Fhfior a long time, the Slavs maintained a patriarchal tribal mode of life. Each tribe consisted of clans - a set of related families who lived together, owned common property and were ruled by elders. Tribal elders had great power in their clans, and at the veche (council) they resolved all tribal issues. Gradually, with the isolation of the economic activities of families, the tribal community was replaced by the neighbourhood community (verv’). Representatives of all families already gathered at the veche and elected the elders to decide the common affairs. Thus, the neighbouring community included families that not only had family ties, but also belonged to different clans. With the development of trade on the lands of the Slavs, cities arise: Kyiv - near the glades, Chernigov - among the Severians, Lyubech - among the Radimichians, Smolensk - among the Krivichians, Novgorod - among the Ilmen Slovenians, etc. In the cities, druzhina (military force) were created to protect merchants. Most often, such druzhinas were headed by Varangian leaders - konungs (kings). Gradually they seized power in the cities and became sovereign lords. The Old Russian chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years" contains a legend that such Varangian principalities were founded by Askold and Dir in Kyiv, Rurik in Novgorod, Rogvolod in Polotsk. Royal authority arose among the Eastern Slavs even without the participation of the Varangian kings.

The bulk of the Slavs lived in settlements (gorodishche). They have always been located close to water, on the banks of a river or lake. The river was not only a road to the neighbours, it also fed the inhabitants of the settlements. The main occupation of the Slavs was agriculture. Ploughed wooden ploughs on horses or oxen. Also, the Slavs have long been engaged in cattle breeding, but due to climatic conditions, it was not very developed. Beekeeping - the extraction of honey and wax from forest bees - and hunting have become widespread.

Cccclothing in ancient times and now is an integral part of life. The clothing of the Eastern Slavs is a cultural and historical heritage for us. Then, looking at a person, one could say for sure: what kind of tribe she or he belongs to, what locality he/she lives in, what position he/she has in society, what he/she does, what age he/she is, and even in what country he/she lives. Also, looking at a woman, one could understand whether she was married or not. First of all, clothing was strictly divided into everyday and festive. It differed in both the quality of the material and the colour scheme.

In addition to the simplest and coarsest fabrics, there were many fine fabrics, both local and imported. Of course, the quality of clothing depended on the well-being of its owner - not everyone could afford expensive imported silk fabrics. But wool and linen were available to all segments of the population. The fabric was dyed with natural dyes - leaves, roots, flowers of plants. So oak bark gave a brown colour, madder roots - red, nettle with hot dyeing - grey, and with cold - green, onion peel - yellow.

CLOTHES OF NOBLE PEOPLE

Things were different for the wealthy and famous. In addition to everyday clothes made from the best varieties of linen, their clothes were not made from homespun canvas, but from foreign fabrics brought by merchants from distant countries - Byzantium, China, Iran.

Festive rubakhas (shirts) of the nobility were sewn from expensive thin linens or silks of bright colours and decorated with embroideries. Despite the conventionality of the ornament pattern, many of its elements had a symbolic character, they seemed to protect a person from another evil eye and misfortunes. Jewellery was “hinged” - removable: richly embroidered with gold, precious stones and pearls. Ornaments of protective motifs were usually embroidered on shirts: horses, birds, the Tree of Life, plants and floral ornaments, anthropomorphic characters, images of the Gods.

Perhaps the clothes were not as diverse as now, but undoubtedly original and beautiful!

Tfhhhe beliefs of the Eastern Slavs are called paganism because they worshipped many gods. Most deities were associated with natural phenomena. Almost every phenomenon or important component of life that the Eastern Slavs professed, corresponded to a certain god.

The Eastern Slavs did not build temples. They held rituals in groves, in glades, near stone idols and in other places. They did not make images of the gods for a long time. Later, idols appeared - figures of the gods roughly made of wood. There were no priests - special intermediaries between people and gods - either. Anyone who wanted to could make sacrifices. But among the Slavs there were magicians-sorcerers, and miracle workers - people who knew how to recognize the will of the gods.

Also, the Eastern Slavs believed in the leshy, domovoy, rusalki, vodyanoy and others.

Mythological representations are closely connected with rituals, they are reproduced and transmitted in ritual actions. Most of the materials on Slavic mythology have come down to us precisely in the context of ritual culture, the elements of which were described by medieval authors, and also recorded in the form of remnants of paganism in folk customs and festive sacramentals by ethnographers of the 19th - early 20th centuries.

Folk holiday rituals have retained many elements of paganism, despite the persecution by the church. The folk calendar very sensitively reflected the life of nature. In the first half of March, as soon as the snow began to melt under the rays of the spring sun and the first thawed patches appeared, the Eastern Slavs called for spring. It seemed to our ancestors that spring could pass by their villages if it was not invited.

In the spring, komoeditsy were also celebrated - the holiday of the awakening of the bear, which marked the awakening of nature. All spring people sang songs in honor of Lada, Lelya, Yarila. In the second half of March, during the arrival of storks, birds that, according to the Slavs, bring happiness and prosperity, women baked cookies in the form of these birds or their legs. Researchers of East Slavic paganism speak of two periods of mermaids (festivals dedicated to mermaids, equally associated with both the cult of fertility and the veneration of the spirits of the dead): summer and winter.

For all Slavs, summer mermaids period was associated with spells for the fertility of the fields. Materials on the ethnography of the Bulgarians give us the most complete and interesting information about the Rusalians. Bulgarians celebrate Mermaid Week starting with the Trinity. You can’t work this week, otherwise the “Rusalian disease” will befall. Among the participants in the mermaids periods, special people stood out - the rusalians, who performed the main rites of the mermaid games.

They united in squads from three to fifteen people under the leadership of the leaders - vatafins, who received their position by inheritance. It was they, who prepared the mermaid banner, sprinkled it with enchanted water and distributed to the mermaids "toyagi" - ritual sticks.

The rusalians moved from village to village in a circle, starting and ending with the village of vatafin. It is believed that where the rusalians passed, the fields bloom well and promise a rich harvest. Mermaid games consist of various dances and jumps. The dances are carried out at a very fast pace, that it seems as if the dancers do not touch the ground with their feet. The dances are accompanied by various cries and exclamations and end with the rusalians going berserk and falling senseless to the ground.

fraudulently create a false impression of your capabilities from someone

any actions aimed at aggravating relations, moods, feelings (more often it has negative meaning)

useless, without any result

about a person who has experienced a lot, who is used to everything

it is better to do something, or at least start doing it late, than not to do it at all

to choose to ignore something that you know is wrong or illegal

carefully protect something or somebody

easily, without any difficulties (about affairs, events, about life, etc.)

Offfimens, beliefs and superstitions surround a person from birth to death. They are an integral part of the culture of every nation.

The Eastern Slavs attached great importance to the surrounding world - the forest, the river, the house, objects and living beings.

Our ancestors deified nature, seeking to find protection and support in it in a complex and harsh world. And with the help of omens and beliefs, they tried to protect themselves from everything frightening and inexplicable.

Many Slavic superstitions, omens and beliefs cannot be explained by logic or science, but, nevertheless, in the modern world people continue to follow them, keeping the life of their ancestors and a piece of superstitious fear in their soul.

When moving to a new house or apartment, you need to take an old broom with you

The doors began to creak – leading to misfortune

After sunset, you can not throw out garbage, – there will be no money, and you can be robbed

Talking with a guest through the threshold leads to a quarrel

You can not whistle in the house, otherwise there will be no money

Do not store broken dishes

You can’t sit on the threshold - an omen of illness

A cat is the first to be admitted to a new house or apartment

An unmarried girl can't sit on the windowsill – she won't get married

To meet a woman with an empty bucket - to failure and trouble

Hiccups overcome – it means someone is thinking about you

Half-eaten bread and crumbs from the table are not thrown away

To sneeze during a conversation is to confirm the truthfulness of the words just uttered

This Slavic omen is connected with the fact that a Domovoy can live under a broom, which needs to be transported to a new place.

You can't whistle in the house, otherwise it will be empty. People generally have a negative attitude towards whistling. Whistling is the fun of idlers. And mystically it is associated with the whistling of the wind, which can carry money and goods out of the house.

The threshold in the house acts as a mystical boundary between the outside world and the dwelling. This sign also speaks of the good morals of the ancestors and the observance of the rules of hospitality. The guest must be invited into the house.

It is known that the flair of cats allows you to determine a healthy, clean, cozy place in the house.

Cracks on the dishes symbolize discord in the family. In addition, a fragment can injure household members.

This superstition can be explained by the fact that the front door is a protection not only from strangers, but also an obstacle for evil spirits. Therefore, our ancestors perceived its creaking as a kind of warning.

This belief is easily explained - sitting on the threshold with the door open, a person finds himself in a draft and can get sick.

The essence of this belief is connected with the fear of losing something in the dark, when evil spirits begin to rule.

Slavs believed that a girl should not flaunt herself. About the one who does nothing but look at the street from the window, they said that she had only one thing on her mind – to look out for suitors, and to get acquainted with men.

An empty bucket in women's hands, according to ancient beliefs, foreshadowed trouble. It is a woman carrying an empty bucket who is able to take away luck and positive energy simply by crossing your path.

They must be given to the birds, otherwise hunger will settle in the house.

This is just one of the many omens associated with hiccups: it also means that someone is jealous, scolds you, etc. Long-standing beliefs say that a demon who has possessed a person makes itself known by hiccups.