IS392Paper3.htm

NATURE THEOLOGY

Nature Theology Within Russian Folklore, by Christie Gibbons, page 3

Let us now take a closer look at some of the stories that came out of this ancient Russian belief system. First, let us remember Mokosh, whose name means ‘moist’. She was particularly venerated by women as having unity with all the waters and sky, and as having life-giving powers. Spring rains, in particular, were looked upon as health-giving and life-giving, and thus arose the myth of the water of life, a precious beverage which had the power to restore the dead hero to life. 43 (See how this connects with John 4:14. 44) Within Russian folklore, she is often associated with wells and streams. Simonov tells us that during the winter,

[I]n vain Mokosh roams the pastureland of the earth in order to fructify the soil, but it remains desolate and barren. Bedewed by Perun [the chief deity who inseminates rain-moistened Mother Earth during the violent passion of the thunderstorm 45]and purified by his lightning flashes, she lies in the dark and cold recesses of earth where she is discovered by the comely Iarilo. He woos her with his ardent sunbeams and adorns her with oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, grass, trees and flowers. As his wife, Mokosh loves Iarilo and bears him an endless number of children that populate the sky, sea and land: birds, animals, fish, insects and, finally humanity.46

Simonov tells us of another ancient Slavic deity: Svarog, the divine tsar of the sky. He is the supreme deity, concerning himself with only the cosmos. He charges his offspring with the work of the rest of creation and ruling over the earth. 47 One of Svarog’s children is Svarozhich, the god of solar and earthly fire. On his helmet is a bird with outstretched wings.48 Svarozhich is not Svarog’s only son. His other son is Dazhbog, the husband of Lada, the goddess of spring. Their marriage made secure the promise of bounty and abundance in the natural world. 49 Iarilo, mentioned earlier, is the son of Dazhbog and Lada. He is the god of passionate love, spring fertilization and regeneration. Simonov describes him as:

[S]trong and handsome, the courageous protector of the fields, who, barefoot, rides a white horse and dresses in a white cloak with a coronet of wild flowers on his brow. In his left hand he holds a sheaf of rye and in his right a human skull. At the command of his mother, Lada, he opens the gates of the sky and charges earthward: an advent that marks the beginning of spring...Towards the end of the summer he returns to the heavens. An ancient song tells of Iarilo: 'Where he treads with his feet, there is abundance or rye; And where he casts his eyes, ears of wheat will spring.' 50

In addition to these high gods of the ancient Slavonic pantheon, there were other honored beings of a lesser order of folk mythology, such as: nymphs, sprites, imps, dryads, elves and goblins. These other supernatural beings were thought to inhabit trees, forests, water, sky, the celestial bodies, storms, homes, and fields. Simonov reminds us that belief in these spirits was “part of the general veneration of the forces of nature.” 51 The faithful return of the seasons was understood as changes in the struggle between sun and frost, resulting in the yearly growth and death of vegetation, animals and humans. This earth-oriented belief-system has been deemed by some an agricultural religion of the ancient Slavonic people, which was contingent on an agrarian population, those tillers of the soil. Each of the natural elements in the ancient Slav’s daily life was imagined to possess a soul, and this soul was given anthropomorphic features. 52 Traces of this religion are preserved in Russian folk customs.

For instance, during Rusaliia, the week-long observance, marking the high point of the agricultural year, it is believed that the mavki, who have lied dormant in nearby waters for the winter, must be escorted into the grain fields in order to secure a good harvest. To do this, housewives sprinkle a path of milk on the ground, from the water to the edge of the fields, where the head of the household lays a piece of bread for these female water spirits. Once the mavki have passed from the water into the grain, it is once again safe to bathe in the water without fear of being drowned by the mavki. 53

There are also ancient Russian folk customs within the church. For instance, during Trinity Week one important celebration is the welcoming and then the “banishing” of the rusalka, a female spirit who is believed to have left the water for the fields and forests at this time. After the festivities, a doll that has been made is ritually torn apart in the grain fields. Ivanits explains that:

The rusalka is an important personage of Russian lower mythology, and the only one connected with a ritual holiday…54

While other mythological beings are not present in other ritual holidays of the church, earth elements are integral to many of the church’s celebrations. For instance, in the Russian Orthodox celebrations of Palm, or Pussy Willow, Sunday, pussy willows are blessed in the church. The significance of the pussy willows is not merely that they have been blessed, but that they are one of the earliest plants to grow in spring; hence, they are thought to have special productive and protective powers. 55

The Russian Orthodox Church struggled for centuries to keep its greatest feast (Easter) free of pagan elements. But, due to the vast integration of the two faiths (dvoeverie), certain ancient motifs remained. These residual pagan motifs remained most likely because Easter’s emphasis on rebirth and new life was compatible with the seasonal folk beliefs about fertilitity. Coloring, exchanging, and rolling eggs is the main feature of this holiday. Eggs (like seeds) are a obviously a symbol of new life, and rolling them on the ground is seen as an attempt to transfer their fertile power to the barren earth. 56

Similar practices can be seen within other Russian Orthodox holidays, such as Christmas, in which specific attention is devoted to birch trees as a symbol of vegetative power. Whether as decorated trees, or garlands, the birch trees serve as a focal point for young girls’ songs and dances. Occasionally the tip of the tree is bent to the ground, which is thought to transfer the vegetative power from the tree into the earth. 57

Trees are significant for another reason with Russian folklore. It was thought long ago that trees were the residing place of the souls of the departed. Wherever trees were present was considered a sacred zone and, as a living organisms, there were believed to be on equal footing with human beings. 58 One tree in particular, the ubiquitous oak, still symbolizes strength and life, since, as Simonov tells us:

[I]t nourishes the atmosphere above it and is itself nourished by the moist earth below. 59

Ivanits claims that though the Russian Orthodox Church was quite successful in its attempts to do away with the gods and festivals of Russia’s pagan past, it could not hinder “the inclusion of ancient personages and rites under new names in the peasant’s particular understandings of Christianity.” 60 This integration of pagan belief and Christian practices has brought about a wealthy treasury of intriguing history, and has served to enrich Russian folklore, Russian religious thoughts and spirituality, and Russians’ ability to acknowledge the importance of, and human’s connectedness to, the spirited natural world.

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43 Simonov, Essential Russian Mythology, 10.

44 John 4:14 “Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” -The Holy Bible, New International Version, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984), 973.

45 Simonov, Essential Russian Mythology, 8-9.

46 Simonov, Essential Russian Mythology, 16.

47 Simonov, Essential Russian Mythology, 12.

48 Simonov, Essential Russian Mythology, 14.

49 Simonov, Essential Russian Mythology, 14.

50 Simonov, Essential Russian Mythology, 15.

51 Simonov, Essential Russian Mythology, 22.

52 Simonov, Essential Russian Mythology, 22.

53 Zguta, Russian Minstrels, 10.

54 Ivanits, Russian Folk Belief, 10.

55 Ivanits, Russian Folk Belief, 8

56 Ivanits, Russian Folk Belief, 9.