Kostroma (deity)
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Kostroma () is an East Slavic fertility goddess. Her name is derived from костёр (kostyor), the Russian word for "
bonfire A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used for waste disposal or as part of a religious feast, such as Saint John's Eve. Etymology The earliest attestations date to the late 15th century, with the Catholicon Anglicum spelling i ...
". The rites of Semik were devoted to her. During this festival a disguised girl or a straw figure portrayed Kostroma. First, a
scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin that is often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops. ...
was honored and revered. Then, participants of the rite mourned the death of Kostroma, and burned or tore the scarecrow. Rituals with Kostroma were aimed at improving soil fertility. The scarecrow of Kostroma is part of East Slavic folklore.


Mythology

There is a Slavic myth about Kostroma and
Kupalo Kupala or Kupalo is an alleged Slavic deity who was first mentioned in the 17th century and compared to the Greek goddess Ceres. However, modern scholars of Slavic mythology deny the existence of such a deity. Sources The first source that m ...
. According to the
myth Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
, Kupalo and Kostroma were twins. Their parents were
Simargl Simargl (also Sěmargl, Semargl) or Sěm and Rgel is an East Slavs, East Slavic god or gods often depicted as a winged dog, mentioned in two sources. The origin and etymology of this/these figure(s) is the subject of considerable debate. The domi ...
, the god of fire, and Kupalnitsa, goddess of the night. They were born on the
summer solstice The summer solstice or estival solstice occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). The summer solstice is the day with the longest peri ...
. In honor of their birthday,
Perun In Slavic paganism, Slavic mythology, Perun () is the highest god of the Pantheon (religion), pantheon and the god of sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, law, war, fertility and oak trees. His other attributes were fire, mountains, wind, ir ...
gave Kupalo and Kostroma a
Fern flower The fern flower is a Magic (paranormal), magic flower in Baltic mythology (, ), in Estonian mythology () and in Slavic mythology (, , , ). Tradition According to the myth, this flower blooms for a very short time on the eve of the summer sol ...
, but they presented it to people as a sign of the unity of the human world and the world of gods. Once, Kostroma and Kupalo ran into a field (or to the riverbank) to listen to songs of birds
Sirin Sirin () is a mythological creature of Russian legends, with the head of a beautiful woman and the body of a bird (usually an owl), borrowed from the siren of the Greek mythology. According to myth, the Sirin lived in Iriy or around the Euphrat ...
(the bird of sorrow) and
Alkonost The Alkonost is a legendary woman-headed bird in Slavic folklore. Alkonost is more likely an individual character, as was noted in some legends about this bird. Folklore The name of the Alkonost came from a Greek demigoddess whose name was A ...
(the bird of joy). Both birds, especially Sirin, were dangerous. The one who listened to the singing of Sirin forever went into the Nav, the world of the dead. Kostroma listened to the singing of Alkonost, while Kupalo listened to the song of Sirin. And then, by the order of the Ruler of the Underworld (probably Veles or
Chernobog Chernobog ( "Black God") and Belobog ( "White God") are an alleged pair of Polabian deities. Chernobog appears in Helmold's ''Chronicle'' as a god of misfortune worshipped by the Wagri and Obodrites, while Belobog is not mentioned – he was c ...
), Sirin and gusi-lebedi (
The Magic Swan Geese The Magic Swan Geese () is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in ''Narodnye russkie skazki'', numbered 113. It is classified in the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as tale type ATU 480A*. Synopsis Once there was a couple who had ...
) stole Kupalo and carried him into the Nav. Many years later, one day, Kostroma walked the shore of the river Volga and made a wreath. She boasted that the wind would not blow the wreath off her head. According to the belief, it meant that she would not marry. This boast was not approved by the gods. The wind become stronger, and wreath was blown by the wind from Kostroma's head and fell into the water, where it was picked up by Kupalo, who was nearby in the boat. According to the Slavic customs, the one who picked up the wreath must necessarily marry the girl who made it. Kupalo and Kostroma fell in love and shortly were married without any knowledge that they were brother and sister. After the wedding, the gods told them the truth. That is why Kupalo and Kostroma committed suicide. Kupalo has jumped into the fire and died, while Kostroma ran to the forest, threw herself into the lake and drowned. But she did not die, she became a mavka (or a
rusalka In Slavic folklore, the rusalka (plural: rusalki; , plural: русалки; , plural: ''rusałki'') is a female entity, often malicious toward mankind and frequently associated with water. It has counterparts in other parts of Europe, such as th ...
). Walking around that lake, she charmed the men she met on her path and dragged them into the water abyss. She mistook them for Kupalo, and found out that the caught young man was not her lover only when he had already drowned. And then, the gods repented, realizing that their revenge was too cruel. But to give Kupalo and Kostroma again the human body was impossible, and they turned them into the flower with yellow and blue petals, in which the fiery-yellow color was the color of Kupalo, and the blue one, like the waters of a forest lake, was the color of Kostroma. The Slavs gave the name Kupalo-da-Mavka (Kupalo-and-Mavka) to the flower. Later, in the time of the
Christianization of Kievan Rus' The Christianization of Kievan Rus' was a long and complicated process that took place in several stages. In 867, Patriarch Photius of Constantinople told other Christian patriarchs that the Rus' people were converting enthusiastically, but his ...
, the flower was renamed to the Ivan-da-Marya (Ivan-and-Marya).


Other versions

In some versions of the myth, the Sirin appears alone, without the company of Alkonost. One of the versions also describes the suicide of Kostroma and Kupalo differently: the lovers joined hands and threw themselves off the cliff into the river.


See also

*
Kupalo Kupala or Kupalo is an alleged Slavic deity who was first mentioned in the 17th century and compared to the Greek goddess Ceres. However, modern scholars of Slavic mythology deny the existence of such a deity. Sources The first source that m ...
*
Rusalka In Slavic folklore, the rusalka (plural: rusalki; , plural: русалки; , plural: ''rusałki'') is a female entity, often malicious toward mankind and frequently associated with water. It has counterparts in other parts of Europe, such as th ...
* Mavka


References

Sources
Kostroma. Encyclopedia of Russian & Slavic Myth and Legend
Citations


Sources

: : {{Slavmyth Slavic goddesses Fertility goddesses Rusalki Bonfires