Bereginya
published on Apr 19, 10
Berehynia or Bereginia ( Ukrainian: Береги́ня) is a female spirit (Vila) in Slavic mythology, which recently came to be regarded as a "Slavic goddess" with a function of "hearth mother, protectoress of the home" in late 20th century Ukrainian romantic nationalism centered on matriarchal myth. The word originates in the pre-Christian Slavic mythology but in the modern usage it has two meanings. The confusion in the name's etymology owes to the fact that a Slavic word bereh (Ukrainian) or bereg (Russian) means a river bank, while the word berehty (Ukrainian) or berech' (Russian) is a verb that means to protect. Originally, obscure shadowy ghost-like naiads similar to Rusalkas lived along the rivers, lakes, and ponds, and were considered ill-tempered and dangerous. A water-bank where they were thought to be found was to be avoided by young men and women, especially in the dark. Early in the 20th century fakeloristic scholarship speculated that the Berehyni combined a prehistoric Scythian earth-goddess[3] and rusalky (guardians of the banks). Since Ukrainian independence in 1991, she has undergone a fakeloric metamorphosis, and today is identified as a combination of the "hearth-mother" (associated with the guardianship of the nation itself) and the rusalka. This metamorphosis has its roots in the late 1980s, as several Ukrainian writers sought to personify their vision of an ideal Ukrainian woman. Consequently, Berehynia today also has a place in Ukrainian nationalism,[4] feminism,[2] and neopaganism.[5] In 2001, a column with a monument to Berehynia on top, as a protector of Kiev (pictured), was erected at Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) in the center of the city, on the site of the former Lenin monument, despite the fact that Kiev has as historic protector Archangel Michael pictured at the Coat of Arms of Kiev and whose older monument is located just across at the same square.
