S02E07 Forest Creatures of Croatia
03/01/22 • 17 min
The forest is mysterious, yet enchanting. For thousands of years, ancient civilizations have looked upon the evergreen woodlands as a magical place for healing, foraging, and revere as sacred ground.
Throughout our history, since ancient times, it has been a magical place that awakens the imagination and hides the world of amazing, magical beings. Nature has always been an ally of men, satisfying our different needs.
Starting from spiritual ones such as peace, tranquility and silence to material ones such as firewood, food source, tools and weapon materials, or simply – shelter.
Myths and superstitions of the ancient Slavs represented nature in a different way from that of the modern world in which we live. Today, the forest still hides an amazing world in which plants, animals, trees and numerous mystical creatures continue to play an essential role, which, at least in Slavic oral traditions, have been especially important and influential since ancient times evoking both fear and respect.
We are the last ones who can still remember these times. We spread the knowledge acquired over hundreds of years, developing skills and being a link between the past and present. Once upon a time, the world of forests was no less mysterious than that of the oceans, thick and impenetrable, as stories of strange encounters made their way around the campfire.
This is one of these stories. A story about magical creatures of Croatia’s forests and fields.
Host: Karmen Fodrek
Music: Darren Curtis
The forest is mysterious, yet enchanting. For thousands of years, ancient civilizations have looked upon the evergreen woodlands as a magical place for healing, foraging, and revere as sacred ground.
Throughout our history, since ancient times, it has been a magical place that awakens the imagination and hides the world of amazing, magical beings. Nature has always been an ally of men, satisfying our different needs.
Starting from spiritual ones such as peace, tranquility and silence to material ones such as firewood, food source, tools and weapon materials, or simply – shelter.
Myths and superstitions of the ancient Slavs represented nature in a different way from that of the modern world in which we live. Today, the forest still hides an amazing world in which plants, animals, trees and numerous mystical creatures continue to play an essential role, which, at least in Slavic oral traditions, have been especially important and influential since ancient times evoking both fear and respect.
We are the last ones who can still remember these times. We spread the knowledge acquired over hundreds of years, developing skills and being a link between the past and present. Once upon a time, the world of forests was no less mysterious than that of the oceans, thick and impenetrable, as stories of strange encounters made their way around the campfire.
This is one of these stories. A story about magical creatures of Croatia’s forests and fields.
Host: Karmen Fodrek
Music: Darren Curtis
Previous Episode
S02E06 Perun The Thunderer
Among the ancient Slavs there was a general conviction that in the sky heights, above the clouds, there was an almighty deity who governed lightning and thunder, rain and storms, but also ruled the earthly world. Very early on, the myth of the thundering god, the lord of lightning, was born in the heavenly vault, creating noise while riding in his magical carriage.
Talking about the supreme Slavic pantheon, we can't escape the power and fame of this god. His reign is both heavenly and ethereal, dark and bright, rainy and sunny. He's the god who left the richest legacy in our lore. In personal names, poems, stories, in the names of villages, mountains and plants, as well as on people themselves. He is a representative of stormy skies followed with magnificent thunders – the almighty Perun.
Music by Darren Curtis
Next Episode
S02E08 Slavic Fairytales - The Girl In The Chest
Hundreds of years ago, Slavic peoples lived in scattered villages far from the light and warmth of the big cities. In that time, myths, traditions and folk tales were passed down from generation to generation.
The Slavs believed that mysterious creatures inhabited the forests, mountains, field and lakes around them. As centuries went by, enchanting fairytales were born, creating a still-living mythology full of magical tales.
This is one of them.
The Laughing Prince
Jugoslav Folk and Fairy Tales
Notes: Contains 14 folktales of the Slavic people. As the author of this book states in the preface, these folk and fairy tales do not relate only to the people inhabiting the lands of ex-Yugoslavia, but rather to all Slavic people (Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Ukraine).
Author: Parker Fillmore
Published: 1921
Publisher: Harcourt, Brace And Company, USA
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