Banya is originally an Eastern Slavic steam bath with a wooden stove. It’s an important part of Russian culture with ancient Slavic pagan roots. This steam bath tradition is even part of ancient eastern Slavic mythology.
The bath takes place in a small room or building designed for dry or wet heat sessions. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire.
Traditionally, Eastern Slavs used a banya broom, which is a besom, or broom, used for bathing. A bath broom is typically made with the branches and leaves of a tree or shrub which secretes aromatic oils. The branches and leaves are then dried and tied around a wooden handle. The broom is used to massage a bather's skin and generate heat. It’s used for therapeutic, healing purposes.
Traditional Slavic banya/steam is accompanied with ice water baths, or getting snow on your body.
The bath takes place in a small room or building designed for dry or wet heat sessions. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire.
Traditionally, Eastern Slavs used a banya broom, which is a besom, or broom, used for bathing. A bath broom is typically made with the branches and leaves of a tree or shrub which secretes aromatic oils. The branches and leaves are then dried and tied around a wooden handle. The broom is used to massage a bather's skin and generate heat. It’s used for therapeutic, healing purposes.
Traditional Slavic banya/steam is accompanied with ice water baths, or getting snow on your body.
Slavic tradition of banya is almost a shamanic practice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svPtIpDQfZw&feature=share
YouTube
Beat to the Balance
'Beat to the Balance' involves having a sauna (usually build on spot with found materials) and tree healing; a tradition of using whisks – branch bundle of different tree species. It is a treatment that combines the psychosomatic experience of sauna, tree…
Whatever the official sources claim, Slavic banya is an ancient tradition going back to ancient pagan Slavic era. That’s why it shows up in Slavic mythology. Official history claims that pagan Slavs were primitive, ignorant and dirty before the enlightened wise civilized Christians came and taught the primitive dirty pagan Slavs how to live as civilised people. Slavic pagans were not ignorant, but very intelligent people, and they were not uncivilized or dirty. Every single Slavic household had a banya on their property. Even the most remote villages
Someone opened a sweat lodge based on traditional Slavic/Russian banya.
Autumn a perfect season for apple desserts. A little cinnamon & nutmeg makes it feel like fall is here
Pagan Russian/Slavic tradition had Volkhvs who were the higher rank of the sacerdotal hierarchy, the lesser order being that of the zhrets
I still don’t get why people claim that Tolkien’s books were influenced by his catholicism. Yes people do say that Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic, but I don’t know just how devout he was, because Tolkien wasn’t writing about Jesus or angels, Tolkien was writing about Elves & Wizards.
So why do people claim Tolkien’s work was influenced by Catholicism? Is it because Tolkien’s books describe a battle between good & evil? Well is it not true that there is also a concept of good & evil in paganism?
I read some Christians/Catholics claim that Tolkien’s work includes Christ-like characters. My question is why do these Christians/Catholics say this, and who would those characters be exactly? Are they saying this because certain characters in LOTR & Hobbit sacrifice themselves in battle to save the others? Well correct me if I’m wrong, but this is not a Christian/Catholic Christ-like character, it’s a pagan concept of a hero.
Some say that Tolkien’s characters are similar to Christian/Catholic characters, in a way that they’re black & white. They are either 100% good or 100% evil. However, I don’t agree, because if you even look at Frodo’s character who was stronger than any elf or even a wizard, because Frodo was able to withstand the power of the one ring, even he broke down towards the end and became corrupted by the ring. There’s also the high wizard Saruman who was first on the side of the good, but than later switched to the bad side. There’s also the bothers Boromir & Faramir. Boromir was first helping Frodo’s quest, but later betrayed him by trying to steal the ring. Faramir and his men first capture Frodo & Sam, but later helped them. And then there’s the character Gollum who kept switching from evil to good. I’m sure there are other characters I can’t think of now.
And unlike in Christianity/Catholicism, in Tolkien’s books there are many strong female characters, warriors even.
Also Tolkien’s lords of Valar, or the high ones seem similar to some of the pagan gods & goddesses of European/Indo-European mythologies.
I personally see a lot of ancient pagan folklore & mythology in Tolkien’s works, and not Christianity, Catholicism or Abrahamism in general.
So why do people claim Tolkien’s work was influenced by Catholicism? Is it because Tolkien’s books describe a battle between good & evil? Well is it not true that there is also a concept of good & evil in paganism?
I read some Christians/Catholics claim that Tolkien’s work includes Christ-like characters. My question is why do these Christians/Catholics say this, and who would those characters be exactly? Are they saying this because certain characters in LOTR & Hobbit sacrifice themselves in battle to save the others? Well correct me if I’m wrong, but this is not a Christian/Catholic Christ-like character, it’s a pagan concept of a hero.
Some say that Tolkien’s characters are similar to Christian/Catholic characters, in a way that they’re black & white. They are either 100% good or 100% evil. However, I don’t agree, because if you even look at Frodo’s character who was stronger than any elf or even a wizard, because Frodo was able to withstand the power of the one ring, even he broke down towards the end and became corrupted by the ring. There’s also the high wizard Saruman who was first on the side of the good, but than later switched to the bad side. There’s also the bothers Boromir & Faramir. Boromir was first helping Frodo’s quest, but later betrayed him by trying to steal the ring. Faramir and his men first capture Frodo & Sam, but later helped them. And then there’s the character Gollum who kept switching from evil to good. I’m sure there are other characters I can’t think of now.
And unlike in Christianity/Catholicism, in Tolkien’s books there are many strong female characters, warriors even.
Also Tolkien’s lords of Valar, or the high ones seem similar to some of the pagan gods & goddesses of European/Indo-European mythologies.
I personally see a lot of ancient pagan folklore & mythology in Tolkien’s works, and not Christianity, Catholicism or Abrahamism in general.
Mythological roots
It is a well-known fact that Tolkien had interest in the mythology and linguistics of Northern Europe, specifically the pagan mythologies of the Norse and English peoples. The other main influence was Finnish Mythology - it played a major role in the creation of The Silmarillion, and the Quenya language was modeled mostly after the Finnish language. Two other examples of linguistic influences were Rohirric, the language used for the Rohirrim which was substituted by Old English (from which English is chiefly derived), and the language spoken in Dale and Esgaroth, equivalent to Old Norse, which is the language of the epic sagas and poems of the Norse.
Many significant events of Middle-earth's history - such as Smaug's awakening and rampage, the finding of the Ring, and the reforging of Narsil - all have parallels in Germanic Mythology. The epic poetry of Northern Europe's past, such as the epic poem Beowulf and 'Völsungasaga', have also been cited as influencing Tolkien and his legendarium. The rampage of Smaug could in fact be seen to be inspired by Beowulf, in which a cup is stolen from the sleeping wyrm who then leaves his cave for revenge. (His revenge is the climax of the story, and the demise of the protagonist Beowulf).
The One Ring is said by many to have been inspired by the ring in the Norse saga of the Völsungs and its later German version, the High Medieval Nibelunglied; however comments by Tolkien make it unclear as to whether it was a reference to the Völsungasaga.
Éowyn's disguising as a man in The Return of the King is likely to echo many tales of 'Shield-maidens' and Valkyries from Norse Mythology.
The name of the chief continent of Arda, Middle-earth, has its origins in Norse Mythology also. The name derives from the Old English Middanġeard (meaning "middle enclosure") which later became the Middle English term Middel-erde (meaning now "Middle-earth" rather than the older sense of "Middle-yard"). This name for our world has cognates in the various other Germanic languages: Miðgarðr in Old Norse (rendered as "Midgard" in Modern English), and Mittelerde in Modern German.
Source -
Tolkien Mythology
It is a well-known fact that Tolkien had interest in the mythology and linguistics of Northern Europe, specifically the pagan mythologies of the Norse and English peoples. The other main influence was Finnish Mythology - it played a major role in the creation of The Silmarillion, and the Quenya language was modeled mostly after the Finnish language. Two other examples of linguistic influences were Rohirric, the language used for the Rohirrim which was substituted by Old English (from which English is chiefly derived), and the language spoken in Dale and Esgaroth, equivalent to Old Norse, which is the language of the epic sagas and poems of the Norse.
Many significant events of Middle-earth's history - such as Smaug's awakening and rampage, the finding of the Ring, and the reforging of Narsil - all have parallels in Germanic Mythology. The epic poetry of Northern Europe's past, such as the epic poem Beowulf and 'Völsungasaga', have also been cited as influencing Tolkien and his legendarium. The rampage of Smaug could in fact be seen to be inspired by Beowulf, in which a cup is stolen from the sleeping wyrm who then leaves his cave for revenge. (His revenge is the climax of the story, and the demise of the protagonist Beowulf).
The One Ring is said by many to have been inspired by the ring in the Norse saga of the Völsungs and its later German version, the High Medieval Nibelunglied; however comments by Tolkien make it unclear as to whether it was a reference to the Völsungasaga.
Éowyn's disguising as a man in The Return of the King is likely to echo many tales of 'Shield-maidens' and Valkyries from Norse Mythology.
The name of the chief continent of Arda, Middle-earth, has its origins in Norse Mythology also. The name derives from the Old English Middanġeard (meaning "middle enclosure") which later became the Middle English term Middel-erde (meaning now "Middle-earth" rather than the older sense of "Middle-yard"). This name for our world has cognates in the various other Germanic languages: Miðgarðr in Old Norse (rendered as "Midgard" in Modern English), and Mittelerde in Modern German.
Source -
Tolkien Mythology