Slavic cult of the dead and ancestral veneration
Dziady, zaduszki, feasts for the dead - Żmija’s guide to Slavic Faith
alas, summer is gone and cold gloomy months are coming - and with them the memory of our dear dead, and feasts, offerings, graveyard visits and evenings spent on celebrating and remembering them.
Ancestral veneration was crucial for ancient Slavs and survived to this day, where mixed with Christianity (whether Catholicism or Eastern Orthodox) remained an important part of our lives. Feasts in the name of the ancestors were usually celebrated during autumn, but also during spring and directly in relation to a given person’s passing.
The cult of the dead and celebrations connected to it were important for Slavs for two main reasons:
one, ancestors were believed to still hold much power over our world and, if approached correctly, prayed to, or given offerings, would bless their family with good health, luck, and even fertility - as the dead operated within the realm of souls, they could affect new life brought into the mortal world.
two, the world for Slavs was always twofold, always comprised of dead and alive (or undead as well, perhaps) and many precautions were ingrained into everyday life: you do not want evil mistreated spirits in your household as much as you don’t want your grandfather to raise from the dead and show up at your doorstep wailing and hungry for blood.
the first important steps when it came to honouring the dead happened right after - or shortly after - their departure from our mortal world. The body had to be adequately prepared, washed and dressed; family had to gather and mourn the deceased (but in very specific ways - for example, in many places it was forbidden to cry in the presence of the body or into their clothes/hair as it could stop the spirit from moving on - more funerary superstitions can be found here). The deceased would often be given various material gifts - whether favourite items, weapons, or jewelery and food - and sometimes would have a coin thrown into the coffin or grave to ensure a safe passing, as there was a belief in many regions that the journey into afterlife began with crossing a river, often by boat which had to be paid for.
However, other regions - especially in the South as Gieysztor mentions - believed the river had to be crossed by foot, and after the death of a family member there would be a footbridge built over the nearest stream, to symbolise the crossing and aid them on their journey.
next, there would be a wake and a funeral feast - which could take place days after the death of a person, or weeks, or even during the first anniversary of their passing. In Polish it would be called strawa, in Croatian karmine/daća, and in Old Russian trizna/tryzna. It would often involve a special invocation - calling the dead to dine with you - and leaving one place at the table empty for the dead to join the feast (this survived into the Christian tradition during Christmas and Christmas Eve). This feast could take place in the family household or, as in older traditions, over the grave.
Dziady - the holiday of the dead popularised in poetic form by Polish-Lithuanian writer and poet Adam Mickiewicz - were a variation of such a feast in the name of the ancestors. It is also the most popular name of such celebrations among modern Rodnovers, especially in Poland. These are also often called Zaduszki - also a traditional name for the celebration - but this name is heavily ingrained into the Catholic celebration of All Souls Day.
Ancestral veneration often included not only the feast itself, prayers, songs, and invocations, but also offerings - these would be similar to those Slavs would give their Gods (we often have no way of knowing whether the offerings left in places of worship were meant for Gods only, or Ancestors only, or both). They would include food (bread, grain, meat, fruit and vegetables) and drink (water, alcohol) as well as figurines, ribbons, coins and trinkets.
The offerings would be left for the dead often alongside light candles - so that the souls could find their way. People would also try to communicate with their ancestors, through prayers, songs, and even trance-like states - as it was believed that the dead are not fully gone, but can still answer us and wander our world to drink, eat, talk, and visit their beloved family.
[Do remember that this is just a short introduction and the subject offers way more details and wonderful traditions. The main source was, as always in my case, Aleksander Gieysztor’s Slavic Mythology (or Mythology of the Slavic People)]
