| Mokosh мокошь | |
|---|---|
| Member ofVladimir's pantheon | |
.jpg) The twenty-fifth page ofLaurentian Codex, with mention of the pantheon of Kyiv, 1377. Mokosh's name is marked in red. | |
| Texts | Primary Chronicle and other dependent texts |
| Gender | Female |
Mokosh[a] (/ˈmɒkɒʃ/ ⓘMOK-osh) is aSlavic goddess. No narratives about this deity have survived and scholars must rely on academic disciplines likephilology to discern details about her.
In 980, princeVladimir the Great established a wooden statue of Mokosh, along with other deities, on a hill inKyiv, Ukraine. Some historians have described this event as a manifestation of Vladimir's pagan reformation but other scholars deny such a reformation was carried out, and the question of its existence is debatable in modern scholarship. In 998, during theChristianization of Kievan Rus', statues of deities were destroyed. Mokosh was mentioned in various sermons (calledWords andTeachings) against Paganism along with thevilas, but is not described by them.
In academia, the opinion has spread that the cult of Mokosh has passed to thefolk-ChristianParaskeva Friday, the personification of Friday associated with water and spinning. Because of this identification, Friday began to be considered a day dedicated to the goddess, and a conclusion about the popularity of Mokosh among women in Christian times was drawn. In later studies, the idea of an identification with Paraskeva was criticized because Paraskeva's association with spinning, water, and Friday has Christian rather than pagan roots.
According to etymological reconstruction, Mokosh was the goddess of waters and fertility. Later, according to most researchers, she was reflected inbylinas andzagovory asMat Zemlya, the personification of Earth in East Slavic folklore. Another reconstruction was made on the basis of ethnography; at the end of the 19th century, the nameskikimora asMokusha orMokosha were recorded in theRussian North. The coincidence is explained by kikimora being a demonized version of the goddess and, by approximating between the two, researchers have portrayed Mokosh as the goddess of love and birth, with a connection to night, the moon, spinning, sheep farming and women's economy. Spinning was the occupation of several Europeangoddesses of fate, which led to the characterization of Mokosh as a deity who controls fate. This reconstruction disagrees with data on her etymology, which shows spinning could not have been the deity's main role.
The Slavic version of the basic myth theory, based on ethnographic and linguistic data, depicts Mokosh asPerun's wife. It is believed Mokosh cheated on Perun withVeles, causing Perun to kill Mokosh's children. The theory has not been recognized in academia. The supposition Mokosh is depicted on theZbruch Idol and on North Russian 19th-century embroideries has also been rejected. ArchaeologistBoris Rybakov's theory the goddess' original name wasMakosh is not supported by other researchers.
InOld East Slavic texts, the nameMokosh is rendered asMokošĭ (мокошь),Mokŭšĭ (мокъшь)[1] – in ancient textsuppercase was not used. According toOleg Trubachyov, the formMokŭšĭ was formed through the secondary adideation of*Mokošь and*kъšь "fate".[2][3] Grammatically, the theonym Mokosh belongs to thefeminine gender,[4] from which it is inferred that the deity was specifically a goddess.[5] In older studies[6][7] and later chronicles, she may have appeared to be a male deity,[8] but this variant is secondary to the original.[9] According to the most-reasonable and widespread etymology[10][11] the theonym was formed by the suffixal method from the Proto-Slavic stem*mok- meaning "wet" with the suffix*-ošь.[9][12]Vladimir Toporov andVyacheslav Ivanov comment this etymology is "indisputable",[13] understanding her name as "She who is wet".[14] The first to put forward such an etymology wasVatroslav Jagić,[15] who believed the theonym is a translation or anamplification of the Greek wordmalakiya, and thereforeMokosh was a literary fiction.[16][17][18] Toporov, Ivanov andMax Vasmer consider Jagić's position to be incorrect.[17][19]
According to Michał Łuczyński, the theonym may have appeared after the 3rd century AD due to the occurrence of the [š] sound, which arose in Slavic languages as part of thefirst palatalization. He derives the name of the goddess from the unattested noun*mokošь "someone/something wet" because the suffix*-ošь forms the names of the bearers of features, and he drives this noun from the v-tematic*moky (gen*mokъve) "wet place, mud" (cf.Polishdial.mokwa,Ukrainianmokva[20]) and compares the nameMokosh to other names ending in-osh that are derived from v-thematic words with topographical meaning,e.g.Old PolishBagosz (<*bagy),Narosz (<*nary). In connection with this etymology, he considers Mokosh to be a "pluvial goddess with uranic characteristics".[12] Similarly,Valeriy Mokiyenko [Wikidata] understands the theonym to derive from a word meaning "moist, swampy place".[21] Toporov, Ivanov, and Łuczyński believe the theonymMokosh is a later epithet that replaced the original, unknown name of the deity.[13][12] Ivanov and Toporov compare the etymology withLithuanianmakusyti "to splash", "to walk on mud";makasyne "slush", "mud", "mixture", "mess".[2]
Vasmer and many modern academics[who?] consider Mokosh to be the goddess of fertility, waters and earth,[19][22][23] which brings her closer to the laterMat Zemlya,[24][23][25][26][27] who is often mentioned inbylinas andzagovory.Aleksander Gieysztor commented that the association with Mat Zemlya is shared by most researchers.[28] Mokiyenko andHenryk Łowmiański also suggested a connection with rain.[22][29]
LinguistAndrey Zaliznyak and religious academic Andrzej Szyjewski have likened Mokosh to theIranianAnahita because the latter is also called "Wet"[30] or "Broad ,Spread out".[31] In a similar way, philologist Nikolay Zubov links her to theScythian goddess of earth and waterApi.[32] On the basis of their approximation with Anahita, Toporov and Ivanov attribute the function of procreation to Mokosh[33] and consider the goddessZhiva to be her "higher hypostasis", opposite to the "low hypostasis" that is Mokosh.[13]
CeltologistViktor Kalygin approximated Mokosh to theIrish goddessMacha, in his opinion originally the goddess of fertility. He raised the theonym Macha to*mokosiā, which “exactly corresponds to the name of the Slavic goddess Mokosh.”[34] This etymological coincidence is supported by linguistVáclav Blažek.[35] Religious scholarPatrice Lajoye points out that Mokosh and Macha have a number of features in common.[36] The theonym Macha is related to the following appellatives:Old Irishmacha "cow paddock, milking parade ground or field",machaire "large field or plain", which were formed after thespirantization ⟨k⟩ of three possibleProto-Celtic forms with the meaning "plain":*MakViā,*MakVviā,*MakVsiā, whereV is the Celtic ⟨a⟩ or ⟨o⟩.[37][38] Celtologist Garrett Olmsted derives the theonym Macha from another form of PC*magos "plain, field".[39] The common semantic meaning for Macha and Mokosh may be "moist soil", leading to the meanings "field, meadow" on the one hand and "water nymph", "fairy" or "fertility goddess" on the other.[40] Macha was understood by the Irish as a trifunctional goddess: as seer, warrior and guarantor of prosperity.[41] Mokosh, unlike Macha, was not a warrior, but from the 16th century her name was used to refer to witches and healers, indicating a possible function as a prophetess.[36] Irish mythology tells the story of a widowed villager,Cruinniuc, to whom Macha arrived one day in the form of a beautiful girl and wordlessly began to care for his home. She became pregnant with Cruinniuc, and from that moment on, their home was prosperous. Later, as a result of breaking the order, Macha tells Cruinniuc that he has broken the contract, so she leaves him and curses the local men to experience labor pains for five days and four nights for nine generations. This view of Macha as a house fairy correlates with ethnographic data about Mokosh as a house spirit.[42]
SlavistGrigory Ilinsky [Wikidata] put forward a hypothesis for the theonym's origin based on parallels with theBaltic languages. According to him, the theonymMokosh has a counterpart in Lithuanian in the wordsmakstýti ("to weave")mèksti ("to knit"), andmãkas ("purse");[2] related to theRussianmoshna ("bag, purse"),[43] and thus the theonym comes from Proto-Slavic*mokos- ("spinning", "weaving"). Toporov and Ivanov, who are proponents of the moisture etymology, "rehabilitate" Ilinsky's etymology, seeing a connection in the Lithuanian stems in the wordsmazgas ("knot");megzti ("to knit", "to tie") withmazgoti ("to wash").[13] ESSJa andMartin Pukanec called Ilinsky's etymology "hypothetical".[2][44]
Boris Rybakov consideredMakosh to be a more accurate reading of the goddess' name, dividing the theonym into two parts:ma- and-kosh, wherema- was short formother (Old East Slavicмати,mati), approaching a certainCretan-Mycenaean goddess namedMa in a culture very distant from the Slavs. He understood the second part-kosh as an Old East Slavic word meaning "fate".[45] Rybakov thus translates this theonym as "Mother of good fate", identifying her with the goddess of fate, and also at the same time as "Mother of good harvests", since fruit could be placed in the basket (see*košь), adding that Mokosh is also the goddess of fertility, as well as the "Mother of luck", since, in his opinion, the harvest is luck.
Leo Klejn, who sticks to the reconstruction of Mokosh as the goddess of women's labor, particularly spinning, criticizes Rybakov, noting that such functions are not supported by anything. The etymology is also criticized:mother can be shortened toma mainly in the language of children. Klejn points out that in Russian, compound words are constructed differently: the main noun stands at the end and the defining word at the beginning, and gives such examples asBogo-matier andDaz-bog, so the expected form of a name would be*Koshma. The word is indeed found in Russian, but is ofTatar origin. The notationMakosh itself is not standard in chronicles, unlikeMokosh.[46]ESSJa,[2] Toporov, and Ivanov reject Rybakov's etymology.[47]
According to Nikolay Galkovsky, the nameMokosh was borrowed from an unknown source.[48]Evgeny Anichkov believed that the name was derived from the ethnonym ofFinno-Ugric group, theMokshas, part of theMordvins, which he believes explains whyVladimir the Great had to establish statues of Slavic gods: The gods of Vladimir's pantheon were of non-Slavic origin, where Perun was said to have been brought fromScandinavia as the personal god of theRurikids, and other gods established by Vladimir, such as Mokosh, were gods of peoples neighboring the Slavs, whose statues were established by Vladimir to centralize his power.[49] Anichkov compared Finnish toponyms such asMoksha, which is a right tributary of theOka,[50]Ropsha,Shapsha,Kapsha,Kiddeksha with the name of the goddess.
Viljo Mansikka [Wikidata], on the other hand, believed thatMokosh was derived from the Finnish demonMoksha.[51] This view has not met with widespread acceptance.[52]Henryk Łowmiański, who had no doubts about the Slavic etymology, considers the demonMoksha to be most likely a loan from the Slavs, or that the sound similarity is coincidental;[53] Gieysztor also considered the demon to be a loan.[54] Later researchersNikolaĭ Mokshin [Wikidata] and Zubov denied the Finno-Ugric origin of Mokosh.[51] Toporov, Iwanov[47] and ESSJa share a similar point of view.[2] Mikhail Vasilyev believes that the connection with the Finnish ethnonymMoksha is coincidental,[26] while the very "affiliation of Mokosh with Slavic paganism is indisputable".[55] Michal Téra suggested that the Mokosh was borrowed from the Slavs and later demonized.[52]
Etymologies connecting theonym withSanskritmakhas "rich", "noble",[2] or, according toNatalya Guseva,[51]moksha "liberation," and "death" are questionable; as well as the relationship withAncient Greekmákhlos "lustful", "violent", with Old Lithuaniankekše "prostitute",Avestanmaekantis; and "tree sap."[2]Thracian origin of Mokosh is also doubtful.[2] Gieysztor called the etymology ofVittore Pisani, who considered the theonym to be a word composed of the rootsmot- "to spool, to reel" and-kos "abundance", "unbelievable".[28]
There is onomastic data that can be linked to Mokosh: theCroatian masculine surname and given nameMokoš,[4][57] the masculine termsmakesh,mokesh in the Russian proverbBog ne makesh, chem-nibud da poteshit;mokush "rusalka";mokosha "troublesome person"; inYaroslavl regionmokosha "phantom, ghost". InTver andNovgorod regionsmokshit "to cry, beg for something". In Novgorod meaning "to obsessively demand something, to pester with requests" is also attested.[4] Russian dialects include the wordsmokosya "foolish, stupid woman",[4] "whore, hussy"[58] andMokrosh,Mokresh meaning theconstellation Aquarius.[59] From the Belarusian familyMokish.,[60] theproper nounMokosha,Makosha Khlopun was attested inPskov'scensus book [Wikidata] from 1585, belonging to cannon maker.[57]
_cropped.jpg)
The toponyms of theCzech villageMokošín[4] was attested since 11th century,[62] and hillMokošin Vrch;[59]Slovene formerstreamMókoš [Wikidata];SorbianМосоcize,Mockschiez;PolishMokoszyn,Mokosznica,Mokossko,Mokos; located nearStralsund in the formerPolabian lands of Germany, theOld Polabian toponymMuuks,Mukus attested in 1310;[4][63][64] The modern town ofMobschatz [de], northwest ofDresden, was namedMococize in 1091.[38] NearPegnitz in northeasternBavaria there is a village ofMoggast [de], which, in the 14th century, was calledMochcus orMokoš;[38]CroatianMokosica nearDubrovnik, mountainMukoša near Marloh and smaller mountainsMukos,Mokoš andMokos;MacedonianMukos;[54]Mokoshinsky monastyr inChernihiv Oblast, Russia,[51] and swampy area,Mokoshino boloto in Belarus.[60] There was a wasteland or lye calledMokoshevo inCherepovetsky Uyezd the ethnographerMikhail Gerasimov noted.[65]
It is likely the onomastics materials speak of the Proto-Slavic antiquity of the goddess,[9] or the toponyms are derived from*mokosъ ("floodplain meadow") or directly from the stem root*mok-.[66] Zubov said in light of the wordmokosha as a term for a troublesome person, the relationship with Mokosh becomes problematic.[67] Ilyinsky lists a number of toponyms[b] similar to the theonym, but denies their kinship, recognizing toponyms derived from the root*mok- ("to (get) wet"), from wordsmakushka,mak ("poppy") and from dialectal form of given name Maximus:Mokey.[68] LinguistStanisław Urbańczyk considers the correlation of toponyms with Mokosh to be questionable.[69]
Toporov associates Mokosh with a character from aSlovenian fairy tale calledMokoška,Mokuška,Mokoška,[4][70] which is also known asLahnwaberl [Wikidata][71] or Lamwaberl.[72] The story was recorded in 1855 byDavorin Trstenjak, who heard it fromRudolf Gustav Puff [Wikidata] inLower Styria[72] According to the tale:
Lamwaberl used to live in Grünau, a marshy place not far away fromŠent Florjan Square, near theLožnica [river] that often overflowed its banks. Archaeological artifacts confirm that in the olden times the place had been cultivated. A lone farming estate is situated there now, but once upon a time there stood the castle of Mokoška, a heathen princess who lived in it. The castle was surrounded by gardens that were always green. She occasionally helped people but sometimes also harmed them; she was especially wont to taking children with her. At long last, God punished her. On a stormy night, the castle and all its gardens sank into the ground. But Mokoška was not doomed. She continued to appear, disguised in different female forms. She still carries off children, especially those who have been neglected by their parents[72]
Mokosh is mentioned in a 980 account in the early-12th-century textPrimary Chronicle, the oldest copy of which is part of theLaurentian Codex of 1377:[73][74]
AndVladimir began to reign alone in Kyiv. And he placed idols on the hill outside the palace: a Perun in wood with a silver head and a gold moustache, and Khors Dazhbog, and Stribog, and Simargl, and Mokosh. And they offered sacrifices and called them gods, and they took their sons and daughters to them and sacrificed them to the devils. And they profaned the earth with their sacrifices, and Rus’ and that hill were profaned by blood.[75]
In historiography, this event is known as the pagan reform or the firstreligious reform of Vladimir.[76][77] One point of view, considering the reform, treats it as a transition to monotheism; according to philologist Viljo Mansikka, and historiansAleksey Shakhmatov andHenryk Łowmiański, initially there was only Perun in thePrimary Chronicle, and later other gods were added to make Vladimir a polytheist.[78][79] The philologist Anichkov shared Shahmatov's position, although he noted: "there is no objective data to recognize this insertion".[79] HistorianEvgeny Anichkov said the existence of the Kyiv pantheon is recorded in parallel sources.[80] Another historian,Leo Klejn considered the event a reintroduction of paganism; the idols were erected immediately after the assassination ofYaropelk, who had sympathies for Christianity and pursued a pro-Christian policy,[81] and after the enthronement of Vladimir. The Perun idol was already standing on a hill in Kyiv at the home of princeIgor.[82][83]
It has been debated the text's passage about "bringing their sons and daughters" refers to either human sacrifice or participation in a ritual.[84] Modern academics consider the text from "And they offered" to "and that hill", and beyond to be a paraphrase ofPsalm verses (Psalm 106:35–44).[85][86][87] Vasilyev considers the existence of frequent human sacrifices for the Kyiv pantheon as a historical fact,[84] but according to historianPavel Lukin [Wikidata], the issue of human sacrifices and the reform is debatable,[88] and the text about Vladimir's reform is a reworking of theChronicle of George Hamartolos, which mentions the creation of six idol gods of deities withBelphegor leading and one female figure,Astarte. According to theChronicle, the idols were made of gold and silver, and defiled earth is also mentioned.[89] Lukin said the story of Vladimir's pantheon and human sacrifices is a chronicler's construction from the 1170s, and the names of the deities were taken from oral tradition the chronicler knew of.[90]
Among the deities established by Vladimir, Mokosh was the only goddess.[51][59][91] Philologist Nikolay Zubov said: "according to the generally accepted opinion, in the circle of Vladimir's pantheon, this is the most mysterious figure".[92]
After Vladimirbaptized Rus in 988,[93] he ordered the idols to be overthrown: some chopped up, others burned.[94] He built St. Basil's Church[95] on the spot where the idols stood. In 1975, the foundations of the building were found during excavations onOld Kyiv Mountain [Wikidata]. ArchaeologistBoris Rybakov recognized the structure as the site of Kyiv's pantheon, claiming that it had "clearly marked five projections of different sizes: one large one in the middle, two smaller ones on the sides and two very small ones near the side projections...". Subsequent researchers have criticized Rybakov's statement.[96] Thekapishche [Wikidata] (outdoors temple) itself has not been discovered by archaeologists,[97] nor has any evidence of human sacrifice in Kyiv.[98]
After the adoption of Christianity, various sermons against the old religion appeared.[99] In particular, theSermon by One Who Loves Christ was written, according to most scholars, in the mid-11th century. The exceptions are Mansikka, who claims theSermon was written in the 14th century,[100] and Rusanova and Timoshchuk, who date it to the 12th century.[101] TheSermon itself is available in two editions: a short, original edition and a long, later edition.[102] Fragment from the late 14th century edition of the Paisios' list of the collection:[103][104]
AsElijah the Tishbite, having cut the throats of three hundred idolatrous prophets and priests, said: “I burn with zeal for my Lord God Almighty”, so he, too being unable to bear Christians who live adouble faith and believe in Perun and Khors, Mokosh,Sim and Rgl and in the Vily, who number thirty ninth sisters, —so say ignorant people who consider them goddesses—and thus give them offerings and cut the throats of hens and pray to fire, calling itSvarozhits.[105] [...] Therefore, Christians must not hold demonic festivities, meaning dancing, music and profane songs, and offerings to the idols, who with fire under the fields of sheaves pray to the Vily, to Mokosh, and Sim and Rgl, to Perun,Rod, theRozhanitsy and all the like.[106]
–Sermon by One Who Loves Christ and Is a Jealous Defender of the Righteous Faith
SlavistNikolay Galkovsky, due to the fact that the vilas are noted next to Mokosh, believes that they are related to the goddess,[107] but according to historian Igor Danilevsky, the author of the Word used some unknown South Slavic source from which he took information about the vilas,[108] mythological figures of theSouth Slavs. In his opinion, theEastern Slavs themselves did not worship vilas.[109] Similarly, Mansikka believes that the vilas and Mokosh were taken from the textVopros, chto yest' trebokladen'ye idol'skoye, which he considers South Slavic.[110] According to Anichkov, the original version of theSermon said nothing about deities and they were added by later editors.[109] Anichkov's opinion is shared by Mansikka, who believes that the list of deities comes from thePrimary Chronicle.[102] On this basis, historian Vladimir Petukhin concludes that the insert with the mention of deities appeared no earlier than the 12th century.[111] Since the name Simargl is spelled as Sim and Regl, the author of the Word may not have understood which characters were being referred to.[109]
Mokosh is mentioned in the Old Rus' workSermon by Saint Gregory,[112] which is a reworking of the 4th century teaching ofConstantinople patriarchGregory of Nazianzus. The unknown Old Rus' author used the condemnation of the Greek gods, supplementing it with a text condemning the Slavic gods. An early edition of theSermon is preserved in three handwritten copies from the 15th century and is variously dated by different researchers: the 1060s (Anichkov), the 12th century (Łowmiański, Rybakov), as well as dates considered unlikely by Vasilyev:[113] late 13th - early 14th century (Slavists Sreznevsky, Galkovsky), 14th century (Mansikka).[114] According to Rybakov,Sermon by Saint Gregory was a direct translation, but Danilevsky points out that the Word only partially reflects the Greek original.[114] The original is calledOn the Theophany.[113][115] Danilevsky notes that it is not known exactly which variant of Gregory Nazianzin's text was used by the Old Russian author himself.[114] It is also unknown how reliable the information about Slavic gods contained in theSermon is.[114] Excerpt from the Novgorod Sophia Library manuscript No. 1295 from the 15th century:[116]
To those gods the Slavic people makes offerings too, and to vily, and Mokosh, Diva, Perun, Khors, Rod and Rozhanitsy, to thevampires and to theberegyni, and toPereplut, for whom they drink in horns while pouring around.[117] [...] TheTaurian sacrifices made by the first born sons to the idols, the sacrificial blood of theLaconians spilt from wounds, which is their punishment, and with which they bathed the goddess, Yecate, whom they considered a virgin. And they worship Mokosh, and Kyla, and Malakiya, that is masturbation, saying: Buyakini.[118] [...] Following holy baptism, they rejected Perun, but even after accepting Christ, in the border areas they still pray to the accursed Perun, and to Khors, and Mokosh and vil. And they do it secretly...[119]
–Sermon by Saint Gregory, Found in the Comments, on How the Ancient Nations, When Pagan, Worshipped Idols and Offered Sacrifices to Them, and Continue to Do So Now
Mansikka notes that the meaning of the wordDiva is unknown. Perhaps it is a literal translation of the Greek Δἰος (Dios), or the text should be read asMokosh-Deva ("Mokosh-Virgin").[120] According to Danilevsky, what was meant was the [masculine]Div.[121] Zubov comments that there is also an opinion that considers Diva to be the feminine version of Div,[122] but analyzing the text, he concludes that the more correct variant isMokosh-Deva, despite the original Дивѣ (Divě (dat)), instead of the expected *Дѣвѣ (*Děvě (dat)). The scholar attributes this to theNovgorodian origin ofSermon and the fact that in the dialect the sound [ѣ] can turn into [i].[123] Thus, the term "Diva" becomes an epithet-definition of Mokosh "according to the Hellenistic model", regardless of whether Mokosh was a virgin in the original pagan depictions.[124] In favor of this interpretation, according to the scholar, is the fact that the wordDiva is not mentioned anywhere else.[124] Rybakov and Zubov defineYecate asHekate, believing that the author of theSermon saw some parallels between Hekate and Mokosh.[125][126] The termmalakiya is of Greek origin and meansonanism.[127] From its proximity to Mokosh, Ilyinsky concludes that Mokosh was associated withsexual activity.[17]
SlavistAleksander Brückner rejected the identification of Mokosh withmalakiya, as the text shows that they are two different things.[128] According to Mansikka, "and they worship Mokosh, and Kyla" is an insertion made on the basis of the consonance ofMokosh withmalakiya.[129] Danilevsky literally translates the wordKyla as "hernia",[130] but he himself believes, as do many other scholars, that it is more likely to be considered a distortion of the wordvila.[44][131] Galkovsky viewedbuyakini as a vila, which he associated with Mokosh.[107] The termbuyakini is associated byLeo Klejn with the wordsbuy,buyvishche, meaning "pogost", "cemetery",[127] and thebuyakini themselves, if not a copyist's error, are understood by Klejn as participants in funeral rites who practiced orgiastic rituals. In Klejn's reconstruction, Perun was adying-and-rising god,[132] and these rituals were a sacred drama of resurrecting a dead god or his reincarnation, and the purpose of thebuyakini was not onanism, but the extraction of semen for ritual purposes.[127] Danilevsky points out, however, that the Greek original says "in honor of bliss and fearlessness", where the latter word was translated asbuyestʹ "courage", and the formbuyakini appeared only as a result of consonance[130] (in relation tomalakini). Anichkov believes that the text consists of late insertions.[133]
The philologistNikolai Tikhonravov, in the fourth volume ofChronicles of Russian Literature and Antiquity, cites the textVopros, chto yest' trebokladen'ye idol'skoye in Moscow synodal manuscript No. 954 from the 14th century, fol. 33; Galkovsky did not find this text and concluded that either Tikhonravov was mistaken or the manuscript numbers had been changed.[134] Excerpt:
He is not speaking to pagans, but to peasants. Many Christians set meals for idols and fill cups for demons. Who are these idols? The first idol is therozhanitsa. The great prophetIsaiah speaks of them, crying out in a loud voice: Oh, woe to those who set a meal for the rozhanitsa and fill cups for the demons! The other [meal] is given to the vilas and Mokosh, and they do not pray openly, but secretly call on idolatrous women; and not only poor people, but also the wives of rich husbands. Using thetroparion of the holyTheotokos during an idolatrous meal is very bad.[135]
–Vopros, chto yest' trebokladen'ye idol'skoye
LinguistsVladimir Toporov andVyacheslav Ivanov distinguish the category of idol worshippers as the priestesses of Mokosh,[136] but in turn Zubov concludes: the text is a reference to theSermon of Isaiah, and the vilas and Mokosh are a contemporaneous insertion close toSermon by Saint Gregory.[137]
The workSermon by the Holy Father Saint John Chrysostom is a compilation and is based specifically onSermon by Saint Gregory.[138] Generally, the text dates to the 13th century,[139][140] and historianIgor Danilevsky dates it to the end of the 11th century,[139] and is known from the manuscript from St. Sophia Cathedral ofVeliky Novgorod No. 1262 from the 14th-15th centuries[140] and other copies. Excerpt according to the oldest of these:[141]
Men who have forgotten the fear of God from neglect by renouncing baptism, approach idols and start to make sacrifices to the thunder and lightning, the sun and moon, and others, to Perun, Khors, the vily and Mokosh, to vampires and the beregyni, whom they call three times nine sisters. And others believe in Svarozhits and Artemid, to whom ignorant men pray. They sacrificecockerels to them.[142]
–Sermon by the Holy Father Saint John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, on How the First Pagans Believed in Idols
In theLife of Vladimir preserved in the Bulgarian oldest copy from the 13th century, after the story of Vladimir's baptism inKherson, it is said: "And he came to Kyiv, beating the idols of Perun, Khurs, Dazhbog and Mokosh and other idols".[143] The work goes back toPrimary Chronicle.[144]
In theHypatian Codex, under the date 1071, we read that “at the same time” avolkhv appeared in Kyiv to whom five deities appeared. He claimed that within five years theDnieper would begin to flow backwards, and theRus' land would "pass" into the hands of the Greeks.[145] Scholars equated these deities with the Kyiv pantheon, in which they believed there were six. Explaining this contradiction, Anichkov excluded Mokosh from this list, as he considered her a borrowed deity.[146] Łowmiański also excluded Mokosh because he was of the opinion that she was originally a demon and was added later to the Vladimir pantheon,[147] while Rybakov rejectedSimargl. Vasilyev explains this by the fact that Dazhbog bore the double name of Dazhbog-Khors.[145] However, Petrukhin believes that the prophecy of the volkhv in Kyiv is not due to traces of paganism, butevents in 1068-1069, when rebellious peasants threatened the princes to burn the city and go to the land of Greece. "Five gods" were the five planets whose astrological position and referred to by the magician.[148]
An annalistic edition ofThe Tale of the Battle with Mamai, written perhaps in the early 15th century, describesMamai's defeat: "The impious ... King Mamai, seeing his destruction, began to call upon his gods: Perun, Salavat, Mokosh and Gursa".[149] Here the form of Mokosh's name is given in the masculine gender.[8] In the main and most widely circulated editions of theTale, the god Mokosh is absent. Vasilyev notes that the list of gods is most similar to their list in theSermon by the Holy Father Saint John Chrysostom.[149]
There arePolish chronicles relating to East Slavic paganism and mentioning Mokosh, but researchers consider them secondary,[93] as they are based on Old East Slavic sources.[150] In the 16th-century workDe origine et rebus gestis Polonorum libri XXX by historianMartin Kromer, Mokosh is mentioned among other gods asMocosi.[150] In theChronicle of the historianMaciej Stryjkowski, published in 1582, in a list of gods whose names are passed down in distorted form, Mokosh is noted asMakosz. Mansikka notes that the chronicle itself was compiled from other Polish sources and contains "some fantasies and fabrications".[150]
According to one of the confessional questions in the 16th centuryRule of Saint Sava, the priest had to ask: "Have you wandered with impious women and prayed to the vilas, andRod, and the rozhanitsy, and Perun, Khors, Mokosh, and drank and ate?".[151] Three years of penance with bowing was imposed for the aforementioned sin.[152] According to Anichkov, the mention of Perun, Chors and Mokosh was added as an insertion.[144] The same question was included in the workK posledovaniyu i ispovedaniyu knyazem, boyaram i vsem pravoslavnym khristianam dukhovnym ottsom from the early 16th century, where two years of penance were imposed for a positive answer to this question.[144] The 16th centuryKhudom nomokanuntse asks: “Did you go to Mokusha?".[48] Many researchers believe that under the termMokusha means "witch doctor".[48][153][154] Akhnikov explained it with the wordmokshitʹ "to beg, to whine", changed to "to enchant", "to conjure".[153] According to ethnographerElpidifor Barsov, in theKhudom sel'skom nomokanuntse he possessed, the question was: "Did you go to Mokosha?".[155]Shakhmatov refers to an unpublishedWord on the Beginning of the Rus' Land in the 16th century inventory of the Rumyantsev Museum No. 358, where the sentence "and Prince Vladimir came to crush the idols of Mokosh and others" is found.[156]
A work from a collection dating back to the 16th century, which publisherIzmail Sreznevsky callsThe Spiritual Instruction of Children, and historianDmitri Schoeppingk [Wikidata] callsSermon of Saint John Chrysostom, contains the following instruction:
Hide yourselves from God invisible, people praying to the lineage and rodzanice, Perun and Apollo, and Mokosha andperegynia, and do not approach any god, nor any vile sacrifices.[145]
Mansikka believes that the names of mythological figures come from a certain work condemning pagans, close to theSermon by Saint Gregory.[157]
The chapterOn the idols of Vladimir from the Piskari manuscript No. 153 of the late 17th century lists the statues installed by Vladimir. This work is not original and ancient, as it was based on the chapterOn the idols from theKievan Synopsis, probably created by the historianInnocent Gizel.[158] The chapterOn the idols of Vladimir is similar in content to the textOn the idols of Rus' in theHustyn Chronicle of 1670. Both chapters were written under the influence of Polish chronicles[159] and contain the names of the gods in a distorted form.[160] Excerpt from Piskari manuscript no. 153:
Also other idols were many, by nameOutlad or Oslad,Korsh or Khors,Dashub or Dazhb,Strib or Stribog,Simargl or Simurgl, and Makosh or Mokosh; to them, to the demons, the ignorant people, like to a God, offered sacrifices and praises. This abomination prevailed throughout the state of Vladimir.[161]
TheHustyn Chronicle similarly lists the gods, including Mokosh.[161] Mansikka writes that these chronicles are more detailed than the original, and notes that the scribe chose to supplement them with his own notes and insertions.[93] All three works eventually return toPrimary Chronicle.[144]
The Sermon from the Holy Gospel in manuscript No. 784 from theTrinity Lavra of St. Sergius lists sins of the body and soul.[162][163][164] Among the sins of the soul are mentioned:
[To] learn astronomy and believe in casting [spells] and in false writings, and in Hellenistic books, and in fairy tales, and inustryatsu, and in Mokosh, and insnosudets, divination by birds, inthunder and inkolyada, and in all themartoloi and damned who make evil days and hours.[162]
There is a variant where in place ofMokosh is the word basketkosh "fate",[162] according toRybakov the wordMokosh instead ofkosh was just a scribe's error, and he translates the wordssnosudets,ustryatsu andmartoloi as "volkhovnik", "divination" and "astrologers", respectively.[163] Anichkov considered the wordsustryatsu andMokosh to be insertions.[165]
In theUkrainian Life of Vladimir of the XVII century among the list of his gods Mokosh is recorded asMoksha. In theUkrainian Prologue Life of Vladimir from the manuscript of the Rumyantsev Museum No. 325 of the XVII century tells how Vladimir beat his gods, among them the deity Moksha, and drowned them in theDnieper.[7] This work, likeLife of Vladimir, goes back to thePrimary Chronicle.[144]
Gesta regum Anglorum is a chronicle written in the 1120s by a 12th century EnglishBenedictine monk,William of Malmesbury. William never traveled outsideEngland, but attained a position as librarian andpreceptor at hisabbey of Malmesbury, known since the 11th century for its library and as one of the major centers of knowledge of his time. In addition, William visited other monasteries on the island.[166][167][168] In the second book, William describes the reign of the German emperorHenry III, who ruled from 1039 to 1056.[169] Excerpt:
The emperor was endowed with many great virtues and was much more war like than all his ancestors, for he had subdued theVendelici and theLutici and other tribes which bordered theSwabians, these being the only peoples among the mortals who preserve their pagan superstitions to this very day. For theSaracens and theTurks worship aGod who is Creator and consider thatMohammed is not a god, but his prophet. But the Vendelici worshipFortune, whose idol they place in the most prominent position and in his right hand they place a horn filled with a drink which we call mead, made of water and honey.Saint Jerome, in his book 18 aboutIsaiah, confirms that theEgyptians and nearly all the Eastern peoples did the same. This is why, on the last day of the month of November, they sit in a circle and drink together; and if they have found the horn full, they applaud with great com motion, because there will be great abundance for all in the following year due to the full horn; if, however, they find the opposite, they cry. Henry had made these people tributaries in such a way that, in all of the ceremon ies in which he wore a crown, four of their kings carried on their shoulders, by means of four legs running through a ring, a pot in which they cooked meat.[170]
In fact, Henry III never conquered the Lutich confederacy. Their conquest took place during the reign ofHenry IV under the regency of his mother and Henry III's widow,Agnes of Poitou.[168] According to Łuczyński, the mid-11th century German source that Wilhelm used to compile the chapter on Henry III has been lost.[167] Religious scholar Oleg Kutarev believes that the text comes from the chronicleOn the Diversity of Times (Latin:De diversitate temporum) byAlbert of Metz, but there is no mention of the worship of Fortuna.[171] The message about the worship of Fortuna from theGesta regum Anglorum is repeated in theChronicle ofAlberic of Trois-Fontaines from the mid-13th century[172] and in many other sources.[173]
From the text it follows that this refers to thePolabian Slavs,[174] but theVindelites mentioned are the name of a Celtic tribe from the time of theRoman Empire.[175] According to historians Roman Zarov andLeszek Paweł Słupecki, they refer to theWends, a general term for the Polabians.[176] Wilhelm may have confused the two terms by consonance or, due to his education, tried to merge the two ethnic groups. In addition,Vindelici may refer to the Slavic tribe ofWolinians.[175] Researchers have tried to determine the more precise ethnicity of William'sVindelici. According to Zarov, since the text contains a division between theVindelici andLutici, this suggests that theVindelici were Polabian Slavs other than Lutici. Zarov rules out theSorbians andObodrites for historical reasons, and the only possible candidate for the place of theVindelic people remains theRujani.[177] In Słupecki's interpretation, Wilhelm attributed the cult of Fortuna to all the Polabians, and of these he knew only the Lutici. The fact that theVindelici referred to the Lutici may be supported both by the fact that Henry III fought only with them and by the mention of four kings, which echoes the four tribes forming the Lutici alliance. The termVindelici may have meant not so much Wends asVeleti, an earlier name for the Lutici, indicating a stylisticpleonasm in the text, and the ritual mentioned may refer to the practices of the Lutici temple inRadgost.[175]
In theGesta Danorum bySaxo Grammaticus from the end of the XII century tells about the cult ofSvetovit, where a similar type of divination with alcohol in the horn was used to predict the next year's harvest.[178] The divination was accompanied by a feast after the harvest, i.e. in thefall.[177] There are a few slight differences in Saxo's and William's description of divination. For example, William speaks of using mead (Latin:hydromellum), while Saxo reports undiluted wine (Latin:merum). Given the rarity of wine on the shores of theBaltic Sea, it is more likely that the Polabians used mead rather than wine in their rituals. Therefore, Saxo's mention of wine may be false, but at the same time wine was known further north. In any case, both authors tell of a divination using a horn with alcohol to predict the harvest and accompanied by a feast.[179] It has been suggested that Saxo may have borrowed William's description of the divination,[178] but no evidence exists to support that Saxo read theGesta regum Anglorum. The two texts are stylistically different.[180] Thus, the two sources confirm the authenticity of divination by means of horns in theWestern Slavs,[181] which developed no later than the 10th century.[182] Saxo's text, according to Zarov, confirms the interpretation ofVindelites as Rujani.[177]
Despite the similarity of the rituals, the texts mention different names of the deities. It is possible that since Svetovit was associated with divination, like the Roman Fortuna, due to this association William substituted his name as part of theinterpretatio romana.[183] On the other hand, Fortuna has a female gender and may have been about a Slavic goddess. Evidence from comparative religion shows that divination was more the domain of goddesses than gods.[171][179]
Linguist Michał Łuczyński believes that the replacement of the name of the Slavic goddess occurred due to the strangeness and incomprehensibility of the “barbarian language”[167] and rejects the interpretation of Fortuna as Svetovit and theVindelici as Rujani, who are not mentioned in theGesta regum Anglorum and with whom the emperor had no political contacts. The scholar supports the idea that theVindelici were a Veleti alliance, but denies the correlation of the described agrarian ritual with the temple of Radogost. The city was isolated, located in inaccessible terrain and militarily specialized. The meaning of this ritual was to ask the goddess about the next year's harvest, which was done through water. Plenty of water meant abundant rains, little water meant drought. Her followers probably believed that the goddess controlled water, holding it in her hand,[184] which allows Fortuna to be interpreted as an uranic pluvial deity — Mokosh. The existence of the cult of this goddess in this part of the Slavs is confirmed by the data oftoponymy.[185] Similarity of rituals of Fortuna and Svetovit indicates on mythological communications between gods taking care of rain and abundance.[186] A possible source that influenced William is the early Christian workDiversarum hereseon liber byPhilastrius, which tells of heretics that worship the goddessTanit, the “Queen of Heaven” inNorth Africa. This uranic goddess is referred to by Philastrius as “Heavenly Fortune.” This characterization may have served to replace the name Mokosh.[167]
According to the SlavistGrigoriy Ilyinsky, ancient Rus' sources do not provide any information except the name of Mokosh. In his opinion, toponymic traces are equally unreliable and explanatory, and some conclusions about the nature of the goddess can only be drawn on the basis of folklore and ethnographic evidence.[92] Later, philologist Aleksandr Strakhov wrote the features of Mokosh, like the rest of the pagan pantheon, are known "not from medieval sources, but from numerous reconstructions and observations of scholars-bellerists of the 19th and 20th centuries".[187]
In early scholarly literature, Mokosh was considered in various ways: SlavistPyotr Preys [Wikidata] compared Mokosh withAstarte,[48] and the SlavistLubor Niederle likened her toAphrodite.[30] Ethnographer M. Nikiforovsky considered her the goddess of winds and water.[48] According to historian Dmitri Schoeppingk, Mokosh's functions were transferred toSaint Elijah because he is called "wet".[50] Slavist Nikolai Galkovsky assumed because Mokosh is mentioned together with the vilas that according to him are calledbuyakini in theSermon by Saint Gregory[131]), Mokosh was the spirit of the deceased residing in water.[48] Archaeologist Aleksandr Velikhanov, referring to Sanskrit, said Mokosh and Simargl were the same deity.[188] SlavistVatroslav Jagić did not consider Mokosh a deity at all.[30] FolkloristAlexander Krappe likened Mokosh to the biblicalMoloch.[189] InHistory of Russia, historianVasily Tatishchev stated: "Mokos, the god of cattle".[7] Galkovsky said theCzechs had a rain and moisture deity with a similar name, to whom they offered prayers and sacrifices in times of severe drought.[48] ArchaeologistBoris Rybakov noted Galkovsky does not refer to the source of this information.[190] In 1839, ethnographerŻegota Pauli ssid the Czechs andMoravians had a deity calledMakosla,Makosh,Mokosh, which they worshipped in times of drought. He compared this deity to Mokosh, while referring to it asMokta orMoksha, and considered them the same rain deity.[191]
According to ethnographic data, a reconstruction of the function of the goddess was carried out.[9] At the end of the 19th century, in the journal "Zhivaya starina [Wikidata]", ethnographer Mikhail Gerasimov published ethnographic data from theCherepovetsky Uyezd, which noted the villagers beliefs about a demon anddomovoy by the name ofMokoshá.[192] Later, Gerasimov said Mokosha was not a domovoy.[193] She lives in every hut in thebabiy kut [Wikidata] and is imagined as a woman with a big head and long arms.[193] Mokosha likes to spinsliver at night, left by women without prayer. That is why there is a prohibition in the village of Bolshoy Dvor in Dmitrovsky District: "Don't leave your linen, or Mokosha will spin it".[193] EthnographerElpidifor Barsov provided information from theOlonets Governorate about the belief in a spirit calledMókusha, who duringGreat Lent goes among the people spinning wool at night and shearing sheep.[155][194]
When unsheared sheep scrape out their excess wool,[c] it was said: "Oh, Mokusha has sheared the sheep".[155] When they sleep and the spindle "whirrs", it is said: "Mokusha spun". When Mokusha leaves the house, she might slam the spindle intobunk [Wikidata] and beam.[155] The offering to her was a piece of wool left in the shears for the night.[155] If Mokusha is not satisfied, she can cut off some of the housewives' hair.[194] This image of an impure force corresponds to thekikimora,[10][196] whose depictions are widespread, mainly in northern Russia, and who is sometimes understood as a domovoy.[197] She is described as an ugly woman[198] who mostly lives the home.[199] She uses objects to make sounds and acts at night when people are sleeping.[200] She is deterred by prayer.[201] The kikimora's main occupation is harming householders and spinning.[200] Mokusha can shear sheep, but she does it poorly and can be appeased with a special sacrifice.[202] Many other mythological figures offolk Christianity are associated with spinning:Saint Barbara,Theotokos,Paraskeva Friday,notsnitsa[203] andrusalka.[204] A rusalka could be calledмókush;[4] demons could be calledmokosh ormokush.[59] In theYaroslavl Governorate, an "economic, troublesome man" could be referred to as amokoshá, while in theVyatka Governorate a "hardworking person" was called ashishimory.[205] Kikimora was also known inNovgorod andVologda Governorate[203] asmokrukha because she left a wet mark at the spinning site.[9]
Based on the consonance of the names, Gerasimov and Barsov said Mokosh, Mokosha and Mokusha are identical.[6][194] This proposal was supported by a number of other researchers, who attributed several functions—love, birth, connection with the night, spinning,[9] raising sheep and the feminine sphere—[206] Among them were linguistMax Vasmer and historianLeo Klejn.[51] Barsov believed Mokosh was associated with sheep farming, wool, yarn, female braids and the feminine sphere in general, and that she was a companion ofVeles.[155] According to Ilyinsky, Mokosh is the goddess of spinning, weaving and other household chores, and the patroness of matchmaking, marriage and sexual relations, "weaving" meaning bringing lovers together.[43] Historian and philologist Michal Téra recognized her as theEarth Mother, who patronized women and was a Slavic variant of the “Indo-European trifunctional goddess.”[207] LinguistVladimir Toporov, in an attempt to explain the resemblance to kikimora, said there was a demonization of the goddess, which reduced Mokosh to the level of kikimora.[59]
Philologist Nikolai Zubov brought Mokosh and kikimora closer together through the second element in the latter's name:-mora, which he said originated from the Proto-Slavic stem*mor- and can mean "swamp, standing water".[208] Through the functions of spinning and fate, a connection has been suggested with similar deities: the GermanicNorns, the GreekMoirai[209] and the Baltic goddessLaima.[210] Zubov suggested a connection between Mokosh and the moon because in European folklore, the moon can be associated with spinning and procreation.[209] According to him, long-armedness is associated with the epithet "long-armed" of Iranian gods and rulers, princeYuri Dolgorukiy and theprinces of Chernigov, who may have borne this nickname.[211] Marina Vlasova suggests a connection between Mokosh and therusalkas and the Theotokos, although she noted: "it is difficult to characterize with sufficient precision the relationship between the images of Mokosh and Mokosha spinning at home".[24]
Historian Henryk Łowmiański and linguistStanisław Urbańczyk made the opposite reconstruction, believing Mokosh was originally a demon[69] in the 10th-11th centuries, andNikon of Caves included her in the annalistic pantheon ofPrimary Chronicle as an insert due to the lack of information about the real gods.[212] In keeping with Łowmiański's idea, Nikon included the names of the deities surrounding him inTmutarakan, and the name of Mokosh, who in Slavic lands was "held in great esteem as a demon".[213] According to the historian Vladimir Petrukhin, Tmutarakan was not a source of pagan syncretism, remaining a Greek and Christian city.[214]
According to philologistEvgeny Anichkov, the nameMokoshá is ofFinno-Ugric origin.[153] The nameMokoshá, according to linguists Toporov and Ivanov, may be an deverbal formation from the Proto-Slavic*mok-oši-ti, which they understood to mean "to bustle, to potter, to putter",[215] but this hypothesis has not been supported and the word probably has a later Russian origin.[4]
Although many scholars have linked etymological and ethnographic reconstructions,[24][22][216][217][91] later researchers have noted that they do not relate to each other in any way.[51][218] Łowmiański criticized that because the function of spinning could not be the main one.[29]
Based on information about "going to Mokosh" as an oracle or fortune teller, Łuczyński interpreted Mokosh as the goddess of fate and destiny; this interpretation was confirmed by dialect dictionaries, which often record the phrase "to go to [a oracle]". According to Łuczyński: "God is not Mokosh, [he] consoles with something", as an antithesis, i.e. Mokosh is the one who "consoles", gives luck, good fortune. She was also supposed to rule the weather, such as rain, as an extension of her rulership over fate. The depiction of Mokosh in dialects of Russia, including the vocabulary of theOld Believers, reflects the goddess' association with birth and the determination of fate of newborns. Mokosh was also associated with the household and feminine activities; she was patron of women, probably married women in particular, as indicated by the fact married women were "visiting" Mokosh, which could express the psychosocial context of the worship of this goddess. Based on the above characteristics, Łuczyński concluded the closest counterpart to Mokosh is the BalticLaima, who was associated with water and fate—when Laima was on a hill, she foretold good fate; when she was in the marshes, by the water, she foretold bad fate.Latvian toponyms include the hydronymsLainuma-zers ("Laima's lake"),lainuma-purvs ("Laima's swamp"), divination (theRambynas stone that was used to foretell the future was Laima's "house"), and the birth of children and determining their fate. Unlike Laima, Mokosh did not have patronage of agriculture.[219]
.jpg)
It was later suggested Mokosh was related toParaskeva Friday (Russian:Paraskeva Pyatnitsa);[59] Friday and Wednesday were associated with thePassion of Jesus, and were accompanied by fasting andfolk Christian bans on work, especially women's work, such as spinning, sewing, washing, and dishwashing.[220][221] There were also bans on children and sexual activity.[59] The ban on spinning extended to Sunday and Friday,[221] which was called "bloody day" inPolesia and was widely considered an unlucky time.[220] In folk Christianity, Pyatnitsa was personified as a mythical female figure.[222] The same was true of Wednesday[223] and Sunday. These personifications had the same functions as the Pyatnitsa.[223][224] The prohibitions were motivated by a number of considerations related to the threat of harm to the spinner, her family, and her dead ancestors.[221] For example, according to beliefs recorded in Polesia, Pyatnitsa in the form of a woman with loose hair would torture whoever broke the ban by suffocating them in their sleep.[221] According to another belief, in the "next world", spindles will enter the mouth and eyes.[221] A ban on spinning on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday has also been reported elsewhere.[221]
The mythological Friday has been correlated with Paraskeva Pyatnitsa, whose cult developed from that of the saintsParaskeva of Iconium andParaskeva of the Balkans, whose names fromByzantine GreekParaskeuḗ translate as "Friday".[225] In addition to Friday's prohibitions and injunctions, and its association with spinning, Paraskeva was associated with marriage, childbearing,[225] curing diseases and water springs, because of which she was called the "mother of earth and water".[226] There are legends of an icon of Paraskeva appearing in a spring, after which the spring became healing.[226] Sacrifices were made to Paraskeva by throwing coins, ribbons, shirts, handkerchiefs, towels or sheep's wool and thread into water onElijah's Friday. These items could be thrown directly into the water or left next to the inscription "for mother Pyatnica for the apron!".[226] In Ukraine in the 19th century, theMokrid ritual was recorded, during which a tether was thrown into a well. In this ritual, Pyatnitsa was represented by a woman with loose hair. The saint was closely associated with wells, on which her icons could be placed.[59]
There is a widespread view among researchers Paraskeva Pyatnitsa replaced Mokosh in Christian times,[43] which is why Vladimir Toporov believed Mokosh was popular among women following Christianization.[59] Friday itself began to be understood as the day of the goddess Mokosh based on the dedication of this day toVenus by theRomans andFrigg by theGermans.[43][227] Researcher and historian Eve Levin noted this approximation does not stand up to criticism[228] because elements of the Paraskeva cult have Christian origins rather than pagan ones, and the cult is known in Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and, Romania, whereas Mokosh is known only from East Slavic sources.[229] The earliest East Slavic sources speak of Paraskeva as the patron of merchants rather than women. The basis of Paraskeva's association with spinning were parables depicting her as a maiden. In them, she strikes blind her tormentor then heals him, making her the patroness of those suffering from eye diseases. In the 14th and 15th centuries, Paraskeva's relics rested inTernovo andBelgrade, where local water sources were linked to her.[229] The only function that has no obvious Christian origin is the patronage of childbirth, but according to Levin, this is a natural development of the patronization of women's labor and healing.[230] TheEastern Orthodox Church supported the cult of Paraskeva, although it considered its folk interpretation "heretical", saying on Wednesday and Friday, one was not supposed to stop working but only fast and refrain from sex.[230] The correspondence between Mokosh and Paraskeva is also rejected by philologists Aleksandr Strakhov[231] andAleksandr Panchenko [Wikidata].[232] Historian Leo Klejn, criticizing the concept of Thursday as Perun's day, said the Slavs borrowed the seven-day week from the Romans andByzantines, who in turn borrowed it from theNear East, naming the days of the week after the planets and gods dedicated to them by distance in thePtolemaic system, whereby Friday, which is dedicated to Venus, was the seventh day. Germainc peoples later borrowed and interpreted the names of the week's days.[233] The qualities of Paraskeva, Venus, andFreya are opposite; Paraskeva patronizes proper female behavior rather than sexual activity.[234]
LinguistsVladimir Toporov andVyacheslav Ivanov created the theory of basic myth,[235] which reconstructed the Proto-Slavic myth of a battle between a storm god and a chthonic serpent. The first deity was correlated withPerun, the second withVeles, and there was also a female figure.[236] Toporov said Mokosh was a Proto-Slavic deity and correlates this figure with her.[237] The kidnapping of cattle, people or Perun's wife by Veles caused enmity between the gods; after Veles is defeated with an arrow, abundant rain falls on the earth.[238] According to Toporov, Mokosh is Perun's wife[239] because Perun opens the list of gods and Mokosh closes it.[240] He points to a connection between Thursday as the even day dedicated to Perun/Veles and the odd day, Friday, as dedicated to Mokosh.[241] In a 19th-century Ukrainian intimate song, there is a reference to the relationship between Mokosh andPokhvist, whom Toporov understands as Perun, who was associated with wind.[59] Toporov and Ivanov supported Teodolius Witkowski's assumption[64] the toponymsMuukus andProhn in the same circle and correlated with Mokosh and Perun, respectively, speak of the relationship between the deities.[63] Comparisons between the toponymsPeryn andMokošin Vrch, both of which mean an elevated place, have been made.[215] The Baltic toponymsPerkuno kalnas ("mountain ofPerkun") andLaumes kalnas ("mountain of Laima"), andLaume dauba ("ravine of Laima") have been compared with the BelarussianMokoshino boloto.[242]
By identifying the prophetElijah with Perun, they point to the existence in folk beliefs of the prophet's companion, SaintMacrina, who was associated with moisture and ultimately with Mokosh.[59] To prove Mokosh's promiscuity, Toporov cites several parallels; the association of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa with Mokosh is linked with Mokosh's promiscuity because Paraskeva could be depicted with loose hair. He correlated the termmokosya meaning an evil woman with Mokosh.[243] One of the sermons against paganism mentions Mokosh, and there is an earlier question about debauchery with ungodly women.[244] Friday's prohibitions correlate with a motif of a woman who lost her children as a result of violating the prohibitions, particularly that of using "fire", a decoction of ashes.[245] InBaltic mythology is a myth of a celestial wedding, according to which the goddess of the morning starAušrinė is an adulterer.[246] Toporov reconstructs the relationship between Mokosh and Veles: Thursday, in his view, was also the day of Veles and is correlated with Friday.[241] Mokosh shares with Veles a common connections to water, wool, and the pit motif.[246] Based on this, Toporov reconstructed the myth of Mokosh's adultery with Veles and Perun's subsequent punishment of her children.[247] For the betrayal, Perun punishes Mokosh's children with fire because Mokosh's element water does not frighten her.[240] According to Toporov, it is possible the cult of Mokosh may have enjoyed special reverence inMoscow based on the semantics of the toponym and theonym of Mokosh, and because Moscow is mentioned for the first time in the chronicles in connection with a meeting of the princes on Friday, April 4.[210] It has been proposed to identify Mokosh withBaba Yaga[248] and the goddess Laima through her function as a maiden.[242]
Leo Klein considers this theory to be a stretch and based on speculation,[249] and disputes the idea Thursday and Friday were dedicated to gods.[233] Later research has rejected any link between Mokosh and Paraskeva.[228][231][232] Henryk Łowmiański said the proximity of Perun and Mokosh is due to a literary connection and has no evidentiary value.[29] The "Ukrainian intimate song" from the 19th century cited by Toporov isThe Tale of the God Pokhvist, on the basis of which an opinion "the memory of Mokosh in Ukraine was preserved until the middle of the 19th century" has arisen in academia.[250] The 19th-century scholarsMykola Kostomarov andAlexander Pypin refused to acknowledge the text's authenticity.[251] PhilologistAndrei Toporkov [Wikidata] considers the work to be a forgery created by the writerOleksandr Shyshats’kyy-Illich [Wikidata].[250] The religious academic Andrey Beskov commented Ivanov and Toporov showed "surprising credulity" in believing in the authenticity of the text.[251] The hypothesis of Mokosh's marriage to Perun, like the theory of the main myt, has not found full support in the scientific community.[249][252] HistorianRoman Rabinovich [Wikidata] wrote Mokosh's features rather testify to a possible marriage with Veles.[253]
Archaeologist Boris Rybakov, who supported the reconstruction of Mokosh through identification with Paraskeva and her etymology, which is false,[2] deduced Mokosh's name translates as "Mother of Fate, Good Harvest",[254] characterizing her as a virgin goddess, goddess of fertility, water, patroness of women's labor and virgin fate.[255] He considers Mokosh identical to the West Slavic goddessZhiva[254] and toMat Zemlya,[256] and correlates Mokosh with the image of the PaleolithicMother Goddess, saying the cult of Mokosh originated in thePaleolithic era.[257] On the basis of the Christian apocryphaOn Twelve Fridays,[225][258] Rybakov said every Friday was a celebration of Mokosh; there were twelve special Fridays of the year, the most important of which fell on November 1–8.[255]
AnalyzingSermon by Saint Gregory, Rybakov wrote the author equated Mokosh with the goddessYecate, identifying the latter asHekate. He said the approximation occurred on the basis Hekate was understood to be a deity associated with the afterlife and was surrounded by dogs, whereas in the sources, Mokosh is adjacent toSimargl and the oxen, which Rybakov interpreted as a sacred dog associated with crops andrusalky (the souls of the dead). From this, he deduced the cult of Mokosh corresponded to the "middle phase of the cult of Hekate", which was agrarian.[126]
Rybakov believed theZbruch idol depicted Mokosh[259] with a horn in her hand, which in his opinion is a symbol of abundance associated with fertility. According to Leon Klejn, the female figure below Mokosh in the middle row should be connected to the image above. Above her shoulder is a small figure, which Klejn interprets as a child, spirit or soul, and on this basis concludes this spirit is not related to the functions of the goddess according to Rybakov.[260]
Embroideries ofFinno-Ugric peoples (Vepsians,Karelians,Izhorians), andRussian Northerners depict anthropomorphic figures with raised or partially lowered arms, combined with geometrized trees, birds, horses and horsemen. Sometimes, the human figures are framed by elements resembling buildings.[262] Rybakov supported archaeologist Lev Dinces' conjecture the figure between the horses on these North Russian embroideries represents Mokosh.[261] Rybakov interprets the structures depicted on the embroideries as pagan temples.[263] Ethnographer Grigory Bazlov noted the existence of other embroideries in which, in his opinion, the central figures have beards and wear what Rybakov thought to be a dress, which Bazlov interpreted as akaftan, concluding the central figures were men and that some of the figures have male genitalia. Folklorist Natalya Kozlova wrote there are only two examples with a male figure, and rejected the opinion of male genitalia because "the style of embroidery is conventional and schematic", and therefore "does not give grounds for accurate attribution of details".[264] According to Klejn, the figure in the center represents the Sun[265] and he rejects Rybakov's proposed character identifications.[266]
The sources make no mention of Mokosh's family connections. According to Vladimir Toporow, Mokosh was the wife ofPerun.[239] According to thetheory of basic myth created by Toporow and Vyacheslav Ivanov, Mokosh cheated on Perun withVeles and was later punished by him.[247] Later academics reject that myth.[249] Łuczyński, who also rejects the Slavic version of the basic myth proposed by Toporov,[267] also links Mokosh to Perun. For the hypothetical early Proto-Slavic pantheon, he reconstructs Proto-Mokosh as the daughter of Zema (Earth) andDiv (Heaven), sister of Usa (Dawn), Proto-Yarilo (Morning Star), Men (Moon) and Sul (Sun).[268] For the later stage, he reconstructs Mokosh as the wife of Perun, both of whom parentedMorana and Yarilo.[269] Witkowski, on the basis the villages ofProhn andMukus, the names of which are supposed derived from Perun and Mokosh, were 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from each other, concluded the villages "must indicate cult connections".[64] According to the historian Roman Rabinovich, Mokosh's features are evidence of a possible marriage to Veles.[253]
Mokosh, also known as Makosh,[270] is revered inSlavic neopaganism[271] as the goddess of the earth, fate, harvest, and women's labor. Neopagans consider Mokosh to be a miraculous maiden, the personification of female nature, and the great mother of all living beings.[270] The fifth day of the week is dedicated to women and Mokosh.[272] Communities consisting mainly of women often choose Mokosh as an object of worship.[273] According to the Russian authorAlexander Asov,[271] the gods determine the place and time of a person's birth, and their fate is woven by the goddess Makosh.[274] Asov said her sign is a ten-pointed red star on a blue background.[275]
According to the neopagan author Vadim Kazakov, Veles is the son ofSvarog and Mokosh,[276] andDola and Nedola are Mokosh's younger sisters.[277] Veles may also be considered Mokosh's husband.[278] Another husband of Mokosh may beStribog, with whom she has a daughterKupala and a sonYarilo.[279] Another neopagan author andvolkhv (wise man)Nikolai Spyransky considers Mokosh to be one of therozhanitsy.[280] The neopagan community, the Kingdom of Mokosh was named after the goddess.[272] The community holds two festivals that are dedicated to the goddess; spring Mokosh is celebrated on March 24 and autumn Mokosh ih celebrated on September 24. In theUnion of Slavic Communities of the Slavic Native Faith (USCSNF), chicken is consumed as the ritual food at feasts in honor of Mokosh.[281]
The ritual calendar of the "Veles circle" association, which includes the "Rodolubiye" community,[282] includes the holiday of the Day of Mokosh or Earth Day, which is celebrated on May 9 whenMother Earth awakens after winter. On this day, the goddess is still resting and must not be disturbed by plowing, hoeing, or pile driving.[283] The summer festival Mokosh's Svyatki or Mokrida is celebrated on July 19, when theEastern Orthodox Church commemorates the day of Macrida.[284] TheDożynki or Obzhynki is celebrated on August 15, and is dedicated to the gathering of the end of the harvest, for whichDazhbog and Mokosh are thanked. The goddess is considered the mother of the harvest and offerings of fruit are made to her on this day. The harvest festival falls on the Orthodox feast of theDormition of the Mother of God. On this day, Russians celebrated the harvest festival and the beginning of autumn days. In other parts of Russia, the harvest festival was held on August 16 at theBread Spas,[285] which is also known as Nut Spas, Linen Spas or Water Spas, and is understood in neopaganism as a festival of Mokosh, the lady of the waters, in which women should take small offerings consisting of flax and yarn to a well.[285] The Orthodox Church celebrates theTransfiguration of Jesus on this day.[286]
The festival ofMokoshino Poletye (women's summer), is a series of days from September 1 to 7 that were dedicated to Mokosh.[285] The Day ofRod andRozhanitsy in Slavic tradition falls on theNativity of Mary, and is a celebration of family, harvest, and home. It is a time to sum up and welcome autumn in honor of the goddess Mokosh, who in this context is known as the Mother of Autumn.[287] During theTausienʹ-Radogoshch festival, which coincides with the autumnal equinox, there is a ritual of thanksgiving for the harvest, which includes a ceremony in honor of Mokosh as she walks the fields toward the sun, where Mother Earth is presented with a ceremonialkorovai cake. On this day, thesvarga is closed and the gods rest until spring.[288] The autumn day of Mokosh is celebrated on October 28, when the earth is believed to fall into winter sleep. After sunset, the priestesses of Mokosh, usually three in number, untangle the "sliver of fate"; they put threads into a cup of enchanted water and predict the future after watching the threads unravel. This holiday coincides with the Orthodox day ofParaskeva Friday.[289]
The volkhvs of the "Veles Circle" developed the Small Circle of Svarog with the dedication of each month to a specific deity; the fifth month May is dedicated to Mokosh andZhiva,[290] and the eleventh month November to Mokosh and DarkMara.[291] The authorVeleslav (Ilya Cherkasov) identified divine allocations related to the four seasons, days, world directions and elements. The allotments of Veles and Mokosh are associated with autumn, evening, sunset, and air.[291]
On the feast ofKupala Night, women decorate birch trees with ribbons and wreaths of flowers. Neopagans interpret these decorations as an ancient form of sacrifice because the young tree is a symbol of Mother Earth or Mokosh. Nearby, a Yarilo doll made of green branches and hammered into the ground, dressed in ornate embroidery with sacred symbolism, is prepared and given food. The doll and the tree symbolically personifynewlyweds.[292]
Mokosh is mentioned in theBook of Veles, which the scientific community considers a forgery created by the writerYuri Mirolubov [Wikidata] in the 20th century.[293] In the story of paganBacchanalia on page 32 in the 1994 edition of theBook of Veles, following Asov's translation, "green leaves and mokoshans" are mentioned; green leaves are associated with Mokosh, which the translator understands as "green leaves and seaweed". In the list of pagan gods on pages 302-304, the name of Mokosh does not appear.[294]
According to the cultural scholarsHarald Haarmann andOrlando Figes, the concept ofMother Russia is linked to the earth, "mythical femininity", and motherhood due to the original correspondence of the wordsRussia andearth (Russian:земля,zemlya) with the grammatical feminine gender and the greater prevalence of depictions of Russia as a motherland rather than a fatherland. Russia's feminine identity is also drawn from folklore,Russian poetry, and literary idioms, indicating the antiquity of the tradition of the connection between femininity and the earth, which was academics eventually elevated to the image of Mokosh asMat Zemlya.[295][296]
Mokosha Mons, amons (mountain) onVenus, is named after Mokosh.[297]
In modern culture, the names of East Slavic deities are used as advertising names.[298] In particular, the name Mokosh or Makosh is used as anergonym, especially in the names of companies related to agriculture, crafts, cosmetology, and tailoring[299] because in popular culture, Mokosh is understood as the goddess of female crafts.[300] Religious scholar Andrey Beskov noted company naming is often based on pseudoscientific speculation.[300]
Higher School of Economics (HSE) staff investigated the linguosemiotic aspect of Russian folk culture. To study it, they conducted an association survey in which among the proposed words, the nameMokosh was represented by a variant ofMakosh. Respondents did not notice this change in spelling, which is probably due to the de-etymologization of the deity's name in contemporary literature containing its variantsMaketa,Makosh,Makosha,Mokosh, andMokosha.[298] As of 2025[update], there is no established spelling for this name.[301]
Definitions from Wiktionary
Media from Commons
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)