White Cross

This is the reconstruction of the Beli križ (White Cross) shrine which was once located in the valley southeast of the village of Prelože, Slovenia...

The shrine was destroyed during the First World War. But the locals preserved a vivid memory of it and of the rituals performed around it. These were collected by ethnographers during the middle of the 20th century...

As you can see, it was "a cross in a circle" made of stones, with four stones in each quarter of the circle and four pointy rocks on the ends of cross hands...

Basically this is a so called "sun cross", which symbolises a solar year with four season. Ever spinning solar wheel. This is confirmed by the fact that a bonfire was lit in the field near the shrine on Kresovanje (Bonfire night, Midsummer night)...

In the center of the "shrine" was a stick on which young green tree branches were attached, symbolising a young green tree. Or maybe this cross was rebuilt every year around a real young tree. This is not clear from the original text...This tree symbolically grew during the fertility ceremony which was performed around the cross in the spring "when the foliage turned green", which in the Prelože area happens in April...The carpet of crocus flowers across the slopes of Velika Planina in Slovenia, April...

It is quite possible that this ceremony took place on Jurjevo (St. George’s Day), the old Jarilo (Slavic Young Sun God) day...The field where the White Cross shrine once stood is linked to St George...I talked about him and why he is "The Dragon Killer" in this article "Letnitsa treasure"...

A very interesting metal plaque from the so called "Let­nit­sa Treas­ure", a 4th c. BC Thracian hoard discovered near Let­nit­sa, Bulgaria...This one depicts one of the most common themes from Balkan fairytales: a princess being kidnapped by a dragon...

Jarilo (Jura), whose name means both "the brightly burning one" (sun) and "the young one, the green one" (bringer of spring, summer, The Green Man) was in other Jurjevo rituals from Slovenia represented by a living walking tree.

Zeleni Jura (Green Yura) walking the earth. Part of Jurjevanje, celebration of the return of Jarilo, Jura, The  Young Sun God who brings spring...Today performed on St George's day...Tells you a lot about the true Identity of St George...

This ritual is performed Bela Krajina, area inhabited by descendants of Serbians who migrated here during Turkish invasions of the Balkans. Today split between Croatia/Slovenia...This is the original Green Man...

The Sun God's name Jarilo (pronounced Yareelo) comes from the root "jar" (yar) meaning: young, green (Life giving warm sun of green spring), but also brightly burning and raging, furious (Life destroying burning sun of yellow summer)...

Interestingly, in Sanskrit, har (cognate of jar, yar) can also mean green and yellow... 

So the fact that a (symbolic) young green tree, symbol of the sun god Jarilo, was "growing" in the middle of the shrine shaped like a sun cross, points at the symbolic meaning of this shrine: solar year and the climate which it creates...

And it is this climate which people of Prelože were trying to control...As part of the ceremony at the White Cross, four young girls span around the circle interconnected by ivy branches, singing prayers for "sun, rain and abundant crops"...

They prayed to "Dajbogec" (Giving god), another name for Dabog, the old Slavic Sky God...

In Serbian the expression "On vedri i oblači" means "he rules", "he has absolute control, absolute power". Literally this expression means "he makes the sky clear and cloudy"...I talked about this in my post "The power of the thunder giant"...

Dabog, Dajbog was also another name for Triglav, Trimurti, the Supreme god...I talked about Triglav in several of my posts: "Lugus or Triglav", "When the bride dies soon after the wedding", "Sun thunder fire", "Riddle", "Krkava Triglav stone", "Triglav, Trojan, Trinity, Trimurti, Agni"...

This is what Triglav is, one God with three faces: Sun, Thunder, Fire...

It is very interesting that the "shrine" contained pointy upward stones and that at this shrine girls (women) prayed to Dabog for good weather (just enough rain and sunshine) so that their crops would yield abundantly...

Because this is not the only place where we find large stones used in weather rituals involving Dabog and performed by women...

In his 1925 paper "The Ring of Nestor", Sir Arthur Evans, the excavator of Knossos, mentions a curious rain-making ritual which was performed in Ibrahimovci, near Skoplje, Macedonia, during droughts. 

Pic: Altar dedicated to Jupiter, Juno und Minerva, Macedonia

This is 1925 we are talking about. At least 1500 years since Jupiter was officially a god of rain...And yet, uneducated, illiterate SLAVIC villagers in Macedonia still remembered him in times of desperation...

What is very interesting is that this altar "was lying face down normally but was lifted when the rain was needed". Compare this with this Slavic rain making ritual from Belarus in which Dabog's stone is ceremonially lifted...I talked about this in my post "The last megalithic ritual in Europe"...

And compare this with other weather controlling Slavic rituals involving sky pointing "weather stones"...See, these weather stones have the same shape as the stones from the White Cross...I talked about them in my post "Weather stones"...

Source of info about the shrine and related rituals:

Pleterski, A. 2015, Preplet 3 in 4, preloška "Beli Križ in Triglavca ter Zbruški idol", in: Nesnovna krajina Krasa

Griffin vs Black Grouse

This amazing Scythian artefact, dated to the period 4th–3rd c. BC is a perfect illustration of everything I hate about the way artefacts with the depictions of animals are treated by (most) archaeologists and pretty much everyone else...

Here comes the rant: 🙂

When I first saw this artefact, it had this English description: "A reconstruction of a leather flask found in one of the Pazyryk burials. Based on excavations by S. I. Rudenko...It is decorated with two identical images showing a griffin fighting a black grouse"...

"a griffin fighting a black grouse"???

I spent good few minutes eyeballing the photographs, trying to see either 

a Scythian griffin 

or 

a black grouse

After I failed to see either, I decided to see if I can find original Russian description of the image...

Sure enough I found one here. In Russian, the description says "фигуры грифов, схвативших когтями тетеревов" meaning "depictions of vultures grabbing black grouses with their talons" 🙂 Russian word "гриф" meaning vulture, not griffin... 🤦‍♂️

Ok...Hmmmm...Again...Eyeballing, eyeballing...The image on the Pazyryk flask clearly depicts two raptors with huge beaks and talons fighting each other...But are they really "гриф", vulture though? Possibly...But there is no effing way one of the birds is a black grouse...

I mean, don't get me wrong. Black grouses are not pacifist, at least when it comes to getting laid...They fight viciously to determine who gets the girls  https://forestryandland.gov.scot/blog/black-grouse-mating

But neither one of the two depicted fighting birds looks like any either a 

Black grouse

or 

Western grouse

the two big grouses from Central Asia...

Seriously, WTF is wrong with people writing these artefact descriptions...

And so, I started searching for raptors of Central Asia...The three biggest raptor species found in Souther Siberia are in order of size Steppe Eagle, Golden Eagle and Cinereous Vulture...

Steppe eagles fight all the time...

Golden eagles fight all the time...

Cinereous Vultures fight all the time...

So are both fighting birds depicted on the Scythian flask of the same species? Hmmm...The bottom bird has some lumpy thing on its neck...

None of the eagles have anything like that...But the vulture has tufts of feathers on its neck that look just like that lump...

So is one of the birds depicted on the Pazyryk flask a Cinereous Vulture and the other one an eagle? And if so which eagle? The two birds depicted on the flask look similar in size, with the top one (eagle) slightly smaller then the bottom one (Vulture)...

Of the above two eagle species, only Golden eagle is similar in size with the Cinereous Vulture...And a fight between a Golden eagle and a Cinereous Vulture was actually captured on a film...An in this film, Vulture wins...You can see the video here...

Oh and here is a still image from the video where we can see the vulture "tuft" that looks like a lump...

So have we determined the actual identity of the two fighting birds depicted on the Pazyryk flask? Well...As I was finishing this article I came across this article which says that until recently, White tailed eagles also lived in Southern Siberia...

And White tailed eagles fight all the time...And are known to steal food from other birds...So...🙂

And, White tailed eagles are even bigger than Golden eagles...

So they would be perfectly capable of taking on a Cinereous Vulture...

So...Anyway, do you know what was found in this Scythian flask? Hemp seeds. According to Herodotus, the Scythians threw hemp seeds on hot stones, inhaled narcotic smoke and "rejoiced loudly" 🙂 

And so let's all rejoice at the end of this article which, I hope, was fun...

Goose Salmon Stone

In "The Reliquary & Illustrated Archaeologist, July 1895", in the chapter entitled "Discovery of an Ancient Burial Place and a Symbol-Bearing Slab at Easterton of Roseisle" (page 142), we can read this: 

At the end of April, 1895, a still further discovery was made, for, on removing the symbol -bearing slab from the grave, we observed that it was a square sea-beach stone much water worn, and without mark of any tool on it. On the outer side or back of the stone were cut two figures, viz., a bird, either a goose or duck, with webbed feet, and a salmon...

Here is the illustration from the book showing the stone...

And here is a photo of the stone, now in National Museum of Scotland...

A very interesting stone indeed...Why is it decorated with a depiction of a goose and a salmon? 

Ever heard of animal calendar markers? 

Well, this is one, marking Oct/Nov...

Here is why...

In Oct/Nov, huge flocks of pink-footed geese arrive to Scotland from Northern Europe...They spend winter in Scotland and leave in Mar/Apr...More about pink-footed gees in Scotland can be found here...

In Oct/Nov, huge shoals of salmon arrive to Scotland and run up the Scottish rivers to their spawning grounds. This is the best time to see salmon leaping in Scotland...Mora about salmon in Scotland can be found here...

Both are hugely important annual events which happen at the same time, every year, and are not easily missed, if you are a hunter gatherer whose survival over winter depends on these birds and fishes as food sources... 

So, Oct/Nov, the time when gees and salmon arrive to Scotland...Rejoice, the food is here...🙂

To read more about ancient animal and plant calendar markers, start here…then check the rest of the blog posts related to animal calendar markers I still didn't add to this page, and finally check my twitter threads I still didn't convert to blog post...I am 9 months behind now...

Scorpion king

This is the so called "Scorpion macehead", a 25 cm long decorated pear shaped limestone macehead found in the Ancient Egyptian temple of Horus at Hierakonpolis. Currently in the Ashmolean Museum

It is attributed to the Pharaoh (King) Scorpion (c. 3200–3000 BC) due to the glyph of a scorpion engraved close to the image of a king wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt. This is the only known depiction of this Pharaoh (King)...

At least this is what some archaeologists think. The fact is that King Scorpion's name, title and even existence are of great dispute in modern Egyptology...

And here I would like to add some oil to this academic fire: I don't think that the scorpion on this macehead spells the name of the Pharaoh depicted next to it. I think that this is an animal calendar marker...🙂

Ashmolean guys interpretation of the macehead scene: "The King, followed by fan-bearers, wears the White Crown of Upper Egypt and a ceremonial bull's tail...before him, a man holds a basket, and another who carries a broom, wait to collect the earth removed by the king's hoe."

This description does not specify what the king is actually doing. The paper "Early Hydraulic Civilization in Egypt" interprets this scene as "Scorpion King ceremonially cutting an irrigation ditch..."

I don't think that this is Scorpion king or that he is cutting an irrigation ditch. I think that it is some Pharaoh performing the ceremonial "cutting of the first furrow", which marks the beginning of the sowing of grain...

Until the 20th century, agricultural year in Lower Egypt was divided into these three seasons: 

Aug-Nov flood which left a coating of fresh mud over the fields 

Dec-Mar sowing season for the staple crops of barley, emmer wheat and flax for linen

Apr-Jul, harvest season

During the late 4th millennium BC, Egyptians didn't have ploughs. So the furrows were made by hoes, like the one held by the Pharaoh depicted on the macehead, and like this one currently in the British Museum...

And in "A History of Ancient Egypt: From the First Farmers to the Great Pyramid" by John Romer we can read this interesting comment: 

"...Nile farmers tended to sow their muddy meadows in December and January, when the scorpions and snakes were hibernating..." 🙂

In 1912, Walter Tyndale published a beautifully illustrated book "An Artist in Egypt" 

In it we can read that:

"In early November scorpions are still active, and are not hibernating...As we got into December, we heard and saw little of scorpions, and, during the season of hibernation, I forgot about these creatures" 🙂

So the beginning of the hibernation of the scorpions in Egypt, their disappearance in late November, announced the beginning of the grain sowing season...

This is what the scorpion next to the Pharaoh with the hoe means. It is an animal calendar marker for Nov/Dec, beginning of the grain sowing season in Predynastic Egypt...It is not Pharaoh's name...

These are drawings of some of the small ivory tags showing the depiction of a scorpion, which were found in the Predynastic graveyards at Abydos, Minshat Abu Omar and Tarkhan...

They show the scorpion holding the hieroglyphic sign for "nome (area)/garden/land with irrigation channels"...Authors of the paper "Abydos tomb u-j of predynastic Egypt Abydos tomb u-j" say that the interpretation of the combination of symbols on these ivory tags is disputed...You can find the sign list here...

Some archaeologists say that this combination of signs has no deeper meaning. Some other archaeologists say that "the scorpion could represent King Scorpion II in his role as a ruler of a certain (but unnamed) nome (area)"...

I would say that this combination of signs does indeed have deeper meaning, and what it means is: saw your grain in your irrigated field when scorpions disappear...

Yeah right...

Well, did you know that archaeological evidence shows that the Early 4th millennium BC Egyptians were under "a surprisingly strong and extensive influence of Mesopotamian culture and religion"...

And guess what we find in Mesopotamia? Scorpion marking the beginning of the ploughing and grain sowing season...

When scorpions disappear, and cranes arrive from the north, and Sirius rises with the moon which points up and looks like a dish ready to catch the first rains, Oct/Nov, it's time to sow grain...I talked about this in my posts "Seven stars of scorpio" and "Ploughing" 

Oh, BTW, that "rosette" next to the scorpion on the Scorpion Macehead...Its meaning is also disputed (read: no one has any idea what it means)...See, it's a star on Mesopotamian grain sowing seals...Sirius which is visible during the night during sawing time

Sooooo...Is it time to say goodby to the Scorpion king? I think so...Bone fragment with a carving of a scorpion. Late Predynastic - early First Dynasty, about 3100 BC

That's it. 

Oh, have you seen this?

19/11/2021. According to CBS News, thunderstorms along the River Nile swept the scorpions...out of their hiding places where they stay during hibernation...into people's houses...

To read more about ancient animal and plant calendar markers, start here…then check the rest of the blog posts related to animal calendar markers I still didn't add to this page, and finally check my twitter threads I still didn't convert to blog post...I am 9 months behind now...

Julenek

"On Christmas morning in Norway every gable, gateway, or barn-door, is decorated with a sheaf of grain, called 'Julenek', fixed on the top of a tall pole, wherefrom it is intended that the birds should make their Christmas dinner"...Julenek, Karl Uchermann 1855-1940...

On Christmas Eve, the Swedes hang out the last sheaf of grain from the harvest, known as the Julkarve, as an offering to the birds. And they believe that the more birds come to feed, the better the next year's grain harvest will be...Bird sheaf, Siegwald Dahl 1827-1902...

The usual explanation for this custom is that that the birds were fed to stop them eating grain from grain stores...But the belief that feeding the birds has influence on the next year's harvest points at another explanation for this custom...Preserved in Slavic folklore...

All over Europe, it was believed that the last harvested sheaf of grain contained the living "sprit of grain"...This last sheaf was turned into a "Corn dolly", which was preserved until the next sowing season,. The seeds from the Corn dolly were then mixed with the seeds about to be sown, and were sometimes the first to be sown into the ground...I talked about this in my post "Corn dolly" 

A hint who this "Corn spirit", preserved in the "Corn dolly", really was, can be found in the Gaelic language and tradition. In Gaelic, the word Cailleach means at the same time An Old Woman, Mother Earth, The Last Sheaf of Wheat and the Corn Dolly made from it. So the Corn Spirit was really the fertility of the Mother Earth, of the life (grain) giving mother of us all...I talked about this in my post "The old woman of the mill dust"...

In Eastern Slavic tradition the identity of the "Grain spirit" is spelled out. The Last Sheaf of Wheat is turned into a Corn Dolly called Diduch (Grandfather, The Ancestor)...I talked about this in my post "Diduch"...

Now Slavs believed that all the good comes from the ancestors...Including grain...Which is why it was so important to keep ancestors happy, well fed and well watered, particularly during winter...

In some parts of Serbia, on Christmas Eve people used to take a table laid with food on the doorstep of the house and would then ask wolves to come to the feast. In other parts of Serbia they would invite the dead to the feast in the same way...I talked about this in my post "Wolf feast"...

Finally, in pre-Christian times, Slavs believed that souls of their dead entered birds and through birds entered otherworld, heaven, Iriy. And through birds returned back to our world to be reborn. I talked about this in my posts "Nav" and "Bird wedding"...

So feeding birds with grain from the last sheaf during winter was basically a form of feeding the ancestors, sacrificing to the ancestors...

Anyway, I wonder if any of this was preserved in Nordic and Finish folklore? 

I will finish this article with the link to my articles "Walking sheafs of wheat" which roam the roads of Europe during the winter...