 Ukraine's Pagan Rituals By Dmytro RUZHYNSKYY |
Ukrainian superstitions are often manifested symbolically: A person in the street may spit three times or knock on a tree in an attempt to avoid bad luck or a possible curse.
Practically every Ukrainian girl, irrespective of her family's social status, has participated in a mysterious folk ceremony aimed at divining the characteristics - if not the name and phone number - of her future husband.
These present-day rituals are connected with traditions and beliefs in demons and gods that extend back to pre-Christian times.
Three scholars have documented the pagan genesis of folk beliefs. Mykhailo Hrushevsky covered the topic in the first volume of "The History of Ukraine-Rus'," Orest Subtel'nyy wrote in "Ukraine: the History" and Metropolitian Illarion examined the issue in his "Pre-Christian Beliefs of the Ukrainian People." These researchers contend that Ukrainian folk culture is stratified into the pre-Christian, pagan and Christian periods.
Pre-Christian Ukrainian culture is characterized by polytheism, the worship of multiple gods. This pantheon, the so-called Kyiv Olympus, was prevalent in the middle of the tenth century. However, mainly the aristocracy adhered to these beliefs. After the Old Ukrainian principalities were converted to Christianity, the lesser gods faded away.
But they were not entirely forgotten.
Despite the headway made by Christianity among the nobles, the common people continued to worship various gods, some had been included in the Kyiv pantheon. Theses folk beliefs included numerous demons and preternatural creatures - some kind, some evil and some that were notable for possessing both good and bad attributes.
Christianity gradually became part of the common people's belief system as well, but the old gods and demons didn't exit slowly. Some pagan deities became associated with Christian saints - a compromise that supported the spread of Christianity in Old Ukraine. Some continue to hold these beliefs today.
This has resulted in peculiar folk views on religion. In "Ukrainian Ethnography," Ukrainian researcher Anatoliy Ponomariov wrote that Ukrainians, while paying attention to their Christian devotions either consciously or subconsciously decided to cover their bets by holding old beliefs as well. They believed that "one must love God, but shouldn't make the devil angry." The proverb holds that an old woman entered a church and lit two candles - one for God, another in honor of the devil. A shocked priest asked for an explanation. "Father, I am old," said the woman. "I think it is wise to have friends everywhere."
That philosophy - to have friends everywhere - is the reason why some people pay homage to demons, many of which are not regarded as absolutely evil. Many, if fact, are aligned with Christian saints in that they protect the believer from accident and misfortune.
The most common of these is the "demon of the family hearth," or house spirit. This "domovyk" (or brownie) differs from his evil relatives in that he is often helpful and plays the role of a family protector. Some believe the domovyk provides a link between a family and ancestors.
Demons of nature are also part of Ukrainian folklore. Ponomariov records a legend about this type of demons' appearance. Ukrainians believed that God, having become angry with some angels, expelled them from Heaven. When the outcasts fell to the Earth, they became the demons of the places where they landed. Angels who fell into fields became "poliovyky", those in the woods became "lisovyky" and the demons of the swamps were called "bolotianyky". In "Rusalii," researcher Vasyl Skyrativskiy names more than a dozen "Nature demons" including the equivalent of a water nymph or siren, the "rusalky."
The evening of Ivana Kupala celebrates the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. Like Halloween and Easter in the United States it is a celebration deeply rooted in paganism. The ancient Rus origins of this festivity revolved around fertility and self-purification, the idea being to clean one's body, mind and spirit in order to gain an elevated consciousness.
According to Rus myth, the summer solstice was the day when Perun, the sun god, who also was responsible for thunder and lightning, had been forced to descend from his regular path across the sky. He was discovered, nurtured and resurrected by a girl, Zarya (daybreak), who bathed him in the early-morning dew she gathered from fields of fragrant grass. Reinvigorated, Perun found the strength to ascend the heavens. Thus, in the early morning, when dew is on the grass people use it to bathe. They also bathe in the river, believing that on this day the water has a special cleansing force.
The best known Ivana Kupala ceremony involves jumping over a fire. Kupala, the ancient image of the fertile summer land, is traditionally honored with bonfires. A Kupala bonfire was termed "living fire" and symbolizes Perun's power over the fertility of the land. It was believed that jumping over a Kupala fire was cleansing, making him healthier and more powerful.
The pagan roots of the celebration promoted fertility, and echoes of this resonate today in an event known for its often ribald ebullience. The eve of Ivana-Kupala was a "Night of Love" when married couples were released from the usual strictures governing daily life. On this night it was accepted if a husband chose another woman or girl from among his wife's friends or family. Similarly, it was acceptable should a wife select a male partner from her husband's friends and family.
On the day following Kupala Eve, it was believed that some grasses and plants acquired supernatural qualities. In the morning, young people collected samples to be placed at the head of the bed to encourage prophetic dreams.
Witches have their place in lore as well. And while Ukrainians did burn a few witches over time, a witch wasn't necessarily thought of badly.
Historian Volodymyr Antonovych, author of "Sorcery: Documents, Processes and Investigations," explains that some believed that women who practiced medicine were actually practicing sorcery. Today, there remains belief in good witches, called ”babky vorozhky”. In addition, the divination engaged in by girls interested in the attributes of future husbands is thought to be a form of witchcraft. The author Mikhail Bulgakov, alluding to these ceremonies, once said that every third woman in Kyiv has a tail under her skirt. Many believe that witches still gather on the Sabbath on Kiev's Lysa Gora hill.
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Read also previous issue' articles:
THE EAR: Time to Stop Traffic Terror
The USSR: What was it?
Socialist Realism From One Collector's Viewpoint
Weak Laws Make Ukraine Europe's Dumping Ground
Social Entrepreneurship Expands in Ukraine
Lenin and Ukraine
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