ZIVA Goddess of living water, life, love and fertility

Živa, (also Živa, Šiva, Siwa, Żiwia), was the Slavic goddess of life, love and fertility. She was worshipped throughout what is now Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Germany (and especially the Elbe (Labe) river valley), before Christianity expanded into the area.

She was wife of one of the main Slavic gods – Dažbog – the god of sun. Together they showed up like twins creating the symbol of pigeon.

She was an impressive woman with long hair and powerful eyes.
 Goddess Živa originated in the remote antiquity. The name of the goddess can be traced as far back as North Africa. Yet, the furthest we go back into prehistory, the clearer she emerges, not so much as goddess, but as life itself. The meaning of Živa in Slavic languages is life or living. 

Among the deities of Slavic Polabians, above all Abodriti or Bodrici (Mecklenburg), the goddess Živa, or Živena among Slovakians, had a special place. Historical sources refer to her most often under the name Siwa, and recorded variously as Sivve, Shiwa, Sieba, Syeba, and Dsiva. She was goddess of fertility and love, the greatest female deity in the pantheon of Polabians. Tomaž Linhart, Slovenian 18th century historian, writes: Shiva, goddess of life; she was worshipped by Polabians. Raniolans have given this title to the planet Venus. 

Živa was above all the goddess of water. In the consciousness of people she represented the concept of life, personified by water. She was their first “goddess”, even before mother Earth, who rules when the spread of agriculture follows. 

The chief holy place of goddess Živa was in the city Ratibor (Ratzenburg), south of Lubice (later Lübeck). The city is situated on the island of a sizable lake. On the island a powerful stream gushes to the surface, named Aqua Siwa. Today there is a spa on this spot. We come upon goddess Živa in the mythology of other nations in Middle Europe, that stem from the ancient Veneti. In the tradition of Slovaks for example she appears under the name Živena. 

Chronicler Helmold calls Živa Polabian “goddess”, but in common with other chroniclers does not describe her. Her image appears only in the second publication of his chronicle in the year 1659. There are many indications that the goddess Živa was symbolically represented in the stream of fresh water, the source of all life. Her figure, which it would be evidently impossible to portray in its true symbolism reflects more than a female figure, - youth, beauty and tenderness, life and its renewal.... All that the later goddesses of love, for example Greek Aphrodite or Roman Venus express only to some extent. 

Goddess Živa had vanished from memory, but the folk tradition has retained her figure and meaning in various guises. There are records particularly referring to “living water”, sometimes as focus of worship that indicates either by name or indirectly the goddess of life, Živa. 

It is probable that the worship of Fata in Oglej (Aquileia),- a maiden goddess who foretells future, and is connected with births, can be identified with Živa. Like a number of Celtic deities, it would appear, as indicated on several preserved inscriptions, that she was transposed into the Roman pantheon of gods, and became Fata, dea barbarica. 

There are no direct records about how much was Živa, her Polabian version, connected with the figure of female beauty and fertility. That she was an important goddess we may conclude from the fact that in the year 1157 they built a cathedral on the hill in Ratibor, where her temple had stood. 

About her worship in Carantania there are also no records. However, Slovenian historian Linhart writes: Shiva, goddess of life; she was worshipped by Polabians, Raniolans have given this title to the planet Venus. Linhart’s record is of the essence in further pursuit of her presence in pre-christian pantheon of Carantanians. 

There is a strong tradition that the temple, which preceded the Christian church on the Isle of Bled was dedicated to Živa. Diggings which archaeologists undertook on the island after World War II, discovered under the church remains of older foundations. Among them also the foundation, that provided the support for a square wooden house at the time of christianization in the 8th century. Attached to it was square building with apse from 9th century, an indication of the influence of Oglej. In both buildings, whose foundations were uncovered, transition from pagan “hram” to early christian church can be clearly seen. Was the pagan temple dedicated to goddess Živa? Christian missionaries consistently translated worship of pagan goddesses into the worship of Mother of God. Church on the Lake Bled is consecrated to the Ascension of Mary. 

The temple of Živa on the Isle of Bled and the waterfall on the Savica River were commemorated and celebrated in the epic poem Baptism on Savica by the 19 century Slovenian poet France Prešeren. 

Goddess of living water has also been retained in the folk memory in many customs where water plays a crucial role. Maidens in the environs of Ljutomer make offerings to water on New Year’s Eve. In another custom a red apple must be thrown into the spring before sunrise. In her portrayal in Helmold’s chronicle, which had been published in 1639 by Heinrich Bangert, Živa holds an apple in her hands. From this it is possible to deduce, that in the folklore of Polabians as well, the apple was preserved as love symbol of the goddess. 

The figure of Živa, the ancient goddess of water, fruitfulness and love did not completely vanish from Slovenian folklore. Christianity drove the name of the pagan goddess into oblivion. However her image has been preserved in tales and myths about white woman (orig. Sl. bela žena) the washer-woman (orig. Sl. perica) or god’s maiden (orig. Sl. božja deklica), and in seasonal customs centred on springs and wells in Slovenian folk tradition.

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.