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Devana ( pl, Dziewanna , la, Dzewana), Zevana ( pl, Ziewanna), less often Zievonya ( pl, Ziewonja, Zewonia) is the goddess of wild nature, forests, hunting and the moon worshiped by the
Western Slavs The West Slavs are Slavic peoples who speak the West Slavic languages. They separated from the common Slavic group around the 7th century, and established independent polities in Central Europe by the 8th to 9th centuries. The West Slavic langu ...
. In the sources, she was first mentioned in the 15th century by
Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histo ...
, who compared her to the Roman goddess Diana. ''Dziewanna'' is also a Polish name for ''
Verbascum ''Verbascum'' is a genus of over 450 species of flowering plants, common name mullein (), in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae. They are native to Europe and Asia, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean. Mullein or "mullein le ...
'', and the etymology of the word is unclear. After strong criticism from
Aleksander Brückner Aleksander Brückner (; 29 January 1856 – 24 May 1939) was a Polish scholar of Slavic languages and literatures (Slavistics), philologist, lexicographer and historian of literature. He is among the most notable Slavicists of the late 19th ...
, researchers rejected her authenticity, but nowadays it is accepted by an increasing number of researchers. Sometimes, in folk rituals, she performs together with
Morana Morana may refer to: * Moraña, a municipality in Galicia, Spain * Morana Dam, an earthfill dam on Morana river near Patan, Satara district in the state of Maharashtra in India * Marzanna Marzanna (in Polish), Morė (in Lithuanian), Marena (in ...
.


Etymology

Proto-Slavic Proto-Slavic (abbreviated PSl., PS.; also called Common Slavic or Common Slavonic) is the unattested, reconstructed proto-language of all Slavic languages. It represents Slavic speech approximately from the 2nd millennium B.C. through the 6th ...
name for ''Verbascum'' is reconstructed as ''*divizna'' (cf. pl, dziwizna,
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...
and , ), with secondary form as ''*divina'' (cf. pl, dziewanna, ). That word has an
Proto-Balto-Slavic Proto-Balto-Slavic (PBS or PBSl) is a reconstructed hypothetical proto-language descending from Proto-Indo-European (PIE). From Proto-Balto-Slavic, the later Balto-Slavic languages are thought to have developed, composed of sub-branches Baltic ...
origin and appears in Lithuanian language as e.g. ''devynspė͂kė'', ''devynjėgė''. The only cognate from outside the
Balto-Slavic The Balto-Slavic languages form a branch of the Indo-European family of languages, traditionally comprising the Baltic and Slavic languages. Baltic and Slavic languages share several linguistic traits not found in any other Indo-European bran ...
group may be Dacian word ''διέσεμα''/''diésema'' (
Dioscorides Pedanius Dioscorides ( grc-gre, Πεδάνιος Διοσκουρίδης, ; 40–90 AD), “the father of pharmacognosy”, was a Greek physician, pharmacologist, botanist, and author of '' De materia medica'' (, On Medical Material) —a 5-vo ...
), which is being derived from ''*diu̯es-eu̯smn'' („burning sky”) and compared to
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
''Himmelbrand'' (''Verbascum''; „burning heavens”), but exact etymology of Slavic word is unclear.
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
n
linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
and etymologist Aleksandr Anikin notes a similarity between the Lithuanian terms for ''Verbascum'' and the Lithuanian word ''devynì'' "nine". There are several interpretations of Devana's name. The most obvious etymology are words such as ''dziewa'', ''dziewka'', "girl, young woman, maiden", and ''dziewica'', "virgin", a word derived from the ''dziewa''. This etymology can be supported by fact, that Diana (and
Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...
– her greek equivalent) is usually depicted in myths as a virgin and has never had any offspring or a consort. Another word, from which the name of the goddess may come from, may be the
old Polish The Old Polish language ( pl, język staropolski, staropolszczyzna) was a period in the history of the Polish language between the 10th and the 16th centuries. It was followed by the Middle Polish language. The sources for the study of the Ol ...
''dziwy'', "wild". It was also proposed to combine Devana's name with the
Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo- ...
god of heaven '' *Dyēus''. Slavic folklore includes demons with a similar name, e.g.
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
and
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...
dziwożona Dziwożona (or Mamuna or Boginka) is a female swamp demon in Slavic mythology known for being malicious and dangerous. Most at risk of becoming one of these demons after death were thought to be midwives, old maids, unmarried mothers, pregnant wom ...
,
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
n div,
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 Macedo ...
n and
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...
n samodiva (" rusalka, boginka, the magical creature"), etc. It is assumed that the feminine demons-divas derive from the Proto-Slavic word ''*diva'', and this word is the feminine form of the word ''*divъ'' ("div (demon)"). ''*divъ'' is derived from the PIE. word ''*Dyēus'' ("god of heaven") through the intermediate *''deywós'' ("heavenly") and its closest related word is Dievs – god of heaven in
Baltic mythology Baltic mythology is the body of mythology of the Baltic people stemming from Baltic paganism and continuing after Christianization and into Baltic folklore. Baltic mythology ultimately stems from Proto-Indo-European mythology. The Baltic regio ...
. ''*Dyēus'' in the Slavs has acquired demonic characteristics as a result of cultural contacts with
Iranian peoples The Iranian peoples or Iranic peoples are a diverse grouping of Indo-European peoples who are identified by their usage of the Iranian languages and other cultural similarities. The Proto-Iranians are believed to have emerged as a separat ...
, who have demonized the Iranian continuator of ''*Dyēus'' as a result of the Zoroastrianist reform. An argument for such an etymology is that Diana is also etymologically derived from ''*Dyēus''. Anikin notes that ''Verbascum'' has sometimes been used to lighten hair, and combines the word with PIE. the root ''*dei-u̯-'' or ''*dī-'' ("to shine, to be bright"), from which also comes ''*Dyēus''. The suffix ''-ana'', ''-anna'', which occurs in the names of many goddesses, may be derived from the PIE. word ''*ansu'' meaning "lord, ruler, god".


Sources

The first source to mention Devana is the Czech '' Mater Verborum'' - a Latin dictionary dating back to the 13th century. The text of the dictionary can be read: "Diana, Latonae et Iouis branch" ("Diana, daughter of
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...
and
Latona In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Leto (; grc-gre, Λητώ , ''Lētṓ'', or , ''Lātṓ'' in Doric Greek) is a goddess and the mother of Apollo, the god of music, and Artemis, the goddess of the hunt.Hesiod, ''Theogony'404–409/ref ...
") and a Czech gloss: "Devana, Letuicina and Perunova dci" ("Devana, daughter of Letuna and
Perun In Slavic mythology, Perun (Cyrillic: Перýн) is the highest god of the pantheon and the god of sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, law, war, fertility and oak trees. His other attributes were fire, mountains, wind, iris, eagle, f ...
"). However, ''Mater Verborum'' was discovered in the 18th century by
Václav Hanka Václav Hanka (also written as ''Wenceslaus Hanka'') (10 June 1791 – 12 January 1861) was a Czech philologist. Biography Hanka was born at Hořiněves near Hradec Králové. He was sent in 1807 to school at Hradec Králové, to escape the ...
, who was proved to have falsified texts on Czech history, making this source incredible. The main source about Devana is
Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histo ...
's ''
Annales Annals are a concise form of historical writing which record events chronologically, year by year. The equivalent word in Latin and French is ''annales'', which is used untranslated in English in various contexts. List of works with titles contai ...
'': In another place he writes that when
Mieszko Mieszko is a Slavic given name of uncertain origin. Onomastics There are three major theories concerning the origin and meaning of the name of Duke Mieszko I of Poland. The most popular theory, proposed by Jan Długosz, explains that Mieszko is ...
ordered to drown the idols of the pagan gods, "this destruction and drowning of the idols is still present and renewed in some Polish villages, where they carry the images of Devana and Morena on a long stick and throw them into the swamps and sink on
Laetare Sunday Laetare Sunday (Church Latin: ; Classical Latin: ; English: , , , , ) is the fourth Sunday in the season of Lent, in the Western Christian liturgical calendar. Traditionally, this Sunday has been a day of celebration, within the austere period ...
". However, the information of Długosz that the custom of drowning Death is a legacy of the destruction of Slavic idols by Christians is false, because this custom is already condemned in the ''Provincial statutes in short'', which were written before Długosz's ''Annales'' (1420s). In '' Polish Chronicle'' a similar custom is described by
Marcin Bielski Marcin Bielski (or ''Wolski''; 1495 – 18 December 1575) was a Polish soldier, historian, chronicler, renaissance satirical poet, writer and translator. His son, , royal secretary to king Sigismund III Vasa, was also a historian and poet. He wa ...
: From Poland, the goddess is also mentioned by
Maciej Stryjkowski Maciej Stryjkowski (also referred to as Strykowski and Strycovius;Nowa encyklopedia powszechna PWN. t. 6, 1997 – ) was a Polish historian, writer and a poet, known as the author of ''Chronicle of Poland, Lithuania, Samogitia and all of Rutheni ...
: "Diana, the goddess of hunting, was called by the
Sarmatians The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic peoples of classical antiquity who dominated the Pontic steppe from about the 3rd century BC to the 4th cen ...
Zievonya or Devana in their language", "
Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
, you enlightened Mieszko who was born blind, and you brought Poland to your baptism.
Grom Grom may refer to: Military * JW GROM, a Polish special forces unit * ORP ''Grom'', several ships of the Polish Navy * Grom (missile), a Polish anti-aircraft missile * A Yugoslav/Serbian version of the Kh-23 (AS-9 'Kyle') air-to-surface missi ...
, Ladon, Morana, Pogvizd, Zevana gave up to you". Devana is also mentioned by Miechowita, Guagnini, Kromer and priest Wujek. Regardless of Długosz, this goddess is mentioned by
Oskar Kolberg Henryk Oskar Kolberg (22 February 1814 – 3 June 1890) was a Polish ethnographer, folklorist, and composer active during the foreign Partitions of Poland.Lusatia Lusatia (german: Lausitz, pl, Łużyce, hsb, Łužica, dsb, Łužyca, cs, Lužice, la, Lusatia, rarely also referred to as Sorbia) is a historical region in Central Europe, split between Germany and Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr ...
: „Dživica, goddess of forests and hunting, peculiarly in southern
Sorbs Sorbs ( hsb, Serbja, dsb, Serby, german: Sorben; also known as Lusatians, Lusatian Serbs and Wends) are a indigenous West Slavic ethnic group predominantly inhabiting the parts of Lusatia located in the German states of Saxony and Branden ...
. This beautiful woman with a bow and arrow has greyhounds. They also talk about someone who stayed in the forest at noon: Hladaj so, zo dživica k tebi ńepřindže. They think that she is hunting also by moonlight. Džiwi eans herewild, and dživina eanswildmeat.” Devana can also be confirmed by
toponymy Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
, e.g. the
Děvín Děvín (german: Mayden Berg) is a double peak mountain in the Pavlov municipality in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. With an elevation of , it is the highest mountain of the Pavlov Hills within the Mikulov Highlands, and of th ...
peak in the ,
Devínska Nová Ves Devínska Nová Ves ( hu, Dévényújfalu, hr, Devinsko Novo Selo, german: Theben-Neudorf) is a borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Its western borders are formed by the Morava River, which also forms the national border between Slov ...
, or Devin – a Slavic name for
Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebu ...
and others. The only potential, non-Western Slavic source is ''Sermon by Saint Gregory'', which lists the figure of Diva alongside other gods such as
Mokosh Mokosh ( orv, Мóкошь) is a Slavic goddess mentioned in the Primary Chronicle, protector of women's work and women's destiny. She watches over spinning and weaving, shearing of sheep, and protects women in childbirth. Mokosh is the Mother G ...
and Perun. Diva passed from
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 ...
to
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...
and was considered by
Josef Jungmann Josef Jungmann (16 July 1773 in Hudlice, near Beroun – 14 November 1847 in Prague) was a Czech poet and linguist, and a leading figure of the Czech National Revival. Together with Josef Dobrovský, he is considered to be a creator of the mod ...
as another name of goddess Lada.


Folklore

Devana, apart from the sources mentioned above, does not appear directly in folklore, but some legends may point to her. Devana may be indicated by the legend of Łysa Góra, which was presented as "Polish Olympus" in Polish culture. According to local legends, before the monastery was built there, on Łysa Góra in pre-Christian times stood a gord (''
Wielkopolska Chronicle The ''Wielkopolska Chronicle'' (or ''Chronicle of Greater Poland'', pl, Kronika wielkopolska) is an anonymous medieval chronicle describing supposed history of Poland from legendary times up to the year 1273. It was written in Latin at the end o ...
'') or a castle (Długosz). According to Długosz, the castle was to be built by
giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...
s, and in the folk version by the "Proud Lady", which was her seat. The Proud Lady, who was to defeat
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...
, fell into pride and declared herself Diana. God did not bear it and destroyed the castle with lightning. and interpret The "Proud Lady" as Devana. Later on, Devana is mentioned by the Scottish folklorist James G. Frazer in his '' The Golden Bough'', who describes a
Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
n custom where the figure of Death (Marzanna) is melted or destroyed. Then, the young people go to the forest, cut down a small fir, strip away the bark and then decorate it with
festoon A festoon (from French ''feston'', Italian ''festone'', from a Late Latin ''festo'', originally a festal garland, Latin ''festum'', feast) is a wreath or garland hanging from two points, and in architecture typically a carved ornament depict ...
s, paper roses, pisanki, etc. The tree is called ''May'' or ''Summer''. Then the boys walk with this tree from house to house and sing songs: Frazer continues: "Sometimes they also bring from the forest a nicely assumed doll, which they call ''Summer'', ''May'' or ''Fiancée''. In Poland they call her the Devana, the goddess of spring". A similar practice is described by
Marcin Kromer Marcin Kromer (Latin: ''Martinus Cromerus''; 11 November 1512 – 23 March 1589) was Prince-Bishop of Warmia (Ermland), a Polish cartographer, diplomat and historian in the Kingdom of Poland and later in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. H ...
in '' De origine et rebus gestis Polonorum libri XXX''. In Podlasie region, the ''Princess'', a beautiful girl dressed in colorful robes, flowers and red beads was shown around, which may be related to the Silesian custom. In Slavic folklore there are devony ( pl, dziewonie) – female mountain spirits or demons living in the caves, engaged in spinning, related to the forest fleece, who may be a demonized Devana. It can be similar with dziwożony.


Herb

in Polish, ''dziewanna'' (less often ''dziwizna'') is also the name for ''
verbascum ''Verbascum'' is a genus of over 450 species of flowering plants, common name mullein (), in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae. They are native to Europe and Asia, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean. Mullein or "mullein le ...
'', used for skin care and treatment of respiratory problems. Szyjewski notes, however, that the ''dziewanna'' was sometimes called the ''braid of the Virgin Mary'', and Kolankiewicz that in medieval iconography the
Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...
was sometimes depicted with the ''verbascum'' in her hand, and ''marzanna'' (name for six plants), was also a synonym for the ''dziewanna'' in the 16th century.


Interpretations

The first studies on the "pantheon of Długosz" denied the existence of all or most of the gods he mentioned. The main critics were
Aleksander Brückner Aleksander Brückner (; 29 January 1856 – 24 May 1939) was a Polish scholar of Slavic languages and literatures (Slavistics), philologist, lexicographer and historian of literature. He is among the most notable Slavicists of the late 19th ...
and Stanisław Urbańczyk. After rejecting the hypercritical approach to "pantheon of Długosz" many researchers, such as
Aleksander Gieysztor Aleksander Gieysztor (17 July 1916 – 9 February 1999) was a Polish medievalist historian. Life Aleksander Gieysztor was born to a Polish family in Moscow, Russia, where his father worked as a railwayman. In 1921, the family relocated to Po ...
, Andrzej Szyjewski, Vyacheslav Ivanov and
Vladimir Toporov Vladimir Nikolayevich Toporov (russian: Влади́мир Никола́евич Топоро́в; 5 July 1928 in Moscow5 December 2005 in Moscow) was a leading Russian philologist associated with the Tartu-Moscow semiotic school. His wife was ...
, have been inclined to acknowledge the authenticity of at least some "Polish gods", including Devana. In Greek mythology,
Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...
' helpers are
nymph A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label= Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ...
s, whose closest Slavic equivalents are
boginki In Slavic paganism there are a variety of female tutelary deity, tutelary spirits associated with water. They have been compared to the Greek ''Nymphs'', and they may be either white (beneficent) or black (maleficent). They may be called Boginki, N ...
, which are found in Western Slavs, mainly in Poland. Boginki are young girls dressed in white or naked, who inhabited the shores of reservoirs, forests and caves from which they come out at night, especially on summer moon nights. They took care of wild animals and were often hostile to people, especially
men A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chro ...
. The
moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
was their "god" – it ruled their activity. Boginki were also supposed to shoot from a bow. In the Ruthenian legends, the number of vilas (similar to boginki) which are sisters, is 27 ("three times nine") or, in another version, 30, and this may be related to the ecliptic division into 27 zodiacs (eg Nakshatra in Hinduism) and
lunation In lunar calendars, a lunar month is the time between two successive syzygies of the same type: new moons or full moons. The precise definition varies, especially for the beginning of the month. Variations In Shona, Middle Eastern, and Euro ...
. These features of boginki-nymphs may tie them to Devana-Artemis – goddess of forests and the moon.


Double goddess

Due to the multiple appearances of the pair Devana and
Morana Morana may refer to: * Moraña, a municipality in Galicia, Spain * Morana Dam, an earthfill dam on Morana river near Patan, Satara district in the state of Maharashtra in India * Marzanna Marzanna (in Polish), Morė (in Lithuanian), Marena (in ...
in the spring ceremonies, some researchers have suggested that both of these goddesses could be the two faces of one goddess of life and death. A similar motif occurs in Indo-European religions, e.g. the Scandinavian Hel ("one half of her face had a handsome and pleasant expression, the other half dead and hideous") or the Greek couple
Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( ; gr, Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( ; gr, Κόρη, Kórē, the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld after ...
-Kora, who spent half a year underground and half a year on earth. According to Kolankiewicz, double goddess may be indicated by alleged connection of Devana with
Proto-Slavic Proto-Slavic (abbreviated PSl., PS.; also called Common Slavic or Common Slavonic) is the unattested, reconstructed proto-language of all Slavic languages. It represents Slavic speech approximately from the 2nd millennium B.C. through the 6th ...
''*diva'' ("female spirit, boginka") and Iranian deva ("demon"). The archaic nature of Devana and Morana may be indicated by a connection to vegetation, and that connects them to Mother Earth.


In Christianity

During the Christianization, Devana could have been replaced by Our Lady of Thunder Candle ( pl, Matka Boża Gromniczna). Polish legend says that she walks on February nights and protects fields from freezing. The iconography depicts her with the wolf (or wolves) she protected from death from the peasants, and whom she made her servant, with a basket or a nest of
lark Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the horned lark, occurs in North America, and only Horsfield's bush lark oc ...
s at her feet, whose squeal was to herald the imminent coming of spring. In her hands, she always holds a "thunder candle" ( pl, gromnica, from ''grom'' "thunder"), which was used for fortune-telling, protect the house from wolves, lightning or evil, and used to burn the hair of children to protect them from ear disease. Thunder candle often occurs in sayings about the coming of spring. In the past, thunder candle wicks were made of ''verbascum'' and sometimes was named ''knotnica'' (from ''knot'' "wick"), ''royal candle'' or ''braid of the Virgin Mary''. Connecting the feast of Our Lady of Thunder Candle ( Candlemas) with wild animals appears in other Slavic countries.


Legacy

*
471143 Dziewanna 471143 Dziewanna , exact: , provisional designation , is a trans-Neptunian object in the scattered disc, orbiting the Sun in the outermost region of the Solar System. It was discovered on 13 March 2010, by astronomers Andrzej Udalski, Scott She ...
asteroid named after goddess * Halina Poświatowska – ''W słońcu południa'' * Małgorzata Hillar – ''Ballada o dziewannie'' * Bronisława Ostrowska – ''Dziewanna''


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Slavic mythology Hunting goddesses Virgin goddesses Slavic goddesses Nature goddesses