Our friend Deih recently spent some time in lovely Belarus where he just finished a brand new piece for the Urban Myths Project.
To arrive at the final concept of his project, Deih got in touch with local folks, who helped him to better understand and reflect upon some of the ancient Belarusian pagan beliefs and traditions.
The nine-floor high mural is located on a wall of the local Arts University dorm and symbolizes genesis of life, initiated by the ancient Slavic god.
Many Belarusian people still remember their ancient religion and follow some of the rituals associated with this and many other deities in everyday life. According to the ancient legends, Yarylo is a god of fertility and carnal love, as well as a wildlife patron. He is portrayed as a handsome young guy, riding a white horse along the trail of a sun ray, awakening life and urging flourishing on Earth.
According to Deih, those legends are some kind of interpretations of universal events by ancient folks. Those myths might be codified accounts of life origin on Earth, brought by aliens.
The mural depicts Yarylo pulling up the Sun from the darkness of the universe to create life on the empty Earth. There are some sacral symbols visible on the divinity’s belt: life, spring, ancestors, well-being. Those symbols are still used in traditional Belarusian embroidery.
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