Belarussian mythology
part 1
Etching, aquatint
29,5 x 21 cm
2023
Chleunik
Chleunik is the guardian spirit of the barn. He lives in a barn and takes care of livestock. In all his actions with animals, Chleunik remains invisible and only occasionally appears in the form of a wrinkled thin person. I depicted him as an old man wearing an animal skull mask, his hands folded in a gesture of protection and guardianship.
Tsmok
Tsmok - Belarusian dragon. Jan Borshevsky describes Tsmok as an unkind creature in the service of dark magic. This dragon hatches from an egg laid by a black rooster and nurtured in the bosom for a month. However, more often acts as a good character. The upper part of the composition contains an image of the Tsmok itself, while the lower part contains a Slutsk belt with an interwoven image of a black rooster. The Slutsk belt is a very bright part of the Belarusian culture, and such belts were produced to a greater extent in Belarusian manufactories.
Plachka
Plachka - a female spirit mourning for all the dead. According to legend, this spirit can be met in the fields, near rivers, near abandoned houses and empty buildings. It was especially important to believe in Plachka for lonely people. That way, at least someone would mourn them after death.
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