The World. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1891-1896, 1892-11-22
SOME PECULIAR PEOPLE.
INTERESTING FACTS CONCERNING THE
SLAVIC NATIONS.

M44@vea 81 mao european BAtr4cttom-
ThsIr Great Sumbers IN Eareps--An-
sssnt Religious Cn.tcrns-- Early Gov
ernA.nt-Arts and cnrems.
The Slavs. Slavonians, or as they were
called by old chroniclers. Slavi, Sclavi,
Sclavini, and Slovaue. in their native
language, are q group Of nations Of the
Indo- European stock. inhabiting vast
territory between the Bohemian Forest
ffSumava) ON the west, the Chinese
border beyond the Ural Mountains on
the east, and from the Baltic Sea to the
Adriatic and the Black Sea. Their mum
Der is variously estimated at 90,000,000
The whole Slavonic stock is commonly
divided into two groups, the south east
ern and the western. In the first are
included the Russians. Bulgarians. My,
Rams SERBS. Croats, or .Croatians and
Winds) in the second {al the Poles,
Gilesians and Pomeranians. 90 cechs or
Bohemians, Moravians and Slovaks, (c)
Polabian Slavonians in the present Luz.
satia. who are being rapidly denational-
lied by Germans surrounding them.
The Russians. numerically the strong
est Slavonic nation, inhabit the eastern
part of the territory above described and
divide themselves in (a) Great Russians
and (b) Little Russians and White Rus.
slams. They number between SO, 900 900
and 10000, 600 South of this territory
we find the Sloyenes, 500 900; CToats
and Serbs, 100000. and Bulgarians,
l6,O0O, 900.
In the west live the Bohemians
(Cechs) Moravians and Slovaks, 7,0O0,-
600; the Poles (, 900 900, and the rem
nants Of the Polabians in Lusatia about
100000 The Baltic Bodrici and Lutici
(Veleti), formerly mighty stem of the
Slavonic family, have disappeared en-
tirely, being absorbed by the Germans.
Divided by countries, where Slavs are
settled. we find $4,000, 900 of them in.
Russia (the Russians proper, the Poles
and the settlements of Servians and Bull
gariansJ 16,50O.0O0 IND Austria (the
Bohemians. Moravians, Slovaks. Poles,
Little Russians, Slovenes, Croats. Ser
VANS. and few Bulgarians) $500, 900
In Germany, principally in Prussia and
Saxony 1.-THE Poles, Dnsatians Serbs and
q fragment of the Bohemians) 9,000,0 900
in the Balkan States Turkey, Servia,
Montenegro and Roumania,
The religion of the ancient Slavs
was a true worship of Nature. Accord
ing to them the world was peopled with
superior beings. who were good (bozi) or
bad (biesl The good were the most
powerful, the biesi could only act by
their permission. Health, happiness and
victory were all the work Of the good !;
sickness, wretchedness, defeat. were due
to the biesi. In the winter time, how
ever, the biesi got the upper hand. Sac
rifices and vows were offered to the gods
to propitiate them These beings formed
q vast society like that of human beings;
theyTwere all the sons of one greater
than them all. The highest god was the
God of Heaven, Svarog; the sun and
fire were his sons, and they together
bore the fathers name and were called
Syarozici
Among the other gods, the more i'm
portant Were Veles. God of Flocks; and
Vesna. called also silva or Lada, the God
dess of Spring and Fruitfulness Among
the biesi we must mention Morana, God
dess of Winter and of Death; Tras, the
Demon of Terror; and Stribog, Demon
of the Tempest and among inferior be-
ings, the Villas, Nymphs and the Vjedi,
who dwelt in the air, and the JezdibabyS
Sorcerers, who dwelt ON the earth. ought
to be mentioned. The eclipses of the
sun and moon We're supposed to be the
work of the Vjedi ~
A belief in vampires was common to
all the Slavs They believed the soul to
be immortal; after having quilted the
body,sit few from tree to tree until the
body had been burned, and then it went
to the Home of Shadows, which the
Slavs called Nav, and which they pic
tured to themselves as region of green
fields and groves.
According to both written documents
and observations, says Leger, which can
still be made in certain districts, the
government of the family among the
Slavs was entirely patriarchal. The
family lived in common around its chief
or elder lstaresina) The men cult
waited the ground, the women were oc-l
cupied with domestic work The elder
represented all tribal interests, offered
sacrifices to the gods, and apportioned to
each his share of labor The members
of the tribe all bore the same name,
which was taken from that of its
founder
The comparative study of the Slav
dialect enablesIus to guess what degree
Of perfection the domestic arts had
reached There is noneed to prove that
the words. which are common to these
various dialects form the basis of the
Slay tongue as it was spoken before the
separation Of the tribes-that is to say,
In prehistoric times They are sufficient
to show that the Slavs not. only cult
waited the groundr but that they knew
how to practice, in clumsy fashion, some
industries which, are unknown to those
people whom we call sayages. They
Were acquainted with iron and the
commoner tools made from II with