engleski

From toponyms to reconstructed impressions of Proto- Slavic myth in the landscape

Most Slavic areas are littered with toponyms whose spatial arrangement suggests that they are associated with ancient Proto-Slavic mythic narratives (V. V. Ivanov and V. N. Toporov, R. Katičić, V. Belaj). The arrangement consists of three visually related points in the space. These points have conspicuous morphological features, they are recognizable by their names, and their arrangement in space follows specific rules (A. Pleterski), forming triangular spatial structures. The names of these points bear witness that we are discussing an “impression” of pre-Christian Slavic myths in space. Particularly salient structures are those that form a triangle with an angle of around 23°, with a 1 : √2 ratio of the two longer sides. We believe that they depict imaginary relationships arranged by the Maker when he created the world and delivered it to his divine children to manage. Due to this, such triangles brought holy order in space and legitimized the rule of tribal leaders. As a rule, they are surrounded by toponyms complementing the myth related by priests during the ritual, enabling them to transform the landscape into a scene of mythical events by pointing their hand at these features. V. Belaj and J. Belaj, as well as several other authors, following in Pleterski’s footsteps, discovered around 30 such triangular structures in the present-day territory of Croatia. In order to better interpret these structures it would be necessary to understand whether all Slavic groups knew of them, and whether they were known also beyond the Slavic world.

toponyms ; Proto-Slavic myth ; landscape ; Slavic mythology ; mythological tripartite structures ; sacred triangular spatial structures

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