Nav ( Croatian, Czech, Slovak: ''Nav'', pl, Nawia, russian: Навь, sr, Нав, sl, Navje, uk, Мавка, '' Mavka'' or , ) is a phrase used to denote the souls of the dead in

Slavic mythology Slavic mythology or Slavic religion is the religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and the 13th century. The South Slavs, who likely settled in the B ...

. The singular form (''Nav'' or ''Nawia'') is also used as a name for an

underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

, over which Veles exercises custody—it is often interpreted as another name for the underground variant of the ''

Vyraj Iriy, Vyrai ( be, Вырай, pl, Wyraj), Vyriy (russian: Вырий, Ирий, Ирей, ukr, Вирій, Ірій, Ирій), or Irij ( Croatian, Czech, Slovak: ''Ráj, Raj, Irij'', srp, Ириј, ukr, Ирій, Ірій) is a mythical plac ...

'' (

heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...

Etymology

The words ''nawia'', ''nav'' and its other variants are most likely derived from the Proto-Slavic , meaning "corpse", "deceased". Cognates in other

Indo-European languages The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...

include Latvian ("death"),

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

(“death”), Old Prussian (“body, flesh”),

Old Russian Old East Slavic (traditionally also Old Russian; be, старажытнаруская мова; russian: древнерусский язык; uk, давньоруська мова) was a language used during the 9th–15th centuries by East ...

() (“corpse, dead body”) and

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

(, “dead body, corpse”).Razauskas, Dainius (2011). “Ryba - mifologičeskij Proobraz lodki"

he Fish As a Mythological Prototype of the Boat He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

In: ''

Studia Mythologica Slavica ''Studia mythologica Slavica'' is a Slovene academic journal dedicated to ethnology, history, archaeology, linguistics, religious studies, literary history and philosophy in the context of Slavic mythology. Published since 1998 by the Instit ...

'' 14 (October). Ljubljana, Slovenija, 296, 303. https://doi.org/10.3986/sms.v14i0.1614. could be cognate with the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

word

Naraka Naraka ( sa, नरक) is the realm of hell in Indian religions. According to some schools of Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism, ''Naraka'' is a place of torment. The word ''Neraka'' (modification of ''Naraka'') in Indonesian and Malaysia ...

, referring to the concept of hell in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

As souls or spirits

The ''nawie'', ''nawki'', sometimes also referred to as ''lalki'' (all plural forms) was used as a name for the souls of the dead. According to some scholars (namely

Stanisław Urbańczyk Stanisław Urbańczyk (27 July 1909 – 23 October 2001) was a Polish linguist and academic, a professor at the universities of Toruń, Poznań and Kraków. He was the head of the Institute of the Polish Language at the Polish Academy of Sciences ...

, among others), this word was a general name for demons arising out of the souls of tragic and premature deaths, killers, warlocks, the murdered and the Drowned Dead. They were said to be hostile and unfavourable towards humans, being jealous of life. In

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n folklore there exists the character of 12 that sucked the blood out of women giving birth, whereas in the Ruthenian

Primary Chronicle The ''Tale of Bygone Years'' ( orv, Повѣсть времѧньныхъ лѣтъ, translit=Pověstĭ vremęnĭnyxŭ lětŭ; ; ; ; ), often known in English as the ''Rus' Primary Chronicle'', the ''Russian Primary Chronicle'', or simply the ...

the are presented as a demonic personification of the 1092 plague in Polotsk. According to folk tales, the ''nawie'' usually took the form of birds.

As an underworld

The phrase ''Nawia'' (Polish) or ''Nav'' (used across Slavic tongues) was also utilised as a name for the Slavonic underworld, ruled by the god Veles, enclosed away from the world either by a living sea or river, according to some beliefs located deep underground. According to Ruthenian folklore, Veles lived on a swamp in the centre of Nav, where he sat on a golden throne at the base of the

Cosmic Tree The world tree is a motif present in several religions and mythologies, particularly Indo-European religions, Siberian religions, and Native American religions. The world tree is represented as a colossal tree which supports the heavens, thereb ...

, wielding a sword. Symbolically, the Nav has also been described as a huge green plain—pasture, onto which Veles guides

souls In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

. The entrance to ''Nav'' was guarded by a Zmey. It was believed the souls would later be

reborn Reborn may refer to: Film *''Reborn'', a 2015 video produced by the Augustine Institute * ''Re:Born'' (film), a 2016 Japanese action film * ''Reborn'' (film), a 2018 American horror film Music * Reborn (band), a Moroccan death metal band Albums ...

on earth.Nikolay Shevchenko
''Where did ancient Slavs go after death?''

Russia Beyond the Headlines ''Russia Beyond'' (formerly ''Russia Beyond The Headlines'') is a Russian multilingual project operated by TV-Novosti (formerly Russia Today), founded by the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. History ''Russia Beyond The Headlines'' was ...

, 9 March 2018. It is highly likely that these folk beliefs were the inspiration behind the neopagan idea of Jav, Prav and Nav in the literary forgery known as the Book of Veles.

Etymology

As souls or spirits

As an underworld

See also

Footnotes

References

Further reading