#drowning of marzanna

[merlistales]

[neine]

References in 1670 (Updated)

General info

Names

Jan Paweł - is a reference to a pope, Jan Paweł II. He's considered "the greatest polish person", up to a comical point. So he turned into a meme.

Jakub - A reference to a saying "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". In polish "Jak Kuba bogu tak bóg Kubie". Literally "As Kuba to god, god to Kuba".

Jędrula - A reference to a show about Foster family, to a character that liked to drink whiskey.

Andrzej - A stereotypical neighbour, where he has everything better than you.

Żmija - A reference to Ojciec Mateusz, a show about a priest solving crime, played by Artur Żmijewski (hence the name). Żmija is from Sandomierz, that's where Ojciec Mateusz was set. (From multiple people, @rabarbarzcukrem mainly.)

Historical background

Poland was going into a sort of a recession. It used to be one of the most powerful countries in Europe. As well as Lithuania, of course. Time of the Commonwealth. The plague didn't hit the Commonwealth as much because it wasn't densily populated. The biggest issue (one of many) were the tatars, who just kind of lived there. Usually were bribed into gaining some power in the country so they won't couse trouble. Lithuania was getting Polonised, but it wasn't going as good as you could imagine. It's the time after the swedish flood, where the whole country was basically looted. It was considered a very open country, many Jews lived here.

Liberum Veto - it's just that one person can say no and whatever they voted on, won't pass. Also huge reason why partations later happened.

Culture

Drowning of Marzanna is a ritual that happens every year, on the first day of spring, to say goodbye to winter. Marzanna is a slavic goddess associeted with death, winter and nature. Marzanna is sometimes set on fire and then thrown into a river. + Interesting tags from @ukulelegodparent (From multiple people)

Hunting by nobles was also kinda a cultural thing. It was often described in the books from that time.

References

"Ała kurwa rzeczywiście" - reference to this

"Quo Vadis" - meaning, "Where are you going?", is a reference to novel by Henry SIenkiewicz. More known overseas from a movie adaptation from 1951. (From multiple people)

"My wife, Zofia" is a reference to a movie "Miś". (From @gdzie-rosna-poziomki)

"Do dupy z takim spiskowcem. Mnie kury szczać prowadzić, a nie spiski" is a reference to Piłsudski's "Wam kury szczać prowadzić, a nie politykę robić. (From @gdzie-rosna-poziomki)

"Ta zniewaga... oczekuje, abym ją wymazał stosując przemoc." - "This insult... expects me to earase it with violance." Reference to "Zemsta", by Aleksander Fredro, "Ta zniewaga krwi wymaga." - "This insult requires blood spill". (From @rabarbarzcukrem)

Measuring tassels - likely a reference to "Pan Tadeusz". In modern speach, tassels means dicks. (Also from @rabarbarzcukrem)

Jan Paweł walking on Zofia and Rozalia in bed, the deer antlers look like they're growing from his head. It's a reference to a saying "przyprawić komuś rogi" (also in use in multiple other languages). Which means to cheat on someone. (Multiple people, mainly @rabarbarzcukrem)

Equality march - It's how Pride Prades are called in Poland. (From @rabarbarzcukrem)

Henry kicking a fern flower is a reference to Slavic mythology. It symbolizes ferility and love. (Also from @rabarbarzcukrem) @misticfog adds to it here. (And some other things)

Stasia the mouner saying "Wszystkie kary na mnie idą" ("All punishments come to me") is a reference to this: (from @00midnightrider00)

(Quote happens in 1:20)

Thank you for all the additions!

Lorem Ipsum - is a placeholder text often used in web page design.

"Koń jaki jest, każdy widzi" - What a horse is everyone sees, is a reference to the first polish dictionary.

[wszczebrzyszynie]

the drowning of Marzanna. with love to other west slavs... i wish us a nice spring

its a joyful celebration. the mood is gray and unpleasant because im not a fan of spring (allergies). Id love to hear how the drowning od Marzanna (Morana, Morena) looks like in Slovakia and Czech rep :) pozdrawiam

[ladydeath-vanserra]

okokokokok so like

Small towns are literally notorious for being a community of people who help each other and who knows each other's business so I SAY that the Villiage that Feyre and her sisters live in is more of a COMMUNITY!!!! that helps each other in need bec that's WHAT WE DOOOOOOOOOOO God I can tell SJM is from a city

potlucks, food and clothing drives, helping each other become educated, whether that's some kind of traditional teaching each other or resourcefulness and survival skills like knowing what plants are edible, hunting, fishing, etc

festivals and religious beliefs and superstitions they all share. Winters are horrid and such a hard time for survival. Traditions to bring winter to an end faster, like the Drowning/Burning of Marzanna (this is one that is just so personal to me idk idk listen)

the elderly in the village hold a higher status of respect and knowledge. they are the BACKBONE of the Village. They're v active with providing support and care with their families and with the children in the village. the children are warned to behave and to not venture too far into the woods. making BLANKETS and CLOTHES for people in NEED!!!!!

the able bodied often work together to harvest and prepare food, especially for the winter months. women and girls often have their own little community where they sew and knit and do cross stitch together. they talk and share wisdom and offer each other household advice to make do

there's an emphasis on family and traditional values, of helping each other. there's a bit of a resistance and hesitancy towards outsiders who come into the villiage that people don't know, but it doesn't take long for them to welcome them in

[only-here-to-read-cas-au]

The Significance of BlackWing Names

ok just allow me to monologue about the genius of BlackWing’s codenames for their subjects and why the writers are so clever.

Some of them, like Project Lamia or Project Incubus, don’t have too much meaning but sound really cool. But then there’s…

Project Marzanna, Goddess of Death

Bart’s codename in BlackWing is “Marzanna” who is a winter goddess from Slavic mythology seen as a symbol of death and disease.

This is such an impactful choice for Bart, since she is so in sync with the universe as to be almost like a goddess, and is literally a harbinger of death. But she has to learn to see she is more than just that symbol.

Project Icarus, who flew too close to the sun.

Dirk’s codename is an obvious nod to the famous story from Greek Mythology. Icarus tries to escape from the prison he’s been kept in, only to fly too close to the sun the moment he’s escaped, burning his wax wings and dropping himself into the sea below, where he drowns.

Choosing Icarus as a symbol for Dirk is genius. Dirk escaped from his prison (BlackWing) and deals with a lot of fear out in the real world. He loves taking on cases, but he fears hurting people. Particularly in season two, Dirk sees more and more people die, and he blames himself, blames his involvement, blames his strange connection to the universe. And Dirk has to ask himself, should he take cases at all? Is even being here, away from the labyrinth, risking it all? Have I already flown too high?

I also think it’s worth noting that Dirk is a reference to a story about a prisoner’s melting wings, being stopped mid-flight… and the one’s controlling him are black wing.

Maybe Dirk also represents their downfall.

and last but not least…

Project Moloch, a child’s sacrifice

Francis was a child with magical abilities who was kidnapped by BlackWing. This terrified him and sent him into a deep coma, locking himself into the perpetual childhood of Wendimoor, where he remained for the rest of his life. Through his sleep, the years of his childhood slipped by, until they were gone completely, and Francis was an old man near the end of his life.

the name “Moloch” comes from the Bible, the name of a god of child sacrifice.

This is genius for Francis’ character, since he only ever wanted a childhood. It was taken from him - sacrificed to blackwing - but through wendimoor, he got it back.

this was a lot but Dirk Gently is crazy what can I say

[whereisyourpippinnow]

Can you tell me whats your header is? The woman with many things in her hands. Thank you

hello :)

my header is a artwork of Slavic godess.

She's called Marzanna (or Mora, Morana, Morena, Marena - depends of language).

Marzanna is a goddess of winter, death, farming, nature and it's circle of life (seasonal circle of death and rebirth of the nature).

here's the artwork made by Margo Kai:

The cult of Marzanna is still present in some folk traditions - people are drowning or burning (or both) the doll make of the straw at the first day of spring (it's called Jare Gody). The straw doll symbolizes Marzanna, and by burning her we're saying goodbye to the winter time (time of darkness, death, no life in the nature), and welcoming the spring time (the time of rebirth of the nature).

I'm from Poland, and I remember when I was at school, all kids were making their own dolls of Marzanna. And later our whole class were going at the nearest pond to throw our burning dolls into it.

[pagan-stitches]

Morana through the 2023-2024 cycle.

Reborn at the Vernal Equinox and decked out at Walpurgisnacht (pálení čarodějnic), Summer Solstice (Kupala), Harvest (Dozinky), Twelfth Night (around Koleda), Plough Monday, preceding Candlemas (Hromnice), and then drown a week after Easter during an early Spring total eclipse.

[wolve-rain]

Marzanna - Slavic goddess of winter and death (January exclusive print)

She is an ancient goddess associated with winter's death, rebirth and dreams. She represented long, cold winters that could bring death of both humans and their cattle in form of starvation and freezing. In many Slavic places it’s still tradition to burn and drown a doll representing marzanna. This will encourage the arrival of spring and ensure a good harvest.

Hope you like my version!

Available in my memberships on ko-fi

[kioneira]

"Mar! You know that it's too late this year for drowning the Marzanna?" A small comic with my hetalia oc's That's why you don't leave drunk woman unattended cus you want to have a chat with some villager. I love making jokes out of her name. Also the tradition of drowing Marzanna is so fun and weird at the same time. I love it so much Trvia about Drowing Marzanna: Marzanna is the Polish name for a Slavic goddess associated with death, winter and nature. Every year, on the first day of spring, people would make an effigy, set it on fire, and then drown it in a river. The aim of this pagan ritual is to chase off winter and encourage the return of springtime.

[dvudushnydiaries]

❈Green Week❈

Green Week also called zielone świątki (Polish), Rusalii (Romanian), зелені свята (Ukrainian), русалска седмица (Bulgarian), rusalné svátky (Czech), or зелёные cвятки (Russian), is an annual fertility festival that occurs between the Christian holidays of Easter and Pentecost, and is sometimes connected with Pentecost directly. ❈ While customs will vary based upon regional culture, the holiday centers around encouraging the blooming of crops and honoring the dead. One of the key themes found in multiple cultures is the presence of Rusalki. In some beliefs, such as those of Romanians, they need to be chased away and the Calusari engage in a dance believed to help protect human souls; in other beliefs, such as those of the Russians, the Rusalki emerge and need to be left offerings, as they will assist in the growing of agricultural goods or at the very least stop their interference. ❈ During this holiday it is also common to use trees, most commonly birch trees, as means for honoring the dead, as it was believed that they contained the souls of those who had passed. On the Thursday of Green Week, called Semik, rituals to assist or honor the unclean dead would take place. Birch trees would also be petitioned by women in fertility rites and vows, and, in some cases, a chosen birch tree would be "drowned", similar to the drowning of an effigy of Marzanna or Morana to usher in spring during Topienie Marzanny.

[dawnslight-aegis]

3. tempest

When Marz had heard they were bound for a place called “the tempest,” which lay beneath the seas off the coast of Kholusia, the unnatural stillness of the exposed seafloor likely would have been the very last thing she’d pictured. So much of her life had been spent below the waves, but not like this. Never like this. A part of her wept at the sight of hundreds of sea creatures left exposed and gasping, their ability to breathe sacrificed for that of her companions.

To say that she hated it would be an understatement.

She would have, in fact, made very clear her opinion to everyone assembled, had not there been one other thing she hated even more.

From the corner of her eye she caught sight again of Kaede, herself unnaturally still and pale, the edges of her irises glowing a brilliant, searing white, where they had once been deep blue. She moved with none of her trademark grace, as if she fought her own body for every step. It probably wasn’t far off, if little Halric and his plaster-hard and marble-white skin had been anything to judge by.

For the thousandth time since they’d come to this damned shard, Marz cursed the Ascians, Hydaelyn, and most of all herself – the Ascians for putting them in this position in the first place, Hydaelyn for her damned blessing being less than useless, and herself for being unable to contain even a drop of the Light that Kaede carried within herself, the feeling of it searing through her veins as it slipped through her fingers, leaving only pain in its wake as it flowed on towards its chosen host. For her failure, her best friend was on the verge of becoming a monster, her transformation only paused, not halted. They had reached the point of utter desperation, where even pursuing an Ascian into his lair was preferable to waiting around for the inevitable end.

It was only this that kept Marz’s tongue still when the plan to flood the sea with breathable air was being concocted by the Scions. Far more would die if the Light within Kaede won free and drowned them all in its deluge, but by the Dusk Mother, Marz was so damned tired of necessary sacrifices.

Something of her disgust must have shown in her face, because Thancred seized her elbow and held her in place as the others continued on. He ignored her snarl as she pulled away from him and crossed her arms, meeting her glare with one of his own.

“I know you’re angry. That you want to lash out at everyone and everything that got us here, that got her here. Believe me, so am I. But we need you to keep it together, Marzanna. With Kaede… the way she is… you’re all we have, when it comes down to it. We’ll support you as best we can, but we’re up against a stronger foe than any Ascian we’ve ever faced, Elidibus and Lahabrea included.” His voice twisted on the name of the creature who had worn his skin like a puppet for moons, but he kept on, desperation coloring every word. “You have to be strong enough to do what’s needed. And for that, you have to be in control, not letting your rage flow unchecked.”

Bitter words filled her mouth, the kind she’d spewed at him only days prior, about how he didn’t care, not about her, not about Kaede – all he gave a damn about was ensuring that Minfilia’s death wasn’t in vain, and damn all the rest of them if it came to that. That the noble, high-minded Scions had never seen either Warrior of Light as anything but an attack dog for the good of the realm. She bit them back, swallowed them down, though they churned in her guts. He was right, damn him. And no amount of railing against it would make him anything else.

Not that she would give him the satisfaction of telling him so.

Instead, she lifted her chin in defiance and snapped, “You don’t need to lecture me, Waters. I’ll be a good little Warrior and do my duty, don’t you worry.”

Frustration clouded his expression, and he shoved his hair out of his eyes. “That’s not – gods, you’re infuriating. I’m concerned for you, that’s all. No one can bear Kaede’s burden, but neither can anyone bear yours. If she turns, it falls to you to kill her, you know that, right? You’re the only one who can. And then Ryne…” he trailed off, swallowing hard, clearly unwilling to voice the rest of his thought.

Marz shook her head, violently, and stepped forward into his space, jabbing him in the chest with her finger for emphasis. “That is where you’re wrong. She’s not going to. We’ll find a better way – just like we did with Estinien. If I can rip a dragon’s eyes and soul out of a man I barely tolerate, what do you think I can do for my closest friend? Your plan sucks, Thancred. I’ll kill Emet-Selch, but losing Minfilia to save this fucking shard was bad enough, I’m not about to let it take Kaede and Ryne, too. You can take all your pretty words about sacrifice and duty and what we ”must needs“ do and shove them up your arse. I am not letting this get any worse. And I need you to have my back, no matter what.”

She expected him to bite back, to ask her just exactly how she intended to accomplish all this, but he didn’t. Learned his lesson from their last fight, maybe – both of them were too stubborn and too angry to yield once they’d gotten started, and neither of them had the time for a knock-down, drag-out brawl, with either fists or words. Instead he just sighed and looked away, muscles in his jaw clenching. “Gods, I hope you’re right. Fine. I’ll trust in your ability to pull miracles out of nowhere a little longer. Don’t let me down.” Without waiting for a response, he stomped down the hill towards their party as they were fading from sight.

Left alone, Marz finally forced open the fist she hadn’t been conscious of making until she felt her nails break the skin. “I won’t. I won’t.”

Though whether she was trying to convince him or herself, she couldn’t say.

[wszczebrzyszynie]

I'm half asleep scrolling tumblr, and I seen your ocs pulling the scarecrow out of the river. And for a hot second I thought they were holding someone IN the water 😭 So I stopped and scrolled back up and was like oh thank god they are pulling a scarecrow out. Admired your work before sending this, but I sure woke up pretty fast there Anyways its always a delight to see your style on my dash! ❤️[

you are mistaken, they are drowning her. It was my annual drawing for the first day of spring, which we (west slavs; Poles, Czechs and Slovaks) celebrate by drowning straw dolls of Marzanna/Morana, slavic goddess of death and winter, in rivers and lakes. We often burn them beforehand, but im not sure if thats a practice our neighbours do as well

[ladydeath-vanserra]

thinking about the Slavic fan art of the Archeron sisters I saw a while back and I'm just obsessed I tell u. imagine those girls with a slavic heritage and culture. in my mind they're Polish. why? dunno just are

nesta or elain getting into the cross stitch and sewing and sewing little charms on their dresses to help aid them. Small charms sewn into Feyres clothes to help with hunting and to keep her safe

having superstitions, having their own DEITIES. why does the Mother have to he the only deity? especially when she's clearly more involved with fae? why can't the humans, who are removed from the fae have their own Pantheon and religions that don't have to do with the fae (points at the Children of the Blessed)

imagine superstitions and fear around the forest bec of stories of figures similar to Baba Jaga or the Leszy. leaving offerings to keep in good graces with the Leszy. The ritual drowning of Marzanna to welcome in and bring back Spring

traditional foods and customs with their neighbors, hospitality rights and being a part of a community and caring about each other. It's a small village. Small towns are notorious for looking out for each other (I know this I've lived in them my whole life)

WHY CANT THE HUMANS HAVE CULTURE OUTSIDE OF EITHER BEING AFRAID OF FAE OR SYCOPHANTS TO THE FAEEEEEE

anyways,

[slavicafire]

So I’ve been following your blog for awhile specifically because of the Marzanna worship, i ran into a metaphysical worker in Arizona that recommended your blog to me since i was approached by Marzanna and this post reminded me of her. i’ve been trying to look further into slavic deities past Marzanna, so i’m unsure if other slavic deities have the same images, but wanted to send this to you because you’re the closest expert i had access to.

Are these dolls specifically supposed to be visages of Marzanna? Everywhere that i’ve research just states Marzanna as a negative goddess (even though from what i’ve felt/seen with her it isn’t true) but i haven’t ever really seen images of protective dolls with iconography similar to Marzanna either? So i wanted to see your impression of them. (let me know if the link doesn’t work, i haven’t asked an ask in a w h i l e let alone one with a link attached)

https://www.tumblr.com/w-itchtips/721922898658557952

I have no clue what the specific intent of the person who created the linked motanka dolls might have been and what type they would be - as many different types are recognised, especially in modern attempts to reconstruct older folk beliefs - but in general, motanka dolls have nothing at all to do with Marzanna. they are supposed to have no actually discernible faces (as they should not look fully human, let alone as someone specific) and are a part of folk magic, not religious practice per se. while contemporary artists and practitioners might make some dolls that would be related to Marzanna, the idea would, in my opinion, go against the very purpose of a motanka doll: I have dolls I created that I associate with Marzanna - but I would not call them motanki, as the underlying purpose is wholly different. altough, again, I don't know what the intent behind the ones you linked might have been.

what you might have seen online could be the effigies of Marzanna created specifically for the rituals of banishing winter/coming of spring: then, the effigies are created specifically so they can be destroyed, either by fire or by drowning, as a way to get rid of winter (cold, old, illness, death) and welcome spring (rebirth of nature, crops, life, health, love).

as you've mentioned, she is a "negative goddess" - as in, we don't really have accounts of her being fully venerated as a proper deity or associated with positive domains, let alone protection, as in many bits of folk beliefs we can only find her as a personification of Death and/or Winter. there even is, oftentimes, debate as to whether she was viewed as a deity to begin with - or that perhaps she was just Death, or a demon, or a plethora of other beings. we have Długosz in his Annals writing that Marzanna is Ceres, basically, tying her to agriculture most likely purely based on the - admittedly quite agriculture-related - ritual of banishing her as a part of cycle of nature.

but the dolls are very nice indeed, although incredibly fancy, that has to be said.

[weaponizedalibi]

Dess concepts! Just exploring the character. I based Dess's dark world design off of Marzanna, a slavic goddess of winter. To welcome spring, it's a tradition to build an effigy of Marzanna, burn her, and then drown her. I also associate Noelle with Saint Lucy's Day. So many winter holidays to choose from!

[mioritic]

Polish children in highlander costumes carry skis, sleds, and a straw doll during the Drowning of Marzanna, ca. 1970-1980s

Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe