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{{short description|Concept in Slavic folklore}}{{redirect2|Navka|Naw|the region on the planet Venus|Navka Planitia|initialisms|NAW (disambiguation)}}File:Vladimirka 2.jpg|300px|thumb|Cross with a chapel at the crossroads. (Isaak Levitan. Vladimirka. 1892 г.)]]Nav (Croatian, Czech, Slovak: Nav, , , , , , Mavka or , ){{efn|A figure named Nāves māte ("Mother Death") exists in Latvian mythology, as one of the Mahtes, a designation for several female deities.Mottz, Lotte. The Faces of the Goddess. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1997. pp. 221-222 (footnote nr. 27). {{ISBN|0-19-508967-7}} The connection with Slovenian navje was already seen by scholar Nikolai Mikhailov.Konickaja, Jelena. "Николай Михайлов: славист, словенист, балтист (11.06.1967–25.05.2010)". In: SLAVISTICA VILNENSIS 2010 Kalbotyra 55 (2). p. 174.}} is a phrase used to denote the souls of the dead in Slavic mythology. The singular form (Nav or Nawia) is also used as a name for an underworld, over which Veles exercises custody—it is often interpreted as another name for the underground variant of the Vyraj (heaven or paradise).

Etymology

The words nawia, nav and its other variants are most likely derived from the Proto-Slavic , meaning "corpse", "deceased". Cognates in other Indo-European languages include Latvian ("death"), Lithuanian (“death”), Old Prussian (“body, flesh”), Old East Slavic () (“corpse, dead body”) and Gothic (, “dead body, corpse”).Razauskas, Dainius (2011). “Ryba - mifologičeskij Proobraz lodki" [The Fish As a Mythological Prototype of the Boat]. In: Studia Mythologica Slavica 14 (October). Ljubljana, Slovenija, 296, 303.weblink

As souls or spirits

{{See also|Mavka}}The nawie, nawki, sometimes also referred to as lalkiBOOK, Szyjewski, Andrzej, 2004, Religia Słowian, Religion of the Slavs, Polish, Kraków, Wydawnictwo WAM, 83-7318-205-5, (Polish language; all plural forms) were used as names for the souls of the dead. According to some scholars (namely Stanisław Urbańczyk, among others), this word was a general name for demons arising out of the souls of tragic and premature deaths, killers, warlocks, the murdered and the Drowned Dead.BOOK, Strzelczyk, Jerzy, 2007, Mity, podania i wierzenia dawnych Słowian, Myths, legends, and beliefs of the early Slavs, Polish, Poznań, Rebis, 978-83-7301-973-7, They were said to be hostile and unfavourable towards humans, being jealous of life. In Bulgarian folklore there exists the character of 12 that sucked the blood out of women giving birth, whereas in the Ruthenian Primary Chronicle the are presented as a demonic personification of the 1092 plague in Polotsk.BOOK, Kempiński, Andrzej, 2001, Encyklopedia mitologii ludów indoeuropejskich, Encyclopedia of mythology of Indo-European peoples, Polish, Warszawa, Iskry, 83-207-1629-2, According to folk tales, the nawie{{Which lang|date=May 2021}} usually took the form of birds.

As an underworld

The phrase Nawia (Polish) or Nav (used across Slavic tongues) was also utilised as a name for the Slavonic underworld, ruled by the god Veles, enclosed away from the world either by a living sea or river, according to some beliefs located deep underground. According to Ruthenian folklore, Veles lived on a swamp in the centre of Nav, where he sat on a golden throne at the base of the Cosmic Tree, wielding a sword. Symbolically, the Nav has also been described as a huge green plain—pasture, onto which Veles guides souls. The entrance to Nav was guarded by a Zmey. It was believed the souls would later be reborn on earth.Nikolay Shevchenko: Where did ancient Slavs go after death?, Russia Beyond the Headlines, 9 March 2018. It is highly likely that these folk beliefs were the inspiration behind the neopagan idea of Jav, Prav and Nav in the literary forgery known as the Book of Veles.

See also

• Mavka
• Prav-Yav-Nav
• Rusalka
• Unclean spirit

Footnotes

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References

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Further reading

• Kajkowski, Kamil. 2015. “Slavic Journeys to the Otherworld. Remarks on the Eschatology of Early Medieval Pomeranians" [SÅ‚owiaÅ„skie wÄ™drówki W zaÅ›wiaty. Kilka Uwag Na Temat Eschatologii wczesnoÅ›redniowiecznych Pomorzan]. Studia Mythologica Slavica 18 (July). Ljubljana, Slovenija: 15-34.weblink

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