ANCESTOR VALUES IN TODAY'S WORLD

At the foundation of culturalist thought is the belief that there is continuity between the cultural life of our oldest ancestors and the present reality. Even if historical processes have disturbed this centuries-old chain, it can be re-strengthened with hard work - creating culture. In our opinion, it is best to do this based on the achievements of past generations, the heritage that we have preserved after them despite over a thousand years of onslaught of cross-cultural trends. For this, however, you need to understand our ancestors well, which can be really difficult among the accumulated stereotypes and misunderstandings. Let's analyze the central element of Slavic beliefs, which was polydoxy, finding its translation into the mentality - common to our ancestors, worth imitating by today's.

Polydoxy was first defined by an eminent historian, Henryk Lowmiański. In his concept, it was a certain "system of beliefs" common to all Slavs. It should be placed in opposition to the pantheon, which was strongly local, dependent to a large extent on tribal and territorial divisions. Polydox included:

Cult of nature - sacred places, natural spirits or anthropomorphic representations of natural phenomena were worshiped;
Cult of Ancestors - famous Slavic Dziady and Baba;
Demon worship - understood more as ransoming them in exchange for their own safety than worship, although the border between the two ways was fluid;
Belief in magic - above all, the miraculous abilities of a selected group of people, acquired from birth or by inheritance. In later folk culture, this belief was redefined as worshiping the wizards themselves.

Polydoxy defined in this way also functioned among peoples with a similar historical situation to ours, such as the Vedic Roma in the 12th century or the ancient Germans inhabiting the delta of the Rhine and Meuse. How did combining these four trends into everyday religious and social practice shape the mentality of the ancient Slavs?

The cult of nature is the easiest to interpret in this respect. Forests, waters, mountains and fields, they all had variously understood guardian spirits that guarded their domains against human interference. In this way, the space was divided into zones, some of which were absolutely inviolable. Man was the master of his own homestead and co-owner of obshchina (collective neighborhood property), but he had to make compromises among nature. The landscape of the former Slavic land was treacherous even in material terms, not to mention the fiends lurking everywhere. Therefore, each community had to deal with it using witchcraft and "diplomacy of small steps", where victims were left to the spirits, positive gestures were made in their direction. However, their trust must not be abused, so natural resources were used modestly and moderately. No action escaped the attention of the spirits, whose "eyes" were all over the domain. The Slavs were not animists, they did not believe that every object (or even an animal!) has a soul and deserves respect from the very fact of its existence - this approach is defined by culturalism as harmful "all love". However, they saw measurable benefits resulting from respect for nature, which they "co-possessed" (to varying degrees) with the local genius loci. Uncut forest provides more abundant gifts, sensible hunting of animals allows them to multiply, cultivated land should "rest" in order to produce a better crop later. Secondly, the interpenetration of the human and spiritual worlds formed the Slavic "localism", i.e. a strong attachment to the fate of one's homeland, reluctance to migrate.

The field, by the way, comes from the "grandfather" or ancestor. The mentality of the ancient Slavs saw man not as an individual, but rather as the culmination of many generations. He was at the same time the result of their actions, both positive and negative, and a continuator endowed with the generative principle - the possibility of extending the family. The kinship community was not just a group of related people, if only because it also included slaves and other household members (the word "domestic" originally meant the whole family, only long after the introduction of Christianity its meaning narrowed to servants). Thus, there was a well-established concept of a "family of choice" among the Slavs, which was the optimal solution, e.g. for people rejected by their own relatives, uprooted from their native environment. This community was connected with a common group of ancestors, which could belong to virtually any deceased member of the community who did not break the rules of honor of the "miru" during life or did not rise as a ghost posthumously. The ancestors were the object of worship for dozens of generations, after which they grew into legends, which often gave rise to family deities. Both heroic deeds and simple kindness could be commemorated through apotheosis, which in a perverse way helped to perpetuate the knowledge of memorable ancestors in the tradition. In today's conditions, it should be understood as an encouragement to learn about the history of your family, finding strength in it to make your ancestors proud of us ... or to be able to correct their mistakes. The ancestors were the object of worship for dozens of generations, after which they grew into legends, which often gave rise to family deities. Both heroic deeds and simple kindness could be commemorated through apotheosis, which in a perverse way helped to perpetuate the knowledge of memorable ancestors in the tradition. In today's conditions, it should be understood as an encouragement to learn about the history of your family, finding strength in it to make your ancestors proud of us ... or to be able to correct their mistakes. The ancestors were the object of worship for dozens of generations, after which they grew into legends, which often gave rise to family deities. Both heroic deeds and simple kindness could be commemorated through apotheosis, which in a perverse way helped to perpetuate the knowledge of memorable ancestors in the tradition. In today's conditions, it should be understood as an encouragement to learn about the history of your family, finding strength in it to make your ancestors proud of us ... or to be able to correct their mistakes.

Slavic demons have various origins. Some of them come from people who were evil in life and continue their evil deeds after death. Their victims are also bound to the earthly vale, this time seeking revenge. A certain group is much older than man - they were in the world before its creation and may outlive it. They are creatures with incomprehensible lifestyles (it's hard to even tell which are physical) and usually dangerous, at least when one gets angry with them. The experience of the presence of these entities defined the concept of the "Other" among the Slavs, who as a person from outside the immediate community could carry any threats. The demon, however, operated on complex principles known to sorcerers, which allowed to clearly define its motivation, methods of operation, and weaknesses. During life, man met with supernatural creatures many times and at some stage he accepted their presence as a fact of life, analogous to drought or storm (demons were identified with such phenomena for a reason). You can learn quite valuable lessons from this, for example, about how limited our own understanding is - a Rodzimowierca rarely comes face to face with a noonwraith or a striga; no one is likely to be able to test them in the lab. And yet, you should be aware of their operation, not obsess over looking for these creatures, sleep well at night and (in Old Slavic) "don't look for a tumor". Common sense, trusting one's intuitions, and knowledge of appropriate amulets were able to protect the Slav from various demons.

Magic items were obtained from people dealing with witchcraft, whose provenance was not obvious at all. In the pre-modern world, there was no clearly defined line between concepts such as magic, science, religion, and technology. Everyday spells were able to be performed by the elderly of each family, as well as the host and the mistress of the house. Wizards, on the other hand, specialized in specific areas, which today it is difficult for us to clearly identify with the supernatural sphere. The most important figures of this "industry" were sorcerers, whose profession covered all the then knowledge about veterinary medicine, herbal medicine and folk medicine. He was the best "doctor" to which a man of that time had access, which created the perception of his role (as "the master of life and death") in the villages. The homely character of the healer aroused so much trust, that for a long time they remained a real competition for physicians with professional education. Just a few generations ago, people from more traditional regions of the country held physicians in great reverence, gave them sacrificial gifts (baskets with food, live animals, devotional items). The same thing happens to Catholic priests to this day, and it is impossible not to notice that it is the result of giving gifts to a pious pagan priest. The clergy introduced a new religion to the countryside, but also the first contact with the alphabet and backculture of a universal nature, significantly broadening horizons. Meanwhile, Żercy cherished continuity with the native tradition, passed on stories orally, they were the beating heart of Slavic culture. No wonder that this scientific and sacral activity led to the identification of these social groups,

However, the greatest respect was aroused by the blacksmith, whose mysterious and ritualized profession in folk culture was clearly associated with Swarog. His work was essential to the community, highly valued, and at the same time truly rare. The last of the groups surrounded by a kind of cult were vagabonds, wandering singers and beggars - according to the name, they were considered to be messengers from the world of the dead. They enabled contact with the afterlife, they cast spells, but at the same time they brought news "from the world" to the village. Compared to the inhabitants of Obshchina, they had a lot of sophistication, they knew the customs of other communities, they carried great cultural value precisely in the form of "grandfather's songs", which to this day remain an invaluable source for the ethnography of Slavic countries. Probably in pre-Christian times, grandfathers-witches and singers-wanderers were quite separate groups, which, however, were mixed together with the violation of the living conditions of the population (the introduction of Christianity and the brutal development of feudalism in our lands). All the above-mentioned groups were highly respected among the Slavs, it seems, also because of their practical knowledge. In our opinion, this is a value that today's world should also grow up to. Let's respect people who save lives, help the community with their knowledge, put a lot of work into its well-being. Even if not all of them can cast spells today, they help the community in other, equally important ways. which, however, were mixed together with the violation of the living conditions of the population (the introduction of Christianity and the brutal development of feudalism in our lands). All the above-mentioned groups were highly respected among the Slavs, it seems, also because of their practical knowledge. In our opinion, this is a value that today's world should also grow up to. Let's respect people who save lives, help the community with their knowledge, put a lot of work into its well-being. Even if not all of them can cast spells today, they help the community in other, equally important ways. which, however, were mixed together with the violation of the living conditions of the population (the introduction of Christianity and the brutal development of feudalism in our lands). All the above-mentioned groups were highly respected among the Slavs, it seems, also because of their practical knowledge. In our opinion, this is a value that today's world should also grow up to. Let's respect people who save lives, help the community with their knowledge, put a lot of work into its well-being. Even if not all of them can cast spells today, they help the community in other, equally important ways. to which the world today should also grow up. Let's respect people who save lives, help the community with their knowledge, put a lot of work into its well-being. Even if not all of them can cast spells today, they help the community in other, equally important ways. to which the world today should also grow up. Let's respect people who save lives, help the community with their knowledge, put a lot of work into its well-being. Even if not all of them can cast spells today, they help the community in other, equally important ways.

Therefore, the values of the Slavs are timeless and it cannot be said that at the time of Christianization they were no longer "adequate" to the changing world (as it happens occasionally to historians). In the past, they permeated absolutely every sphere of their lives and often formed their attitudes, characters, and beliefs without the awareness of those concerned. The rapid growth of the Slavic states in the 10th century, although in many ways stimulated from the outside, proves that this culture was able to muster the dynamism necessary to create resilient social systems, and dynamic values are the basic condition for the development of societies. Today we miss them and looking for them on our own, it is worth looking at how our great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers dealt with this problem.

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