It’s another Saturday, so it’s time for another Slavic Saturday post! As I’ve been writing, I’ve also been helping my wife, who is a naturalist, during a competition this weekend called City Nature Challenge, and taking pictures of birds got me thinking about their role in Slavic folklore and mythology.
(June 2021 Updated) Note: If you enjoy Slavic mythology, check out A Dagger in the Winds, the first book in my Slavic fantasy series called The Frostmarked Chronicles. You can also join my monthly newsletter for updates and free novellas (such as the prequel, The Rider in the Night) set in the world of the series.
The luck (or lack of it) signaled by birds is common in many cultures. The crow, eagle, etc. are often symbols used in folklore, and Slavic folklore is no different. To the early Slavs especially, the stork was seen as good luck, but there is a more sorrowful side to many birds as well.
In Slavic pagan beliefs, souls are separate from the body and dwelt on earth for forty days after someone died. They were often believed to be symbolized as birds when they chose to be visible during this time, and even beyond death, different birds could be seen as messengers from the afterlife of Nawia/Nav: crows and ravens in the winter and storks and nightjars in the summertime. So in this, birds can be a positive sign of luck or a lost one, but they can also be a painful reminder of death.
Different birds were also seen as symbols for various gods or spirits. Perun, the god of thunder, for example, was often represented by the eagle and sometimes the raven. Various shapeshifting demons could also take up the form of a bird, such as the Chała/Ala.
There a few famous creatures throughout Slavic mythology that are connected to birds as well. The first is Żar-ptak, the fire-bird, who is a famous phoenix that appears in many folkloric tales as a falcon with feathers that never cease to glow, even when plucked. This made the fire-bird (and the falcon) an emblem of valor and courage.
Two more mythological bird-creatures are the Alkonost and Sirin. While both are colorful birds with the head of a woman and sing beautiful songs, the Alkonost comes from the gods’ realm of Prawia/Prav and is always considered to be helpful and kind, and the Sirin comes from the underworld and is considered malicious.
Another creature with bird-like elements is the Serbian mythological Cikavac. This winged creature could almost resemble a dragon when fully grown, but it has a long beak and pelican like sack. It was believed if you carried its egg under your arm for forty days, then once it hatches you will have all your wishes granted, be able to understand animal languages, and have a pet dragon-bird-thing.
There are a whole host of other creatures that have bird-like elements as well, but those should be a few to give you a taste of what Slavic mythology has to offer with birds and their role. I hope you enjoyed this week’s post. If you did, be sure to subscribe to my monthly newsletter and check out the rest of the posts in the series.
*As always just a quick disclaimer. Slavic mythology is broad and not written in many if any primary sources, so there’s a variety of interpretations. The interpretations I’m using here are from the sources I’ve found to be reliable (especially Slavorum for this article) and as well as some creative freedom for my book series.
ANIMISM soul.