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The deities of the pre-Christian Slavs
varied with each individual tribe though, generally speaking, the worship of
vampires, totemism and in some cases lycanthropy were characteristic of all of
them at the primitive stage. The worship of beasts was spread in the beginning,
followed by the worship of water, stones, trees and, of course, of
"Mother Earth. "Then with the weakening of the matriarcate came the
cult of ancestors, in the belief that in their post-humous life they continued
to protect the clan (tribe). This helped the emergence of Rod, the benevolent
god of fertility, also known as Shchur, and Rozhanits, who became Slavs' first
human-like male deities. He was considered to have lived in the heaven from
where he controlled the sun, rain, etc. For a long time Rod remained the
leading god. Something similar to this cult could be found later in the worship
of the Virgin. When the clan ties became loose, Rod and Rozhanits were replaced
by Domovoy, the guardian of the family. The belief in the life of souls after
death was widespread; the good spirits were considered to be embodied
particularly in the form of nymphs who dwell at different periods of time in
rivers and lakes and then, after certain holidays (Petrov Post), moved to
meadows , trees or forests. The belief in the existence of evil spirits was
also widespread and many precautionary ceremonies and rituals were performed at
home to protect the family from them, and individuals carried wood or bronze
charms.
Polytheism was widely spread among the Slavs and they had several
"small" gods in the beginning, each one supposed to take care of a
certain occasion. This period was followed by increasing monotheistic
tendencies that primarily manifested themselves in a search for an almighty
god. However, the pre-Christian Slavs had never attained this aim, though Rod
and later Perun came close to the exclusive position as guardians of the Slavs.
Worship of several mighty gods continued and we see first the emergence of
Svarog, god of the world and father of all gods, with his two sons: Dazhbog,
also known as Khoros, the god of sun and Ogon, the god of fire. The cult of
Dazhbog was at one time particularly spread among the Eastern Slavs. , who
considered him as protector of agriculture and food abundance and who,
similarly to Rod, could help them grow their wheat and fruits, or dry their
fields and when angered, dry the soil and destroy crops. In relation to
Dazhbog, two of the solar symbols, the cock and horse, became the most popular
motifs in Russian peasant art and even The Epic Of The Host of Igor
refers at one place to Russians as grand children of the sun god. Perun's
popularity rapidly grew. He was originally god of lightning and thunder, and
later became god of war and elements, as well. Finally he was adopted by the
Russian princes as their protector. Volos or Veles was god of cattle and
herdsmen, but also patron of trade and wealth. No indication has been found
that the Slavs had temples or priests. Religious services were conducted in
special places, on a small hill or grove; often near a river, or a square in a
town or village. There , wooden or stone statues of their idols were erected
and sacrifices offered to please the gods. Rituals were conducted by a clan
elderly, followed by festivities and dances. Each year at certain days (or
weeks) festivities were arranged to honor certain gods. Thus early in January
Koliada was the festival in honor of the Sun god; then early in the spring
several festivities celebrated the departure of winter and arrival of spring.
On or around July 7th there was the festival in honor of Svarozhichi, the two
sons of Svarog. When Russians accepted Christianity the church adopted this
holiday to Ivan Day (the day of birth of St. John), as it did with Koliada and
several other festivities that date from pagan times. Wooden or stone statues
of their gods, bronze charms representing all sorts of birds and animals,
festivals and ceremonies with singing and dancing are only part of that
cultural heritage which has its roots in the pre-Christian era of the Slavic
tribes, which tradition and to a certain degree the church has preserved until
the present.
The rapid rise in trade relations between Constantinople and Kiev was
bound to expose the newly established primitive Russian state to new influences
from what was at that time considered highly developed and civilized Byzantine
Empire. .With trade caravans came to Rus not only luxury articles that were
exchanged for honey, wax, furs and other items, but also literacy, art and
Christianity. This pattern of using trade to establish or reestablish relations
between two countries has repeated itself many times throughout the history of
mankind and is still successfully employed in our times.
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