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Nav (Slavic Folklore)
Nav ( Croatian, Czech, Slovak: ''Nav'', , , , , , '' Mavka'' or , ) is a phrase used to denote the souls of the dead in Slavic mythology. The singular form (''Nav'' or ''Nawia'') is also used as a name for an underworld, over which Veles exercises custody—it is often interpreted as another name for the underground variant of the '' Vyraj'' (heaven or paradise). Etymology The words ''nawia'', ''nav'' and its other variants are most likely derived from the Proto-Slavic , meaning "corpse", "deceased". Cognates in other Indo-European languages include Latvian ("death"), Lithuanian ("death"), Old Prussian ("body, flesh"), Old East Slavic () ("corpse, dead body") and Gothic (, "dead body, corpse").Razauskas, Dainius (2011). “Ryba – mifologičeskij Proobraz lodki" he Fish As a Mythological Prototype of the Boat In: '' Studia Mythologica Slavica'' 14 (October). Ljubljana, Slovenija, 296, 303. https://doi.org/10.3986/sms.v14i0.1614. As souls or spirits The ''nawie'', ''n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Croatian Language
Croatian (; ) is the standard language, standardised Variety (linguistics)#Standard varieties, variety of the Serbo-Croatian pluricentric language mainly used by Croats. It is the national official language and literary standard of Croatia, one of the official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, the Serbian province of Vojvodina, the European Union and a recognized minority language elsewhere in Serbia and other neighbouring countries. In the mid-18th century, the first attempts to provide a Croatian literary standard began on the basis of the Neo-Shtokavian dialect that served as a supraregional lingua franca – pushing back regional Chakavian, Kajkavian, and Shtokavian vernaculars. The decisive role was played by Croatian Vukovians, who cemented the usage of Ijekavian Neo-Shtokavian as the literary standard in the late 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, in addition to designing a phonological orthography. Croatian is written in Gaj's Latin alphabet. B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lithuanian Language
Lithuanian (, ) is an East Baltic languages, East Baltic language belonging to the Baltic languages, Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is the language of Lithuanians and the official language of Lithuania as well as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are approximately 2.8 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 1 million speakers elsewhere. Around half a million inhabitants of Lithuania of non-Lithuanian background speak Lithuanian daily as a second language. Lithuanian is closely related to neighbouring Latvian language, Latvian, though the two languages are not mutually intelligible. It is written in a Latin script. In some respects, some linguists consider it to be the most conservative (language), conservative of the existing Indo-European languages, retaining features of the Proto-Indo-European language that had disappeared through development from other descendant languages. History Among Indo-European languag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russia Beyond The Headlines
''Russia Beyond'' (formerly ''Russia Beyond The Headlines'') is a Russian multilingual project operated by RT (formerly ''Russia Today'') parent ANO TV-Novosti, founded by the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. History ''Russia Beyond The Headlines'' was launched in 2007 by the ''Rossiyskaya Gazeta'', a newspaper published by the government of Russia. The first publisher of the project was the deputy CEO of ''Rossiyskaya Gazeta'' Eugene Abov. On 9 January 2016, ''RBTH'' became part of TV-Novosti whilst retaining its own distinct brand. In 2017, the project dropped all printed versions. On 5 September 2017, ''RBTH'' dropped the last two words of its full name, becoming ''Russia Beyond''. The look and feel of the English edition was also refreshed substantially, removing all things regarded as distracting on screen when reading a story or watching a video. After using a stylized ''R'' as the logo for nine years, ''Russia Beyond'' introduced a brand new one on 20 February ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reincarnation
Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the Philosophy, philosophical or Religion, religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new lifespan (other), lifespan in a different physical form or physical body, body after biological death. In most beliefs involving reincarnation, the soul of a human being is immortality, immortal and does not disperse after the physical body has perished. Upon death, the soul merely becomes transmigrated into a newborn baby or into an animal to continue its immortality. (The term "transmigration" means the passing of a soul from one body to another after death.) Reincarnation (''punarjanman'') is a central tenet of Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. In various forms, it occurs as an esoteric belief in many streams of Judaism, in certain Paganism, pagan religions (including Wicca), and in some beliefs of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas and of Australian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slavic Dragon
A Slavic dragon is any dragon in Slavic mythology, including the Polish żmij, Russian '' zmei'' (or ; ), Ukrainian (), and its counterparts in other Slavic cultures (See below). The physiognomy resembles a combination of the classical dragon and a snake (as a winged serpent), less often depicted with two legs and/or more than one head. Similar representations include the Aztec Quetzalcoatl ( Feathered Serpent) or Caduceus ( Sumerian symbol of the god Enki borrowed into Greek mythology). The Romanian '' zmeu'' could also be deemed a "Slavic" dragon, but a non-cognate etymology has been proposed. A ''zmei'' may be beast-like or human-like (assuming dragon form in air, human form on ground), sometimes wooing women, but often plays the role of chief antagonist in Russian literature. In the Balkans, the ''zmei'' type is overall regarded as benevolent, as opposed to malevolent dragons known variously as '', '' ala'' or ''hala'', or ''aždaja''. The Polish ''smok'' (e.g. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Axis Mundi
In astronomy, is the Latin term for the axis of Earth between the celestial poles. In a geocentric coordinate system, this is the axis of rotation of the celestial sphere. Consequently, in ancient Greco-Roman astronomy, the is the axis of rotation of the planetary spheres within the classical geocentric model of the cosmos. In 20th-century comparative mythology, the term – also called the cosmic axis, world axis, world pillar, center of the world, or world tree – has been greatly extended to refer to any mythological concept representing "the connection between Heaven and Earth" or the "higher and lower realms". Mircea Eliade introduced the concept in the 1950s. closely relates to the mythological concept of the (navel) of the world or cosmos. Items adduced as examples of the by comparative mythologists include plants (notably a tree but also other types of plants such as a vine or stalk), a mountain, a column of smoke or fire, or a product of human manufactur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polotsk
Polotsk () or Polatsk () is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the Dvina River and serves as the administrative center of Polotsk District. Polotsk is served by Polotsk Airport and Borovitsy air base. As of 2025, it has a population of 79,285. Nomenclature The Old East Slavic name, ''Polotesk'', derives from the Polota river, which flows into the neighboring Western Dvina. The Vikings rendered that name as ''Palteskja''. Geography Lakes * Lake Babyna Climate History Polotsk is one of the earliest mentioned cities of the Eastern Slavs. The '' Primary Chronicle'' mentioned Polotsk in the year 862 (as Полотескъ, /poloteskŭ/), together with Murom and Belozersk. However, an archaeological expedition from the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus suggests that Polotsk existed in the first half of the 9th century. The first known prince of Polotsk was Rogvolod (ruled 945–978). He had two sons and a daughter n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Primary Chronicle
The ''Primary Chronicle'', shortened from the common ''Russian Primary Chronicle'' (, commonly transcribed ''Povest' vremennykh let'' (PVL), ), is a Rus' chronicle, chronicle of Kievan Rus' from about 850 to 1110. It is believed to have been originally compiled in or near Kiev in the 1110s. Tradition ascribed its compilation to the monk Nestor the Chronicler, Nestor (''Nestor's Chronicle'') beginning in the 12th century, but this is no longer believed to have been the case. The title of the work, ("Tale of Bygone Years") comes from the opening sentence of the Laurentian Codex, ''Laurentian'' text: "These are the narratives of bygone years regarding the origin of the land of Rus', the first princes of Kiev, and from what source the land of Rus' had its beginning". The work is considered a fundamental source for the earliest history of the East Slavs. The content of the chronicle is known today from the several surviving versions and codices, revised over the years, slightly var ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey to the south, Serbia and North Macedonia to the west, and Romania to the north. It covers a territory of and is the tenth largest within the European Union and the List of European countries by area, sixteenth-largest country in Europe by area. Sofia is the nation's capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city; other major cities include Burgas, Plovdiv, and Varna, Bulgaria, Varna. One of the earliest societies in the lands of modern-day Bulgaria was the Karanovo culture (6,500 BC). In the 6th to 3rd century BC, the region was a battleground for ancient Thracians, Persians, Celts and Ancient Macedonians, Macedonians; stability came when the Roman Empire conquered the region in AD 45. After the Roman state splintered, trib ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Topielec
Utopiec (plural ''Utopce''), Vodník or Topnik is a name applied to Slavic spirits of water. The ''utopce'' are spirits of human souls that died drowning, residing in the element of their own demise. They are responsible for sucking people into swamps and lakes as well as killing the animals standing near the still waters. Slavonic water spirits of the drowned dead remained a popular element of rural Polish folklore at the turn of the 19th and 20th century, as shown by Władysław Reymont in his Nobel Prize-winning novel ''Chłopi'' (The Peasants). Its story takes place during the 1880s in Congress Poland and follows the everyday life of the peasantry in a typical Polish village. In the tenth chapter of book two, some of the characters gather together to exchange stories and legends, in one of which the ''topielica'' (feminine form of ''topielec'') is mentioned. A more recent example of the ''utopiec'' in Polish popular culture is the comic book series Lil and Put, where the tw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stanisław Urbańczyk
Stanisław Urbańczyk (27 July 1909 – 23 October 2001) was a Polish linguist and academic, a professor at the universities of Toruń, Poznań and Kraków. He was the head of the Institute of the Polish Language at the Polish Academy of Sciences in 1973–79. Born to a peasant family in Kwaczała, he completed 4-class elementary school in Kwaczała and started learning in St. Anne's Secondary School (today I Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Bartłomieja Nowodworskiego w Krakowie). In the years 1929–1934 he studied Polish and Slavic philology at the Jagiellonian University. In 1937 he became an academic teacher. Among his students was young Karol Wojtyła, later the pope John Paul II. In 1939 he was arrested by the Nazis during Sonderaktion Krakau and imprisoned in concentration camps in Sachsenhausen and Dachau. He was the author of many books, articles and reviews. Among his scholarly interests were synchronical and diachronical Polish grammar, dialectology, history of langua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
