11 a - II /1/

And so we begin:
First of all - bow your head to Triglav (*"three-headed one")
That is how we began
To sing praises to Him,
To Svarog - Grandfather of the Gods - that waits for us.
Svarog is the chief God of Rod's brood.
He is the ever-flowing stream,
That flows from tree-tops,
And does not freeze in winter,
And brings the dead to life.
And we ourselves tasted this water
Until we went to Him, to the dales of Paradise.
And to the Thunderer - God Perun,
God of battle and strife,
We said:
"You, the striker, don't quit turning the wheels!
You, the one who took us to battle and victory,
By the way of right!"
Oh, those who died in battle! Serve forever in Perun's Army!
And to Sventovit we said praises.
He is the God of Prav' and Yav'.
We sing to Him,
Because Sventovit is the Light.
He showed us that Yav' exists!
He protected us from Nav' -
That is why we praise Him.
We said praises to the Dancing One,
To our God, because that God -
Supports Earth and holds the stars
And protects the Light.
And you should say to Sventovit:
"Hail, our God!"
Mourn with all your heart -
You have dared to condemn
The evil doings,
And came to the Light;
Let the children rejoice!
And say:
"Nothing can get into the deluded mind."
 Feel it, you can do little else,
Because a mystery lies here:
Both Svarog and Perun,
Are also Sventovit.
Those two fill up the sky,
Where Chernobog and Belobog fight.
They support Svarga,
So that Sventovit would stay.
After those two - Veles, Khors and Stribog.
Then - Vishen', Lelia, Letenitsa.
11 b - II
Then Ragodosch, Krishen' and Koliada,
And after them - Udrzetz, Sivil Yar and Dajdbog.
And also - Belo'yar, Lado and Kupala.
And Sinitch, Zhitnich, and Venich,
And Zernich, Ovsenich, and Prosich,
And Studich, and Ledich, and Lutich,
After them go Ptichich, Zverinich and Milich,
And Dojdich, and Plodich, and Yagodonich.
And Pchelich, Irestich, and Klenich.
Ozernich, and Vetrich, and Solomich,
And Gribich, and Lovich, Besedich,
And Snezhich, and Stranich, and Svendich,
And Radich, Svietich, Konovich,
And Krasich, and Travich, and Steblich.
And after them:
Rodich, Maslenich, and Zhivich,
And Vedich, and Listvich, and Tzvetich,
And Vodich, and Zvedich, and Gromich,
And Semich, and Lipich, and Ribich,
Berezhich, Zelenich, and Gorich,
And Stradich, and Spasich, and Listvennich,
And Mislich, and Gostich, and Ratich,
And Strinich, and Churich-Rodich,
And also Semargl - Thunder God -
He is pure and angry, the fast-born.
All that is Triglav!
Come here -
And the Doorkeeper will let you in -
 Into the beautiful Irii.
Ra-river flows here,
The one that divides Svarga and Yav'.
And God Chislobog counts our days here.
He tells the number to the Gods,
And divides time into Svarog's Day and Night.
There is no one in the Night,
Except for our God Did-Dub-Snop.
Hail Perun, the Fire-Headed God!
You shoot your arrows into our enemies,
And guide people through their lives.
You give honour to warriors!
You are good, and merciful and wise!
7 e - II
After you die,
You'll go to the Dales of Svarog,
And Perunitsa will tell you:
"You are a Russian warrior,
Not Variag, not Greek,
But from a famous tribe of Slavs.
Come here and sing praises
To our Mother,
Sva-Mother, in the Dales of Svarog."
And Svarog-in-the-sky will tell you:
"Go, my son, into the land of eternal beauty!
You'll see your grandfathers and grandmothers there.
They'll be so happy to see you!
Up until now they were worried,
But now they will rejoice,
Because you've recieved the eternal life.
You have not seen that beauty yet,
Because warriors do not know Yasun' (?).
You are different from the Greeks,
You have a different glory
And you came to Irii!
You see the flowers of wonder, and the trees, and the dales.
You must till the soil here for Svarog.
This work is different,
For on Earth you were suffering,
 But here you'll find only peace."
We stood our ground
And battled with our enemies,
And when we fell with glory,
We came here.
And now Sva-Mother flaps her wings,
Shining with fiery light,
In rainbow-coloured feathers:
Red and blue, reddish brown, yellow and silver, golden and white.
Shining like the Sun-King,
She goes through Yasun',
And reveals the seventh colour,
Given to Her by the Gods.
And when Perun sees her,
He sends thunder into the clear skies.
This is our happiness,
And we must do all we can,
To see how old life separates from the new,
Just as a log is cut up by the settler's axe.
And Sva-Mother flaps her wings,
And we stand under our banners,
The banners of Yasun'!
8 / 2 - III
And so the bird landed on a tree branch and started to sing, flashing her feathers,
each of different colour. And the night became like day, and she started singing
about battle and strife.
Let us remember how our fathers fought with their enemies, that now smile while
looking down at us from the blue sky. For we are not alone, when they are with us.
We asked for Perun's help, and we saw a rider on a white horse riding across the
sky. He raised his sword and cut open white clouds, and thunder fell, and the water
of life came down to us. And we drink it, because it comes from Svarog - the giver
of life. And we will always drink it, because this water is the source of Godhood
on Earth.
And now, cow by the name of Zemun went into the blue fields and ate the grass
and gave milk. And that milk was spilt in the sky, and the stars came into being.
And we see the milk shining in the sky, and we know that we must follow this
Milky Way, because this is the path of right.
 And that's how it was - our kin held Russia in his heart, that is and forever will be
our land. And we defended it against our enemies, and died for it; just as the day
dies after the Sun goes home, and how the Sun grows dim.
And it caused darkness to come, and the evening came, and then the evening died,
and the night came.
And in the night Veles went to Svarga along the Milky Way. He went to his
domain, and by dawn took us to the gates of Irii. And we sang praises to Veles for
all eternity, and we stood in front of his Temple, pure and innocent.
Veles has taught our forefathers to plow the earth and sow grain, and take straws
from the fields, and put bunches of straws into our houses, and worship Him as our
Father.
Hail, our mothers and fathers! You taught us to worship the Gods and guided us
along the way of right. And along this path we went, because we are Russian
Slavs, who are praising the Gods, and that's why we are called the Slavs ("slav" is
"to praise" in Russian).
9a-I
In those times of old, there was a man named Bogumir, the husband of Slava, and
he had three daughters and two sons. They herded cattle in the steppe and lived
among the tall grasses, just as their ancestors did. And they obeyed the Gods, and
possessed cunning intelligence.
And their mother, whose name was Slavunia, took care of them and provided them
with food and comfort. On the seventh day (?), she told Bogumir: "We'd have to
marry off our daughters, if we ever want to have any grandchildren!"
This is what she said, and Bogumir saddled his horse and went searching for
suitable husbands (1). He found a free-standing oak in the middle of a dale and
decided to stay there for the night. Suddenly, three horsemen appeared out of
darkness. They said to him:
- Greetings!(2). What are you looking for?
And Bogumir explained to them the nature of his quest. And the horsemen told
him, that they themselves are on a quest to find good wives. And Bogumir then
returned to his lands and took these men with him. And soon they married his three
daughters.
This is how three great Slavic tribes came into being. These tribes are: Drevlians,
Krivichis, and Polians, since his first daughter's name was Dreva, and another one's
was Skreva, and the third one's was Poleva.
And his first son's name was Seva, and his youngest was called Rus. They've
founded the Severian and Rus tribes.
And the husbands' names were - Utrennik, Poludennik and Vechernik (3)
 And that all happened in Semirechie (4), where we lived in a beautiful Land of
Green and bred cattle, before our move to the Carpaths mountains. And it
happened one thousand and three hundred years before the age of Hermanarich. At
that time, our ancestors fought on the shores of Gothic sea, and built huge burial
mounds to the fallen chiefs and boyars(5)
9b-I
We came from the Land of Green to the shores of Gothic sea, and we crushed
Goths, who stood on our way. We fought for our lives and our lands! And before
that, our fathers lived on the shores of the sea that Ra-river (6) flows into. And
with great difficulty did we cross the river with all our people and our cattle, and
went to Don river, and found Goths and Gothic sea (7). And we saw Goths fully
armed, and we had to fight for our lives to survive, when Huns followed our path,
and attacked us, killing many and stealing cattle.
And that is how Slavic tribes arrived in the place where sun is resting in the night
(?), and the dales are full of grass, and where rivers burst with fish, and where no
one has to die (8)
And Goths were in the Land of Green at that time. They were faster than our
ancestors, who travelled from the banks of Ra-river. Ra-river is a great boundary
between our people and strangers. It flows into Phasiste sea (Caspian sea).
And then, people of Beloyar's clan crossed the Ra-river and protected the Sin'
merchants (9) travelling to Friazi (10), because the Huns on their island(?) would
usually wait for these merchants and then take their goods by force.
And that happened fifty years before the age of Aldorech. But before that, in the
times of old, Beloyar clan was rich and powerful. It gave protection to the
merchants against the Huns for a payment of one horse-load of silver and two
horse-loads of gold. But beyond the Huns, there were Goths, who have lots of
horsemen and demand tribute twice. So, it was too dangerous for Sin' traders to
come to the West. And soon they went back to China and never came to us again.
5a-I
This is our sacrifice to the Gods: it is Suria (11) nine times as strong, left in the
Suria-Sun for three days and filtered through the pelt. This is and always will be
our real sacrifice to the Gods, just as it was in the times of our ancestors. Since, we
are all Dajdbog's grandchildren, and became Slavs through worshipping the Gods,
we've never asked them for our own sake(?). And our Gods tell us: "Only wander
through your own lands, and never roam the lands of your enemies!" (12)
Sva-Mother sings praises to us, and inspires us to glorify our old war stories and
songs. We did as she asked us, because she sings the truth of the Gods.
And we elected our Kniaz (13), so that he'll take care of us. Because, if he does not
protect our borders, the enemies might come to our land.
And the Sheaf (14) knows that never in our praises did we ask or demanded
something from him, something that we needed.
Behold our father Orei, walking through the clouds, admiring Perun's strength.
And Orei saw Perun forging new swords to be used against our enemies. And
Perun told him:
"Now we have arrows and swords for every enemy warrior. Don't you dare to be
afraid of them! I'll make them be afraid of you, their numbers will be as few as
there are fingers on my hands. They will bow down to you and touch the earth, and
turn into filthy pigs. And everyone will say that they are smelly piglets and swine!"
This is what our Perun'ko said when he was forging the swords. And Orei believed
him, and repeated all that to our fathers. And this is how we fought for our survival
many centuries ago... Do not believe those who say it is not true.
3a-II
We were asking Veles, our Father, to take the horses of Suria into the Sky, so that
Suria would rise above us and start turning its wheels. Because Suria is the Sun,
that lights up our days, brighter than a burning hearth.
And so we said to the Fire God Semargle:
"Show up and rise in the Heavens and shine until the stars burn out!"
We call him Ognebozhe(1), and go to work(?). And every day we wake up, and
pray, and have breakfast, and then go to the fields to till the soil, just as the Gods
told us to do.
For we are Dajdbog's grandchildren and Gods favour us above all others. We hold
the divine plow(?) in our hands, and praise Suria until the evening comes. And we
pray to Gods five times a day, and after every prayer we drink suritza - drink of the
Gods, for the Gods also drink it in Svarga in our honour.
When we pray to Suria, her golden horse rides accross the Sky. And then we go
home after a hard day in the fields, and have supper. And then we thank the Gods
for their help during the day, and then go to sleep, for the day has ended and
darkness has arrived.
And we gave one-tenth of our wealth to our fathers, and one-hundredth to our
rulers. And we are righteous people, because we pray to our Gods, pure of mind
and body, washed by clear waters(2).
10-II
Gods gave Bogumir all the things that we needed, for we were a poor nation. We
had different customs back then. The oldest and most respected man of the clan
was elected our Kniaz, that was also our tribal chief in the times of trouble. We had
 Kniazes like that for a long time, until the Greeks came and ended this custom.
Now we can choose a Kniaz only from the members of a certain family (usually
the one from which the previous Kniazes have come).
After Bogumir, Orei and his sons became our rulers. And when the Huns have
begun their great war, we had to leave our lands and went to Rus'.
Now comes the time when we have to saddle our horses again and wander through
the lands of our enemies. But no one can say that we just left our lands and took
the lands of others, but they'll say that we fought for our suvival.
Borusichi(3) did not want to give their lands to the Greeks, so they fought for
them. At that time, Ra-river was our border with the stranger's land. And our
enemies desired our lands, and we had to fight them, so that our grandchildren will
have a land of their own. This is what we had to do, in order to raise the crops and
not to burn them, for we had a grassy land where we bred cattle and protected it
from our enemies(?).
26-III
At that time there was a man, who quit the nomad's life and settled on the steppe.
And he was very wealthy, for the Gods gave him lots of sheep and cattle. And the
grass was tall and juicy, and the Gods helped him breed even more animals.
And then, one day a stranger came to his house, and told him, that his sons should
travel to the lands of wonder, the place where the Sun goes to rest on its golden
bed every evening. And when the horseman will get there, he'll tell the Sun:
"Go to your blue dales, Sun! You must ride your golden chariot to the East and rise
up in the morning."
And after that, he'll ride to another place. And when the evening will catch up to
him, he'll say:
"The Sun went back to his mountains and left his golden chariot unattended. Some
evil sorcerers are trying to steal it from him!"
And behold: a horseman is getting near, riding to another place. And Zaria is
coming, carrying its sparks, and shaking Dajdbog's clothes, so that the sparks are
flying up to Heaven.
This is what the stranger said.
And then, two of the man's sons went to where the Sun goes every night, and they
saw many wonders on the way and lots of juice grass. And they returned to their
father and told him how beautiful this land really is.
And many other tribes and clans have decided to go where the man's sons have
been, and they came to the settled man.
And father Orei ordered his sons to lead the other clans. But they did not want to
become separated. And then, the United Kniaz lead his people to the lands of Noon
- father Orei lead them to the sea shore. And there was a great desert on their way,
very hot and dry. And they moved towards the mountains, and settled there for half
a century, and gathered a huge army of horsemen, prior to moving to the enemy's
land.
And a huge army stood on their way, and they forced them to fight, and were
defeated. They moved on and saw beautiful warm lands, but they could not settle
there, because the land was populated by a very strong nation. And they moved on.
And that's how the Gods led our people. And they got to the great mountain. And
fought with enemies again, and moved on.
And we must always remember to clean our minds with a prayer, and to clean our
bodies with clear water, because that is what Svarog told us to do. And Kupaletz is
watching us do it. And we can never forget that! And we always clean our bodies
and minds with clear life-bringing water.
And we went to work every day, and prayed, and drank suria. We drank it five
times a day, and praised the Gods, because suria is our milk and bread, that the
Cow gave us. It keeps us alive and healthy. And we boil herbs in her milk and
drink it, if the need arises.
And then we arrived at the banks of a blue river, fast as time itself, that is not
endless for us. And there we saw our mothers and fathers, working in Svarga. They
till the soil and breed cattle, and have the same life as we do, except that they have
neither the Huns, nor the Greeks, and they are governed by Prav'. And this is real
Prav', because in Svarga, Yav' is above the Nav'. That is how Sventovit set it up,
and it will always be like that.
And Zarebog came to this land and spoke to our fathers, that lived and suffered on
their lands. Here, they don't see evil, but only green grass. They listen to the way it
moves, and it brings them happiness.
This is how the steppe in Heaven looks like. It comes from Svarog. Veles herds his
cattle in the Sky, walking on gold and life-bringing water, and no one has to pay
tribute to their enemies, and there are no slaves in there. And behold: this is
something that other nations do not know - we sacrifice only grapes and mead, and
grain.
And this is how we praised our Gods, who are our fathers, and we are their
children. And we are of clean body and of immortal soul. The soul does not die in
the moment of our death. Perunitza gives the Water of Life to the fallen warriors.
And those who drink it, ride a white horse all the way to Svarga. And Perun'ko
greets them and gives them food and shelter. They will live forever in a new body,
and will continue to pray for their children from now till eternity.
The white-fiery Alatir'-stone was created at the beginning of time. The World
Duck picked it up from the depths of the Great Ocean. Alatir' was very small, so
the Duck decided to hide it in her beak.
 But Svarog said the Magic Word, and the Stone began to grow. The Duck could
not hold it anymore, and She dropped it. And the great Alatir' mountains rose up
when this Stone had fallen.
The white-fiery Alatir'-stone is a sacred stone, the keeper of Vedic knowledge, the
mediator between men and the Gods. It is "small and cold" and "great as a
mountain" at the same time. Both light and heavy, it can never be fully understood
"nobody could learn it's secrets or pick it up from the ground".
In his magic Sky Smithery, Svarog hit Alatir' with His magic hammer, and the
sparks from the stone turned into Gods.
God Kitovras, who is half-man and half-horse, built the Temple to the One Who Is
Above Us All on Alatir'. That's why it is also an altar, the bed of sacrifice to the
One Who Is Above Us All. He sacrifices Himself on that Stone, and then becomes
Alatir' itself.
According to the tales of old, Alatir' fell down from Heaven, and the Laws of
Svarog were inscribed on it. Thus, Alatir' connects all three worlds - the mountain
(kingdom of the unseen), the dale (kingdom of humans) and the sky (kingdom of
Gods). And also the Book of Veda and the magic bird-Gamaiun fell down from the
sky, and they also serve as mediators between the worlds. Both the Book and the
Bird are the aspects of Alatir'.
In the physical world, Alatir' is the mountain of Albrus. Belaya river flows down
it's slopes. Under the mountain lived belogors ("people from the White
Mountain"), ancient Slavic tribe that founded the sacred city of Belyi Gorod
("white city").
Alatir' is connected with Heaven - Irii or Belovodie ("white waters") - that is to say
- Summerland, where the rivers are full of milk.
There is also Alatir' Stone in the Ural (Irii) mountains, where Ra-river (Volga)
begins.
Alatir' is not just a mountain, or a stone, it is the sacred centre of the world. It is the
way of Prav' between Yav' and Nav', between the dale and the mountain. It is both
small and large, light and heavy. It is the intersection of all worlds. It is mysterious,
just as Prav' is. It is the First Stone.
In the beginning of time, Svarog struck the white-fiery Alatir'-stone. And the
sparks from his hammer turned into the Fire God Semargl and the Ratichi
Nebesnie (Sky Warriors). The Fire God Semargl appeared in a cloud of flames,
that purifies everything it touches. Just like the Sun, he gave light to the Universe.
He mounted the golden-maned horse with silvery hide. Smoke became his banner,
and Fire became his horse. He leaves the trail of burnt earth wherever he goes.
The Fire in Svarog's smithery became so strong that it created Stribog - the God of
Winds. He joined Svarog and Svarozhitch (son of Svarog) Semargl in sustaining
the Fire that fuels the Sky Smythery.
Then, the Great Black Serpent, son of the World Duck, decided to imitate Svarog.
He crawled up to Alatir' and struck it. Out of the sparks demons-dasunes were
born.
And Semargl battled with the Great Black Serpent and his army. But the Serpent
was stronger, and the Red Sun grew dim. Darkness spread all around. Svarozhitch
went up to Heaven to see his father, Svarog the Smith.
But the Black Serpent also entered Svarga. He licked the hole in the smithery's
wall. Then Svarog and Semargl grabbed him by the tongue and made him plow the
Earth. They used him to draw a boundary between the kingdoms of Yav' and Nav'.
Svarog and Semargl took Yav' and the Serpent took Nav'.