The functions of the god of death were attributed to various representatives of the Slavic pantheon. Most often, he was considered the sinister Chernobog, with whom Veles was sometimes identified. But there was a goddess of death of Moran.
Chernobog in the understanding of the ancient Slavs was the most terrible of deities, personifying all conceivable disasters and misadventures. It was believed that he was chained from head to toe in iron armor. Therefore, his idol was not made of traditional wood, but of iron. Chernobog's face full of rage inspired irresistible fear in people, he held a spear in his hands, which symbolized a constant readiness to strike.
The Temple of Chernobog was built of black stone, and an altar was installed in front of the idol, on which fresh blood always smoked. The ominous god constantly demanded human sacrifices, which, as a rule, became captives or slaves captured in battles. In difficult times, it was necessary to cast lots among local residents to select a victim. Despite the fact that Chernobog was feared and hated, he was considered the only deity capable of preventing the onset of war and other terrible disasters.
The “bestial god” Veles was originally a completely harmless patron of forest animals and livestock. However, later they began to consider him a formidable ruler of the Navi - Slavic kingdom of the dead, not without reason Prince Vladimir ordered to put his idol on the hem - in the lower part of Kiev. After the adoption of Christianity, Veles began to be identified with Chernobog. Since his idol could be crowned with horns, and in his hand he held a dead human head, the authors of Christian treatises on paganism considered him a direct embodiment of the devil.
The female face of death is reflected in the image of Morana. The word "pestilence", from which her name came from, in the Old Slavonic language meant "witch", and in Polish - "nightmare". It was believed that Morana silently approaches the bed of the deceased and sings mournful songs over his head. The soul of the deceased at this time turns into a bird named Dio, which sits on the tree closest to the window and listens to its own requiem. Sometimes this bird was identified with the Moran itself.
Since Morana was also considered the personification of winter, in early spring, residents of cities and villages made her straw effigies - mars, who later burned or drowned in rivers, accompanying their actions with comic curses. This rite symbolized the spring awakening of nature, the victory of solar heat over the winter cold, life over death. Morana was sometimes identified with Baba Yaga, who served as the gatekeeper of the kingdom of the dead. Such were the Slavic deities, which the popular consciousness somehow connected with the image of death.
