What do you think?
Rate this book
Bogowie: A Study of Eastern Europe's Ancient Gods
T.D. Kokoszka grew up in Texas with a Jewish mother and a Polish-American father. While he was aware of roots going back to Eastern Europe from both families, he found it hard to learn very much about them. He knew that Polish people would whack one another with palm leaves around Easter, and he knew that his great-grandmother purportedly believed in forest spirits known as borowy. However, it wasn't until he was in his teens that he became vaguely aware of an ancient people known as the Slavs who gave rise to the Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Slovakian, Slovene, and Czech languages. It quickly became clear to him that this was a family of cultures currently under-represented in popular culture, and even in western scholarship. Not simply a regurgitation of scholarship from the Soviet period - and presenting new analyses by using previously neglected resources - A Study of Eastern Europe's Ancient Gods offers one of the most painstaking scholarly reconstructions of Slavic paganism. These new resources include not only an overview of folklore from many different Slavic countries but also comparisons with Ossetian culture and Mordvin culture, as well as a series of Slavic folktales that Kokoszka analyzes in depth, often making the case that the narratives involved are mythological and shockingly ancient. Readers will recognize many European folktale types and possibly learn to look at these folktales differently after reading this book.
448 pages, Paperback
Published September 1, 2023
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 3, 2023
Bogowie is a fascinating dive into Slavic paganism from an academic angle, covering a range of related topics from deities to folk magic. It may seem a little intimidating at first - at 430 pages its certainly not a light read and each chapter is thoroughly backed up with relevant sources, cited meticulously - but the writing style is straightforward and it includes retellings of various folktales which nicely break up the informational sections. I found the balance in the book was good and the material, while dense, was understandable and well written.
Bogowie starts, quite sensibly I think, but discussing exactly who the Slavic people were and are to establish the scope of the book. The author is also honest throughout that this area of study is particularly difficult in part because of the complex history of Slavic cultures and in part because of the scarcity of older sources. The author was honest that the subject gets little attention and is often dismissed outright because of the lack of written material focused around it. I appreciated having all of this covered because I felt that it gave me a good understanding of both the wider subject as well as the intentions of the author in writing the book, which appears to be a much needed addition to the existing material on the topic.
With an Introduction and 14 chapters the book is well organized and through, but not as dry as one might expect. To start it explores various historic cultural connections between Slavic people and others, as well as laying out the development of the Slavs across history and various influences on that development. From that point the text goes on to look at specific mythic figures including Baba Yaga, Mokosh, Perun, Volos, the Zoryas, Svarozhichi, and Chernobog, while analysing deeper mythic concepts and exploring related cultural material. This includes Christian syncretism within the folk belief which I found especially interesting. The author also digs into beliefs around death and the soul, as well as exploring magical practices in the cultures and holy days. Its thorough but not, in my opinion, overwhelming, and manages to convey a lot of information in ways that hold a reader's interest.
The book nicely blends history, folk belief, and practice in a way that I think people will find interesting and digestible. The author does a good job of explaining the core principles and concepts he covers in ways that even people new to folklore studies will understand, while keeping the text interesting and engaging. I would recommend this for anyone who is particularly interested in Slavic paganism but also for anyone who enjoys folktales and is curious to learn something new. This one really covers all the bases.
Bogowie starts, quite sensibly I think, but discussing exactly who the Slavic people were and are to establish the scope of the book. The author is also honest throughout that this area of study is particularly difficult in part because of the complex history of Slavic cultures and in part because of the scarcity of older sources. The author was honest that the subject gets little attention and is often dismissed outright because of the lack of written material focused around it. I appreciated having all of this covered because I felt that it gave me a good understanding of both the wider subject as well as the intentions of the author in writing the book, which appears to be a much needed addition to the existing material on the topic.
With an Introduction and 14 chapters the book is well organized and through, but not as dry as one might expect. To start it explores various historic cultural connections between Slavic people and others, as well as laying out the development of the Slavs across history and various influences on that development. From that point the text goes on to look at specific mythic figures including Baba Yaga, Mokosh, Perun, Volos, the Zoryas, Svarozhichi, and Chernobog, while analysing deeper mythic concepts and exploring related cultural material. This includes Christian syncretism within the folk belief which I found especially interesting. The author also digs into beliefs around death and the soul, as well as exploring magical practices in the cultures and holy days. Its thorough but not, in my opinion, overwhelming, and manages to convey a lot of information in ways that hold a reader's interest.
The book nicely blends history, folk belief, and practice in a way that I think people will find interesting and digestible. The author does a good job of explaining the core principles and concepts he covers in ways that even people new to folklore studies will understand, while keeping the text interesting and engaging. I would recommend this for anyone who is particularly interested in Slavic paganism but also for anyone who enjoys folktales and is curious to learn something new. This one really covers all the bases.
June 14, 2023
This book is a deep dive into the gods and myths of Eastern Europe and the UK. It goes into different gods, their origins and histories, different worship practices centered around them, and myths and legends surrounding them.
The book is very informative. It dived deep into the history of each god and historical figure mentioned. The topics covered can be very interesting. I liked seeing how each of the figures of each culture could be linked to each other. However there were points where that bogged down the flow of the narrative.
Overall I did find this very interesting. Recommend this for all history fans, religious history in particular.
The book is very informative. It dived deep into the history of each god and historical figure mentioned. The topics covered can be very interesting. I liked seeing how each of the figures of each culture could be linked to each other. However there were points where that bogged down the flow of the narrative.
Overall I did find this very interesting. Recommend this for all history fans, religious history in particular.
August 18, 2023
From the first time I glimpsed the title, I was really excited to read “Bogowie”, a study of Eastern Europe's ancient gods by T.D. Kokoszka. Both of my parents were born in Poland, I still have family I visit there, and I am (somewhat) familiar with some of the pagan gods and traditions of that country. I thought that this would be a great way to build on that scant knowledge and learn a bit more about my heritage. I was wrong.
To be fair to Mr. Kokoszka, I am definitely not the audience for this book. In order to completely enjoy/understand much of this book, one needs to have: a deep knowledge of the gods, myths, and stories that the author presumes you already know, an understanding of linguistics between various ancient cultures, a history of Slavic peoples (and their migrations/invasions), current generally accepted theories of pagan Slavic cultures (which the author challenges), and a deep understanding of folktale studies (using tools such as the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index (ATU Index) of folktales).
It is hard to describe exactly what this book contains, since much of it went over my head. The author will talk about certain gods or stories (presuming you are familiar with them) and compare it to other folklore (from the Celts, India, Iran, and others), focusing on similarities in names and/or story details. For example, there are pages and pages discussing theories about whether a certain god may be a lesser god of the underworld based on the name or a source or a comparison to a similar named god from a completely different culture. But if one doesn’t know anything about the god or history (like me), this is just a challenge to an academic theory about two deities that I know nothing about. Much of this book deals with linguistics, similarities of names between cultures, potential interpretations of derivatives.
This is a very dense book. It was difficult to get through the almost 500 pages, I did come very close to putting it aside permanently but I was hoping that somewhere the narrative would turn. With the exception of a few tales at the end of some of the chapters, there was very little I retained or (honestly) enjoyed in this book. This has been one of the most disappointing reads in my recent history. I am sure that academics would find this interesting, but for the rest of us it is impenetrable.
I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from John Hunt Publishing Ltd, Moon Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
To be fair to Mr. Kokoszka, I am definitely not the audience for this book. In order to completely enjoy/understand much of this book, one needs to have: a deep knowledge of the gods, myths, and stories that the author presumes you already know, an understanding of linguistics between various ancient cultures, a history of Slavic peoples (and their migrations/invasions), current generally accepted theories of pagan Slavic cultures (which the author challenges), and a deep understanding of folktale studies (using tools such as the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index (ATU Index) of folktales).
It is hard to describe exactly what this book contains, since much of it went over my head. The author will talk about certain gods or stories (presuming you are familiar with them) and compare it to other folklore (from the Celts, India, Iran, and others), focusing on similarities in names and/or story details. For example, there are pages and pages discussing theories about whether a certain god may be a lesser god of the underworld based on the name or a source or a comparison to a similar named god from a completely different culture. But if one doesn’t know anything about the god or history (like me), this is just a challenge to an academic theory about two deities that I know nothing about. Much of this book deals with linguistics, similarities of names between cultures, potential interpretations of derivatives.
This is a very dense book. It was difficult to get through the almost 500 pages, I did come very close to putting it aside permanently but I was hoping that somewhere the narrative would turn. With the exception of a few tales at the end of some of the chapters, there was very little I retained or (honestly) enjoyed in this book. This has been one of the most disappointing reads in my recent history. I am sure that academics would find this interesting, but for the rest of us it is impenetrable.
I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from John Hunt Publishing Ltd, Moon Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
January 7, 2024
The author obviously knows lots of folklore and aDNA scholarship. A good editor, and possibly writing two separate books, would make this a five star easy. As a historian who is also part of the reconstructionist community (though not Slavic) I very much understand the competing impulses in writing such a work. I loved the inclusion of sample stories. I feel like I was able to follow the thinking, argument, and evidence provided, and was kicking myself to have not read a tome on the Avars that has been on Mt. TBR for a while.
The historian in me was very frustrated trying to determine how the various arguments fit into existing scholarship. There is very little in English on these topics, and many scholars can't read the necessary languages to access more scholarship. This is where the editing is needed - so much was organized stream of consciousness, "introductions" to topics were given after "advanced concepts," and constant references to other chapters because topics were interspersed in confusing ways.
Then there are the apologies and the asides. The intro and ending (not really a conclusion...) are full of this. First, the author apologises for his education as a biologist. He obviously has put the work in to learn the linguistic and folklore information to contextualize the aDNA information. At the same time, the author then has to "prove" his knowledge without fully explaining context scholarship for an un-formerly-schooled audience (which should be expected on Netgalley and with a publisher of religious works), instead name and jargon dropping. I would have loved to see some peer review on the real meat of the historical argument.
Frankly, for the majority of the work, the authors personal religious beliefs are irrelevant. That said, I can see where rec9nstructionist communities could very much benefit from a shorter work focused on the intersection of his scholarship and practice.
This will likely be a reference that I return to (and get frustrated by) again. It's a good gathering of information for anyone interested in the topic. Unfortunately, many scholars will balk because of the stream of consciousness structure, self-deprecating insertions, and lack of peer review. The author's ideas deserve better.
The historian in me was very frustrated trying to determine how the various arguments fit into existing scholarship. There is very little in English on these topics, and many scholars can't read the necessary languages to access more scholarship. This is where the editing is needed - so much was organized stream of consciousness, "introductions" to topics were given after "advanced concepts," and constant references to other chapters because topics were interspersed in confusing ways.
Then there are the apologies and the asides. The intro and ending (not really a conclusion...) are full of this. First, the author apologises for his education as a biologist. He obviously has put the work in to learn the linguistic and folklore information to contextualize the aDNA information. At the same time, the author then has to "prove" his knowledge without fully explaining context scholarship for an un-formerly-schooled audience (which should be expected on Netgalley and with a publisher of religious works), instead name and jargon dropping. I would have loved to see some peer review on the real meat of the historical argument.
Frankly, for the majority of the work, the authors personal religious beliefs are irrelevant. That said, I can see where rec9nstructionist communities could very much benefit from a shorter work focused on the intersection of his scholarship and practice.
This will likely be a reference that I return to (and get frustrated by) again. It's a good gathering of information for anyone interested in the topic. Unfortunately, many scholars will balk because of the stream of consciousness structure, self-deprecating insertions, and lack of peer review. The author's ideas deserve better.
February 21, 2024
I enjoyed this book. Having an english-language resource on Slavic pre-Christianity written with such earnesty and minimal agenda is refreshing. The author saw a gap and knew how to fill it. I found this book thought provoking and fascinating, even when I didn't agree with what theories were being presented. Kokoszka does an excellent job of being fair and level throughout the book, presenting many different theories and approaches to each topic and being incredibly thorough. This book had me thinking and writing out my thoughts so much that I genuinely wish I had thought to make a book club or similar event to discuss this text in depth (I settled for terrorizing my friends with my rambles on it as an alternative). This book was an inspiration to read and engaging in a way that expanded my thought processes on Slavic pre-Christian practices both from a religious and academic standpoint. I will say this book gets a bit dense at certain points, particularly in the first chapter, however he is laying down important scientific and archaeological foundations, so the density is understandable and doesn’t persist throughout the rest of the book. This book is more academic leaning in its tone, as a comparative study, and it does assume you have some level of general knowledge about Slavic pre-Christian practices, so I won’t say this book is for brand new beginners, but I will say its for people who are comfortable in their foundation and looking to expand their learning and thought processes. This book kept me thinking and taught me new things, both about things I already knew and things I had no idea about. I only really have two criticisms of this book; the author relies very heavily on the goddess Mokosh to explain the workings of almost every female spirit or entity that is not Baba Yaga, a fairy tale heroine, or the Zoryas; I understand why Mokosh is leaned on in this way, however, there was a considerable lack of justification or other obvious possible answers for some of these figures, such as the Bohinya from Carpatho-Rusyn beliefs, relating her to Mokosh is a bit of a reach and that reach wasn’t supported by the text, it was just kind of thrown out as a theory and then moved on from. My other critique is the inconsistent labeling of Carpatho-Rusyn, specifically Hutsul beliefs; although the author credits the Hutsuls with having some of the most strongly preserved pre-Christian and mystic traditions, he also makes the choice to label them in a number of ways that can be confusing, as he refers to them as Carpatho-Rusyns (which is an umbrella term for several cultures in the Carpathian mountains), Carpathian Ukrainians (which is a term some take issue with due to the label of “Ukrainian” being used as a way to remove Hutsul cultural identity), or just Ukrainians. He gets better with the accuracy later in the book, but I feel that information from Hutsul culture should have been labeled as such from the get go with a brief sentence on who and where they are, like they were later in the book. Beyond these two issues, I found this book an enjoyable and inspiring read that was incredibly thought provoking. I will definitely be returning to this book in the future as a reference or as food for thought.
August 23, 2023
A treasure trove of interesting information, but only if you want to commit to the subject. The subject is... a lot of things. Folklore, Indo-European Studies, history, and tons of comparative mythology. The author does explain why there's so much comparative mythology, however.
When he writes about Slavic paganism, he is mainly writing about folklore. So the comparative analysis really does help flesh out fragments of folklore that would otherwise seem meaningless. I think my favorite example was "the beard of Volos" which was a folk tradition involving a sheaf of grain. By linking this to the Proto-Indo-European God of the Dead, he goes down a really cool rabbit hole. For instance, he talks about German traditions where the last sheaf is left out for "Woden's Horse." Great stuff.
Some of it is too much. It's not clear why he talks about the flower contest in the chapter on the Earth Diver myth. That was kind of a puzzling digression for me. But it's such a great chapter, I still enjoyed it. Even if it wanders a bit more than necessary, I would say this is a great book on the topic.
When he writes about Slavic paganism, he is mainly writing about folklore. So the comparative analysis really does help flesh out fragments of folklore that would otherwise seem meaningless. I think my favorite example was "the beard of Volos" which was a folk tradition involving a sheaf of grain. By linking this to the Proto-Indo-European God of the Dead, he goes down a really cool rabbit hole. For instance, he talks about German traditions where the last sheaf is left out for "Woden's Horse." Great stuff.
Some of it is too much. It's not clear why he talks about the flower contest in the chapter on the Earth Diver myth. That was kind of a puzzling digression for me. But it's such a great chapter, I still enjoyed it. Even if it wanders a bit more than necessary, I would say this is a great book on the topic.
June 27, 2023
As someone with an Eastern European heritage I was familiar with the basic shapes of most of these stories, but definitely not in the depth that they are portrayed here.
It really is heave on religion, and while the author does try to stay objective, sometimes it is not successful., but all the deep dives are very interesting and I don not think the bit of personal colouring you find i this book is to its detriment, it brings the text that otherwise could bu a bit dry closer to the reader.
I always feel a bit squeamish about saying that a book is "well researched" or similar, only because I do not posses the skill set to determine such, but the author is definitely knowledgeable on and enthusiastic about the topic and the text reads quite academic.
Personally my favourite bits were the linguistic sections, and all in all I enjoyed the book a lot.
It really is heave on religion, and while the author does try to stay objective, sometimes it is not successful., but all the deep dives are very interesting and I don not think the bit of personal colouring you find i this book is to its detriment, it brings the text that otherwise could bu a bit dry closer to the reader.
I always feel a bit squeamish about saying that a book is "well researched" or similar, only because I do not posses the skill set to determine such, but the author is definitely knowledgeable on and enthusiastic about the topic and the text reads quite academic.
Personally my favourite bits were the linguistic sections, and all in all I enjoyed the book a lot.
September 1, 2023
I was so excited to read this, and I wasn’t disappointed. I remember my Babcia growing up, teaching me some of the superstitions/folk lore that she brought over to the US from Poland, despite being a very devout Catholic, and books on Slavic folklore, (in English at least), are very difficult to find, and often don’t have as much depth as books on things like Norse, Celtic, or even Native American mythology/folklore. I loved this book from cover to cover, and spent hours reading, taking my time because I wanted to make sure I absorbed it all. If you’re interested in Eastern European Gods and folklore, then I can’t recommend this enough.
July 6, 2023
This is a great deep dive into East European folklore, if anything it was a little too deep for me personally, but it does an excellent job of what it says it will!
I'm a folklore nerd, but I should admit this was a DNF for me, but mostly due to the academic/thesis style writing, I found my brain wandering too much to concentrate. But again, if you're aware of this going in and don't have a brain that gets easily distracted by squirrels, this is a brilliant resource!
I received an advance copy for free from NetGalley, on the expectation that I would provide an honest review.
I'm a folklore nerd, but I should admit this was a DNF for me, but mostly due to the academic/thesis style writing, I found my brain wandering too much to concentrate. But again, if you're aware of this going in and don't have a brain that gets easily distracted by squirrels, this is a brilliant resource!
I received an advance copy for free from NetGalley, on the expectation that I would provide an honest review.
August 24, 2023
This book is a wild ride. Really a tapestry of folklore, history, linguistics, and mythology. I don’t know if he cracked the code on Slavic paganism, which is a very mysterious topic. But I don’t think I’ve seen anyone attack it with this kind of dedication. That’s something I’d like to see more of.
The book also contains over 700 citations, so even if you just used it to find sources on the topics discussed, it would still be valuable just as a source guide.
The book also contains over 700 citations, so even if you just used it to find sources on the topics discussed, it would still be valuable just as a source guide.
August 24, 2023
This book has answered many questions I had about Slavic paganism. It’s hard to find a source on this topic with credibility, because there is so much fakelore. The author might even spend a little too much time establishing credibility in his analysis. But it’s something that this topic could really use more of.
October 22, 2023
A mix of history and Eastern Europe pantheons, a well researched and informative book. Another book to enrich and give food for thought
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews