Polonistic Pantheonic Thoughts

A few notes on Polish mythology that seem to escape people commenting on the topic. There is zero evidence for a God named Perun in Poland or in Polabian lands. While there certainly was such a deity at Kiev and Novgorod, many people, suspect that this is a Slavic translation of the function of Thor. In Polish and Kashubian, the name persists meaning thunderbolt as piorun. That is all that means. In eastern Slavic lands, the word for thunderbolt is grom. However, “grom” is a derivative of various words meaning “large” or “many” such as ogromny (gigantic) or gromada (flock, gathering). Piorun on the other hand always meant thunderbolt. Indeed, I strongly suspect that not only the name of Mount Pirin but also the name of Pyrennes has something to do with Piorun. In fact, the Greek (and Venetic) word for a “fork” has a pyorunian etymology. Because of these “softer” sounding versions of the name, I strongly suspect that piorun was the original name and Perun is a version taken off of the Baltic tribes (shortening Perkunas). None of this, however, proves that there was a God by that name, except, again, in Eastern Slavic lands during the reign of the Scandinavians. Note too that place names referring to piorun are likely to be place names where a thunderbolt struck. Finally, remember that Procopius refers to Eastern Slavs (albeit pre-Varangian) and does not name Perun either. In fact, he says that Slavs worshipped the maker of lightning not specifically thunderbolts.  There is a reference not entirely clear to the Lithuanian or Baltic Perkunas but then in order to get to Slav lands the Varangians must have passed through the Baltics so they may have picked up a name from them and the concept they brought themselves. Of course, there is plenty of evidence for an IE thunder god but piorun was the name for the atmospheric effect which then in the Baltic form might well have gotten transferred to the Scandinavian Thor but again only in Ukraine/Novgorod. Of course, this is speculation but however it might have been in the East, in Poland no such evidence of Piorun worship exists. In fact, Joachim Bielski writes: “They [Poles] venerated too Piorun” but adds almost apologetically “especially Ruthenia/Russia [did] just as also Strib, Chorz, Mokosh” which makes it clear that he got this from Nestor. While Ruthenia was partly part of Poland at the time, it is clear that in today’s terms he meant Ukraine.

There is zero evidence too for a God named Svarog in Poland. Svarozic was worshipped by the Redarii but that’s about it. Whether that meant the son of Svarog or simply referred to “fire” as Brueckner thought, I can’t tell but no cult of Svarog or Svarozic existed in Poland. The references to Swarzedz, Swarozyn and the like may simply, as with pioruns, refer to heat or svar unless proven otherwise. It is also noteworthy that there is also almost zero evidence for a God named Svarog (Svarozic – as fire – does appear at least once somewhere in Ukraine) even among the Eastern Slavs. The only mention of Svarog (as opposed to Svarozic) comes as a gloss written by some scribe or commentator on the John Malalas Chronicle in precisely one manuscript (probably from Bulgaria). The famous Nestor pantheon says nothing about Svarog (though obviously does talk about Perun). Thus, all we can say is that Svarozic was worshipped in Polabia and Svarog may have been understood as a God among at least some Eastern Slavs. However, there is plenty of evidence of what Gods the Poles celebrated and those include: Yassa, Lada and Nia. Secondarily, also Dzidzilela (think “tits” and lulaj – no kidding), Devana as well as Marzanna (think also Goddess of the sea – Morana). Perhaps also Pogoda and Pogwizd. And that’s it. Jessa or Yassa is not just a thunder God. He is the God of Light (Jasny Pan and, I suspect, Jasna Gora also has a connection to Yassa). This name is cognate with plenty of IE names, especially, of course, with the Aesir and Asagarta. I will say that because Swarga or Svarga Loka (location, place, Loki!), conceptually ties with the sky (Sanskrit svár, súvar) and the Sun, it seems that that concept is closer to Yassa than that of the thunderbolt (but perhaps there were two Gods in IE – the Sky God and the Thunder God – Jason and Paron or Godoin and Peron). There is also the cryptic Biblical reference which hints that the Biblical God may have both a sky and a thunder (but in any case a similar) origin (yava after all means – in Slavic – the “conscious existence” and the word sounds extremely IE as demonstrated by some of the Anatolian languages and the various -ovo, -ava suffixes strewn about Europe). I also suspect that, were we to look among the Eastern Slavs for Yassa, we would find him not in Perun but in Chors which name would have originally been a Yari but via a Baltic intermediation would have become Yars, Yors then Chors. (Another crazier alternative is Horus-Re…).  In other words, I would give Jan Dlugosz a lot more benefit of the doubt than most ethnologists and anthropologists have done so far. The man did not make this stuff up.