Nowadays we are adopting various elements of folklore into modernity. At the same time, something very old and completely new is combined in organic unity. The most important thing is not to lose the essence, no matter what "package" it is given in...
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The traditional pagan mythology of each country is a very stable structure because it provides a connection between the person and the past time, the legacy of the ancestors. In Belarus even today people move their domovoy (only the doll, which is his personification) from one house to another or let a cat enter a new apartment first, to chase away evil spirits. For a long time, it was believed that the mythology of Belarusians had been forgotten. Every nation creates mythology based on its own mentality and, in order not to lose its uniqueness in comparison with other nations, not to lose the message of the ancestors, and not to forget about the true connection with nature, land, people – it is worth knowing how our ancestors interpreted the world and the laws that govern it.
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Thanks to modern technology, four Belarusian mythological deities will appear in the form of 360-degree photos and films. To bring the viewer closer to the distant history of the ancestors, at least visually experience the recreated atmosphere of holy magic, surrounding the daily life of the ancient Slavic, will also help the film in VR glasses, a film showing the deities in native environments and recreated shrines, symbolizing their power.
Presentation of the project at the personal exhibition
ŻNICZ
The guardian of the Sacred Original Cause of being in the Eternal Fire - revered and upheld with utmost care and devotion in shrines and temples and even in all living beings. He is the eternal source of life. If suddenly the flame of the Holy Fire goes out - everything disappears.
God gives people enlightenment, clarity of mind, a vision of order in everything, and to the individual man a consciousness of his own existence. He has the power to enliven, inspire and energize the earth and all living beings. The Fire Glow awakens in warriors' courage, great zeal, and the power to win. One can receive from him both the fire of love and passion. People suffering from various ailments turn to him to ask for healing from all diseases.
360° photos
360° video
VADZIANICA
She is an eternally young girl who has wrongfully died and because of that cannot find peace in this world. This usually happens by drowning in a pond, due to unhappy love or cursed by parents. Vadzianica is extremely beautiful woman with pale skin, disproportionately long arms and legs, and greenish hair due to algae. Mostly they walk around naked, but sometimes they steal clothes. Very often they have no face because they have died. They are baptized and therefore are not evil spirits. They often become the wives of Vadzyanoy.
Vadzianica are chased almost everywhere by humans, so they love empty and dingy freshwater bodies. Most often they choose shallow depths, where they make nests of straw and feathers. At night they come to the surface and sit on the branches of trees, where they comb their hair with combs made of fish bones.
Sometimes they love to run wild: they tangle or tear fishermen's nets, jump on mill wheels and spin on them, spoiling the millstone. However, with their harmlessness, they are endowed with great power. They can change their appearance, transforming into white swans or golden fish. They control the weather, having power over rain, hail, storms and floods.
360° photos
360° video
POłUDNICA
Slavic female demon who can be found at midday in the fields. As the keeper of bread and herbs, she takes care of the harvest and ensures that the law of the sacred time of day is observed. For breaking the ban on working or sleeping in the open fields at this time, the Poludnica sends strong headaches, unbearable and burning pain in the neck, muscle spasm, breaking bones, sometimes she strangles people who are asleep, or maims them with a sickle. It can deprive a person of reason or even kidnap them.
There are various opinions about its appearance. Some describe her as a hideous and frightening wraith resembling a skeleton or an old and emaciated woman. Others point out that the Meridians are incredibly beautiful. They appear in the form of a tall, thin, naked girl whose body is covered by flowing white robes. Flowery garlands adorn their long loose hair. And translucent silhouettes are associated with divinity and the brightness of day.
360° photos
360° video
PŁACZKA
An unhappy mother mourning her children - Belarusians. She cries on the threshold of abandoned chapels, houses, in the ruins of old castles or the remains of forgotten temples and abandoned cemeteries. She can be found in places associated with stories of churches that have sunk into the ground and where there are remains of bodies of people who were not buried according to accepted tradition. When appearing in such places, the Wailing Woman usually decorated them with wreaths of field flowers to honor the innocent dead.
Her appearance symbolizes mourning and sorrow. Legend has it that once upon a time, the tears and prayers of a Weeping Woman were so powerful that the night sky "opened up," a bright sun shone, and birds and animals woke up. From her tears, a spring of living water was created on Mount Poczinowska, on the island of Lake Rablo. It was believed that if someone unexpectedly stumbled upon this spring for the first time, drank water from it and at the same time recognized the Maid in her modest robe, he would become a sage, and from the top of the mountain he would learn all the secrets of the world.
360° photos
360° video
Dziakuj!
