Marzanna

Effigy of Morana (Death Goddess). Czech Republic.
Morana. Poland.

Marzanna (in Polish), Morė (in Lithuanian) or Morena (in Czech, Slovak, Russian) or also Mara, Maržena, Morana, Moréna, Mora or Marmora is a Baltic and Slavic goddess associated with seasonal rites based on the idea of death and rebirth of nature. She is associated with death, winter and nightmares. Some medieval Christian sources such as the Czech 9th century Mater Verborum compare her to the Greek goddess Hecate, associating her with sorcery. 15th century Polish chronicler Jan Długosz likened her to Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture.

Etymology

Vyacheslav Vsevolodovich Ivanov and Vladimir Toporov supposed her name was derived from the same root as the name of Roman god of war Mars, originally an agricultural deity.[1] Other theories claim her name is derived from the same Indo-European root as Latin mors 'death' and Russian mor 'pestilence'. Some authors also likened her to mare, an evil spirit in Germanic and Slavic folklore, associated with nightmares and sleep paralysis. In some Russian dialects the word 'mara' means 'phantom', 'vision', 'hallucination'.[2]

Traditions

Marzanna effigy, Slovakia

The tradition of burning or drowning an effigy of Marzanna to celebrate the end of winter is a folk custom that survives in the Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, and Slovakia. In the past, the festival was held on the fourth Sunday of Lent. In the 20th century the date 21 March was fixed[3] (20–21 March). The rite involves preparing an effigy in female clothing, and either setting it on fire or drowning in a river (or both). This is often performed during a field trip by children in kindergarten and primary schools.[4] The effigy, often made by the children themselves, can range in size from a puppet to a life-size dummy. This ritual represents the end of the dark days of winter, the victory over death, and the welcoming of the spring rebirth.

It concerns the "drowning of Marzanna," a large figure of a woman made from various rags and bits of clothing which is thrown into a river on the first day of the spring calendar. Along the way, she is dipped into every puddle and pond ... Very often she is burned along with herbs before being drowned and a twin custom is to decorate a pine tree with flowers and colored baubles to be carried through the village by the girls. There are of course many superstitions associated with the ceremony: you can't touch Marzanna once she's in the water, you can't look back at her, and if you fall on your way home you're in big trouble. One, or a combination of any of these can bring the usual dose of sickness and plague.
—Tom Galvin, "Drowning Your Sorrows in Spring", Warsaw Voice 13.544, March 28, 1999

Popular culture

Black metal composer Gleb Poro has a track named Morana.

A Polish black metal band, Furia, has released an album under the title "Marzannie, Królowej Polski" (To Marzanna, the Queen of Poland).

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Morana.

References

  1. ↑ Vyacheslav Vsevolodovich Ivanov, Vladimir Toporov. Indo-European Mythology. / В. В. Иванов, В. Н. Топоров. Индоевропейская мифология. Мифы народов мира, М:Российская энциклопедия, 1994.
  2. ↑ Мара (Mara) in Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language by Vladimir Dahl.
  3. ↑ "Polska". Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  4. ↑ http://www.folklornisdruzeni.cz/vynaseni-morany-v-dolni-lomne

Sources