Baba Yaga

 Salvete Omnes,

I do like fairy and folk tales, and some of the best ones are our old pre- and post-Christian Slavic tales,  while the Russian folk tales are my favorites (especially Konik Garbunok).
But there are lots of similarities between all Slavic fairy tales when comes to the demon-witch and other dark characters,  that goes back to the pagan beliefs and customs; also many tales across the great Eurasian steppe share similarities and common characters, even some relate Baba Yaga (Baba Jaga in Polish) with ancient Greek Kirke...  so this is a field that has been the subject of many studies, as this list from Academia can exemplify.

While drawing and seeking for something good to listen I came across this YT channel - The Histocrat - and I listened to one of their productions - Baba Yaga - Mythillogical (I was interested in the Heracles story but that 2 part presentation will be for later days).

So I rather enjoyed their, Charles and Crofty, presentation - they center on the Russian Baba Yaga stories and place it more within the Russian and eastern Slavic tradition, but that is not a big deal, becasue hat is material to the story of Baba Yaga and various tales they go over, that they do this tale with style and gusto, and keep the listener, in my case at least, interested.  Which makes this presentation quite a feast I must add. 

In order to make the post more colorful and more lively below  I am adding  some images of Baba Yaga, Bogatyr-witez created by famous Russian illustrator Ivan Bilibin.

enjoy the presentation

In Polish short film production there is a fun feature film titled Jaga (Yaga) which is a take on the old tales and fables, and quite enjoyable -

 

nota bene, in the second season of Netflix Witcher there is a house or hut on chicken legs, but the series season 1 and 2 are not as enjoyable as the books by Sapkowski have been to me. C'est la vie

Valete

Viking and Slavic Ornamental Design vol. 3 from WHP & Triglav

Salvete Omnes,
 
Winged Hussar Publishing LLC in cooperation with Triglav from Szczecin, Poland, publish the 3rd volume of the Viking and Slavic Ornamental Design - fantastic reference material and study of the designs obtained from archaeological artefacts and iconographic materials, collected during research trips to museums and sites ranging from Ireland to the eastern Slavic lands of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia.
 
 
Written by Igor Gorewicz,
 here at the 2018 Wolin Slav and Viking Festival

and illustrated by Marek Piłaszewicz, it is a treasure of imagery from the Viking and Pagan Slav period - be it for a reenactor costumes and equipment, tattoo idea or drawing exercise etc.
there are some sample pages kindly provided by the publishers


 Slavic horseman reconstructed - Wolin Festival 2019


photos from the various Wolin S&V Festival taken from Wiki Commons - here-
nota bene Slavic music bands at the festival- eg Javaryna & Dziwoludy.


Valete

Borek and Slavonic Gods

Salvete Omnes,

a very quick post- announcement about a book, perhaps very important one if you a child in search of tales and myths from the world of pagan Slavs and their gods.
Wydawnictwo Triglav from Poland in joint venture with Winged Hussar Publishing LLC from New Jersey, US, and  in cooperation with the American famous publishing giant  Simon & Schuster published  Igor Gorewicz's book  Borek and Slavonic Gods in December 2018.

editorial page

end of the book

Long time ago I bought the Polish original for my son and he enjoyed it every bit, rereading it many times over his years.
Upon learning about these great Slavonic tales and myths from the book my little son got inspired and drew his own version of Slavonic pantheon.

my son's large coloured pancils drawing

 I think this book, profusely illustrated with watercolor paintings, can be a great addition to children's library of tales and myths, especially since there is so little about our Slavonic gods, mythology and history for children and young adults alike.
Valete!

XXII Festiwal Słowian i Wikingów na wyspie Wolin

Salvete omnes,
finally yesterday I went to the 22nd Slavs and Vikings Festival in the island of Wolin or XXII Festiwal Słowian i Wikingów na wyspie Wolin .
It rained a lot Saturday so I went Sunday, the last day of the festival.
I did not take photos, but for these few - as there were no horses to speak of, just some master craftsmen and one saddlemaker - I will write about his work I saw in the future post.

Finally met with some people I have corresponded and stayed in contanct over the net - like Barosz 'Liggy' Ligocki (a reenactor, horse archery & ... practicing dentist), Elżebieta Cherezińska (one of the foremost Polish historical fiction writers and reenactor - just bought her book Harda for my wife :) - about the Piast princes and queen of Scandinavia named Sygryda Storråda, Świętosława, Saum–Aesa )

and Igor Górewicz (the principal leader of the festival and also an author,  historian and publisher - I bought from them a book on the horses in the Slavic and Scandinavian beliefs and mythology - 'Wierzchowce Bogów, Motyw konia w wierzeniach Słowian i Skandynawów' - review in Polish)

There are many pages on facebook, with plenty of photos eg this one,  also this page.
videos on youtube - (with time I am sure there will be more videos and images)
an overview of the festival
boats race  
first day battle
 music band Percival playing in the background of the first video, but there were different bands and musicians there too 
finally, there were many hundreds or perhaps thousands of tourists and visitors to the festival on Sunday, and the sun shined :)

enjoy