238
Slamene oči (straw eyes),
see ghost
Smrt, see Death
Smrtnjak, smrtnek, smrtec, companion of
the death.
Snake (káča), ož, vož, inčésa, linčésa, ses,
vípera. One of the oldest and most widespread
archetypes, the mythical snake is large and
dangerous, white or black. Since people per-
ceived the rainbow as a multi-coloured snake,
the mythical snake may also have the colours
of the rainbow. The snake queen has a crown
upon its head and a diamond or a golden apple
under its tongue. The leader of all snakes, it
is also the mistress of earthly riches, which is
why people tried to seize its crown, the golden
apple, or the žilštajn (snake stone), each of
which represented the key to riches. The viper
from the area of Gorizia was thought to have
a crest on its head and could whistle beauti-
fully. The multi-headed
sea serpent is the
mistress of the waters. In ancient cosmolo-
gies, the snake appears as the cosmic snake,
the Creator, or the mythical ancestor, and a
cosmological hero. As the carrier of the world
whose movements may destroy it, the snake
appears not only at the beginning but also at
the end of cosmogeneses as an apocalyptic,
destructive force. The ouroboros, the snake
eating its tale, symbolizes life and death and
an eternal cycle of the time and world. As the
keeper of treasures,
the snake is the bestower
of goods and fertility, which is why the snake
is an attribute of every great goddess. The
snake also symbolizes the soul of a deceased
ancestor. As the guardian of the house, the
ož, the vož, the white snake, and the inčesa, it
protects the home. In the Bible, the snake is an
allegory of evil. According to folklore, snakes
were set upon the humans as punishment but
could be driven away by a wizard’s apprentice
(črnošolec). Certain saints, particularly St.
George and St. Margaret, allegedly protected
people from the snakes.
Lit.: M. Šašel Kos:
Draco and the Survival of the Serpent
Cult in the Central Balkans. Tyche, Beiträge zur Alten
Geschichte, Papyrologie und Epigraphik 6, Wien 1991.
Sobota, see Sabida
Sojenica,
see Fate
Somrak (twilight), see dusk
Soul, duša. In folklore, the soul is a person’s
double who at the time of death separates
from the body, leaving it in the form of wind,
vapour, smoke, butterfly, fly, bird, etc. The
soul was imagined as a tiny person with a
transparent body or as a winged child. The
soul can leave the body of a living person
only during sleep or in the state of ecstasy. If
a person is connected with an impure force,
the soul will commit evil deeds after leaving
the body. If a sleeping person, whose soul has
flown through his or her mouth,
is moved the
soul will be unable to find its way back and
will long circle around the body in different
forms. The soul of a sinner was punished by
roaming the world as an apparition, a dog, a
cat, a moth circling around a burning candle,
etc. (see zavdana duša, sinning soul). Beliefs
that the soul assumes the form of a mouse,
cat, or dolphin stem from antiquity. When
a person died, the family opened windows
or doors to help the soul depart. But it was
believed that for the next forty days, the soul
would continue to visit the places it had once
been
familiar with, and would also linger at
the cemetery, which is why food was placed
on the grave. Since it was widely believed
that it was very difficult for the soul to cross
a body of water, particularly among the East
Slavs, it was believed that St. Nicholas regu-
larly ferried souls to the netherworld.
Spodnjek, see wind
Srebrnokrilec (Silverwing), see Zlatorog
239
St Domenica (St. Sunday), Sv. Nedelja, Ne-
delja. Often depicted in medieval Christian
iconography. Frescos associated with St.
Nedelja were generally painted on church fa-
cades, particularly on exterior side walls, for
example on the pilgrimage church of St. Ne-
delja in Crngrob. There are also place names
named after this saint, for instance Velika
Nedelja and Mala Nedelja in Prekmurje.
People believed that St. Nedelja punished
those who violated the ban on hunting on
Sundays. The popular
belief that those who
spin on Sundays go mad is connected with
Mokoš and with other personified days (see
Mokoš). Like St. Sobota (St. Saturday, see
Sabida), St. Nedelja was a significant saint in
early Christianity, which is further indicated
by the fact that in Serbia she was entreated
for help and protection.
Lit.: L. Kretzenbacher: Sveta Nedelja - Santa Domenica
- Die hl. Frau Sonntag.
Südslawische Bild- und Wortüber-
lieferungen zur Allegorie-Personifikation der Sonn-
tagsheiligung mit Arbeitstabu, Die Welt der Slawen 27
(NF 6), München 1982.
Straw eyes (slamene oči), see ghost
Sumper, supernatural being (in Bavaria
known as Semper) with whom mothers in
Štajersko frightened their naughty children
saying: May the Sumper be off with you!
Svarog, Svarožič, Božič (Christmas). The god
of fire and the sun was mentioned in the 12
th
century as the father of Dažbog. Navratil
(1888) wrote that the term božič denoted
a small god. According to Kuret, Svarog’s
origin may date
as far back as the period of
the Old Slavs when Božič denoted Svarog,
Svarožič, the small god who was reborn each
winter solstice. The term Božič presumably
comes from svaro, an old Slavic word for the
moving sky.
Lit.: A. Pleterski:
Božič naših prednikov (The Christmas
of Our Ancestors). Naši razgledi 38, 1989; N. Čausidis:
Slovenskite panteoni vo likovniot medium: Svarog. Studia
mythologica Slavica 1, 1998.
Svečar, see svečnik, see the vedomec
Svečnik (candlestick), svečar, vedomec
(Pomurje), a ghost appearing with a burn-
ing candle instead of its head. The inhabitants
of Medžimurje say that the svečniki are the
souls of the sinning monks; In Varaždin they
were purported to be the people who were
moving boundary markers in fields in order
to wrongfully gain more land. The svečniki
appear particularly during Advent days and
before All Hallows. If they collide with each
other, their candles emit sparks. The svečniki,
who flee from people who utter profanities,
may be saved by prayer, which is why they
gather around those who, upon beholding
them, start to pray.
Sveta žena (sacred woman),
see fairy
Svetovit, Svantovit, Svjantovid, Sventovit,
Svetovid. A Balto-Polabian and a Slavic god
of the sun; the god of light; the celestial god.
He was venerated as the protector of vegeta-
tion, trade, and war. He was depicted as a
deity with four heads, each looking in its
own direction (omnipresence), and holding a
bow and a horn. The symbol of Svetovit was a
white horse. He was riding a white horse that
was returning from a night ride, covered in
sweat. A temple consecrated to Svetovit was
built in the Balto-Slavic town of Arkona. Ac-
cording to some authors, the “golden-haired
deity with golden hands, the son of the celes-
tial ruler Svetovit”, was Kresnik. He was later
Christianized
into Saint Vitus whose name
day, according to the Julian calendar, falls on
the day of the summer solstice. He was one
of the Fourteen Holy Helpers of the Roman
Catholic Church and was frequently depicted
with a black rooster.
Svinsek, see wind
Sybil, Šembilja, Šimbilja, Šimbile, Sibila, Švila,
prerokila. A supernatural being known in