Slavic customs. Slavic traditions are the native traditions of the Slavs. History of Slavic pagan rites

Krupina A.N. Beliefs, traditions and rituals of the Eastern Slavs in pre-Christian period VII. Traditions and customs In ancient times, among the Eastern Slavs, all generations of the family usually lived under one roof. Somewhere nearby there was a family cemetery, so long-dead ancestors (ancestor cult) also took part in the life of a large family. Every person living in such big family, felt himself first of all not as an individual, but as a member of the genus. Any Slav could name his ancestors several centuries ago. Numerous holidays were associated with the ancestors, some of them have survived to this day (Radunitsa, parental day). Ancestors - churs, schurs - the guardians of their descendants, warned them, appeared to them in the form of birds. Each clan had a well-defined reputation. Members of the clan felt responsible for their big family. The clan was responsible to other clans for each relative. There were no abandoned old people or forgotten children in the family. Mutual assistance is an unwritten rule for all members of the clan. In any situation, a person had to act in a way that would be best for his kind. A society in which the Genus reigns supreme is called traditional. Traditional society does not recognize any "individualism", because home ancient tradition aimed at the survival of the family. Rod was the very first form public organization and the most tenacious. And in more later times the leader of the squad was considered the father of his people, and warriors of the same rank were considered brothers. Approximately the same orders continued to dominate in the Old Russian state. The members of the retinue of such and such a prince of the chronicle are called “chadya”, i.e. "children". The warriors of Prince Vasilko, for example, are called “Vasilkovichi” in this way, although there is no question of physical relationship. IN tribal society each newborn had yet to "prove" his right to be a member of this genus. For this, certain rituals were performed on him. Adults who wished to enter into one or another clan were also subjected to numerous severe trials. Those wishing to join the military brotherhood - squad were subjected to a particularly serious “examination”. They were tested in dexterity, strength, possession of weapons, their spiritual qualities were also tested, a rite of mystical initiation was performed. Warriors settled separately from the whole tribe, in special houses, outsiders were not allowed into these military houses. This custom is logically explained by the ideas of ancient people that a person who committed a murder even in battle, fighting for his tribe, is “unclean”, he has a great vulnerability to evil forces. Therefore, the soldiers were not allowed for some time after the battle to common life tribes lived and ate separately, performing cleansing rites. The concept of honor was known to the Slavs under the name of truth. A person's reputation was often dearer to him than life, and determined his mutual reciprocity. Beliefs, traditions and rituals of the Eastern Slavs in the pre-Christian period were worn not only with people, but also with spirits, gods. One should distinguish between one's personal truth and the truth of the family. The basic norms of behavior were later written down in special laws called “Truths”. Thus, lies, perjury, violation of an oath, betrayal of duty, cowardice, refusal to challenge for a duel, blasphemous song of a harpman, insult caused damage to personal honor. For terrible deeds, such as killing a relative, violating the laws of hospitality, a person could be outlawed. On the contrary, revenge for a kinsman, victory over an enemy, success in hunting, victory in a duel, arranging a feast or competition, presenting a gift, marriage, a song of praise by a harpman, service with a glorious prince lead to an increase in personal honor. Having stained himself with a dishonorable murder, not taking care of the burial of a fallen enemy, etc. risks bringing down on his head the punishment of both people and gods. The truth of the genus was determined by the sum of the "truths" of its members. True prince must be very high. The prince who stained himself was expelled, another, certainly worthy, was put in his place. The honor of the clan increased as a result of collective actions. For example, for properly arranged holidays, magnificent weddings, commemorations. Belonging to a particular genus could be easily distinguished by clothing. The clothes of each person contained a huge number of details that spoke a lot about its inhabitant: from what family, tribe, and therefore, how to behave with him. Until now, the proverb has been preserved in the Russian language: "They meet by clothes, see off by mind." The murder of a member of one clan by a member of another caused enmity between the clans. They took revenge not on the criminal himself, but on his family. The possibility of blood feud was a powerful deterrent. Every effort was made to avoid it. A common way to find out the relationship, to prove one's innocence, to achieve something was a duel. He was necessarily preceded by a challenge, to refuse which is to cover oneself with shame. They did not always fight to the death, more often there was an agreement “until the first blow”, “until the first wound”, etc. There were also ritual fights, as well as those that they wanted to draw the attention of the gods to. They passed without armor. Often opponents fought naked to the waist. A duel necessarily preceded any major battle. GOU VPO USTU-UPI - 2005 Page 22 of 28 Krupina A.N. Beliefs, traditions and rituals of the Eastern Slavs in the pre-Christian period VIII. Magic and mantle special methods and ways of influencing reality and the other world, looking for opportunities to look into the past and the future. These forms of religious beliefs are called magic and mantic. Magic is an imaginary, imaginary art or the ability to influence the world around with the help of some “incomprehensible” manipulations. Their range is quite wide: they can be words (spells, incantations, prayers), objects (amulets, amulets), letters and various actions. Magic tricks differ in the following ways: a) by the degree of complexity; b) in general direction; c) according to the psychological mechanism of influence; d) on purpose. According to the degree of complexity, magical techniques are divided into individual magical actions, individual or group magical rites, and collective magical ceremony. An example of an individual magical action: a person spits three times over his left shoulder to protect himself from trouble (behind the left shoulder, according to legend, the devil is responsible for all the troubles). In a magical rite, individual actions must be performed in a certain order, with the most exact observance of certain conditions. Such are, for example, the methods of the so-called. healing magic. Here is a magical rite of treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis: the patient is bathed in water scooped from three wells, infused with garbage from three huts and flavored with moss from three roofs. A collective magical ceremony introduces into the obligatory rules of its conduct not only the requirements for the preparation of the drug, but also indications of the time of holding, appearance and the composition of participants, etc. For example, in order to prevent pestilence (an epidemic of plague or cholera) from entering the village, in the Russian tradition there was a special ceremony: at midnight, naked old women with lamentations and spells plowed the entire circumference of the village with a plow or plow. Depending on the general orientation, aggressive (pro-treptic) and defensive (prophylactic) types of magic are distinguished. Protreptic types of magic include a) contact magic - magical power is transmitted to a person through direct interaction with the carrier of magical power (wearing talismans, using potions, etc.); b) initial magic - due to the inaccessibility of the object of witchcraft during magical manipulation, only the beginning of the desired action is performed, and its completion is assigned to magical power; c) partial magic - manipulations are performed with a part of an object or with its substitute (a piece of clothing, hair, nails, etc.); d) imitative magic - witchcraft is performed on the image or likeness of an object (photo, drawing, wax figurine, etc.). GOU VPO USTU-UPI - 2005 Page 23 of 28 Krupina A.N. Beliefs, traditions and rituals of the Eastern Slavs in the pre-Christian period protective types magic include: a) driving away - wearing amulets from the "evil eye"; b) cleansing - ritual washing and fumigation, jumping over a fire, etc. According to the intended purpose, magical techniques are divided into healing, harmful (black), military, love, fishing, agricultural, cattle breeding, etc. Russian scientists have material evidence of ancient magical knowledge - labyrinths. The Russian North is the center of the “culture of labyrinths”. It is here that most of the large labyrinths made of stone. The Solovetsky Islands are especially famous in this regard. Russian coast-dwellers called the labyrinths "Babylon", "girl's dances", "the game of St. Peter." The labyrinth was a mystery symbol, the gates of initiation embodied in stone. Entering into an illusory relationship with the world of spirits, a person constantly wanted to know in advance the results of his appeal to them. The imaginary, imaginary art of guessing the present and the future is called mantika. The existing diverse methods of divination are classified in special literature according to two formal typological features: thicker, by beans, by smoke, by a bowl of water, by a mirror, by the movement of a beetle, by numbers, etc.; b) divination according to “inner enlightenment”: according to dreams, clairvoyance, etc. All the listed types of magic and mantika originated in ancient times, but continue to exist in our time. GOU VPO USTU-UPI - 2005 Page 24 of 28 Krupina A.N. Beliefs, traditions and rituals of the Eastern Slavs in the pre-Christian period IX. Paganism and Orthodoxy In conclusion, it should be said that the pagan worldview of the Eastern Slavs in the era preceding the Christianization of Rus' can be characterized as a religion of the transitional period to a class society - the collapse of tribal ties and the formation of feudal relations. “The emergence of a class society and state in Rus' paved the way for the adoption of Christianity as a finely thought-out class ideology. Christianity invaded the traditional stable paganism of the Slavs not as a persecuted religion of slaves... but as state Orthodoxy,” writes B.A. Rybakov. The Christian religion, more than paganism, closely connected with the patriarchal-clan system of the Slavs, corresponded to the feudal relations developing in Rus', because. justified the power of the ruling classes. On what basis was the synthesis of paganism and Orthodoxy possible? On the religious side, there was a great similarity between Christianity and the pagan beliefs of the Slavs. Both in Christianity and in the ancient beliefs and rituals of the Eastern Slavs, many homogeneous elements were contained, which were various manifestations of primitive forms public consciousness. Identity boiled down to the following main points: the world is governed by high power who created it; there are many minor forces that govern the various divisions of nature; they are dualistic, divided into good and evil spirits; means of influencing a higher power are magical rites and sacrifices; the deity of nature is constantly reborn, dies, and is reborn again; besides the real world there is afterworld human souls. Based on this commonality, the combination of East Slavic paganism and Byzantine Christianity took place. In addition, Christianity itself was thoroughly syncretic. It developed on the basis of early pagan religions peoples of the Mediterranean and Western Asia, among whom it was formed and initially spread. Its elements such as the cults of dying and resurrecting deities, the cults of saints and holy relics, the idea of ​​the afterlife and the second life after death, the worship of relics and images of gods, magical mysteries and processions, etc., despite their centuries-old modification , originated from the same magical and animistic beliefs and rituals that formed the basis of the local Slavic religion. Cults of nature, agricultural and cattle-breeding cults absorbed by Christianity from Eastern religions turned out to be identical to the ancient Slavic ones. In the process of penetration into the strata of the masses, the appearance of Orthodoxy itself changed, its “paganization” took place, its adaptation to the life of the people, to the people’s “pagan” consciousness, worldview, and psychology. The combination of paganism and Christianity was also facilitated by the tactics of concessions to the GOU VPO USTU-UPI - 2005 Page 25 of 28 Krupina A.N. Beliefs, traditions and rituals of the Eastern Slavs in the pre-Christian period of the former faith, which was carried out by the official church. Over time, the church recognized for the Orthodox saints, the images of Christ and the Mother of God, those features and functions of the ancient deities that folk art endowed them with; construction Orthodox churches traditional places of old pagan prayer places were consecrated; Christian holidays were timed, if possible, to the terms and cycles of the national calendar. For a long time, centuries-old ideas and customs that reflected the economic structure of pre-class society and patriarchal-clan social relations were steadfastly held in the worldview and way of life of the Russian people for a long time. As a result, the Greek-Byzantine orthodoxy formed, as it were, only an upper, conceptual level of religion, which was called Russian Orthodoxy. In the depths of the mass religious consciousness, an ethnically colored Orthodox-pagan syncretism has developed. It is no coincidence that in Russia, for everyday perception, Orthodoxy often acts as the “national religion of Russians,” and ritual studies saturated with magic are always among the dominants of cult behavior. Separate elements of the pagan worldview have survived almost in their pure form to the present day. GOU VPO USTU-UPI - 2005 Page 26 of 28 Krupina A.N. Beliefs, traditions and rituals of the Eastern Slavs in the pre-Christian period Recommended literature 1. Gordienko I.S. Baptism of Rus'. L., 1984. 2. Dovatur A.I., Kallistratov D.P., Shishova N.A. The peoples of our country in the "History" of Herodotus. M., 1982. 3. Emelyakh L.I. Mysteries of the Christian cult. L., 1985. 4. Zabelin M. Russian people: its customs, legends and superstitions. M., 1880. 5. Zelenin D.K. East Slavic ethnography. M., 1991. 6. Zinoviev V.P. Black and white magic. 7. Kaisarov A.S., Glinka G.A., Rybakov B.A. Myths of the ancient Slavs. Velesov book Saratov, 1993. 8. Karamzin N.M. Traditions of the Ages. M., 1988. 9. Kurbatov V.L., Frolov E.D., Froyanov I.Ya. Christianity: Antiquity, Byzantium, Rus'. L., 1988. 10. Kuzmin A. The fall of Perun. M., 1988. 11. Menshikova A. Treasures of the Russian land. Science and Life, 1979, No. 9. 12. Platonov O.A. Crown of Thorns of Russia. Holy Rus'. M., 2001. 13. Pobol L.D. Slavic antiquities of Belarus. M., 1974. 14. The complete encyclopedia life of the Russian people. M., 1998. 15. Characters Slavic mythology. Ed. Mudruk S., Ruban A. Kyiv, 1993. 16. Romanov B.A. People and manners Ancient Rus'. M., L., 1966. 17. Rybakov B.A. Paganism of Ancient Rus'. M., 1987. 18. Rybakov B.A. World of History: Initial Ages Russian history. M., 1987. 19. Rybakov B.A. Paganism of the ancient Slavs M., 1997. 20. Sedov V.V. Eastern Slavs in the VI - XIII centuries. M., 1982. 21. Sedov V.V. Origin and early history of the Slavs. M., 1979. 22. Semenova M. We are Slavs. SPb., 1997. 23. Kharitonova V. Black and white magic of the Slavs. 24. Ethnography of the Eastern Slavs Essays on traditional culture. / Responsible. Ed. K.V. Chistov. GOU VPO USTU-UPI - 2005 Page 27 of 28 Educational electronic text edition Krupina Alla Nikolaevna BELIEFS, TRADITIONS AND RITES OF THE EASTERN SLAVES IN THE PRE-CHRISTIAN PERIOD Editor L.D. Seledkova Computer layout E.A. Senkevich Recommended RIS GOU VPO USTU-UPI Approved for publication 06.11.05. Electronic format - PDF Format 60x90 1/8 Publishing house GOU-VPO USTU-UPI 620002, Yekaterinburg, Mira, 19 e-mail: [email protected] Informational portal GOU VPO USTU-UPI http://www.ustu.ru

One of the main customs of the ancient Slavs was that all generations of the family lived under the same roof, and there was also a family cemetery somewhere near the house, so long-dead ancestors invisibly took part in the life of the family.

Children in those days were born much more than in our time, i.e. according to the number of children in the family of the ancient Slavs and modern families are very different, in addition to this, among the pagans, it was not considered shameful for a man to bring as many wives to his house as he could feed. Those. approximately four or five brothers lived in such a house with their wives, children, parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, second cousins. Each person who lived in such a family considered himself primarily a member of the family, and not an individual. And also any Slav could name his ancestors several centuries ago and tell in detail about each of them. Numerous holidays were associated with the ancestors, many of which have survived to this day (Radunitsa, parental day).

When getting acquainted, the ancient Slavs had to mention whose son, grandson and great-grandson he was, without this people would consider that a person who did not name his father and grandfather was hiding something. Each clan had a certain reputation. In one, people were famous for honesty and nobility, in the other there were scammers, therefore, having met a representative of this kind, one should keep an eye out. The man knew that at the first meeting he would be evaluated as his family deserves. On the other hand, he himself felt responsible for the entire extended family.

In those days, the everyday clothes of every Slav represented his complete "passport". The clothes of each contained a huge number of details that spoke about its owner: what tribe he was from, what kind, etc. Looking at the clothes, it was immediately possible to determine who it was and where it came from, and therefore, how to behave with it.

In this kind, there have never been any forgotten children, or abandoned old people, i.e. human society took care of each of its members, worrying about the survival of the clan and society as a whole.

The house, which has always been a protection, a refuge, in beliefs was opposed to everything else, someone else's. He was the first concern of any peasant who decided to stand out from his former family. The place for the construction was chosen very carefully, it depended on whether there would be luck, happiness and prosperity in the house. The place where the bathhouse used to be was considered bad, the suicide was buried, where the house was on fire, etc. At the place they liked, they put water in a vessel for the night under the open sky. If by morning it remained clean and transparent, then it was considered a good sign. Starting work, they prayed at sunrise and drank the "hand" set by the owner. Three things were placed in the front, "holy" corner: money (coin) - "for wealth", incense - "for holiness", sheep's wool - "for warmth". Above, under the roof, a carved comb with carved figures, for example, a rooster, was placed. As a prophetic bird, he was very revered by the ancient Slavs. It was believed that the rooster awakens the sun to life, returns light and warmth to the earth. In the guise of a rooster, the Slavs personified heavenly fire. He protected the house from fire and lightning. Moving to new house performed at night, on a full moon. It was accompanied by various rituals. The owners usually carried with them a rooster, a cat, an icon and bread and salt; often - a pot of porridge, coals from an old stove, garbage from a former house, etc. Garbage in the beliefs and magic of the ancient Slavs is an attribute of the house, a receptacle for the souls of ancestors. He was transferred during the resettlement, hoping that with him the spirit would pass into the new house - the guardian of the house, good luck, wealth and prosperity. They used garbage in divination and for various magical purposes, for example, fumigated with the smoke of burning garbage from the evil eye.

One of the sacred centers of the house was the oven. They cooked food in the oven, slept on it, in some places it was used as a bath; mostly associated with it. ethnoscience. The furnace symbolized a woman giving birth to a female womb. She was the main talisman of the family inside the house. Oaths were made at the stove, an agreement was made at the stove pillar; milk teeth of children and umbilical cords of newborns were hidden in the stove; the patron saint of the house, the brownie, lived in the undergrowth. The table was also a subject of special reverence. When selling a house, the table was necessarily transferred to the new owner. He was usually moved only when performing certain ceremonies, for example, weddings or funerals. Then they performed a ritual round of the table, or they carried a newborn around it. The table was both the starting point and the end point of any path. He was kissed before a long journey and upon returning home.

A part of the house endowed with many symbolic functions is the window. It was often used as an "unconventional way out of the house" to deceive unclean spirits, sickness, etc. For example, if children died in the house, then the newborn was passed through the window so that he would live. Windows were often perceived as a way for something holy, pure. Through the windows it was not allowed to spit, pour out slops, throw out garbage, because under them, according to legend, stands the Angel of the Lord. If the house was a protection, a refuge, then the gate was a symbol of the border between one's own, developed space and someone else's, the outside world.

They were considered dangerous place where all evil spirits dwell. Icons were hung on the gate, and in the morning, leaving the house, they prayed first at the church, then at the sun, and then at the gate and on all four sides. A wedding candle was often attached to them, the teeth of a harrow were stuck into them or a scythe was hung up to protect against unclean spirits, they were plugged into the slots of the gate thorny plants as a talisman against witches.

Since ancient times, various magical actions have been performed at the gate. They traditionally in early spring bonfires were kindled, which cleansed the space of the gate, and with it the entire space of the courtyard.

Initiation, funeral and marriage as the main rites

Initiation

To become a member of the tribe, the child had to undergo an initiation rite. It happened in three steps. The first - immediately at birth, when the midwife cut the umbilical cord with the tip of a combat arrow in the case of a boy, or with scissors in the case of a girl, and swaddled the child in a diaper with signs of the family.

When the boy reached three years old, he was put under a harness - that is, they put him on a horse, girded him with a sword and took him around the yard three times. After that, they began to teach him proper masculine duties. At the age of three, a girl was given a spindle and a spinning wheel for the first time. The action is also sacred, and the mother girded her with the first thread spun by her daughter on her wedding day to protect her from spoilage. Spinning among all peoples was associated with fate, and from the age of three, girls were taught to spin fate for themselves and their home. At the age of twelve or thirteen, upon reaching marriageable age, boys and girls were brought to the men's and women's houses, where they received a full set of sacred knowledge they needed in life. After that, the girl jumped into a poneva (a kind of skirt worn over a shirt and talking about maturity). The young man after the initiation received the right to wear military weapon and get married.

Wedding

Marriage customs among different Slavic peoples were different. The most common ritual was this. The wedding consisted of the worship of Lada, Triglav and Rod, after which the sorcerer called for a blessing on them, and the newlyweds walked three times around the sacred tree, as usual around the birch), calling the gods and the coast of the place where the ceremony took place as witnesses. Without fail, the wedding was preceded by the kidnapping of the bride or conspiracy. Generally the bride had to go to new family(kind) by force, so as not to offend the guardian spirits of a kind ("I do not betray, they lead by force"). Therefore, long sad, mournful songs of the bride and her sobs are associated with this.

The newlyweds did not drink at the feast, they were forbidden, it was believed that they would be drunk from love.

The first night was spent on distant sheaves covered with furs (a wish for wealth and many children).

Funeral

The Slavs had several funeral rites. The first, during the heyday of paganism, was the rite of burning, followed by the pouring of the barrow. The second method was used to bury the so-called "mortgaged" dead - those who died a suspicious, unclean death. The funeral of such dead was expressed in throwing the body away into a swamp or ravine, after which this body was covered with branches from above. The rite was performed in such a form so as not to defile the earth and water with an "unclean" dead person. Burial in the ground, which is customary in our time, became widespread only after the adoption of Christianity. Conclusion: Many traditions, customs and rituals that existed among the ancient Slavs have come down to our times.

Knowledge of the culture and history of our ancestors is necessary for spiritual self-development and broadening one's horizons. The bizarre and sometimes senselessly cruel rites of the ancient Slavs have always been attractive for study by historians. wedding as it is

There were three main tribes in Ancient Rus':

Drevlyans
northerners
Glade
Each tribe had certain wedding traditions unique to them. The unbridled northerners and drevlyans acted unceremoniously, and simply stole their future wives from their father's houses. After the traditional kidnapping, without any celebrations, they began to conduct the usual family life. The glades were more restrained in their manifestations, for them respect for a woman, and for the institution of marriage in general, was in the first place. According to their concepts, it was believed that a husband and wife should live together all their lives in respect for each other.

The wedding has long been celebrated noisily and cheerfully, and Slavic wedding rites were extremely far from modesty and silence. A wedding in Rus' was always played for more than one day, and usually all members of the tribe took part in it. In pre-Christian Rus', there was the word "game", meaning any holiday held by the ancient Slavs. Therefore, the wedding is precisely “played”, because this phrase is rooted in hoary antiquity.

Many historians believe that the nature of wedding customs can be judged on moral character a certain nationality. But this cannot apply to Rus' for the sole reason that many tribes existed side by side on its territory, and each of them married according to its own special traditions.

Some concepts of the ancient Slavs have taken root in our minds to this day. The glades believed that the groom should bring his chosen one only to his parental home. And nothing else. This rule was strictly followed and strictly obeyed. Other tribes were distinguished by barbarian customs. Stealing a bride, or even having several wives instead of one, is a common harsh reality of those times.

The ancient clearings were wiser in this regard. The man in their family was the head of the family, the parents agreed and blessed the marriage of their children. There were cases when mother and father gave their young daughter in marriage, against her wishes.

ancient wedding customs

The rites of the ancient Slavs, including wedding ones, were sometimes completely ridiculous, and at the same time unjustifiably cruel towards an innocent bride. Very often, the girl was assigned the role of a wordless victim, who had to meekly endure all scourging and humiliation. Guests from near and far abroad were covered with a sticky sweat of fear when they saw with their own eyes the ancient Slavic custom of "unshoeing one's wife." The unfortunate woman was stripped naked and a severe beating of her body with a whip began. Sometimes, instead of a whip, an ordinary boot top was used. The passage of this rite was good example future submissive silence and complete enslavement of the wife by her husband. It is terrible even to imagine what the poor bride experienced, going through such sophisticated torture.

The pagans practiced marriage near nearby bodies of water. Streams, lakes, rivers - these places were considered sacred, because the pagans worshiped the supreme natural forces and believed in their undeniable power. The future husband and wife walked around the pond three times, and only then their joint union was recognized as valid. This ceremony was carried out for quite a long time, and only with the advent of Christian culture was it replaced by a more famous wedding in our time.

Slavic rituals were sometimes distinguished by some originality. On the first Sunday after happy holiday At Easter, the young men indulged in fun on the hill, splashing water on the girls who sympathized with them. As a result, it was necessary to enter into marriage with the girl whom he had taken aback with water from head to toe. The Slavs passionately believed in the power of water. Water element was the most sacred for them, because without it all life on earth would have perished long ago.

Reliable sources about the weddings of the ancient Slavs on this moment does not exist. All information is taken from the chronicles found during excavations, and it is not a fact that the customs described in them are the true truth. Outstanding Historian Russian Empire Karamzin Nikolay spoke about the absence of a wedding ceremony among the Slavs. But wedding traditions were inhuman and ruthless in relation to the wife.

The husband bought his wife as a commodity and turned her into his obedient slave. The chosen one of the man was a virgin, and after the act of defloration, she was completely given over to the possession of her tyrant husband. If the spouse died before the wife, then according to ancient custom, she was obliged to set herself on fire and burn at the ritual fire. If a woman refused to kill herself in this way, then a heavy stigma of shame fell on her entire family. In pre-Christian Rus', there were three main milestones in life path person:

The birth
The conclusion of marriage bonds
Departure to another world
When Orthodoxy was adopted, the ancient traditions were practically not shaken. Only a few of them have changed under the influence of time.

What were the customs, customs and beliefs of the Eastern Slavs? They help us restore the picture of the past various sources, including written and folklore.

The whole life of the Eastern Slavs was closely connected with their beliefs, namely with paganism. These are holidays, and rituals, and painting, and crafts. As for customs, blood feuds still continued to exist in antiquity. It was a remnant of the tribal system.

When a person was born, they performed the rite of naming. Each Slav had two names. One is for everyone, and the second is protective, only for loved ones. This was done to protect a person from the evil eye and damage. The newborn was put on a shirt, which was sewn from the father's or mother's. This was also done for a defensive purpose.

The beliefs and customs of the Eastern Slavs were very peculiar, original. They had their deep sacred meaning. Not a single rite, not a single custom was carried out just like that. There were certain causal relationships between them.

The holidays of the Slavs were numerous. Some of them were in honor of some god (for example, Kupala).

But the largest were the festivities associated with the arrival of one season and the end of another, as well as with agricultural work. After all, the most important aspect of life for the Slavs has always been nature-nurse.

All rituals during the holidays were one way or another aimed at a good harvest, fertility of the land. The traditional ones were burning effigies at the stake, burying something in the ground, washing with water. The most famous holidays that have survived to this day were Shrovetide (spring meeting), Kolyada (winter festivities). All of them were accompanied by unbridled fun, jokes, songs and dances. The hostesses laid rich tables to appease the gods and nature in their face.

Rites and beliefs of the Eastern Slavs

Slavic rituals have enveloped a person's life, starting from the very birth. The first was a birth ceremony aimed at protecting the newborn. At the same time, the umbilical cord and the child's place were buried in the ground, having previously spoken. The next ceremony was naming. The Slavs believed that the name of a person can greatly affect his fate. The ceremony was performed by a priest, while a lock of a person's hair was thrown into a fire.

There were ceremonies for teenagers, wedding ceremonies and many others. And the last for each was the burial rite. Most often, the Slavs resorted to burning the corpse. However, burial customs differed in different regions residence.

The beliefs of the Eastern Slavs were reduced to the worship of the gods, of which there were a lot. They also believed in different spirits, creatures. The Slavs believed that every particle of nature is alive.

Eastern Slavs in antiquity, their traditions and beliefs are not just historical facts. It's part of the culture, part of us. After all, many of them after several hundred years still exist. They survived even after the Baptism of Rus'.

Remnants of Slavic beliefs and rituals are reflected in the fairy tales that we read to our children. Our ancestors left us the richest heritage, the richest culture. And we, as descendants, must keep them and pass them on by inheritance.