#slovakian culture

[kawaiitail-chan]

Fun fact: slavic culture isn't just russuan

[leocadra]

Hrad, Bratislava, Slovakia.

[ancestorsalive]

Uncovered by a Slovakian farmer ploughing his land in 1930, this figurine is called the Venus of Moravany. She is made from a mammoth's ivory tusk circa 22,800 BCE, from the Gravettian culture.

[jagalart]

Lemko

A very special picture for the great @ YachtRockDragon matching with one I've done a while ago. This time featuring a nb take on a traditional Lemko clothing and Spring in Ukrainian/Polish/Slovakian mountainside. I grew up surrounded by their culture and language so it was really cool to make this ❤️

[poppiesforthirteen]

I don't! I'm Catholic on my mom's side and Lutheran (Protestant) on my dad's, if I do have Jewish ancestors they hid really damn well in the bloodline. I think someone's Jewish grandmother is haunting me

Every time I have pork, seafood, a cheeseburger, whatever, there's a voice at the back of my head that goes "uh oh Poppy that's not kosher."

... I'm not Jewish

[ghostofreach117]

Just went through the depths ™ of my sketchbook and stuff ™. Pretty old stuff but it explains a lot of the lore of my version of Mondstadt. I know my handwriting is bad😭 I’ll try and translate

(You can see how different my style is on paper LMFAOOOO)

This one is the newest!!!

Wanted to elaborate on clothing and hair. I HATEHATEHATE how much traditional German clothing is sexualized so guess what I did!!!! Anyway I wanted to lean further into traditional German clothing while also taking into account what would be most convenient for the people living there. I wanted hair to be super important too. MONDSTADT IS WINDY. WHY IS YOUR HAIR DOWN PEOPLE. So I thought since people generally have their hair up here they would probably develop a really complex culture around the way hair is put up. (Thank u kaeya and diluc for being my hair models) And Since wind is considered holy there would probably be religious implications there too.

I also think it would be kinda neat if other nations were kinda unbeknownst to the fact that mondstadt has culture aside from drinking.

WHEW THIS ONES OLD. I wanted to go more in depth about the internal relationships between the cultures of mondstadt. I had noticed the cross symbol around and kinda tried to recontextualize it to fit the world.

Here’s a transcript of some of the bottom text for those who can’t read it:

“Those who hail from the south (east AND west) are generally looked down upon by those who are from central/northern mondstadt. They are seen as trashy/dangerous due to association with the fatui.”

“Southwestern ethnic/cultural groups include:

- Czechs/Slovakians (usually just referred to as Czechoslovakians, there’s no real reason to separate in this context)

- Hungarians

- Croatians

- Albanians

Southeastern ethnic/cultural groups include:

- Poles

- Lithuanians

- Belarusians

- Romanians”

If any explanation is needed just let me know!! These are very old haha

In any case here’s some assorted brainrot notes:

Inazuma has closed its borders completely, disallowing the majority of trade and travelers. However, a select few people are allowed within the country’s borders for trade/political talks.

Inazuman salt is essential to the survival of the people of mondstadt, as they need it to preserve their meat for winter.

Many nations, ESPECIALLY FONTAINE, look down upon mondstadt, because they see it as a trashy, uncivilized place full of drunkards.

[allgremlinart]

when I'm making fun of Europe I'm making fun of America and Canada and Australia and all them by proxy of course but I'm also making fun of the Balkans and Eastern Euro don't think you're getting out of this. once saw a girl on tiktok try and tell people the box braids she had in weren't culturally insensitive because they were "traditional Slovakian braids" I know how you roll.

[mist-the-wannabe-linguist]

hello, totally understand if this is a far reach but I’m taking a sociology class and I get to write about the Czech Republic for a multicultural paper (yayy!) and I was wondering if any of your followers would want to participate. the goal of the paper is to understand Czech culture (customs, taboos, norms, etc) and all of my friends/family are only from the slovakian border, so it’s a rather tiny representation! opatruj se ^_^

putting this out here because this sounds interesting af and I bet lots of people will want to join

[fairuzfan]

to be fair I don’t think the state of Palestine existed back then? Like obviously Jesus was a Jewish person born in what is now Palestine and used to be Judea-> Jesus was a Jewish Palestinian isn’t exactly inaccurate. I think the level of vitriol against it goes beyond “hey this area actually went by this name when x figure was born” like I don’t think we’d be having this much discourse over calling a historical figure Slovakian when they were actually born in the state of Czechoslovakia

Well to be honest, it doesn't really matter what it was "called" back then because it doesn't change anything about the modern settler-colonial regime, but I will say a lot of historical discussions are a reflection of what we find valuable in the modern day and how we understand history is from our lens of today's understanding of "nations" and "states." Back then, no state really existed in the sense that we understand states to exist, but people *did* live on that land who developed Palestinian culture to what we know today. That's just how cultures work, over time.

But the discussion of "Jesus is Jewish, not Palestinian" is definitely a reflection of modern day understandings of Palestinian and Jewish identities and not an actual examination of history or how people identified back then, or even 100 years ago. Which again, I think your sources will change depending on where you research and who you ask about information from that far back. Western sources might give you different information from, for example, Palestinian historians. I'm just not giving an answer on that specific thing just because I don't know and personally don't super care in the context of the modern discussions of identity.

Personally, I think its more telling that people see a divide between "Jewish" and "Palestinian" historically when the people of a land didn't really divide themselves like that and instead base their identities on divisions manifested through Zionism, which is a settler-colonial project.

[pixelfoodie]

This Hungarian tube-shaped pastry popularly known as chimney cake traces its origin to the medieval era Székely Land—back then a part of the Kingdom of Hungary. The first known recipe titled Kürtős kaláts’ à la Mrs Poráni was found in a 1784 cookbook written by Transylvanian countess Mária Mikes de Zabola. The pastry shells are made from sweet yeast dough that is rolled in granulated sugar, basted in melted butter, and spit-roasted over charcoal. Freshly baked, kürtőskalács shells can be topped with additional ingredients such as ground walnuts or powdered cinnamon, but they're also often filled with ice cream or whipped cream. Kürtőskalács was once a festive treat favored by the Hungarian upper class, but over time it spread among the common people and became a part of everyday consumption, readily available as a street snack, and a big hit at festivals or similar outdoor events. An almost identical but slightly smaller Czech version of this sweet pastry goes under the name trdelník. Though it is highly disputed where it originally appeared, the pastry has undoubtedly become a vital part of Czech and Hungarian street food culture. Slovakian version, known as Skalický trdelník holds a PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) status under the EU law. src.: https://www.tasteatlas.com/kurtoskalacs photo ref.: www.bucatareselevesele.ro

[mariacallous]

The election earlier this month of the Russia-friendly populist Peter Pellegrini to president of Slovakia over the pro-Western candidate, Ivan Korcok, has gifted Moscow another collaborator in the EU, and thus dealt faltering Ukraine a further blow as it struggles on the battlefield. The new president will solidify the power of his close political ally, Prime Minister Robert Fico, who opposes sending military aid to Ukraine, and hand Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban a more solid pro-Russia ally in EU and NATO decision-making processes.

The campaign’s shrill tone, dominated by anti-Ukrainian and pro-Russian disinformation posing Korcok as a U.S. lackey and “candidate of war,” is not just another case of dirty electioneering in Central Europe. It is also the result of Russia’s intervention in Slovakia’s media space and politics, which experts say ramped up significantly during the campaign’s final weeks. It was another stark warning ahead of European parliamentary elections in June that Russian digital propagandists and their proxies are intent upon—and capable of—swaying elections within the EU.

The contest for the Slovakian presidency might at first glance seem like a marginal spectacle. In the Central European country of just 5.4 million, the presidency has few powers, the most consequential being a veto over new legislation—and even that can be overridden by the parliament with a simple majority. Yet for the past five years this post has been held by the progressive-minded environmental and human rights advocate Zuzana Caputova, who, when elected in 2019, many saw as a bright spot in Central and Eastern Europe, a region where populists have thrived. Perhaps her most important work—and evidence of the enormity of the popular figure’s decision not to run for reelection—unfolded in the last six months. Despite her limited reach, Caputova acted as a check on Fico’s three-party coalition, for example by challenging the government’s overhaul of the criminal code.

Korcok, a retired diplomat who was foreign minister from 2020 to 2022, would have been an able successor, observers said. And he entered the race in pole position after winning the first round of voting in March with 42.5 percent of the votes, compared to Pellegrini’s 37 percent.

But a campaign featuring a barrage of pro-Russian disinformation could have been the lever that turned the result around so dramatically: Pellegrini captured around 53 percent, while Korcok trailed woefully with almost 47 percent. Russia’s footprint was all over the election campaign, said Slovak observers, and, as it did in last year’s parliamentary elections, Russia’s machinations may well have swung the vote to its favored candidate.

“Russia’s impact was immense and influential,” said Eva Mihockova of the Bratislava-based think tank Slovak Foreign Policy Association. “The lies and ridiculous falsehoods on dubious websites and social media blasted Korcok as the candidate of war and a dangerous free-market liberal,” she said. “The influence of Russia is obvious, even though there’s no evidence yet that these media are actually paid by Moscow, although there is big suspicion that they are. They certainly take a line that reflects Russia’s interests.” Mihockova said that much of the disinformation comes indirectly through Slovak proxies rather than directly from Russia, in contrast to last year, when Slovakia expelled a Russian diplomat for meddling in the parliamentary campaign.

“Since the pandemic, the pro-Russia, conspiracy-theorizing, so-called alternative media have been and are instrumental in changing the political landscape here, as well as the language and culture,” said Juliana Sokolova, a Slovak poet and philosopher. “They are listened to by lots of people and accepted as true.”

The pro-Russian internet platforms and social media channels, said Slovak experts such as Dominika Hajdu of the Bratislava think tank Globsec, threw their support demonstratively behind Pellegrini after the first round. The websites—such as Hlavne Spravy, ExtraPlus, InfoVojna, and others—reiterated the Kremlin line pretty much verbatim, she said. Hlavne Spravy’s Telegram account is rife with posts about LGBTQ perversion, Washington’s aggressive foreign policies, NATO’s expansionist aims, the NATO-U.S. bombing of Serbia in 1999, and of course the war in Ukraine itself: the oppression of the Russian minority in Ukraine, NATO hawkishness, and the far right in Ukrainian society and politics. Some of the Slovak websites’ news bulletins simply copied, translated, and pasted articles from NewsFront, Hajdu said, referring to a Crimea-based disinformation and propaganda outlet that works with Russia’s main security agency, the FSB.

According to Gerulata Technologies, a Slovak start-up specializing in hybrid threats, the thicket of pro-Russian media is complex and intransparent. There are far-right, far-left, and populist politicians who spread pro-Russian propaganda out of conviction, it said, as well as disinformation media outlets that are sometimes directly connected to Russian interests and others, like the Slovak branch of NewsFront, that are Russian state-controlled trolls and proxies.

The analyst Michaela Ruzickova said in the two weeks before the vote, the pro-Russian narratives reached a crescendo. Even more so than in July last year, Ruzickova, working for the think tank Warsaw Institute, found that “to achieve its goals, the Kremlin uses not only its own resources (embassies, spies, oligarchs), but also local actors who are willing to cooperate and spread Russian propaganda for various incentives.” Ruzickova argued that “the multiplication of Russian influence in Slovakia is facilitated by domestic sympathizers and disinformation actors who willingly adopt the content of pro-Kremlin channels, as well as the official positions of the Russian military and political establishment. Slovak disinformation actors are thus deliberately helping Russia to legitimize its policies and discredit Ukraine, the West, and democratic and international institutions.”

The most pronounced example of this was the way that, in the aftermath of the first-round vote, Slovakia’s pro-Russia media outlets and proxies energetically perpetuated the disinformation that Korcok was the candidate of war who would reinstate military conscription and send Slovak soldiers to Ukraine to fight for Kyiv. They charged that Korcok was a U.S. and NATO puppet who put the interests of the EU and the Atlantic alliance above those of ordinary Slovaks. In fact, Korcok never said this, nor does the Slovak president have the power to send anyone to war. Fico joined in the cacophony of Russian tropes, calling Korcok a “warmonger.”

There is evidence across Central Europe of Russia investing in disinformation channels much like the Slovak websites and illiberal right-wing parties. On March 27, the German magazine Der Spiegel and the Czech Deník N reported that politicians from Germany, France, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Hungary received payments from Voice of Europe, a portal owned by a pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarch, to spread Russian propaganda in advance of the European Parliament vote. The Czech government slapped sanctions on the platform for promoting Russian interests and covertly financing candidates for the European Parliament, which caused it to cease operations. Voice of Europe had more than 180,000 followers on Twitter/X, according to the BBC.

Matus Kostolny, chief editor of Dennik N, finds it hard to explain the Slovaks’ favorable opinion of Russia after the Soviet Union’s 40 years of postwar occupation of Slovakia and the invasion of Ukraine—in stark contrast to neighboring Czech Republic and Poland. But he underscored that the Russian propaganda in Slovakia has more voices than just “fake journalists” on the internet. “Slovakia’s politicians, particularly in the government parties, regularly mouth this language of Russia and repeat its topics and propaganda. This is more powerful than anything coming directly from Russia.”

“It’s not that Slovaks want to live in Russia, nor do these [pro-Russian] politicians want the Soviet Union back in Slovakia,” Kostolny told Foreign Policy. “But they use it to attack their liberal opponents who have cracked down on the corruption and put their allies behind bars.” The Slovak president, Kostolny noted, has the authority to appoint justices to the Constitutional Court and to issue pardons—two critical levers for reversing the fight against corruption. Kostolny said he wouldn’t be in the least bit surprised if Pellegrini begins pardoning some of the dozens of convicted figures from the ranks of the government parties.

But Slovakia’s new rulers have shown that they will practice what they preach. After the Fico government took office last year, Fico cut off Slovakian military aid to Ukraine and then claimed earlier this year that Ukraine stood “completely under the influence and control of the USA” and is therefore “not an independent and sovereign country.”

Sokolova said that another critical component to the wins by Fico’s party and Pellegrini was the long arm of Orban. The ethnic Hungarians living in Slovakia compose about 8 percent of the population and vote in both Slovak and Hungarian elections. They vote overwhelmingly for Orban’s Fidesz party and tend to chafe under the rule of Slovak nationalist politicos.

But Orban sees an alliance with Slovakia’s populist government, which includes the ultranationalist Slovak National Party, as a better payoff than fighting rhetorical battles over bygone injustices. “Orban mobilizing voters in southern Slovakia via his media for Pellegrini was absolutely decisive,” said Sokolova, an ethnic Hungarian living in southern Slovakia. “The voter turnout [for Pellegrini] was massive in [ethnic] Hungarian towns.”

Mihockova said the ethnic animosity between Slovaks and Hungarians has mostly evaporated in favor of other enmities. “Slovakia’s nationalists and autocrats found that you can win more voters with the hate figure favorites of the Orban regime—such as Brussels, the U.S., and immigrants—than with traditional ethnic nationalism,” she told Foreign Policy. “The Slovak populists see Orban and Fidesz Hungary as a role model.” And, as for Orban’s about-face, “he needs partners,” Mihockova said.

Now, with Slovakia’s populist president and government in place, he has one more partner in his crusade to flip the European Parliament and abandon Europe’s defense of Ukraine.

[leocadra]

Svätoluk, Bratislava, Slovakia.

[workersolidarity]

[ 📹 Scenes from the moments immediately following the shooting of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico outside a government building in the village of Handlova, northeast of Bratislava.]

🇸🇰 🚨

SLOVAKIAN PRIME MINISTER ROBERT FICO SHOT IN ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION

Slovekian Prime Minister, a vocal opponent of the EU's policy of arming Ukraine in its war with the Russian Federation, has been shot following an attempted assassination after a meeting of the government at a location northeast of Bratislava.

According to reports, the Slovakian Prime Minister, Robert Fico (59yo), was shot in the stomach following 4 gunshots fired in his direction while outside of the House of Culture in the town of Handlova, 150km northeast of the capital.

The suspect was immediately arrested and detained, while police have cordened off the scene of the crime.

A helicopter was dispatched to transport the wounded Prime Minister to a nearby hospital, with few updates on his condition since.

#source

#videosource

@WorkerSolidarityNews

[zsocca55]

Hi! I’m an American hetalia fan and I have been LOVING your stuff about Hungary and learning about your history! I do have a question though: what is Hungary’s relationship with Slovakia? Cause if Slovakia’s territory is entirely made up of what Hungary lost from Trianon, are they enemies? Do they get along now? I see Slovakia and Hungary are in V4 together, so are they friends now? Sorry for the long ask, I love learning about Hungary from you!

Hello, I'm so happy you love the things I do! I already wrote a post about the relationship between Slovakia and Hungary, you can check it out below:

It is true, that Slovakia is made of the part cut out from Hungary which is why extremists on both sides are hating each other up to this day. Some Slovakians still think that Hungary would jump on the idea of reclaiming the lands lost, but even Hungarians are rational now: things are done and cannot be changed so why stir up trouble?

The Hungarian government tries to be friendly with all neighbouring nations, including Slovakia, while also wants people to stay aware of the fact that Hungarians do live outside the borders of Hungary, and they have every right to speak their own language and keep their culture alive - because these are the main issues nowadays.

The V4 alliance is mainly about economical strategies, their recent political approach is relatively new and still not homogeneous. The main members don't always agree with each other but there is an attempt to give support when the West is trying to force authority on either one.

So I would say it's a strained but mutually beneficial relationship which is heavly influenced by how the acting government speaks about the other nation in general.

Thanks for the question!

[hedgewitchgarden]

On a crisp afternoon last spring, visiting student Yair Berzofsky found himself in the largest park in Prague captivated by the sight of a human effigy burning on a tall pyre. He took notice of the children in play armor who ran past him wearing giant purple hats and jousted with foam swords as adults drank, danced, and beat drums. The figure in the bonfire was part of this year’s Čarodějnice, a celebratory burning of winter witches. Berzofsky watched the woman’s frame crumple as celebrants took turns roasting sausages and marshmallows over the fiery branches.

“The witch burning was not the reason everyone came,” he later tells us, adding that the event was a testament to Prague’s “ability to not just rehash an old tradition, but to turn it into a reason to celebrate its heritage.”

At the end of each winter, Czechs and diasporic Slavs celebrate Čarodějnice, a variation of the ancestral Walpurgis Night—the Christian Saint Walpurga’s feast day, during which observers light bonfires to ward off witches in Europe and the United States. While some see a witch-burning parties as distasteful, as it recalls a dark history of persecution and murder, Čarodějnice harks back to similar pre-Christian traditions. Berzofsky fondly recalls the event’s warm and charming energy: “In a weird way, I felt at home.”

The witch burning evokes customs associated with Slavic gods and goddesses. As author Michael Mojhe describes in his writings, some deities in the Slavic pantheons lived on through equivalent Christian saints, but others were abandoned. Two critical examples are Jarilo, god of war, vegetation, and spring, and his oppositely aligned sister Morana, goddess of witchcraft,  death, and winter.

While Slovakians reimagined Jarilo as St. George during Christianity’s spread across Europe in the late 900s, Morana was not. This was partially due to the Catholic Church’s patriarchy but also because she lacked a counterpart in a Christian tradition vehemently opposed to witchcraft and a female god. The burning or even drowning of her effigy, much like the one Berzofsky witnessed, is a Pagan tradition both celebrating winter’s end and ritually recognizing her cultural death.

Like the continued celebration of Čarodějnice, this story follows those of Slavic descent reclaiming an ancient faith tradition—namely, witchcraft—that endured centuries of erasure from Christian institutions. Both of us, authors Emma Cieslik and Alexandra Sikorski, are from Polish American families and grew up in the Catholic Church. It wasn’t until Sikorski began researching contemporary Paganism that we learned of Slavic religious practices prior to the sweep of Christianity in Europe. Researching the contemporary reclamation of Slavic witchcraft as an aspect of cultural identity—especially when invasion and destruction threaten that culture, as in Ukraine now—has become for us a way to reclaim parts of our heritage we never knew existed.

The term Slavic, or the culture of Slavs, encompasses an ethnolinguistic group of multiple ethnicities and cultures that share similarities in food, language, and cultural practices across Central, Southern, and Eastern Europe. The Slavic world extends from Russia in the east to Czechia in the west to North Macedonia in the south. Beyond these countries are Slavic immigrants and their descendants, including both of us, who exist in diasporic communities around the world.

“In Slavic Paganism, there are broad practices, but there are also some specific to the regions within each country,” Stephania Short, a Slavic Pagan, explains. These specific practices are often what come under threat. Invaders have fought over and died for rich farmlands of what is now Ukraine for hundreds if not thousands of years, making Russia’s recent attack on its sovereignty feel like a continuation of centuries-old conflict. It may come as no surprise that a long history of Slavic immigration, religion, and war shaped various Slavic practices and traditions. For Short, part of her witchcraft involves connecting with her Ukrainian ancestral roots—an act made all the more essential by recent events.

“People are looking for ancient meaning,” says Slovakian tour guide Helene Cincebaux. “I think there’s a fascination with Slavic culture, the rituals—maybe the plants, the herbs, things they did. They were natural healers.”

Witchcraft and Paganism existed in Slavic regions long before Christianity found a home. Even when witchcraft faced persecution, its traditions persisted, reimagined within the constraints of the new dominant religion.

In the UK, the 1950s emergence of Wicca, a nature-based, Pagan duotheistic religion, led to the repopularizing of witchcraft and other alternative belief systems. In the same way that native religions varied across Slavic areas, the term “witchcraft” does not refer to a singular identity. “Witches,” including those who do not use this term but exist under the umbrella of witchcraft, participate in a variety of practices and hold diverse spiritual beliefs. These include contemporary Paganism, folk Catholicism, and Wicca.

Where one person uses tarot, another may not. Where one person views hexes as inherently unethical, another may not. Where one person venerates deities, another may not or may only venerate one. Despite this diversity of practice, some people avoid using the term “witch” because it was and may still be used as a derogatory label for people holding spiritual power outside Christianity, as well as those who exist outside social norms.

In Eurocentric and Americentric beliefs, the prototype for a witch is a woman or femme presenting person who is targeted because of their practices. during the second wave of feminism, some women turned to witchcraft as liberation from the patriarchy, finding empowerment in venerating goddesses. Together, they could create a community through common practices in witchcraft, such as yearly festivals that mark the passage of time. According to a survey conducted by researcher Helen A. Berger between 2008 and 2010, 71.6 percent of contemporary Pagans, including various religions and witchcraft, are women. The faith has also become a safe haven for some LGBTQ+ individuals.

Ever since Christianity spread to Slavic Europe in the 900s, people who existed on the margins of society were accused or and persecuted for witchcraft, including literate women and individuals with limb differences and disabilities. It became a scapegoat identifier for people the Church deemed dangerous or different. Similarly, queer researcher Mara Gold explains, “those accused of witchcraft were generally those that didn’t fit the norms of the gender binary, including [LGTBQ+] people and poor older women discarded by society.”

Polish photographer Agata Kalinowska’s monograph Yaga supports and holds space for LGBTQ+ individuals within witchcraft. The diary, which includes photographs documenting thirteen years of queer women’s spaces, takes its name from Baba Yaga, a ferocious witch from Slavic folklore. For Kalinowska, this title is important because it speaks to how Baba Yaga creates space for queer witches:

Now there are women in Poland who empower such figures of older independent women… women who know a lot about nature, power of plants, the importance of female and nonbinary friendships. They are Yagas, they don’t belong to the world created around beauty myths, they queer the system.

Witches of the Church

“A lot of witchcraft is heavily intertwined with Christianity,” explains Sara Raztresen, a Slovenian American witch. Although Christianity sought to erase native religions, many Pagan traditions became embedded in Christian practice. Converts tethered Pagan deities to saints with similar iconography.

After the Catholic Church arrived in Slovenia, locals began to identify Kresnik, the god of the sun, fire, and storms, with St. John and St. George. So Kresnik, the head deity of the Slovenian pantheon, is no longer as prevalent as the saints who inherited his role. Kresnik, St. John, and St. George are among the entities with whom Raztresen actively communicates.

On those days, she sets her altar with offerings associated with the deity with whom she intends to speak. For Kresnik, this includes herbs and flowers related to his role as patron of summer, such as chamomile and daisies. When the deity makes their presence known, Raztresen asks questions that are answered through the tarot cards she pulls, acting as a conduit between the two.

One of these practices is “kitchen witchcraft,” a broad practice that encourages intention and focus, using many on-hand food ingredients with magic and symbolic meaning. For kitchen witch Raztresen and others, their practices often involve using ingredients key to their ethnic backgrounds, such as meats, grains, spices, and more that are native to their ancestral homelands. Kitchen witchcraft and other ethnic household rituals allow people like Raztresen to connect with their heritage even if they live far away.

However, the intermingling of Christianity and witchcraft among Slavs doesn’t erase the stigma the Catholic Church perpetuates against witchcraft. Today many Slavic witches practice their craft as a form of opposition against religious institutions. Raztresen says, “[Church goers] all want you to do the white button-up collar thing in Church,” but there’s a great diversity of Christian practices that include elements of witchcraft and folk traditions.

Similar to experiences across the world, the Church inquisitors in Slavic regions interrogated, tortured, and executed a number of witches. Scholar Michael Ostling states in early modern Poland, the Catholic Church executed approximately 2,000 people for witchcraft, most from the lower socioeconomic classes. The best documented example of this persecution is perhaps the 1775 Doruchów witch trial in Poland, where the Church executed fourteen women, although historians have debated the year and number of victims.

Immediately, marginalized people and their loved ones, as well as other concerned citizens across Eastern and Central Europe started questioning these claims of witchcraft. It wasn’t until 1776 that Poland outlawed torture and the death penalty—partly in response to the Doruchów witch trial. Today, more than two centuries later, people like Raztresen are exploring how their own ethnic traditions are rooted in pre-Christian pagan and witchcraft practices. They are reclaiming how practices persecuted on threat of torture and death lived on through cooking, praying, and sewing traditions.

The Strength of Color

Stephania Short was introduced to spiritualism at the age of thirteen after watching her mom pull tarot. By ninth grade, she “didn’t necessarily believe in God,” and as the years went by, she grew more connected to her Ukrainian roots. She reached out to family members and went to her mom to learn more about Ukrainian cultural traditions and spiritual beliefs. Like Raztresen, Short practices her witchcraft to celebrate her Slavic heritage.

“Paganism kind of allows you to practice with everything that our ancestors would, so everything is based off of the land,” she says. Plants and herbs that are abundant in Ukraine, such as rosemary, are important in her craft.

Like herbs, colors hold meanings in Ukrainian witchcraft traditions. Short explains, “Red is a symbol of strength and protection. Gold symbolizes abundance and prosperity and good luck. Blue symbolizes peace and healing and just kind vibes all around.” With this knowledge, she now intentionally decorates her pysanky, traditional Ukrainian Easter eggs, with these colors to welcome the spring.

Deepening the importance of the color red in Ukrainian witchcraft, poppies represent strength and prosperity. Short aims to incorporate the flower into her spell work and practice “as a form of appreciation for [her] ancestors.” To Short, spells may be made with and for a diverse array of occasions and situations. She defines them as “basically manifestations: energy or intentions that you’re pursuing out for the universe to grasp onto.” Herbs, like rosemary or poppy, and flame may speed up this process. Even the color of the candles may impact the spell. “All elements you use connect to your intentions with the spell, as they carry their own energies.” For Short and many other Slavic witches, the study and practice of Slavic witchcraft involves learning the meanings behind these cultural beliefs.

When winter bleeds into spring, effigies of Morana are drowned or burned just as Berzofsky witnessed, ushering in new life. The Catholic Church banned this practice in the fifteenth century, so the residents of some Slavic countries replaced her with an effigy of Judas. But the custom of burning Morana lived on. Short’s cousin introduced her to Morana. Before, she hadn’t been aware that Slavic Paganism contained so many deities. However, she doesn’t “believe in gods and goddesses necessarily.” Instead, she views it as alluring and something she needs to acknowledge.

Short discusses Slavic and Ukrainian witch practices on social media, from beliefs surrounding native gods and goddesses to the use and meaning of native Ukrainian herbs in spell work. The importance of this has risen in light of the current war. “I’m maybe a little biased, but the Russians’ goal is to eliminate our culture,” she says. During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian witch has become a symbol of solidarity for some—recalling the woman of the past who fights for her cultural heritage (her native religion) in the face of erasure and destruction at the hands of the Christian Church.

Images of Ukrainian witches appear on the Ukraine War NFT Collection and among Ukrainian cosplayers around the world, alongside messages showing the strength of Ukrainian people. Madame Pamita, a Ukrainian American witch and author of Baba Yaga’s Book of Witchcraft, explains that during the invasion, traditions and practices have grown more dear, more important to preserve. Ukrainians and other people in Slavic diasporas see the rediscovery of their traditions and practices as a healing tool.

Healing

Emblems of Slavic witchcraft have been interwoven with messages of Ukrainian solidarity, including motanka dolls, 5,000-year-old symbols of feminine wisdom and guards for families within Ukrainian folk traditions. Motanka dolls are talismans unique to each family and symbolize connection between familial generations.

Madame Pamita’s grandmother was a baba sheptukha (баба шептуха), a healer who made motanky (мотанки) spirit dolls, but her grandmother died before she was born. Although she heard about these practices, she never knew how to perform them. Others share a similar experience of unfamiliarity, but a mother-and-daughter team in British Columbia are changing that by creating and selling motanka dolls as a fundraiser for Ukrainian relief.

With attention on agency and the self, Slavic witchcraft encourages healing and identity formation. It focuses on reflection and connection. Even if they aren’t recognized as religious practices, the cornerstones of many Slavic witchcraft traditions can be uncovered in small Ukrainian dolls, Slovenian kitchens, and large celebrations. Ukrainians and their allies are preserving these traditions for solidarity, fundraising, and strength.

The presence of magic may not be obvious, but it is simply a matter of perspective. That perspective may bring people closer to culture they may feel disconnected from in diasporic communities or from being part of a marginalized people. It may bring them their own version of spiritual happiness and cultural enrichment.

Emma Cieslik is a museum professional in the Washington, D.C., area and a former curatorial intern at the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.

Alexandra Sikorski is a writing intern at the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and a master’s student in public anthropology at American University. When she isn’t researching contemporary witchcraft, she enjoys dissecting material culture and design.

[sheltiechicago]

“Spa Island”

“A spa of international importance in Slovakia. Although it is small in size, the country of Slovakia is rich in springs of natural healing water. Spa culture has been a part of the Slovakian lifestyle for hundreds of years and has become part of a secular ritual for some. In 1947, a special balneological congress decided to divide the approximately 50 Slovak spa localities into three categories of importance: international importance, national importance, and local importance. This project examines the ways in which the architecture of spas allows those establishments to be spaces of ritual and community.”

© Karol Palka, Poland

2024 Sony World Photography Awards