Krsnik

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Krsnik is a Slavic fire god, or a Slovenian shaman whose spirit wanders from the body in the form of an animal.

Contents

[edit] Kresnik, Lord of the Mountain

Kresnik is a pagan deity also known as Svarozic, son of the Slavic sun god Svarog, described as having golden hair and golden hands.[1] From being a divinity, Kresnik evolved into a Slovenian national hero who lives on a golden mountain, sometimes as a deer with golden antlers. As a human, he is a great king skilled with magic, but who interests himself in farming.[2] In some tales he even fights off the Mongols as a peasant youth.[3] The comparative mythology showed that this demigod figure originates from Iranian god Yima and his double, Indian Yama, with whom they share a lot of common characteristics[citation needed]. It is a very diverse deity with many different faces depending on the location of the myth.

[edit] Shamanistic Tradition

The krsnik, a shaman in Istrian folklore, turns into an animal at night to fight off the kudlak, his evil vampire antithesis, with the krsnik appearing as a white animal and the kudlak as a black one.[4] The krsnik 's soul leaves the body, either voluntarily or due to a higher power, to fight evil agents and ensure good harvest, health, and happiness. [5] The legend evolved from a pre-Christian myth present in Slovenia, Croatia, and other countries, in which the celestial pagan god Perun is locked in eternal combat with the evil snake of the underworld, Veles.[6] The krsnik is taught magic by Vile (fairies),[7] and has the ability to heal people and cattle with traditional medicine.[8]

The origin of the name may be from the word krst, which means "cross", [9] and which in Macedonia and Serbia is the word for a stone sign denoting village boundaries.[10]

Similar beliefs circulated among the Italian Benandanti cult.

[edit] In fiction

  • In the anime series Trinity Blood, a "Krusnik" is a vampire that feeds on the blood of other vampires. Lilith Sahl, Cain, Seth, and Abel Nightroad are C\Krusniks who are much more powerful than regular vampires and have a longer life span. In the anime series, they all take different forms: Cain appears as an angel with white wings, even though he is the antagonist, whereas Abel appears slightly demonic with black wings and red eyes, while being the protagonist.
  • There is a video game titled "Krsnik".

[edit] References

  1. ^ Copeland, F. S. "Slovene Folklore." Folklore 42.1 (1931): 405-446.
  2. ^ Copeland, F. .S. "Some Aspects of Slovene Folklore." Folklore 60.2 (1949): 277-286.
  3. ^ Copeland, F.S. "Slovene Folkore." Folklore 42.1 (1931):405-446.
  4. ^ Perkowski, Jan L. The Darkling: A Treatise on Slavic Vampirism. Columbus, Ohio: Slavica Publishers, 1989.
  5. ^ Šmitek, Zmago. "Shamanism on Slovenian Territory? Dilemmas Concerning the Phenomena of Shamanism, Spirit Possession and Ecstasy." Studia ethnologica Croatica 17.1 (2006):171-198.
  6. ^ Vinšćak, Tomo. "On "Štrige", "Štriguni" and "Krsnici" on Istrian Peninsula." Studia ethnologica Croatica 17.1 (2006): 221-225.
  7. ^ Copeland, F. S. "Slovene Folklore." Folklore 42.1 (1931): 405-446.
  8. ^ Vinšćak, Tomo. "On "Štrige", "Štriguni" and "Krsnici" on Istrian Peninsula." Studia ethnologica Croatica 17.1 (2006): 221-225.
  9. ^ Perkowski, Jan L. The Darkling: A Treatise on Slavic Vampirism. Columbus, Ohio: Slavica Publishers, 1989.
  10. ^ Šmitek, Zmago. "Shamanism on Slovenian Territory? Dilemmas Concerning the Phenomena of Shamanism, Spirit Possession and Ecstasy." Studia ethnologica Croatica 17.1 (2006):171-198.
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