DAJBOG , DazdBog, Dazbog is also a Giver-God
DazBog is a god of the Sun, flame and rain. Dazbog is also Giver-God .
The first part of the name is “daj” – a form of the verb to give, while
the second part “Bog” means God. But what did DazBog actually give? It
is possible that giving refers the Sun and sunlight which is essential
for many natural processes. The Sun was also very important to the
Slavs. It was the source of life and was always considered to be a
positive force. The Sun gave life to the Earth, and the god who gave it
was therefore DajBog. DazBog actually stands for the Sun disc.
In all surviving medieval texts concerning the Slavs, Dazbog is always
mentioned at some point. His name was written down by Roman, Greek and
Russian chroniclers who wrote about old Slavic creed. Helios from Greek
texts was translated into Slavic as Dazbog. In the Malalin manuscript
dating from the 6th century Helios was also translated as Dazbog. The
Russian translator tried to tell a story set in Egypt, but he
substituted Greek gods for Slavic. Dazbog is also mentioned in the
Spanish Code, an epic telling about Igor’s quest and many other things.
Vladimir the Great put statues of seven gods in front of his palace in
Kiev, and among them was Dazbog’s statue.
To
a family he was a protector of the house’s fireplace and its fire,
man’s basic necessity for survival during the winter, and an
indispensable help in performing everyday work. But flames could be
cruel and turn against men, and take them to the underworld or destroy
their property. Flames’ benevolence was crucial to survival, and many
rituals were therefore related to them.
DazBog was
definitely the god of rain, too. One of his names was DazdBog, and
“dazd” in many Slavic languages means rain (Slovak, Czech, Russian,
Polish…). The rain was important because harvests depended upon it. In
times of drought many rain invoking rituals were performed.
We know that the Slavs addressed their gods as their equals and that
they considered themselves gods’ descendants. To be more precise, they
thought of themselves as Dazbog’s grandchildren, or his lineal
descendants. DazBog was one of Svarog’s sons. It is not certain how many
sons Svarog had, but Dazbog was almost beyond doubt one of them. Some
authors mention only two – Svarozic and Dazbog (Vyacheslav Vsevolodovi
and Vladimir Toporov), while others mention Perun, Svetovid, Dazbog and
Veles as Svarog’s sons, and they refer to all of them as a group -
“svarozici” (little Svarogs). Be that as it may, Dazbog appears in every
combination.
During
the day, the Sun was in the sky giving out light, while at night it was
in the underworld. Actually, every morning DazBog would set out on the
journey across the sky riding a white horse or riding in a carriage, and
in the evening he died or went to the world of the dead, only to come
to life again next morning.
The
Serbs more than any other people imagined Dazbog as a lame old man,
dressed in animal skins, usually bear skin, accompanied by a wolf. The
wolf actually stands for his animal incarnation, or his primary shape
that did not cease to exist after Dazbog turned anthropomorphic. The
wolf became a servant, and often a messenger as well. Although his basic
form was anthropomorphic, Dazbog frequently changed his shape, and his
earliest wolf form remained his symbol. As the Serbs considered
themselves his descendants, the wolf became a sacred animal. In one
catalogue of peoples, it is recorded that the Serbs were descendants of
the wolf. “Saracen is descended from the boar, Turk from the snake,
Tatar from the hound, Serb from the wolf, Bulgarian from the bull,
Aleman from the eagle…”
The belief in the power
of the Sun was extremely strong among the Slavs. Cajkanovic claims that
Dazbog was the supreme god of the Serbs. This is supported by the fact
that a Slavic festivity dedicated to the invincible Sun coincides with
Christmas Day. Since this holiday was impossible to uproot, it was
simply substituted by a similarly important Christian one.
Upon conversion to Christianity demonic characteristics were attributed
to Dazbog. He became the most powerful of the demons and the main
opponent of the Christian God. This was possibly due to his appearance
of a lame one-eyed old man, dressed in dark bear skin, dwelling in the
underworld quite often. We can however opt for the possibility that this
was due to the power of Dazbog’s cult that was to be eliminated at all
costs. Dazbog’s characteristics were later in Christianity transferred
to St Sava, who was also presented in folk tales as a shepherd followed
by a wolf. St Sava is also a giver in those tales.
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