved the path of the Sun through the sky and the path of the moon through the night sky. Since then, the sun rises at dawn, and at night the moon emerges into the starlit sky.
How Chernobog wanted to capture the Universe
The evil god Chernobog, the lord of darkness, was born in ancient times. And Krivda began to immerse his mind in gloomy thoughts and induce evil deeds. He succumbed to temptations and planned to subjugate the whole world, turned into a Black Serpent and crawled out of his lair.
Svarog, who looked after the world, sensed something was wrong. He made himself a huge hammer in the forge and swung it down on Alatyr in order to create assistants for himself. Sparks flew in all directions, from which the gods immediately appeared. The heavenly god Dazhdbog was the first to be born. Then Khors, Simargl and Stribog appeared.
The Serpent crawled up to Alatyr and struck silver sparks with its tail on a stone, which turned into earthly and underground evil spirits. Dazhdbog saw that and sent Simargl, a messenger between heaven and earth, to tell Svarog about everything. He flew away to his father and told that a great battle was coming between evil and good. Svarog listened to his son and began to forge weapons for his army in the heavenly forge.
And the time has come for the battle - the forces of light met with the power of the unclean. That battle was not easy for a long time. Dark forces they made their way into the heavenly chamber and almost penetrated into the forge of Svarog. Then Svarog forged a plow and launched it into Chernobog, as soon as he appeared at the door. He called the children for help, and all together they harnessed the Serpent to the plow and captured all the evil spirits.
Then the dark god prayed, asked to spare his offspring. Svarog was fair and quick-witted, he promised to spare the Navi people only if none of the gods of the entire Universe would rule. And he ordered to dig the Great Mezhu between the two worlds. And that boundary will pass through the whole world of people, on one side there will be a kingdom of svarogovo, on the other there will be dark lands. Chernobog agreed, because anyway there was no choice - so the gods came to an agreement.
The gods began to divide their kingdoms with a plow, the world of the gods of light became on the right, and Navi on the left. In the middle of the world of people, that furrow passed, which is why both good and bad on earth are the same. The World Tree united the three worlds. On the right, in its branches, Alkonost sits - a bird of paradise. On the left is the dark bird Sirin.
Svarog with the goddess of fertility Lada began to populate the world with animals and birds. They planted trees and flowers.
And after all the labors, they began to play in the forest clearing. They started throwing stones over their shoulders. Mother Earth Cheese moistened them with dew, which is why they turned into people. Those that fell from Lada became girls, and the Svarogovs - well done. That Lada didn’t have enough then, she began to rub the branches one against the other. Divine sparks appeared, from which beautiful virgins and boys appeared. Rod was pleased, because the world that he had once created flourished again. The gods ordered people to live according to the covenants, carved on the Alatyr stone. And Mokosh began to spin the threads of fate, defining her own term for everyone.
The myth of the magic lily of the valley
Perun decided to marry the rain goddess Dodola. Many gods were invited to the wedding, and Veles was not forgotten. The Thunderer hoped to reconcile with a long-time enemy. In the heavenly kingdom, the wedding was played, and a feast began in the Garden of Eden.
The gods rejoiced at the holiday, they drank hops for health. Only Veles sat gloomier than a cloud - the bride liked him, the whole feast did not take his eyes off her. Envy of Perun corroded his heart, that he took such a beauty as his wife.
Then Veles descended to the ground from Iriy and wandered for a long time through the dense forests. Once Dodola went to the land through the forests and meadows for a walk. Veles noticed her, and feelings flared up, and he almost lost his mind from them. He turned into a lily of the valley at her very feet. Dodola plucked a flower and sniffed it. And then she gave birth to a son Yarila.
Her husband found out about this and immediately dispersed with righteous anger. He wanted to destroy the vile Veles, who so thanked for the good. And in the battle then those two gods came together. That battle lasted for three days and three nights, until the thunderer with difficulty defeated Veles. Perun dragged him to the Alatyr-stone so that the gods would judge him. And the gods then for ever and ever expelled from Iriy Veles to the kingdom of the underworld.
How Veles stole the heavenly cows
It was when Veles was already living in the underworld. Yaga persuaded him to steal the heavenly cows from the gods. God resisted for a long time, but then he remembered that when he lived in Iria, he took care of the cows best of all. And no one is better than him to look after them. Yaga then raised a whirlwind from the earth to the very sky, which carried all the cows to the underworld. There Veles hid them in a large cave and began to look after them.
When the forest animals found out about that, they decided that everything was possible for them now. The wolves dispersed most of all - they lost all fear and began to drive the domestic cattle. And people began to steal animals from each other. But this is not all the troubles that have begun on earth. All pastures and all crops dried up, all because, along with the cows of heaven, the clouds disappeared.
The people of the gods began to pray that Veles would return the cows, that the drought would end, and everything would be as before. Perun and Dazhbog heard prayers and decided to help. They descended to the ground, to the gates of the underworld kingdom. And there they are already waiting for the army of Veles. And he himself took refuge in the roots of the World Tree in order to imperceptibly attack the gods.
But Perun was the first to notice him and threw his lightning at the root. Strong lightning struck the Tree, it staggered, the earth trembled. Dazhbog stopped the Thunderer, afraid that the Tree would fall, and with it the whole world.
Perun called Veles to a fair fight, and God could not refuse because of pride. He turned into a fire-breathing serpent, and they met in battle. And all its inhabitants came out to watch that battle from the kingdom of the underworld, opening the stone doors.
Dazhbog slipped into the kingdom of the underworld, began to look for the heavenly flock. The two gods fought for a long time, and with difficulty Perun defeated the Serpent. He then assumed his true form and began to run. The Thunderer pursued Veles and shot lightning arrows after him. And Perun heard the voice of Dazhbog that he asked to throw lightning up the mountain in order to rescue the heavenly flock. Perun split the mountain with a shot, and the cows of heaven returned to Iriy.
How Veles locked groundwater
For many years, people worshiped various gods with prayers and sacrifices, but they forgot about Veles, the ruler of the underworld. His idol fell into desolation, and the sacred fire, where gifts were once brought, almost went out.
Then Veles was offended that people forgot about him, and he closed all the sources of water with locks. Then a drought began on the earth, the cattle began to get sick, because all the pastures dried up. And people began to pray to the gods for help. One family even left their relatives at home and went to the forest to Perun's idol to ask the rain to moisten the dry land.
The raven heard people's prayers and soared up to Iriy itself, the abode of the heavenly gods. He found Perun and told about the misfortune that happened to people. The god listened to the raven and got angry with Veles. And I decided to teach him a lesson because he locked the underground waters with strong locks. He took his bow and lightning arrows, saddled a snow-white horse and went to look for the Serpent.
Veles then examined the land, on which he sent a drought, and was pleased that he punished people. But he saw Perun flying in the sky, got scared and wanted to hide underground. But the Thunderer prevented him by shooting lightning from a bow. Then the Serpent decided to crawl into the hollow of the old oak tree. But the good god managed to set fire to the tree, shooting his arrow from the high sky. Veles then decided to hide under a boulder, but he shattered into small pebbles when Perun hit him with a bow.
The Serpent realized that he could not hide from the wrath of Perunov, then he began to beg for mercy. He promised to show all the locks to which he locked underground sources. Then the Thunderer had mercy and agreed. The ruler of the underworld indicated all the secluded places in which he locked the water. But he lost the keys while hiding from the lightning of Perun. Perun broke all the castles with his club, and the water returned to the springs and rivers, and the wells and lakes were filled again.
So the drought ended, pastures sprouted with green grass. And people no longer forgot to honor Veles along with other gods.
The chronology from the creation of the world in the Slavic version includes the seventh thousand, that is, at the time of 2017 from the birth of Christ (according to the ancient Slavic calendar, it is already 7526) - this, not counting the fourteen previous eras, is a time with a total length of more than six hundred thousand years! Each era had its own beliefs and religious worship, and before Christianity introduced in Russia by Vladimir in the tenth century, the rule Slavic paganism, or parentage.
Old Russian paganism: what did our ancestors believe in?
Before Christianity, paganism dominated the territory of the ancient Slavs, based on beliefs in the power of the spirits of nature, supernatural entities (demons, their accompanying totem animals) and gods: Svarog, Veles, Kolyada and Yarilo, Dazhbog and Lada. People believed in goblin and kikimor living in the forest and protecting it from harmful effects, brownies - the true owners of the house, water and mermaids, into which the souls of people who died a violent death turned into.
Next, the Slavic gods and their meaning will be considered, as well as the influence on the life of the tribes that inhabited the eastern part of Europe (the territory of present-day Russia, the Baltic states, Belarus and Ukraine). Only after a council with them did sowing or harvest begin, the spirits were called upon to facilitate childbirth and eliminate diseases, sacrifices were made to the gods for the sake of a rich harvest or successful easy hunting, they were also asked for protection during the days of hostilities and natural disasters.
It is noteworthy that in the religion of our ancestors there were no priests, clergy or a specially trained caste in charge of worship and sacrifices: this mission was usually performed by the oldest inhabitant of the tribe or elder. Since most of the Slavic tribes led an agricultural way of life, it was quite natural that the cult of the earth and the cult of ancestors were considered the most important in their religion, in which Slavic myths about the creation of the world played a primary role.
The essence is one
In legends, ancient tales and mythology different countries there are many similar facts about both the current religion - Christianity and its key figures, and earlier pagan beliefs. So, for example, Slavic legends about the creation of the world are largely intertwined with the stories of other countries and religions about the same process:
Slavic paganism and the religion of the Hindus are not in vain very similar to each other: historians argue that Hinduism arose from a mixture of Slavic-Aryan beliefs and local customs of India, over time acquired folk interpretations and allegories, retaining the basis of religion, the images of the gods and their meaning.
"The Book of Kolyada": author Alexander Asov
This book is a collection of ancient pagan and traditions of Slavic culture, collected by the author over many years of work. It is often called the Slavic Vedas or the Holy Russian Vedas, which are part of the even more significant work of Asov - the Book of Veles. The collection tells about the Slavic myths about the creation of the world, the birth and meaning Slavic gods in people's lives: Svarog, Perun. The theme of everyday life of ancient people, their culture and customs is touched upon.
Also in the book there are many entertaining stories about the spirits of nature of the Slavs, the god Semargl and Kupala, the previously unknown gods Kryshen (in Hinduism - Krishna) and Vyshen (Vishnu) are introduced. Not all historians and scientists like this work of Alexander Igorevich: many consider it frankly fake and insulting the real Slavic history and religion. Each of the positions has adherents and ardent opponents. To form your own opinion and for general development, the book is still worth reading, as are the works of Asov's opponents.
The myth of the creation of the world from the chronicle of Asov
According to the story told at the beginning of the book, the universe was in the darkness of non-existence for quite a long time. But the Almighty (God, Cosmic Mind) materialized from the seed a golden egg, in which the Progenitor of everything - the Spring (Rod) was staying. He gradually filled with love and eventually broke the sacred egg with this primary and most powerful force, which turned into a woman - the goddess Lada, who spread this great feeling throughout the universe.
Further, the Spring created two worlds: Heavenly (spiritual) and Celestial, that is, material, physical, thus dividing Light (mind) and Darkness (ignorance). From this it becomes obvious that everything around the Rod is Nature, the true essence of everything. God's words - mumbling, voicing various sounds gave birth to Barma, the god of the word, poetry, sound, who in turn carried the teachings about the gods and their instructions about the rules of life around the world. Also, from the breath of the Progenitor, Svarog arose - the god of the Slavs, the father of the material world, whom the Slavs respectfully called the Heavenly Father. Rod gave him as many as four heads - one for each side of the world, so that he completely controlled what was happening.
Then Rod turned into a Spring and appeared to the world in the form of the World Ocean, from the foam of which, like Aphrodite in Greek mythology, the World Duck was born. She became the Mother of many deities, demigods and higher beings. This is how the first myth about the creation of the Earth arose. In the work of Asov, it is described in more detail.
Slavic gods and their meaning. Analogues in other religions
In the above retelling, it can be seen that identical archetypes of entities exist in the religion of the Hindus and not only. In Greek mythology, there are also quite a few coincidences with Slavic legends:
- The genus is the fundamental principle of all things, the Progenitor, who appeared from a golden egg, which he split with the power of his love. Often depicted as a gray-haired grandfather holding the wheel (of Samsara), standing on a fish. Identical in Hinduism is the god Brahma, who in many respects was very similar to Rod: he had four faces (hands in Hinduism).
- Svarog is the god of the Slavs, who was considered the patron of spirituality and heavenly halls, an analogue of paradise in subsequent Christianity. The name Svarog is a Sanskrit word meaning "walking in the sky", that is, the father of heaven - God in Christianity and Ishvara in Hinduism. It was this deity who taught the earthly inhabitants the art of making cottage cheese and cheese, "bunching" them from milk, and also gave people heavenly fire for cooking and protection from the cold, so the Slavs knew for sure that it was forbidden to speak swear words near the fire - it was sacred. It was believed that Svarog had four heads that watched and protected all directions of the world from the influence of evil forces.
- Barma - the middle name of Svyatovit, was considered the god of prayer, born from the words of Rod (muttering prayers, reading the Vedas and mantras). He was considered a good-natured man, but if he was angry, he swept away everything in his path. Some linguists draw parallels with Brahma in Hinduism due to the consonance of names and similar factors, but there is no unanimous opinion on this matter.
- Lada - patronized lovers, kept the family hearth and married couples, was also considered the goddess of fertility and spring. She was the wife of Svarog and also had a swan in her entourage.
- Mother Cheese-Earth - according to some sources, was the wife of Rod, thanks to her energy, love was born, with which the Progenitor cracked the sacred egg, creating the world. In Hinduism, this is Prakriti - feminine energy and Mother of all things.
- World Duck (Swinging in the language of the ancients) - world swinging, primary ancient vibration. Was a bird. By Slavic mythology about the creation of the world, she took out Alatyr-stone from the bottom of the oceans. The mother of all demons (asuras), including Satan. Often the World Duck is identified with Makosh, the goddess of fate.
- Dyy - was considered the absolute opposite of the spiritual Svarog and was the patron of the material, earthly world, the god of gold and valuable things, as well as the ruler of the night sky. The ancient Slavs believed that he could easily turn around and see him in his real guise is almost impossible.
Reality, Rule and Nav: the basis of the three-dimensional world
The current system includes three worlds:
- Physical: the material level, the one that can be seen and felt. The world of people, animals, birds and all other physical beings, called Yavu by the Slavs. It is considered the crudest manifestation of divine being, but at the same time the strongest manifestation of the power of his love, since the world of people is the most emotional and feeling among the rest.
- The astral (or ethereal) level of habitation of beings of a subtle plane, invisible to a simple eye: the world of demons, demons, spirits of nature and others, called Naviu, that is, unmanifested reality, non-reality.
- The mental (divine) level Rule (from the word "rule") was divided into two parts: Heaven - a place where there is no god, and Heaven - where there is no demon (hell, demon). That is, Heaven is above everything, below them is Heaven, then Nav and at the very bottom of Yav - our earthly manifested world.
There is also an opinion that there is another world - Slav, which is the world of ancestors and is located between Heaven and Navu. That is, it is an intermediate mental world, a kind of purgatory for souls. The unconditioned was the key to the world of Rule, that is, Orthodoxy was considered the right path for spiritual growth, and the glorification of the gods was the main direction. From here we can draw a simple parallel to Hinduism, in particular to the Vaishnava tradition of singing the "Maha-mantra" (Hare Krishna), which is considered the easiest way to achieve unity with God.
Similar structures of the Slavic creation of the world are also actively used in the myths of other countries, continents and religions: the names of entities, the names of gods and places change, but the primary essence remains the same - to become a highly spiritual person, you must love God.
What is Alatyr?
From the ancient Slavic legends, one can learn that the white-flammable stone Alatyr is the "navel of the Earth", from which Mother Cheese-Earth arose, that is, dry land, which means that this stone is an important sacred object. According to the myths, it is so: Svarog strikes him with a hammer, and the sparks scattered from the blow turn into various gods and divine beings. Moreover, Alatyr is considered an altar stone, on which the Almighty sacrifices himself for the sake of the world. From here it went: "altar" - a place for worshiping God.
They say that Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus is the visible part of that very Bel-flammable stone, a sacred place for communication with God. After all, it is not for nothing that the mountain is indicated as the last refuge of Noah's ark, which was pointed out by a dove released by a direct descendant of Adam. Another part of this wonderful stone appears to the eye of a person in Altai: Mount Belukha and a small island of the Sun in the White Sea in the north. All these places are ardently revered by the Slavs as places of power and the appearance of gods to people.
Where did the Alatyr stone come from?
According to the Slavic, the White-flammable stone was taken from the bottom of the ocean by the Duck, a magical bird (analogue: a dove in Christianity, a harbinger of land during the flood). When Svarog looked around the world he had created, he was dissatisfied: the sky and dawns, the ocean - everything is wonderful, but there is no land, that is, there is no land. For a long time he peered into the distance, but saw nothing but water, only a small bird - a duck swayed and tumbled on the foam from the waves.
Svarog began to pry her out, where is the land, to which the Duck pointed out to him that there is land deep under the water. Then, by the power of his power over all things, Svarog ordered the World Duck to get a piece of land. She dived and disappeared for a whole year, and when she returned, she said that she had not coped with the task. The second time she also dived, and after two years, exhausted, she appeared, explaining that such a mission was beyond her power.
Then Svarog began to get angry and, having collected the strength of the Family, breathed it into the small body of the bird, ordering him to try again. Three long years passed, and the Duck returned, carrying a handful of damp earth in its beak, gave it to Svarog, but hid a small pebble, which was Alatyr - a stone of universal wisdom with sacred knowledge inscribed on it.
But Svarog is the ancestor of everything. He sensed something was wrong and began to knead the damp earth, warming him with the warmth of his hands and the sun, blowing with his breath and universal winds. The Mother of Cheese-earth began to increase in size, turning into land, and with it Alatyr. The Duck realized that she was no longer able to hold the stone of wisdom, and dropped it, and where it fell, Alatyrskaya Mount Elbrus grew. For a long time it was called Alatyrka, or the Golden Mountain.
Semargl
There was another significant god of the Slavs - Semargl (or Simargl). That was the name of the god of fire, born from a spark that flew off from a blow with the hammer of Svarog on a white-hot stone. The ancient Slavs considered him the god of sacrifice, an intermediary between the world of people and gods, who could turn into huge dog with wings. In the "Tale of Bygone Years" - one of the main annals of the Russians, there is an entry from 980. Simargl is mentioned in the myth of the birth of the world. There were also other deities of the religion of that time. These include the Black Serpent, or Chernobog, who was the son of the World Duck (the prototype of Satan in Christianity and Shiva in Hinduism).
Chernobog wanted to become like Svarog and also began to knock on the Alatyr stone, striking sparks from it. That's just not gods were born, but demons. The god of the Slavs Semargl challenged him to fight, but he could not win - he did not have enough power, he had to go to his father in the heavenly forge. They say that after the battle, the light faded on the earth and impenetrable darkness reigned. Then Svarog himself went to battle and defeated the Black Serpent, already weakened by Semargl, driving him into the ghostly world of Navi. This was the very first world battle of Good and Evil, which was subsequently presented in Christianity as the victory of George the Victorious over the serpent and presented as a primordially Orthodox fact.
Does the work of Alexander Azov have historical value and reliability of facts?
Almost all the works of this author are considered by scientific researchers, historians and linguists to be not too diligent forgery, falsification and profit from antiquity, which does not correspond too accurately to the reliability of legends. Among the most common accusations are reproaches of ignorance of the grammar of the Old Slavic language, spelling and similar flaws. It is also argued that Azov himself invented some images of gods that had never existed before and, moreover, were not revered on the territory of ancient Russia. Therefore, the value of the Book of Kolyada, together with the Book of Veles and other tales about the life of the ancient Slavs, is negligible and is of artistic rather than historical value.
Moreover, Azov's books are actively promoted as insulting Christianity, in some cases they are even called extremist and insulting human dignity. But where is the freedom of choice of religion, so protected by all, if being a Muslim or a Jew is allowed on the Russian land, but not an Old Believer or a Rodnover? Of course, everyone has their own opinion on this matter, so there is no point in arguing now about who is right and who is guilty.
Given that these works are quite detailed description various life aspects of antiquity, coinciding with real facts, it’s still worth not to chop down Alexander Igorevich’s many years of work and, perhaps, regard the Slavic myths about the creation of the world as high-quality histori stories or fantasy novels with elements of real-life aspects of the life of the ancient Slavs, which will be very informative to learn.
