The functions of the god of death were attributed to various representatives of the Slavic pantheon. Most often, they were considered the sinister Chernobog, with whom Veles was sometimes identified. But there was the goddess of death Morana.
Chernobog, in the understanding of the ancient Slavs, was the most terrible of the deities, personifying all conceivable disasters and misfortunes. It was believed that he was clad in iron armor from head to foot. Therefore, his idol was not made of traditional wood, but of iron. Chernobog's face filled with rage instilled in people an overwhelming fear, in his hands he held a spear, which symbolized a constant readiness to strike.
The temple of Chernobog was built of black stone, and an altar was erected in front of the idol, on which fresh blood was always smoked. The sinister god constantly demanded human sacrifices, which, as a rule, became prisoners or slaves captured in battles. In difficult times, to choose a victim, it was necessary to cast lots among the locals. 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.
"Cattle God" Veles was originally a completely harmless patron of forest animals and livestock. However, later they began to consider him the formidable ruler of the Navi - the Slavic kingdom of the dead, it was not for nothing that 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 the direct embodiment of the devil.
The female face of death is reflected in the image of Morana. The word "mora", from which her name comes, meant "witch" in Old Slavonic, and "nightmare" in Polish. It was believed that Morana silently approaches the bed of the deceased and hums mournful songs over his head. The soul of the deceased at this time turns into a bird bearing the name of Dio, which sits on the tree closest to the window and listens to its own requiem. Sometimes this bird was identified with Morana herself.
Since Morana was also considered the personification of winter, at the beginning of spring, residents of cities and villages made her straw effigies - mars, which were subsequently burned or drowned in rivers, accompanying their actions with comic curses. This rite symbolized the spring awakening of nature, the victory of the sun's heat over the winter cold, life over death. Sometimes Morana was identified with Baba Yaga, who served as the gatekeeper of the kingdom of the dead. Such were the Slavic deities, whom the popular consciousness somehow associated with the image of death.
