Ognyena Maria
Slavic fire goddess and sister of the thunder god.
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In Serbian belief, St. Elias has a sister named Ognyena Maria who acts as his counsellor.[1] St. Elias responds to his sister by calling her "Beata Maria" and addressing her complaints.[1] He declares a three-year drought because of the people's sins, which comforts Beata Maria.[1] The name Ognyena Maria also appears as a personification of craftiness in a Serbian folk tale.[1]
A Serbian folk tale describes Beata Maria coming to St. Elias with tears streaming down her face, and after he asks what misfortune befell her, she recounts witnessing lawlessness among humans, including children disobeying parents, brothers challenging each other to duels, and a koom bearing false witness against a brother koom.[1]
Quick Facts
- Feast day (folk calendar)
- July 17 (Julian calendar, around July 30)
- Bulgarian celebration date
- July 22
- Associated figures
- Margaret the Virgin
- Virgin Mary
- Saint Elias (Saint Elijah)
- Related festival
- Goreshtnitsi Festival (July 28–30)
Facts from the source article.
What the cited sources add
The Petrovitch and Karadzhic account describes Beata Maria arriving with tears streaming down her white face.[1] In that same tale, St. Elias calls her "dear sister ours" and "thou Beata Maria."[1] Beata Maria complains of a brother koom bearing false witness against another koom.[1] The tale ends with Beata Maria being comforted and wiping tears from her "milk-white face."[1]
The index of that work lists Ognyena Maria as "Mary the Fiery One."[1]
References
- Petrovitch, Woislav M.; Karadzhic, Vuk Stefanovic. Hero tales and legends of the Serbians. New York: Frederick A. Stokes company. [1915] p. 15.. facts only, no text reused. gutenberg.org
- Wikipedia, "Ognyena Maria" (CC BY-SA 4.0): the article whose references led to the sources above en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Ognyena Maria (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Supernatural beings identified with Christian saints
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Ognyena Maria (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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